_The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.001 14 January 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) A Note on Itshe-Meyer Shpilrayn (Avraham Greenbaum) 3) Yiddish Course Syllabus (Itshe-Meyer Shpilrayn) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 January 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters Continuing to explore Soviet Yiddish, we give in this issue a Soviet "state-of-the-art" review of Yiddish studies as embodied in the university course syllabus issued three-quarters of a century ago by Itshe-Meyer Shpilrayn (1891-19??). Avraham Greenbaum, author of _Jewish Scholarship and Scholarly Institutions in the Soviet Russia, 1918-1953_ (Jerusalem, 1978), introduces the author. In a private note, Greenbaum has suggested that Shpilrayn's table of Yiddish dialectal sounds as given in his review of Strack in _Der Jude_ 2 (1917) may be a first of its kind. The similar table (omitted below) at the end of the 1926 syllabus pamphlet is from Shpilrayn's 1918 _Der Jude_ essay "Fuer Aussprache und Transkription des juedischen." In addition to illustrating the early academization of Yiddish studies in the Soviet Union, Shpilrayn's syllabus remains a valuable bibliographical guide and his pungent comments on key works are still useful. In the light of present knowledge we would modify his outline of the development of Yiddish -- the history of Yiddish is by no means a fully settled matter. Shpilrayn was perceptive enough to recognize the high quality of both Seaneanu and Mansch. Neither Gerzon nor Birnbaum, he maintained, knew enough Slavic and this lacuna showed in their work -- yet he acknowledged their strengths. Birnbaum's grammar is sound, he says, but should not have regarded Czernowitz Yiddish as paradigmatic. Birnbaum, too, he complains, exagerrates the influence of Hebrew on Yiddish. He judges Pines' and Leo Wiener's histories of Yiddish literature to be flawed and sees errors in several contemporary grammars. He rightly gives unstinted praise to the folklorist Y-L. Kahan. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 January 1999 From: Avraham Greenbaum Subject: On Itshe-Meyer Shpilrayn geboyrn in rostov in 1891, efsher in a mishpokhe fun gerer khsidem (loyt zayne nemen un zayn zogenish in an artikl az zayn tate iz fun varshe). veynik vos geshribn, dos do ibergeshribn bikhl iz zayn eyntsike publikatsye in bukh form. s'iz meglekh az ir iz avekgegangen fun yidarbetet -- azoy hot men es gerufn in ratnfarband -- batsaytn. vi gevust iz di dozike arbet gevorn problematish in di shpete tsvontsike yorn un shpeter geferlekh biz gor. in a briv reyzenen shrayt er az zayn hoyptfakh iz nit lingvistik nor psikhoteknik. shpilrayn hot shtudirt in haydlberg [Heidelberg] un iz geblibn in daytshland biz nokh der ershter velt-milkhome. in di milkhome yorn hot er zikh bateylikt in martin bubers bavuster tsaytshrift _der yude_ [_Der Jude_], eyn mol mit an ernster retsenzye vegn herman shtraks _yudishes verterbukh_ (dortn, 1916/1917, zz. 633-636) un dos tsveyte mol vegn dem zelbn mekhabers _yudish-daytshe tekste_ (dortn, 2 [1917], zz. 285-288). in di retsenyes kritikirt shpilrayn shtarks transkriptsye ober is mole hispayles iber zayne khalutsishe arbetn. in ratnfarband hot shpilrayn gearbet dray yor (1919-1921) in tbilisi un dernokh in moskve vu er iz geven der ershter lerer vos hot geleynt a kurs fun yidish oyf yidish in dem tsveytn moskver melukhishn universitet. dortn hot er gelernt biz 1928. zayn shpeterdike goyrl iz nit bakant, ober zayn nomen iz nit in di reshimes fun di kultur-tuers vos zaynen gevorn korbones fun stalin-teror. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 January 1999 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: idish -- konspekt fun a kurs (itshe-meyer shpilrayn) itshe-meyer shpilrayn idish [yidish]* [* Throughout the _konspekt_ the spelling _idish_ is used; this reflects a common pronunciation. LB] a konspekt fun a kurs in dem 2"tn moskver melukhishn universitet farlag "shul un bukh," moskve, 1926 [der emes] --forvort. aroysgebndik in 1926 yor dem kurs, vos iz geleyent gevorn in 1922-23 yor, vayz ikh on folgndikes: bay hayntikn tog hobn mir in der yidisher literatur a hipshe tsol filologishe arbetn, nor zey farnemen zikh oder mit a detaler bashraybung fun bazundere struktur-fragn fun yidish (sheneanu [Saineanu, 1900-1990], niger [Shmuel Niger, 1883-1955], borokhov [Ber Borokhov, 1900-1900], landoy [Alfred Landau, 1850-1935], birnboym [Salomo/Shloyme-Osher Birnbaum, 1891-1989], prilutski [Noyekh Prilutski, 1882-1941], u.a.v.), oder dos iz populere gramatik, vos ir eyntsiker tsil iz oyslernen dem talmid boygn di verter un shraybn mit yener ortografye, vos der mekhaber halt far a rikhtike. bay a farantvortlekhn kurs fun yidisher filologye far lerer fun der ii-ter shtufe kon men, vayzt oys, nit onvendn keyn eynem fun didozike traktirung-tipn: a gramatik far kinder vet di tsukunftike lerer nit bafridikn, un a detale fananderarbetung fun velkher nit iz eyn frage vet zey nit gebn dem algemeynem yedies-minimum, on velkhn zey veln zayn iberdertseyler nor fun fremde gedanken un veln zelbshtendik nit konen filologish trakhtn. der forgeleyenter kurs iz geven a pruv ayntsufasn in di ramen fun eyn akademishn yor di ale filologishe yedies, vos a lerer darf hobn, onvayzndik derbay di antshprekhndike grunt-literatur iber di barirte temes. ikh hof, az derdoziker kurs, vos iz farfiksirt in der form fun a konspekt, vet gebn di meglekhkayt fil lerer tsu revidirn zeyere yedies un vet nutsn eynike kolegn baym greytn zikh tsu lektsyes in hekhere lern-anshtaltn. shpilrayn. konspekt funem kurs fun yidish, geleyent inem tsveytn moskver melukhe-universitet in 1922-23-tn lernyor kapitl i. a kurtse geshikhte fun di yidishe leshoynes. a bagrif fun di semitishe leshoynes, vi fun leshoynes, in velkhe di badaytung funem vort bashtimen dray konsonantn, vos geyen arayn in shoyresh. a bagrif fun di arishe leshoynes. hebreish tsvishn semitishe leshoynes. di virkung fun grikhish (in aleksandrishn peryod), arabish un shpanish. romanishe elementn inem loshn fun di daytshe yidn. der romanisher un daytshisher peryod. di emigratsye in poyln in xiv un shpeterdike yorhundertn un di hashpoe fun di slavishe leshoynes oyf der shprakh fun di yidn -- oysvanderer fun daytshland, velkhe iz geven in ir grunt a germanishe. di virkung fun di slavishe leshoynes oyf der fonetik, leksikon un iberhoypt oyfn etimologishn geboy fun der yidisher shprakh. kapitl ii. algemeyne geshikhte fun yidish. di ershte yedies vegn yidish in di khronikes fun xii un xiii yorhundert. di daytshishe kehiles. di lider fun ziskind fun trimbarn [Suesskind von Trimberg (c. 1200-1250)]. di kharakteristik fun dem loshn fun yener tsayt: in tokh a daytshish mit hebreishe tsvishnshikhtn. di ershste gedrukte literatur in yidish. di denkmeler fun 16-18 yorhundert. di iberzetsung fun di heylike sforem, bobemayse, _tsenerene_ (tsenurenu), bikher mit a religyez-moralishn inhalt un romanen. private briv fun prager [proger] yidn fun 17-tn yorhundert, farefntlekhte fun landoy [Landau]. _di memuarn fun glyukeln-fon hameln_ [Glueckel von Hameln]. a bagrif vegn di enderungen in shprakh, vos kumen for in tsuzamenbund mit di enderungen in di ekonomishe lebns-badingungen fun di felker. di sibes, vos virkn oyf di enderungen fun di shprakhn: di natirlekhe antviklung fun di leshoynes. di virkung fun naye lebns-badingungen un fun naye bagrifn, di virkung fun andere felker. di badingungen, bay velkhe yedere fun didozike sibes vayzt zikh aroys. kapitel iii. filologishe kharakteristik fun yidish. di klasifitsirung fun di daytshishe dialektn oyf nider-daytsh, mitl-daytsh un hoykh-daytsh. di obyektive sibes, vos vayzn on oyf der kroyve|shaft fun yidish mitn hoykh-daytshishn dialekt: 1) di fonetishe un leksishe bazunderkeytn; 2) etimologishe bazunderkeytn -- dos feln fun imperfekt, der geboy fun der fraze, di farklenerung-form (der sufiks "l"). der dialekt gottshee in kerntn (karintye) un zayn kroyve|shaft mit yidish. der untersheyd tsvishn dem dialekt gottshee un yidish derklert zikh mit der virkung fun di slavishe leshoynes oyf yidish. dos hayntike yidish gefint zikh in gramatikalisher hinzikht inem protses fun derneentern zikh tsu di slavishe leshoynes, in leksishn -- trogt es nokh alts a daytshishn kharakter. di evolutsye fun der yidisher fonetik in zin fun ir derneenterung tsu der slavisher. di teoryes vegn der virkung fun hebreish oyf yidish. di rikhtikayt fun didozike teoryes b|negeye dem leksikon un zeyer fulkume felerhaftikayt b|negeye der fonetisher (Stark, _Juedisch-deutshe Texte_, Leipzig 1918) un gramatikalisher (Birnbaum, _Jiddische grammatik_, Wien, 1918; _Das hebraeische und aramaeische Element in der jiddischen Sprachen_, Leipzig, 1922), (Gerzon, _Juedisch-deutsche Sprache. Eine grammatisch lexikalische Untersuchung ihres deutschen Grundbestandes_, [p. 7: Frankfurt am Main, 1902; p. 20: Koeln, 1902) -- ed.], (Wagenseil, _Belehrung der juedish-teutschen Red- un Schreibeart_, Koenigsberg 1699 un and.) virkung. sheneanus [Saineanu's] _Memoires de la societe de linguistique de Paris_, 1904, un landoys [Landau's] kritik fun derdoziker teorye. di handls-burzhuazye un ire oysdriker -- di maskilem. di virkung fun maskilizm oyf der shprakh: daytshmerizmen, dos araynfirn fun nay-daytshishe elementn. di vayterdike daytshmerizmen inem "bund." der proletariat un di virkung fun der proletarisher kultur oyf der antviklung un fartiferung fun der shprakh. di virkung fun klasn-grupn afn tip fun der shprakh. di hayntike dray yidishe leshoynes: far-literarisher, fardaytsht-literarisher un nay-literarisher. di role fun di yidishe dialektn: di noytikayt tsu banemen di dialektn, vi a sotsyal-psikhologishe dershaynung. di grenitsn tsvishn di dialektn zaynen in derzelber tsayt oykh di grenitsn tsvishn di arumike felker. di dialektn: der litvisher, der poylisher, der doremdiker. der litvisher dialekt in yidish, zayne bazunderkaytn. dizelbe bazunderkaytn sheydn unter litvish fun poylish. dos feln funem zakhlekhn geshlekht, "u" onshtot "i", "s" onshtot "sh" un a. v. (der litvisher "Sunus" -- poylish-rusisher "sin", litvisher "dumus" -- poylish-rusisher "dim" un a. v. der algemeyn-arisher "u", velkher vert in di slavishe leshoynes farvandlt in "i", blaybt iber in litvish "u" -- lat. [sic] "mus", rusish "mish" u.a.v.). di bazunderkaytn funem poylishn dialekt, lemoshl "ay" onshtot "ey", "u" onshtat "o", di muzikale bazunderkaytn in der oysshprakh u.a.v. untersheydn oykh poylish fun ukrainish. di bazunderkaytn fun voliner oyshshprakh. di virkung fun ukrainish oyf der fonetik, oyf dem geshlekht fun di hoyptverter un oyf eynike gramatikalishe konstruktsyes. kapitl iv. germanishe elementn in yidish. di germanishe elementn zaynen di gruntlekhe. algemeyne gezetsn fun der transformatsye funem mitl-daytshishn klang in yidish. di klolem fun di gramatikalishe formen-farenderung unter der virkung fun zeyer tsuzamenshtoys mit di slavishe. di gemeynzamkayt in der antviklung fun di fonetishe formen far ale dray elementn in yidish: farn daytshishn, slavishn un hebreishn. di mitl-daytshishe formen funem tsaytvort, di farklenerungs-form fun di adyektivn. di germanishe aynformung fun di hebreishe elementn. hebreish-daytshishe tsaytverter, hoyptverter un adyektivn. dos bahershn dem hebreishn partitsip tsulibn oysdrikn dem pretsept. di farenderung fun di daytshishe formen unter der virkung fun oyserlekhe sibes. kapitl v. hebreishe elementn in yidish. di uralte hebreishe klangen un zeyer farenderung in yidish. dos feln fun di alte klangen in hayntike fonetishn bagazh fun der yidisher shprakh. der hebreisher leksikon: bagrifn, vos hobn a shaykhes tsu religye, abstraktsye, shteyger, ritual un az. v. di tsupasung fun di hebreishe elementn tsu der algemeyn arisher konstruktsye fun der yidisher shprakh un dos feln fun der virkung fun di alte formen oyf der hayntiker shprakh. oysnamen: di mertsol fun di hoyptverter doktoyrem, naronem, poyerem. di smikhes-form in eynike konstruktsyes. bazundere bayshpiln fun nokh ekzistirendike partitsipn. di geshlekht-farenderung fun hoyptverter in der lebediker shprakh (shabes, mayse u. a. v.). di teorye vegn der virkung fun hebreish oyf der yidisher gramatik bazirt zikh oyfn nit kenen di slavishe gramatik. ale faln, ven di hebreishe formen khazern zikh iber in yidish, zaynen paralel oykh faran in der slavisher gramatik. in yidish zaynen ober faran a sakh slavishe formen, velkhe hobn nit keyn paraleln in der hebreisher gramatik. kapitel vi. slavishe elementn in yidish. leksikon. di virkung fun di lebns-badingungen in poyln oyfn kharakter fun di slavishe formen, vos zaynen arayn in der yidisher shprakh: verter vos badaytn melokhes, getsayg, instrumentn, klangnokhmakhndike verter, verter vos hobn a shaykhes tsu melukhe-aynordenung u. a. v. slavishe verter, vi integrirendike elementn in yidish (fonetish asimilirte un farsheydene loytn dialekt) un slavishe provintsyalizmen, vos di literatur hot zey nit arayngenumen (untersheydn zikh nit loyt di dialektn). slavishe, daytshishe un hebreishe sinonimen in yidish. di role un di opshtamung fun didozike sinonimen. zeyer badaytung. di badingungen, bay velkhe di slavishe verter dringen arayn in yidish. zeyer fonetishe asimilirung un nit asimilirung iz ophengik funem grad fun zeyer aynvortslen zikh in der shprakh. di fonetik fun di arayngenumene slavishe verter un fun di slavishe neologizmen. di virkung fun slavishe dialektn fun di arumike felker oyf der antviklung fun di dialektn in yidish. di slavishe gramatik un ir aynvortslen zikh in der shprakh. di vegn fun demdozikn aynvortslen zikh: 1) di arumike svive; 2) di virkung fun a kultureln kolektiv fun der vaytns; 3) di gezetsn fun asimilatsye; 4) di farshtarkung fun der asimilatsye baym arayndringen fun a kolektiv, vos redt oyf eyn shprakh, in dem ekonomishn lebn fun a kolektiv, vos redt oyf an ander shprakh. di opshvakhung fun der asimilatsye un di stabilizatsye fun der shprakh durkh gedruktn vort. bayshpiln fun a bafestikter asimilatsye: di prefiksn, vos hobn in yidish dizelbe badaytung, vos in slavish - "der" (do), "far (za), "oyf" (na), "iber" (pered), "unter (pod); di inversye fun der badaytung fun di prefiksn (untertrogn, unterflien, untergebn); dos geshlekht fun di hoyptverter; di farklenerung-form fun di adyektivn (velkhe felt in di daytshishe dialektivn [sic -- ed.]; der vort-seyder in di bayzatsn; der seyder fun di tsendliker un eyntsike in di tsol-verter in fil erter fun lite u. a. v. bayshpiln fun umfarmaydlekher shprakh-asimilirung fun kleyne kolektivn: agev urkhe dos malakhovker "tsuforshteln", "tsuuntertrogn", "ba im iz", "ba mir tut vey" u.a.v. di natsyonale opgezundertkayt un a bazundere natsyonale shprakh kon ekzistirn nor biz vanen di grupe, vos redt oyf derdoziker shprakh, shtelt mit zikh for a zelbshtendikn ekonomishn organizm. kapitl vii. di geshikhte funem yidishn leksikon di mitl-hoykhdaytshishe elementen als gruntelementen, vos bashtimen dem kharakter fun der yidisher shprakh (eyntsike verter fun der nider-daytshisher opshtamung). hebreishe elementen fun der eltere epokhe, vos zaynen farbunden mit der geshikhte fun der yidisher bildung un religye. romanishe elementen - eltere (freyen, oren u.a.v.) -- un nayere, vos zaynen arayngekumen durkh andere leshoynes. di virkung fun di slavishe leshoynes, iberhoypt fun poylish, oyf der baraykherung fun dem yidishn leksikon. di virkung fun der antshteyung funem industrieln kapital oyf der yidisher shprakh. der kapitalizm, velkher iz gegangen fun daytshland, hot tsuzamen mit di formen fun der klasn-gezelshaft gebrakht oykh daytshmerizmen in der shprakh. di maskilem, oysdriker fun der nay-daytshisher virkung. paralele dershaynungen in andere shprakhn, un dos bazaytikn fun di fremde verter, nokhdem vi di breyte shikhtn fun der bafelkerung asimilirn di naye ideyen. lemoshl: pyoter dem groysns "viktorya", "asambleya", velkhe me hot opgevorfn, nokhdem vi di verter "pobeda" un "sobranye" hobn bakumen a nayem inhalt. inertsye tsu daytshmerizirung fun yidish in "bund". slavishe neologizmen un der veg fun zeyer arayndringen. zey sheydn zikh unter fun di alte slavishe formen in yidish mitn grad fun zeyer fonetisher asimilirung. di nayste puristishe rikhtungen in der yidisher shprakh. borokhov, zhitlovski, di "kultur-lige." kapitl viii. di geshikhte fun der yidisher gramatik. dos fulkume feln fun hebreishe formen in di yidishe denkmeler, onhoybndik fun xiii yorhundert biz hayntiker tsayt. a durkhoys hoykhdaytshishe konstruktsye fun der yidisher gramatik. bifrat b|negeye der verter-tseshtelung un eynike spetsifishe oysdrikn (frank un fray, zol er zayn) u. a. v. di virkung fun di slavishe leshoynes oyf der vayterdiker evolutsye fun di gramatishe formen un zeyer derneenterung tsu di slavishe. paraleln tsu derdoziker dershaynung in der geshikhte fun andere felker un fun andere kolonyale kulturele grupn. di nit genugndikayt fun di faranene historishe literatur-kvaln farn analiz fun der geshikhte fun gramatik, vayl zey hobn bashaynperlekh daytshmerizirt di shprakh, banutsndik bay shraybn daytshishe verter un formen, velkhe me hot nit banutst inem demoltikn lebedikn yidish. s'iz klor, az der grester teyl dergangene tsu undz denkmeler fun mitlalterlekher un nayer yidishkayt zaynen oyf aza oyfn falsifitsirt. eynike oysnamen: private briv fun proger yidn fun xvii yorhundert, vos zaynen farefntlekht gevorn durkh landoy [Landau] u.a.v. kapitl ix. di geshikhte fun der yidishe fonetik. di bashaynperlekhe nit genugndikayt fun di ekzistirndike denkmeler far a pinktlekhn urteyl vegn di fonetishe formen fun zeyer tsayt. di sibes derfun: di nit ayngeshtelte ortografye, di nit genug pinktlekhe fiksirung, iberhoypt fun di vokaln. hilfs-mitlen far der kritik: di kritishe literatur vegn yidish fun yener tsayt. vagenzeyl -- "Belehrung der juedish-teutschen Red- un Schreibeart," 1699 yor; der anonimer mekhaber fun bukh "Juedisch-deutscher Sprachmeister," 1752 yor un oykh di algemeyne gezetsn fun der farenderung fun hebreishe klangen in lebedikn loshn fun di yidn. di bashaynperlekhe noentkayt fun der fonetik fun der yidisher shprakh in onhoyb fun xii yorhundert tsu dem, vos me ruft itst "sfardishe havore" in hebreish. di vayterdike evolutsye unter der virkung fun daytsh: dos aribertrogn dem aktsent oyfn ershtn traf in hebreishe verter oykh, dos farvandlen dem "komets" fun "a" in "o", dem "khoylem" fun "o" in "oy", di paralele evolutsye fun "segel" in ershte trafn fun 'segolata' in a "tseyre," di antshprekhndike evolutsye fun klangen in di verter, vos hobn a germanishe opshtamung. der fuler paralelizm in der klangen-evolutsye fun dem leksishn materyal b|khlal on shum shaykhes tsu zayn opshtamung. di vayterdike tsetsvaygung fun der shprakh in poyln, vu es iz forgekumen paralel mit der farvandlung in poylish dem slavishn langn "o" in "u" (go:ra - gora) di fonetishe farenderung fun yidishn 'komets' in 'kumets', say in di germanishe, say in di hebreishe verter. di falshe baloykhtung fun derdoziker dershaynung durkh haynrikh leve (Heinrich Loewe, _Di Sprachen der Juden_, 1908 [cf. Heinrich Loewe, _Die juedisch-deutsche Sprache des Ostjuden_, Berlin 1915 -- ed.] ). der ibergang fun "tseyre" in "tsayre", fun "ay" in "oy", "u" in "i" hot a paralele dershaynung fun derzelber tsayt -- di evolutsye fun poylish in derzelber rikhtung. dos feln fun derdoziker rey dershaynungen bay yene litvishe yidn, vos hobn nit gevoynt in a slavisher svive, vu es zoln zikh transformirn arishe klangen. dos onvern dem zakhlekhn geshlekht fun di hoypt-verter bay di yidn in lite iz tsuzamengefaln mitn farlirn dem pinktlekhe untersheyd tsvishn "s" un "sh". dos darf men oykh rekhenen far a dershaynung fun leksisher un fonetisher asimilatsye tsu an andershprakhiker (litvisher) svive. der grunt-untersheyd tsvishn di fonetishe un muzikalishe eygnshaftn fun poylish un doremdikn dialekt in yidish. kapitl x. di geshikhte fun der yidishn oysleg. di fule farloztkayt fun der yidisher ortografye in xvi yorhundert, ven me hot oyf yidish keyn shum akht nit geleygt. farsheydene shraybung fun dizelbike verter un dizelbike oysyes far farsheydene klangen -- dos iz a shtendike dershaynung in demdozikn peryod. adank dem di shverkayt tsu arbetn iber der geshikhte fun fonetik. di asimilatorishe teorye fun di maskilem un zeyer praktik oyfn gebit fun aynregulirn dem yidishn oysleyg durkhn araynfirn in ir di daytshishe klolem. di kulturele badaytung fun derdoziker reform fun di maskilem. shaye roznfeld un zayn reform, vos hot ibergenumen di naye daytshishe ortografye fun 1902 yor. der printsip fun fonetishn oysleygn, vos borokhov (in _pinkes_ fun 1913) hot aroysgerukt. zayn badaytung, vi an opzog funem traditsyoneln daytshmerizm; zayn eynzaytikayt inem pruv durkhtsufirn, avekshtelndik far a fakt ("yavotshnim poryadkom") di "literarishkayt" funem litvishn dialekt. di praktishe nitoysgehaltnkayt fun borokhovn b|negeye der ortografye fun di verter mitn khoylem. di hanokhe, vos borokhov hot gemakht der historisher ortografye fun di hebreishe verter in yidish. di vokalizirte klangen "n" un "l". borokhovs oysdrikn zey durkh di konsonantn "l" un "n", aroyslozndik dem "ayen", di sfeykes in der noytikayt un dem visnshaftlekhn vert fun didozike reformen. di vayterdike evolutsye fun der ortografye. amerike un ir konservatizm oyf dem gebit. eyrope: di ortografye in lite. di ortografye, vos s'hot ongenumen der lerer-kongres in poyln. di arbet fun veyngern in rusland [Mortkhe Veynger 1890-1929]. der printsip fun der fonetish reformirter oysleygung, vos khazert iber di ortografishe reform fun di rusn. di asimilirung fun di hebreishe verter bay der fonetisher oysleygung. di arbet fun zaretskin [Ayzik Zaretski 1891-1956]. di arbet fun der filologisher komisye baym folkombild. di gruntrezultatn fun derdoziker arbet. der printsip fun an ortografye, vos drikt oys ale dialektn. di khesroynes fun der hayntiker yidisher shrift un di teoretishe noytikayt farbaytn zi mit a lataynisher. der hoypt-feler -- dos feln in hayntikn yidishn shrift fun untersheyd tsvishn "i" un "y", "l" un "ly", "i" un [semi-vowel] "bI", di umeglekhkayt oystsudrikn dem klang "@" [shva]. di konkrete rezultatn fun der arbet fun der komisye. kapitl xi.. di hoyptdialektn. dray grunt-dialektn: der doremdiker, poylisher, oder miteler un tsofndiker oder litvisher. di geshikhte fun der antviklung fun didozike dialektn un zeyer fonetisher un leksisher grunt-untersheyd, di gemeynzamkayt fun der literatur un di virkung funem literarishn loshn oyf der tsunoyfgisung fun di dialektn, di asimilirndike virkung fun di groyse kultur-tsentren, vu es derneentern zikh mentshn fun farsheydene erter un es arbet zikh oys a nayer dialekt (bayshpil) bay yespersenen, _Lehrbuch der Phonetik_, tabeln, vos vayzn dem untersheyd fun bazunder dialekt un a genoye fananderarbetung fun didozike tabeln. kapitel xii a bagrif vegn literarishn loshn un rikhtiker havore. di geshikhte fun der antviklung fun der literarisher shprakh bay andere felker. vi azoy hot luter oysgearbet a reynem loshn. vi azoy hot pushkin gearbet iber der shprakh. velkhe antshprekhendike metodn merkn zikh on oyf oystsuarbetn a reyne in leksishn zinen, d. h. a "rikhtike" yidishe shprakh. di zamlarbet fun prilutskin. kahans [Yude-Leyb Kahan, 1881-1937], anskis zaml-bikher far folklor, der zhurnal _Mitteilungen fuer die juedische Volks-kunde_, di materyaln fun _pinkes_ u. a. v. der bagrif fun a literarisher havore. di relativkayt fun demdozikn bagrif. di falshkayt fun di gangbare definitsyes: "di rusishe literarishe oysshprakh iz in moskve," "di rikhtike daytshishe iz in hanover" u. a. v. di badaytung fun di provintsyalizmen. der klasn-kharakter fun der literarisher oysshprakh. di literarishe havore iz di oysshprakh fun der gebildete gezelshaft, vos shteyt noent tsum tsenter fun kultur un regirung, derfun shtamen azelkhe dershaynungen, vi di mode, dos avekgeyn fun der shprakh fun di folks-masn. di virkung fun der literatur oyf der oysshprakh. di rusishe "eya", "ditya", vi kinstlekhe bildungen. paralele dershaynungen in yidish. di badaytung fun literarishe formen. der gikher bayt fun loshn fun teritoryal tseshpreyte grupes. derfar trogt di fiksirung fun di filologishe formen a tnay-kharakter. yidish iz in a lage fun a loshn, vos farendert zikh gikh. me muz onnemen a punkt fun derdoziker antviklung far a farstandartizirtn un, aroysgeyendik fun im, opshatsn vi di vayterdike antviklung, azoy oykh di fargangene. derfun shtamt di fiksirung fun fi gramatikalishe formen, dos onemen eynike daytshmerizmen u. a. v. umeglekhkayt oystsuteyln itst eynem fun di dialektn far a "rikhtikn." di noytikayt tsu anerkenen ale dray dialektn far literarish-derlozbare, untershtraykhndik di tendents fun kleynlekhe provintsyele formen tsu farshvindn (vi di kolisher "medkhe", "gapelkhe", di bukoviner "mandebartshikes" u. a. v.). kapitl xiii. di oyfgabe fun der yidisher filologisher visnshaft un funem lerer fun yidish. di oysforshung fun di ortike dialektn tsulib tsunoyfzamlen di shprakh-oytsres un tsulib fareynikn zey. der rezultat fun aza min organizirter kolektiver arbet muz zayn dos bashafn a yidishn filologishn atlas un di meglekhkeyt oystsuteylen bashtimte formen, vos vern ofter banutst, un andere formen, tsu velkhe se shtrebt di antviklung fun shprakh. dos fiksirn aldi formen, dos bakenen zikh fun lerer mit a vos greserer tsol dialektn. di arbet funem lerer iber der reynkayt fun der oysshprakh un di meglekhe derneenterung funem dialekt, vos er git di kinder, tsum ortikn dialekt. di rikhtike batsiung funem lerer tsu di dialektishe bazunderheytn: nit shtrebn oystsuvortslen dem untersheyd tsvishn zayn oysshprakh un der oysshprakh fun di kinder, nor, shtrebn vos mer tsunoyfbindn di kinder mit der literarisher shprakh. s'iz noytik tsu barekhenen un untertsuhaltn di shtrebung fun der literarisher shprakh, tsu bafrayen zikh fun di daytshmerizmen un umtsukern zikh tsu reyn yidishe gramatishe formen, derbay darf men ober gedenken, az aza umker balebt nit afsnay yenem loshn, vos iz geven far di maskilem, nor shaft a pinktlekhe, kurtsere un oysdriklekhe shprakh, vos iz a sintez tsvishn di leshoynes, vos zaynen geven farn klasn-iberbrukh in der yidisher svive un mit der ideologisher hashpoe fun demdozikn iberbrukh. vikhtikste literatur I. tsu der geshikhte fun yidish: 1) kenig artush hoyf. dem tekst ken men gefinen bay vagenzeyl [Wagenzeil]: _belehrung der yidish-taytshen red- un shraybart_, kenigsberg 1699. 2) mayse-bukh. oykh dortn un oykhet bay Ave Lallemant, _das Deutsche Gaunertum_ Bv III. 3) _Memoiren des Glueckel von Hameln_ herausg. von Prof. Dr. Kaufmann, Frankfurt am Main 1900. 4) Alfred Landau und Bernhard Wachstein. _Juedische Privatbriefe aus dem Jahre 1619_. Wien & Leipzig, 1911, Einleitung, Glossar. 5) etlekhe tekstn fun morits gideman [Guedemann], _yidishe kultur-geshikhte in mitl-alter_ (yidn in daytshland, dos XIV un XV yorhundert), yidish Nokhem shtif, klal-farlag, berlin 1922 tarp"b. fun didozike bikher bakumt men a sakh yedies m|koyekh dem leksikon un dem gramatishn geboy funem altn yidish. ober me darf nit meynen, az fun di kvaln bakumt men genoye filologishe yedies. ershtns, iz kimat alemol miglekh, az der shrayber hot zikh gestaret shraybn "hokhdaytsh," kedey tsu fareydlen zayn loshn. a|khuts dem zaynen di eltere kvaln etlekhe mol gevorn ibergeshribn, heyst dos ibergeandersht. un azoy vi di klangverde fun di oysyes iz nit geven farfiksirt, gibn undz di dermonte bikher kimat gor keyn yedies nit vegn dem fonetishn bashtand funem altn yidish. mer helfn shoyn in dem prat 6) Johann-Christof Wagenseil, _Belehrung der juedish-teutschen Red-un Schreibeart_, Koenigsberg 1699. khotsh vagenzeyl fartaytsht tsu oft onshtot tsu transkribirn. nokh beser iz in dem prat dos anonime anti-semitishe bikhl 7. _Juedisher Sprachmeister ... gedrueckt in dem jetzigen jahr (arum 1718) Aufgezeichent von einem, der ehedem unter diesem Volke viele Jahre zugebracht, nun aber von gantzen Hertzen Gott liebet un seinem Naechsten gerne dienet_. II. gramatik. der eltster pruv gramatish tsu analizrn iz di serye artiklen 8. Phillip Mansch. _Der Polnish-juedishe Jargon_, "Israelit," Lemberg (herausgg. v. Verein Schomer Jsroel) 1888-1890. mansh iz oft nit genug visnshaftlekh-kritish, ober zeyer raykh in gedanken un shtoyst on oyf a zelbshtendikn filologishn trakhtn. in der glaykher tsayt iz aroys zeyer a guter bukh 9. Saineanu. _Studium dialectologica supra grailui evreo-german_. Bucoresci 1889. vos iz shpeter mit 25 yor ibergedrukt gevorn oyf frantsoyz: 10. Sainean. Essai sur le judeo-allemand. Memoires de la societe de linguistique de Paris. XII, 1903, p. 90-138 et 176-196. zeyer gut iz oykh di oysforshung fun gertson 11) Jacob Gerzon. _Juedisch-deutsche Sprache. Eine grammatisch lexikalische Untersuchung ihres deutschen Grundbestandes. Koeln 1902. gertson git a gute gramatik fun litvishn yidish. an aveyre, az di derklerung fun a sakh verter un gramatishe formen iz falsh, vorum gertson ken nit keyn slavishe leshoynes. dem khisorn hot oykh der bukh fun birnboym 12) Salomon Birnbaum. _Das hebraische und aramaeische Element in der jiddischen Sprache_. Gustav Engel, Leipzig, 1922 vos shatst iber di hashpoe fun hebreish oyf yidish. di gut durkhgetrakhte gramatik fun derzelbikn mekhaber 13) salomo birnbaum. _Praktische Grammatik der juedischen Sprache. Verl. Hartleben, Wien, 1919, hot nokh a tsveytn khisorn: der tshernovitser dialekt vert genumen far dos eyntsike yidish. di shulgramatikn, lemoshl, fun reyzen. 14) sh. reyzen, _yudishe gramatik_, varshe, 10-te oyfl. oder birnboym un kasel 15) m. birnboym un d. kasel. _praktishe yudishe gramatik, elementarkurs. ortografye, etimologye un sintaksis_, 2 teyln zaynen ful mit gants grobe grayzn. der gegnshtand iz nokh nit genug durkhgearbet in teorye, me zol im kenen gebn di kinder in der form fun a "yidishn kirpitshnikov", III folklor. zeyer a sakh materyaln anthaltn di 16) _Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft fuer juedischem Volkskunde_ 1898-1903, Hamburg. fun 1904 _Mitteilungen fuer juedischem Volkskunde_ 1904-1908, Berlin; 1909, Leipzig; nokh 1910, Wien. vertlekh hobn geklibn: 17) Tendlau. _Sprichwoerter und redensarten der juedischen Vorzeit_, 1860. 18) Ignats Bernshteyn. _Yudishe shprikhverter un redensarten_. varshe-krakoy tarsakh 1908. lider - 19) Ginzburg i Marek. _Ebreiskie narodnie pjesni TSPB, 1901. 20) Noyekh prilutski. _yudishe folkslieder_. gezamelt, derklert un tsuzamengeshtelt. 21) Khaye fayn. "folkslieder," _pinkes_ 1913, vilne, kletskin-farlag. 22) Cahan. _Yiddish Folksongs_. New York. Warsaw 1912. _yudishe folkslieder_. mit melodyes oys dem folksmoyl gezamelt. prilutski hot geklibn zayn materyal s'rov in poyln, fayn -- in der lite, kahan -- in ale yidishe kantn. dem grestn vert hot di arbet fun kahanen -- an oysgetseykhnt tsveybendik verk. me darf nor dermonen dos bikhl fun veynger 23) veynger. _forsht yidishe dialektn!_ minsk 1925. IV. literatur-geshikhte. biz itster hobn mir nit keyn besere verk vi der oybnoyfiker un nit alemol rikhtiker pines. 24 {18} pines. _geshikhte fun der yudisher literatur_, 2 bender. un der nit zeyer grindlekher viner 25 {24} Wiener, Leo. _The History of Yiddish Literature in the XIX-th Century_ N.Y. 1899. me darf nokh dermonen dem bukh fun 25) spivak un yehoyesh. _verterbukh_. nyu-york 1911, vos anthalt zeyer gute un genug fule derklerungen fun hebreish-arameishe elementn in yidish. far der vayteriker bibliografye shik ikh op tsu borokhovn. 26) b. borokhov. "di biblioteyk fun a yidishn filolog," in _pinkes_, vilne tara"g 1913, vos anthalt hekher 500 nemen fun verk, vos zaynen biz demolt aroys in der gantser velt vegn yidish. -------------------------------- baylag [the table of sounds is omitted here] a luakh fun di vokalizmen fun yidishe hoypt-dialektn un zeyer opshtamung fun mitl-hoykhdaytsh [see accompanying .doc file] 1. nayhoykhdaytshishe hilkhike un diftongn 2. bayshpiln fun daytshishe verter 3. doremdike havore (rostov) 4. poylishe havore (varshe)) 5. litvishe havore (vilne) 6. a) yidishe shraybung b) hebreishe nekude 7. hebreishe verter, vos hobn zikh gebitn in der zelbiker rikhtung. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.001 Leonard Prager, editor Send articles to: lprager@research.haifa.ac.il Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 18:23:21 -0500 (EST) From: Iosif Vaisman To: Mendele Subject: The Mendele Review Vol. 03.002 Reply-To: mendele@lists.yale.edu Sender: owner-mendele@lists.yale.edu _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.002 22 February 1999 Max Weinreich on Yiddish without Hebrew: Part One 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) "vos volt [y]idish geven on hebreish?" (maks vaynraykh) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 February 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters A. In this issue (3.002) and the two following issues (3.003 and 3.004) of _The Mendele Review_, we present a seminal essay by Max Weinreich on the Hebrew-Aramaic component of Yiddish (originally published in _Di tsukunft_ vol. 36 [1931], pp. 194-205). One can hardly praise Craig Abernethy enough for his industry in romanizing this small- print hard-to-read essay. Robert (Itsik) Goldenberg diligently proofread Craig's remarkably accurate work. _TMR_ readers are much beholden to both Craig and Itsik. Spellings have been silently regularized to conform to modern practice (e.g. _keyn mol_ rather than _keynmol_; _shviblt_ rather than _shvibelt_), but there may very well be remnants of older practice -- and other errors -- we did not catch. In subsequent issues we will give Noyekh Prilutski's important essay, "tsum vikuekh vegn di hebreizmen" (_Yidish far ale_ 3 [May 1938], pp. 63-75). B. Short Notices of Books Received a. Shifra Epshteyn. _"Daniel-shpil" bekhasidut bobov; mimakhaze amami letekes purimi_. Yerushalaim: Hakhug leyidish, Hauniversita Haivrit/Hotsaat sefarim al-shem Y"L Magnes, 1998. ISBN 965-223-947-x. Tavey negina by Yaakov Mazur. score pp. 141-180. [English title-page: Shifra Epstein. _The "Daniel-shpil" in the Bobover Hasidic Community_; >From a Folk Drama to a Hasidic Ritual for Purim] Distributed by the Magnes Press. P.O. Box 7695. Fax 972-2-5633370. b. Ariela Krasni [Krasney], _The Badkhan_. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University, 1998, 248 pp. ISBN 965-226-197-1. Illustrated and with notes, bibliography and three indices (badkhanim 'jesters/comic versifiers/wedding mc's'; kinuim 'terms'; musagim 'concepts'). This book is a revised Hebrew version of a Yiddish doctoral dissertation at Bar-Ilan University (see _The Mendele Review_ 02.010). Attractively produced, it systematically discusses a subject area whose source materials are largely inaccessible to all but specialists. The author analyzes written badkhan texts and the role of the badkhan in modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature. Orders: Bar-Ilan University Press, Ramat-Gan 52900 Israel. Catalogue price in Israel: IS 69; abroad (including postage) $22. c. Avraham Greenbaum. _The Periodical Publications of the Jewish Labour and Revolutionary Movements in Eastern and Southeastern Europe 1877 - 1916_; an Annotated Bibliography. Jerusalem: The Dinur Center, Hebrew University, 1998 ["Kuntresim" Texts and Studies Series B-22] ISBN 965-350-064-3. d. Shmuel Batt. _Oyf eybik; oysgeveylte shriftn 1970-1996_. Los Angeles: Shmuel Batt Book Committee, 1996, 4, 274, 187 [English]. [English title: Samuel Batt. _For Eternity_; Selected Writings 1970-1996] e. Mikhoel Felzenboym [Michael Felsenbaum]. _un itst bin ikh dayn nign_ [yidish] / Rut Rayzl-Moyal [Ruth Reizel] "veata neginatekh hayiti" [ivrit] / grafika: Mark Kanovitsh [Kanovich]. Tel-Aviv: Leyvik Farlag, 1998. 55 pp. 20 cm. x 20 cm. Yiddish verse with Hebrew translation. Pen drawings. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 February 1999 From: Craig Abernethy Subject: vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? (maks vaynraykh) \spell pask|enen pskenen \spell lehabe lhb# \spell bekitser b|kytswr \spell mimeyle mmyl# \spell hasmode hTmdh \spell zgule sgulh \spell rayes r#ywT \spell kle-koydesh Kly-kwdsh \spell balebatem bely-bWym \spell Yehoyesh yhw#sh \spell khesroynes HsrwnwT \spell iber|khazer|ungen iber|khzr|ungen \spell pkhodem|dik pHdym|dik \spell nifter nyftr \spell evyen #Bywn \spell kaptsn kbtsn \spell nistalek nsWlk \spell vaad hakool ved h|khl \spell kool khl \spell mafkhn mBHyn \spell meakev meKB \spell nisgale nTglh \spell reyekh ryH \spell nikhoyekh nyHwH \spell shtike shWykh \spell khiser Hyswr \spell bikhdey bkhdy \spell ger gr \spell skhus zkhus \spell ksube KTuBh \spell luekh luH \spell treyfe tryfh \spell tkhine WHynh \spell boke bky \spell dafke dvk# \spell moneshekh mmh-nfshkh \spell koshe kshh \spell terets Wyruts \spell bakoshe bkshh \spell akhile #khylh \spell sheliekh shlyH \spell bekivn b|Kyvun \spell gzeyre gzyrh \spell sheygets shgts \spell orev erB \spell rukhnies ruHnyuT \spell lomdish lwmd|ysh \spell sokhrish swHr|ysh \spell beteve b|tBe \spell sheyvet shBt \spell beshum b|shum \spell baleboste bel-hbyT|te \spell lekhatkhile l|khWHylh \spell retsues rtsuewT \spell matses mtswT \spell bal-tfile bel-Wfylh \spell shkheynem shkhnym \spell shulkhn shlHn \spell morer mrwr \spell olel elul \spell gargeres grgrT \spell kibets kbuts \spell oysek ewsk \spell bikhlal b|khll \spell miskhatn mTHWn \spell makhshirem mkhshyrym \spell kolerley Kl|erlyy \spell dalet al dalet dlT el dlT \spell bezdn byT-dyn \spell heypekh hypukh \spell bal-agole bel-eglh \spell agole eglh \spell mistome msWm# \spell memre mymr# \spell lamdn lmdn \spell besmedresh byT-mdrsh \spell poshet|e pshut|e \spell bokherem bHurym \spell tamtses WmtsyT \spell gashmies gshmyuT dr. maks vaynraykh vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? z. 194 di hebreishe elementn in der yidisher shprakh. -- di atake in sovet-rusland oyf di hebreishe verter in der yidisher shprakh. beshas ikh shtel di frage: "vos volt yidish geven on hebreish?" hot dos absolut nit tsu ton mit der frage: yidishizm oder hebreizm. ven ikh zol farglaykhn di beyde shprakhn tsu lebedike mentshn, volt ikh gekent zogn: yidishizm oder hebreizm meynt, ver es zol zayn der balebos in shtub; di frage vos _ikh_ shtel batayt: vos hot der elterer gegebn dem yingern. der tate hot gegebn dem zun dos lebn un legt avek far im zayn gezunt, un fort kumt a tsayt, ven er git iber dem zun di shlisl in di hent; un farkert ken zayn az der elterer hot dem yingern keyn mol gornit gegebn akhuts stusakes, un fort zoln ale pask|enen, az der elterer zol blaybn oybnon. yidishizm un hebreizm kemfn vegn dem, vos far a shprakh es zol hershn in undzer kultur-lebn haynt un oyf lehabe: _ikh_ gey fregn in dem itstikn artikl, vi azoy zet yidish oys in ir ineveynikster struktur. alzo bekitser: yidishizm un hebreizm iz a kulturele, sotsyale un politishe frage; dos vos ikh freg iz shayekh tsu shprakh-geshikhte un shprakh-psikhologye. mimeyle zaynen dos tsvey gants bazundere zakhn, un men darf zey forshn mit gants bazundere metodn. eyder ikh gey ariber tsu der zakh vil ikh bamerkn, az far dem shprakh-forsher volt geven punkt azoy tshikave tsu shteln di frage: vos volt hebreish geven on yidish? derbay volt zikh zikher aroysgevizn, az on der yidisher virkung volt dos hayntike hebreish gehat gor an ander ponem. ober dos iz a bazunder teme, un dos mol veln mir zi nit bahandlen. gebrakht tsu undzer hayntikn inyen hot mikh Nokhem shtifs an artikl in dem kiever zhurnal _di yidishe shprakh_ (numer 17-18, 1929). der artikl heyst: "di sotsyale diferentsyatsye in yidish. di hebreishe elementn in der shprakh." es iz a pruv tsu gebn a forshtelung vegn dem, vos far a role es shpiln in yidish di hebreizmen -- a pruv vos iz geboyt oyf a flaysiker, marudner arbet, mit iberkukn verterbikher, klasifitsirn dem materyal, un azoy vayter. ober di gedankn vos er brengt aroys zaynen in gantsn farkrimte; a simen, az hasmode un kentenish un ersht-klasike feikaytn zaynen keyn zgule nit ven men tut zikh on oyf di oygn briln mit bretlekh onshtot glezer. ober eyder mir geyen batrakhtn shtifs rayes, veln mir zikh genoy bakenen mit zayn gedanken-gang. di oysfirn tsu velkhe er kumt zaynen azoyne: 1. di hebreishe elementn in yidish shtamen fun der religyez-gaystiker kultur. mit der realer velt, derhoypt mit arbet, kern zey zikh veynik on. 2. arayngebrakht di hebreishe elementn in der shprakh hobn di balebatem, sokhrem, kle-koydesh un lamdonem. 3. der masn-mentsh, un nokh mer di froy, hot gehat amveynikstn hebreishe elementn in der shprakh. 4. mitn oyfkumen fun yidishn arbeter-klas farlirt der hebreisher inventar alts mer un mer in tsol un in vog. tsum klorstn kumt dos tsum oysdruk in der sovetisher yidisher shprakh. derfun lernt shtif op, az di dozike "dehebreizatsye" darf durkhgefirt vern bavustzinik un sistematish, vibald men hot dokh do tsu ton mit a protses vos ligt oyf der linye fun der historisher antviklung.(1) vi azoy iz shtif gekumen tsu zayne oysfirn? er hot genumen dem gantsn materyal fun Yehoyesh-spivaks _yidishn verterbukh_, dertsu nokh etlekhe andere verterbikher fun di hebreishe elementn in yidish (pereferkovitsh, tsvi nisn golomb) un hot oysgefunen 4824 verter un oysdrukn(2), vos er teylt ayn loyt zeyer batayt in 20 farsheydene grupes. loyt der tsol kumt oys in di eyntsike grupes azoy: 1. fun religyezn lebn -- 1068 verter. 2. dertsiung un lernen -- 275. 3. natsyonal-gezelshaftlekh lebn -- 201. 4. geshlekht, familye-lebn -- 91. 5. simkhes, troyer, toyt -- 71. 6. mides, mayles, khesroynes -- 341. 7. abstraktsyes -- 131. 8. gefiln, tsushtandn -- 62. 9. gesheft, shtandn, materyal lebn -- 215. 10. arbet -- 13. 11. dos alteglekhe -- 180. 12. heflikhkayt, shpas, zidleray -- 131. 13. shprikhverter, rednsartn -- 279. 14. hilf-verter un andere -- 50. 15. emotsyonele oysdrukn -- 107. 16. roym, tsayt, tsol -- 70. 17. frayndshaft, fayndshaft, vintshn -- 81. 18. nemen, tipn -- 35. 19. farsheydene -- 306. 20. iberik. unter "iberik" farshteyt shtif yene verter un oysdrukn, vos men ken, loyt zayn meynung nokh, "nit rekhenen far keyn organishn teyl fun der folksshprakh oder genoyer gezogt: zey zaynen a sakh vayter fun tsu zayn an organisher teyl fun der folksshprakh eyder di frierdike ----------------------------- z. 195 19 grupes".(3) tsu di "iberike" rekhnt shtif tsu tsvishn andere azoyne verter vi heore, vaad hakool, mafkhn zayn, meakev zayn, nisgale vern, reyekh nikhoyekh, shtike, un azoy vayter. didozike grupe 20 varft shtif in gantsn op, un durkhmakhndik di aritmetishe operatsye fun khiser, kumt er tsu a tsol 3807 (4824 - 1017) "mer-veyniker populere hebreishe verter un oysdrukn in der folksshprakh." batrakhtndik di tsifer fun di bazundere grupes vayzt undz shtif on oyf der shtarkayt fun di numern 1, 2 un 3. bikhdey tsu makhn nokh boylet|er zayn gedank, nemt er a. harkavis verterbukh(4) un shtelt oys aza min tabele fun di verter vos zaynen dortn fartseykhnt: ----------nit-hebreizmen--------------|----------------hebreizmen------ | lebedike zakhn--142-------------------|--------------------18---------- | shtof-nemen-----271-------------------|--------------------17---------- | kleydung--------158-------------------|--------------------14---------- hoyzrot---------197-------------------|--------------------13---------- mimeyle iz der ershter tezis dervizn: der grester teyl hebreizmen in yidish iz farbundn oder direkt mit der religye, oder mitn altn religyez-baforbenem lebns-shteyger; mir gefinen tsvishn undzere hebreizmen gants veynik verter vos zoln batseykhenen bagrifn fun arbet oder fun tog-teglekhn lebn. tsi iz der doziker ershter punkt a groys nayes? neyn -- oyf vifl es redt zikh vegn faktn, geyt shtif in di vegn vos es hot ongetseykhnt nokh mit 100 yor tsurik der kolombus fun der gantser moderner yidisher visnshaft, leopold tsunts, in zayn verk: "di got|sdinstlekhn fortrege der yudn" (1832). mir leyenen dort ot-vos: "hebreizmen zaynen arayn in der yidisher umgangsshprakh: 1. far bagrifn fun dem krayz fun emune: esreg, brokhe, get, droshe, ksube, mitsve, kidesh, rov, shabes, toyre, un azoy vayter. 2. far bagrifn fun yidishn lebn: oser, balebos, ger, din, skhus, treyfe, kosher, luekh, mineg, kool, roshe, tkhine, un azoy vayter. 3. far bagrifn fun "lernen": aderabe, boke, dafke, avade , moneshekh, sofek, koshe, terets, un azoy vayter. 4. farsheydene oysdrukn fun teglekhn lebn: akhile, almone, bakoshe, ganef, dayge, dales, parnose, sheliekh un azoy vayter. 5. farsheydene andere zakhn vos men hot bekivn ongerufn mit verter vos zoln zayn umfarshtendlekh far di arumike: bilbl, gzeyre, meshumed, tseylem, sheygets un azoy vayter. vi ir zet, hobn mir do, a bisl veyninker tsepitselt, shtifs gantse tsuteylung. tsuntsn iz nit gegangen in statistik, un er hot zi nit gekent gebn oykh. vorn er hot nit gehat in zayn reshus di pasike verterbikher; ober in prat fun, azoy tsu zogn, psikhish lokalizirn undzere hebreizmen, hot er gezogt altsding. mit zayn kleynem materyal hot undz tsunts gevizn gants bashaynperlekh, far vosere mine bagrifn di yidishe shprakh nutst hebreizmen. dos naye vos shtif hot arayngetrogn iz di statistishe metode(5) -- vos men bagegnt haynt gants oft in der shprakh-visnshaft bay ale felker. leyder hot shtif nit gemakht di noytike bavorenish, az di aroysgebrakhte tsifer tor men nit nemen tsu pinktlekh. shtif vet zikh zikher nit aynshparn oyf punkt un akurat 3807 "mer-veyniker populere" hebreizmen, un mr. aleksander harkavi vet gevis oykh nit orev zayn, az er hot nit farfelt in zayn verterbukh vos es iz fun di nit-hebreishe elementn. shtif hot deriber gedarft befeyresh batonen far zayne leyener, az dos vos men ken oplernen fun zayne tabeles iz bloyz di proportsye; ober di propertsye iz gevis a rikhtike, az oyfn feld fun konkrete, materyele inyonem zaynen hebreizmen in durkhshnit veyniker vi a tsent-kheylek fun undzer shprakh. farkert, vos mer mir kumen tsu tsu mer rukhnies|dike abstrakte inyonem, alts kentiker bayt zikh dos. 1. itster shteyt oyf di tsveyte frage: vosere shikhtn hobn arayngefirt in yidish di dozike hebreishe elementn, un vosere psikhishe koykhes hobn dertsu geshtupt? do tseshpiln zikh shoyn bay shtifn di geblitn un er nemt redn in politishe terminen: in di hebreizmen, zogt er, kumt tsum oysdruk: "der krayz ekonomish-politishe interesn vos mit zey hot gelebt di lomdish-sokhrishe aristokratye . . . yede profesyonele grupe fun di kle-koydesh|dike, gesheft|sfirerishe grupes hot mitgebrakht irs: der rov mitn bezdn, der melamed, der shoykhet, der soykher, der protsentnik, un azoy vayter. afile di khevre-kedishe, hot zikh gehat ir loshn . . . kurts, dos alts vos hot gebrakht tsu der farshtarkung fun di oybershte shikhtn un yidishkayt iber der mase un veltlekhkayt inem yidishn lebn -- hot oykh gebrakht dem nitsokhn der yidishlekher shprakh." shtif kumt undz nokh dem bavayzn, az religye iz bay yidn ale mol geven an inyen fun di hershndike klasn un az der protsentnik mitn soykher zaynen beteve geven mer tsugebundn tsu yidishkayt eyder der treger un der vaser-firer. ober az di religyeze yidishkayt hot "gebrakht dem nitsokhn der yidishlekher shprakh," dos iz klor vi der tog. mer nit eyn zakh: efsher volt gor glaykher geven tsu zogn: der yidisher shprakh? dos heyst: efsher volt on der doziker religye-yidishkayt bikhlal keyn yidishe shprakh nit geven? dos iz der iker punkt, un deriber darfn mir zikh farmestn a bisl breyter. --------------------------- z' 196 2. teoretish kenen mir zikh forshteln, az a geviser kolektiv sheylt zikh aroys fun der arumiker mase durkh dem, vos er geyt ariber tsu naye produtsir-mitlen. a shteyger lomir zikh oysmoln, az eyn teyl bafelkerung geyt ariber tsu mekhanisher groys-produktsye, in der tsayt vos di andere blaybn bay primitive instrumentn, bay hand-vebshtuln, un azoy vayter. di stire tsvishn di beyde teyln bafelkerung vert yemolt vos vayter greser. di heypekh|dike ekonomishe interesn rufn aroys shtarke emotsyonele opshtoysungen, men hert oyf zikh miskhatn tsu zayn, tsu bagegenen zikh gezelshaftlekh, tsu bagrisn zikh. mit der tsayt izolirt men zikh gor eyns fun dem tsveytn. di mashin-produktsye git besere meglekhkaytn tsum lebn. di tsugeherike fun dem dozikn mashin-tsad kenen zikh farginen a gresern komfort, zey klaybn zikh ariber in gezintere shtot-teyln, zey boyen zikh oys besere hayzer. zikher vet zikh fun aza tsesheydung in farloyf fun a gevisn peryod oysarbetn a diferents in der shprakh, un mit der tsayt veln vern, oyb di tsesheydung zol onhaltn, tsvey bazundere shprakhn, vos mir kenen onrufn "hantish" un "mashinish". ven in a por hundert yor arum nokh der tseshpaltung zol kumen a forsher un veln analizirn in vos es bashteyt der untersheyd tsvishn hantish un mashinish, vet er festshteln bli shum sofek, az der hoypt untersheyd iz in yene elementn, vos zaynen shayekh tsu bagrifn fun der materyeler tsivilizatsye. azoy vi men darf zikh forshteln, az dos aroyfdrapn zikh oyf a hekhern shtapl iz forgekumen bay di "mashiner" mit a droysndiker hilf, lomir zogn mit der hilf fun di fareynikte shtatn, vet keyn khidesh nit zayn, az di mashinishe shprakh iz durkhgedrungen mit amerikaner elementn. es veln zayn in mashinish masn verter, vos zaynen in hantish in gantsn nito; vayl der bagrif iz nito: farsheydene nemen fun mashinen un mashinen-teyln, kolerley tsatskedike makhshirem elektrishe, kolerley baputsungen fun gasn, hayzer un dires. di hantishe hobn azoyns bikhlal nit in zeyer shprakh, vayl zey finstern dokh nokh alts in zeyere hayzkes un boygn nokh alts dem rukn in di niderike faykhte varshtatn dalet al dalet. teyl kegnshtandn veln yo zayn enlekhe bay beyde shprakh-grupes, ober di batseykhenungen veln zayn farsheydene: dem mashiner vet shoyn nit onshteyn tsu rufn zayn vogn mitn nebekhdikn "agole" oder "fur", nor er vet es rufn shtolts mitn nomen "kar" oder "oytomobil", oyfn amerikaner shteyger. a gevise tsol verter vet ober blaybn di zelbe in hantish un mashinish afile in hunderter yorn arum. oyf vifl der seykhl trogt oys, veln dos zayn verter vos batseykhenen hekhere, abstrakte bagrifn, oder kegnshtandn un dershaynungen fun der natur: zun un levone un shtern. regn un duner un blits, kine un sine un libshaft veln mistome alemol oysgedrikt vern in beyde shprakhn, in hantish un mashinish, mit di zelbe verter, vayl di dozike bagrifn zaynen nit ongerirt gevorn durkh der tekhnisher iberkerenish. ikh hob bekivn gemolt di dozike fantazye a bisl genoyer, kedey klerer aroystsubrengen dem gedank. un agev, iz dos gornit keyn hoyle fantazye. ven mir zoln nemen di holender fisher fun eyn zayt, un di pastukher fun der shveyts fun der anderer zayt, vos beyde vaksn aroys fun dem mayrev-germanishn sheyvet, nor eyne zitsn baym yam un di andere hoykh in di ayngevolknte berg, vet zikh zikher aroysvayzn, az di hoypt untersheydn in zeyer leksikon balangen tsu di gebitn fun der materyeler kultur. ober tsi iz dos der genezis fun undzer yidish? tsi iz oyf dem oyfn, loytn simen fun produtsir-mitlen, forgekumen in mitlelter di funandergrenetsung tsvishn der yidisher geto un der kristlekher shtot? beshum oyfn nit. durkh der antiteze yidish un kristlekh iz shoyn gegebn der entfer. di opzunderung, a frayvilike tsi a getsvungene (mistome beyde zakhn mit a mol), hot zikh opgeshpilt oyfn bazis un loytn simen fun religye. men meg toyznt mol oysgefinen un toyznt mol zayn gerekht, az religyeze diferentsn gufe vaksn oykh fun sotsyale sibes un fun ekonomishe kegnzatsn. ikh bin greyt lekhatkhile tsu anerkenen, az do iz azoy - hagam di biz-itstike ekonomishe forshung fun der yidisher geshikhte hot nokh dos nit dervizn. ober oyb afile der untershlak iz yo geven an ekonomish-sotsyaler, iz ober di dershaynungs-forem fun der stire geven a religyeze. un nit nor oyf der yidisher zayt, nor oykh oyf der nit-yidisher. es geyt dokh vegn mitlelter! derfun vert shoyn klor dos vayterdike. der yidisher un der daytsher shuster hobn geshtokhn dos zelbike shtikl leder mitn zelbikn ol, un di yidishe baleboste hot geknotn dem zelbikn teyg fun zelbikn korenes mel. vos far a psikhisher shtup hot do gekent zayn far dem shuster un far der baleboste ibertsubaytn di nemen far di kegnshtandn? aza shtup iz nit geven, un deriber zaynen di germanishe verter leder, ol, teyg, korn, mel, geblibn oykh in yidish. ober beshas men hot gedarft fun dem leder tsushnaydn retsues beshas es iz gegangen vegn nemen khale fun teyg oder geven bakn fun dem mel matses oyf peysekh. yemolt iz shoyn far yidn yo geven a grund arayntsufirn a naye terminologye; bay di shkheynem, vu zey hobn ibergenumen di daytshe reyd-shprakh, hobn zey derfar keyn ekvivalent nit gehat. un azoy vayter un shpeter oykh: farglaykht tish un shulkhn, bukh (bikhl) un seyfer, khreyn un morer. nokh biz in der nayer tsayt arayn halt zikh di dozike tsveyikaytn: in peretses "opkumenish" leyenen mir, az "a mentsh oyfn veg . . . iz olel zikh tsu farkiln dos gargeres" (un nit dem haldz oder dem gorgl) - makhmes do redt zikh vegn a bal-tfile, vos darf hobn zayn keyle oyf tsu dinen got. ven mir zoln zikh forshteln, az epes a min oysterlishe inkvizitsye zol geven tsvingen ale yidn baym aroyfkumen oyf der daytsher teritorye zikh optsushmadn, kenen mir zayn zikher, az keyn spetsyele yidishe shprakh volt zikh in daytshland nit oysgefuremt. di gevezene yidn voltn arayngevaksn in dem daytshn shprakh-kibets; azoy zaynen oykh hunderter toyznter slavn un frantsoyzn in gantsn germanizirt gevorn, khotsh der asimilatsye-protses hot zikh ongehoybn bay zey a sakh shpeter eyder yidn zaynen gekumen keyn daytshland. efsher voltn zikh oyfgehit abisl maranen, vos voltn durkhgetrogn durkh di yorhunderter a vaytn opklang fun der religye fun zeyere oves - ober tsu shprakh hot dos nit. di shpanish-portugezishe maranen farmogn oykh nit keyn zeykher fun an eygener shprakh. tsi men iz frum, oder religyez-indiferent oder an apikoyres, nor men muz moyde zayn, az di yidishe religye - oder rikhtiker, di eygnartike gezelshaftlekhe atmosfere ------------------ z. 197 bay di onhenger fun der yidisher religye -- hot es geshafn di neytikayt un di miglekhkayt fun a bazunderer yidisher shprakh. heyst es, shtifs tsveytn tezis kenen mir onnemen, ober nor mit a geviser korektur, mit a farbreyterung. mir veln zogn: a dank di elementn fun toyre, fun davnen, fun lernen iz di yidishe shprakh gevorn dos vos zi iz. un azoy vi nit ale teyln folk hobn zikh oysek geven in der toyre in a glaykher mos, vayzt zikh shoyn aroys far rikhtik der driter tezis oykh: az nit ale shikhtn yidn hobn gehat in zeyer shprakh a glaykhe mos hebreizmen. di gradatsye lozt zikh oysgefinen gants gring: oybnon zaynen geshtanen di lamdonem, vos zaynen geven arayngeton in lernen un hobn gelebt in der velt fun gemore. stam a yid a soykher, vos hot ober nokh gut gedenkt di gemore fun di kest-yorn, iz shoyn gegangen nokhdem: er hot shoyn gehat tsu ton mit vokhedike zakhn, ober in a shmues vegn a vokhedikn gesheft hot er gehat a teve arayntsuvarfn a memre fun der gemore. der bal-agole vos hot gefirt dem soykher iz shoyn geven gor a khaper lamdn; er flegt zikh nor tsaytnvayz araynkhapn in besmedresh tsum shier. nor fundestvegn hot er oykh gevust tsu zogn fun a posek un flegt im onvendn gants oft, khotsh a mol mit a shnaydershn taytsh. enlekh iz oykh geven di gradatsye bay froyen; mer nit, vos der durkhshnit iz bay zey geven a sakh nideriker. tsi iz der fakt fun diferentsyatsye in der shprakh a gvaldiker surpriz? neyn, shtandn-leshoynes zaynen faran bay ale felker, un dort vu es nemt vegn mish-shprakhn, konstatirt men, az di shtandn-leshoynes tseykhenen zikh oys mit a gresern oder klenern tsumish fun dem oder yenem element. es iz mir oysgekumen, lemoshl, tsu leyenen, az in english nutsn di froyen mer germanishe (dos heyst, veyniker lataynishe) elementn eyder mantsbiln. di derklerung iz a poshet|e: froyen hobn gehat a klenern kheylek in der klasisher bildung. mer nit eyn groysn untersheyd darfn mir tomed gedenken. far dem englender iz dos anglo-saksishe ale mol geven dos eygene, dos ayngebakene in der neshome, un dos lataynishe iz bay im a tsukumenish; derfar ken aza shprakh-forsher vi yespersen haynt konstatirn, az di heymishe (germanishe) verter zaynen ale mol neenter tsum englenders harts. bay undz iz farkert: dos vos es hot in meshekh fun hunderter yorn geheysn yidishkayt iz geven kontsentrirt in dem hebreishn element. der fakt iz yednfals a fakt: farsheydene shikhtn fun yidishn folk hobn genutst hebreishe elementn in a farsheydener mos. tsi heyst dos ober, vi shtif vil undz makhn gloybn, az di burzhuazye hot genutst un geshtitst hebreizmen un di folksmentshn hobn zikh kegn dem gevert? punkt der heypekh: zey hobn zikh gerisn dertsu, hagam nit ale mol mitn zelbikn derfolg. di gantse atmosfer fun lebn iz geven ongezapt mit religye, un di yemoltike inteligents (say di gut-bavornte eydems oyf kest, say di halb-hungerike yeshive-bokherem, vos hoben gegesn un nit deresn teg), hot gehaltn dem tamtses fun lebn in ire hent. ale hobn gegart nokh dem, orem un raykh, man un froy, un far gliklekh hot men geshatst yenem vos hot zikh aleyn oder khotsh zayn zun avekgezetst varemen baym groysn likhtikn fayer fun der heyliker toyre. ver es hot gehat mer tsu ton mitn seyfer, hot genutst mer seyfer-elementn, mer hebreizmen; ver es iz nit geven aza boke in di shvartse pintelekh, mimeyle gehat veyniker tsu ton mit gaystike bagrifn un mer mit gashmies|dike forshtelungen, der hot gehat in zayn shprakh mer elementn fun germanish un slavish. heores 1) a modne teve tsu ranglen zikh gevise teyln fun der yidisher shprakh. mit knape tsvey tsendlik yor tsurik (_yidishe velt_, vilne, merts 1914), hot shtif in a polemik mit b. borokhov nit andersh gevolt aroysdringen, az s'iz keyn slavisher element in yidish nito! 2) tsvishn di dozike 4824 verter gefint shtif a toyznt "iber|khazer|ungen". nit ale mol iz klor zayn gang baym festshteln azoyne dubletn a shteyger farvos iz evyen un kaptsn, oder moyre|dik un pkhodem|dik, oder nifter vern un nistalek vern "dos zelbe vort in farsheydene formes?" 3) di dozike bavorenish meynt aponem tsu zogn, az bay shtifn iz nokh a groyse frage, tsi men ken afile di frierdike 19 grupes rekhenen far an "organishn teyl fun der folksshprakh." 4) _yidish-english-hebreisher verterbukh_, nyu-york, 1925. 5) men muz bamerkn, az zayn aynteylung in 20 grupes iz genug gekintselt un vayt nit iberbliklekh. ---------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.002 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.003 22 February 1999 Max Weinreich on Yiddish without Hebrew: Part Two 1) vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? (maks vaynraykh) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 Febrary 1999 From: Craig Abernethy Subject: vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? (maks vaynraykh) dr. maks vaynraykh vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? 3. men ken zogn, az di eygnartikayt fun der yidisher religyezer un religyez-gezelshaftlekher svive hot nit gemuzt aroysgebrakht vern dafke in a hebreisher form. rikhtik, nit es hot gemuzt un nit es iz azoy geven. mir hobn in yidish fun ire eltste tsaytn on un biz haynt a rey verter, vos batseykhenen religyeze tuungen un vos shtamen nit fun hebreish. oft mol zaynen dos verter, vos zaynen nit germanish oykh, vi _davnen_, _bentshn_, _leyenen_, _trop_; an andersh mol zaynen dos germanishe verter: _got_, _lernen_, _opfregn_ (a kashe), _kneln_, _shtibl_, _shul_, _guter yid_, _zogerin_, _oyfrufn_, _shtender_, _shtot_ (a shtot in shul); teyl mol zaynen dos verter, vos zaynen befeyresh genumen fun der kristlekher sfere: _yortsayt_, _kloyz_. ober es farshteyt zikh fun zikh aleyn, az aribervegn hobn do gemuzt di hebreishe elementn. vorem di farbindung tsvishn yidisher religye un hebreisher shprakh, tsvishn _koydesh_ un _loshn-koydesh_ iz dokh nit keyn tsufelike un keyn droysndike. di yidishe religye iz geboyrn gevorn mit der hebreisher shprakh, un baytndik zeyere shprakhn hobn yidn alts tsum grestn teyl gedavnt oyf hebreish. gelernt hot men afile, az oyb men farshteyt nit keyn loshn-koydesh, iz glaykher tsu davnen in der shmues-shprakh ("shma bkhol loshn sheato shomea"). ober es vayzt oys, az der yid hot nit gefolgt. di psikhishe layterung vos a tfile ken gebn hot er aponem gikher gefunen in dem umfarshtendlekhn hebreishn tekst eyder in der farshtendlekher iberzetsung. der hebreisher tekst iz shoyn geven a fartiker in zayn kanonizirter form, er hot nit gelozn keyn plats far improvizatyes, un der iker iz di nit- farshtendlekhkayt oder shvakh-farshtendlekhkayt aponem eyner fun di elementn fun yener masn-sugestye, vos di religye git. nit got un nit sotsyalizm lozn zikh nit oysdrikn in matematishe formules, un fundestvegn zaynen mer mentshn gegangen oyf stires-nefesh far got un sotsyalizm eyder farn realn, mamoshes|dikn, zetikn, shtikl broyt mit puter . . . es ken zayn, az dos vos men hot dem hebreishn tekst nit gut farshtanen, hot nokh gehekhert dem mistishn inhalt fun der tfile. di katoylishe kirkh hot ale mol gehat a gutn gefil in masn-psikhologye, un oyb zi hot zikh ayngeshpart, az mispalel zayn zol men dafke nit in der shmues-shprakh, nor oyf latayn, hot zi mistome gevust vos zi tut. der vos hot mispalel geven in an umfarshtendlekher shprakh, hot durkh dem ---------------------- z. 198 geshpirt, az er derneentert zikh tsu _yener_ velt, vos antkegn ir iz _di_ velt hevl-havolem. vos zhe iz der vunder, vos dos intensive religyeze lebn hot opgeshlogn oyf der shprakhiker form oykh? shtifs statistik iz gikher nit dertribn eyder ibergetribn. nit keyn 3807 verter, nor on a shier verter zaynen arayngedrungen fun hebreish in der yidisher shprakh.*) ikh bin der letster tsu zogn, az di _gantse_ eygnartikayt fun der yidisher shprakh nemt zikh nor fun ire hebreishe elementn. in an elterer arbet mayner**) hob ikh gevizn, az dray protsesn hobn gemakht fun "yidish-taytsh" a bazunder shprakh: 1) dos vos in loshn fun yidn hobn zikh tsunoyfgegosn farsheydene daytshe lokale dialektn; 2) dos vos germanishe elementn zaynen zikh tsunoyfgevaksn mit semitshe; 3) dos vos es iz tsugekumen der slavisher element nokhdem vi der shverpunkt fun di ashkenazishe yidn hot zikh aribergetrogn keyn mizrekh-eyrope. dertsu darf men nokh tsugebn 4) di ineveynikste antviklung in yidish gufe. daytsh plus hebreish iz nokh nit keyn yidish; a daytsher rabiner meg araynhakn in zayne reyd gantse psukem, vert nokh der fun alts nit keyn yidish. afile ven men vet nokh tsugebn slavishe breklekh, iz nokh dos alts keyn yidish nit. "der zeyde hot gekoyft a seyfer" hot in zikh a slavish (zeyde), germanish (hot gekoyft) un hebreish (seyfer) vort. ober tsi vet es hobn a tam, oyb mir veln farbaytn di yoytsres un zogn: "der groysfoter hot koyne geven a knige"? nokh eyn bayshpil. mir iz nit lang oysgekumen tsu hern fun zhabotinskin in a rede: "mir hobn batsolt derfar a tayern _mekhir_". tsi iz dos yidish? neyn. azoy redt a ger. es iz shver tsu zogn, farvos iz _mekekh_ gut un _mekhir_ shlekht. ober azoy iz dos. vorn yidish iz nit keyn mekhanisher oyfmish fun farsheydn-shprakhike elementn, nor a gants spetsyele khemishe farbindung. zeyer vikhtik iz nokh derbay, vos di farsheydene ingredyentn zaynen azoy eng tsvishn zikh tsunoyfgeshmoltsn. in _gotenyu_ hobn mir a germanishn shoyresh mit a slavisher endung, in _nebekhl_ farkert -- a slavishn shoyresh mit a germanisher endung; _rebe-gelt_ iz a kombinatsye fun hebreizm un germanizm, _bokher|ets_ -- fun hebreizm un slavism; in _shlimezalnik_ zaynen zikh tsunoyfgevaksn fest, nit optsuteyln, der germanisher shoyresh _shlim_, der semitisher shoyresh _mazl_ un di slavishe endung _nik_. oykh in der beygung un vortbildung zaynen di hebreishe teyln fest arayngevaksn in di andere elementn: nemt azoyne faln vi di konyugatsye _mekane zayn_, _mekhaye zayn_, _moyde zayn_, un azoy vayter, oder _ponem_ - _penemer_ - _peneml_, vi _dorf_ - _derfer_ - _derfl_ oder _sod_ - _seder_ - _sedl_. dos eygene in der klangen-sistem oykh: di oysshprakh, lomir zogn, funem komets oder funem melupm in farsheydene dyalektn iz di zelbe bay hebreishe vi bay di germanishe elementn. ot der doziker merkverdiker simbyoz bashaft es dem spetsyeln, _eynmolikn_ kharakter fun yidish. dos farzet shtif ingantsn. bay im kumt oys, az shprakh iz nor verter.***) in dem prat iz bay shtifn metodologish a befeyresh|er regres antkegn tsuntses frierdermonter arbet. tsunts hot zikh grod opgeshtelt genoy oyf di tsunoyfvaksungen un araynvaksungen tsvishn di semitishe un germanishe elementn. bekheyn iz azoy: gevis hobn nit di hebreishe verter aleyn gemakht fun loshn ashkenaz di yidishe shprakh; ober vi azoy volt yidish oysgezen on di hebreizmen? ot dos bin ikh frier oysn geven tsu zogn mit mayne reyd, az nit di _yidishlekhe_ shprakh, vi shtif hot zikh oysgedrikt, nor di _yidishe_ shprakh iz geshafn gevorn durkh der almekhtiker memshole fun der religye in amolikn yidishn lebn. on der tsunoyfgisung fun di farsheydene daytshe dyalektn volt yidish oykh geven - mer nit, lomir zogn, oyf a reynem bayerishn oder shvabishn bazis. on dem slavishn tsumish volt yidish gehat an ander ponem. on di hebreish-aramishe elementn volt di yidishe shprakh _nit geven_. 4. shtif kukt ober oyf der zakh andersh. bay im kumt oys, az es iz geven a mol a tsayt, ven yidish hot zikh gelebt ruik un fridlekh, mit a folkstimlekher, fraygaystiker kultur. nor dernokh iz geshen di katastrofe. es iz ongefaln a biterer soyne, di hebreishe shprakh, un bazigt dos fraygaystike yidish. ir meynt, az ikh bin megazem? oyf a hor nit. "invazye fun lomdishn hebreish," shraybt shtif shvarts oyf vays. "hebreishe okupatsye in yidish!" -- ruft er oys a tsveytn mol. bikhdey tsu bavayzn, az es iz a mol geven in yidish a gliklekhe tsayt on hebreizmen, shtelt zikh shtif op barikhes oyf dem gut-bakantn fakt, az men gefint nit kimat keyn hebreizmen in di yidishe literatur-verk, vos zaynen geshribn bizn mitn 16tn yorhundert. er brengt lemoshl far a raye dos "seyfer fun reb anshl", gedrukt in kroke, 1534; dos iz a konkordants, vu ale hebreishe verter fun tnakh zaynen gebrakht loytn alefbeys fun di sheroshem, un tsu yedn vort iz tsugegebn a taytsh-vort. ikh nem bekivn fun di zelbe bayshpiln vos shtif brengt fun dem seyfer: alef. far abstrakte bagrifn: emes -- vorhayt bizoyen -- farshtekhung khag -- fayertog kholem -- troym -------------------------------- *) der englisher shprakh-forsher bredli, vos redt vegn der latayn-farfleytsung in english in der tsayt fun humanizm, drikt zikh oys azoy: "der gantser lataynisher shprakh-oytser iz in der humanistn-tsayt geven potentsyel english." dos nemlekhe ken men zogn vegn undzer inyen oykh: der gantser hebreisher shprakh-oytser iz in yener tsayt fun religyezer eyberharshaft geven potentsyel yidish. - faran mentshn, vos meynen, az dos iz nokh haynt oykh azoy. ot hot dr. emanuel olshvanger aroysgelozn in 1920 in bazel a zamlung yidishe folks-anekdotn untern nomen "rozhinkes mit mandlen." shraybt er dortn in zayn araynfir: "yetvider hebreisher vort ken genitst vern in yidish . . . men meg zogn, az der gantser hebreisher leksikon iz a latenter verter-oytser in yidish." ikh meyn ober, az dos iz, benegeye hayntikn tog, a guzme. mir veln bald hobn dem simen derfun baym farglaykhn di verter mekekh un mekhir. **) _bilder fun der yidisher literatur-geshikhte_, vilne 1928, kap. 1. ***) un redndik vegn verter aleyn farzet nokh shtif, az a hibshe tsol hebreizmen hobn in yidish bakumen a nayem kneytsh, oft mol afile gor an ander pshat. farglaykht azoyne verter vi: a kaymelon, loy-yutslekh, heshayne, nafkemine, barmenen, leponem, mekhteyse, makhn vayivrekh. -------------------------- vaynraykh, z' 199 khnife -- shmeykhlung nitsokhn -- iberzigung nekome -- rekhung neshome -- zel onev -- demhaftiker beys. far reala zakhn: almone -- vitfroy zoyne -- unshtetikerin khazer -- di zoy khayil -- her khasene -- hokhtsayt yam -- dos mer yosem -- der vayz kale - broyt [cf. G. _Braut_] un azoy vayter. ot do ken men zen, zogt shtif "vi azoy dos yidishe vort hot zikh in a sakh faln gerangelt mitn hebreishn." tsi nemt aykh nit shvindlen in kop fun aza formulirung, az vitfroy, vayz un her zaynen yidishe verter un _almone_, _yosem_ un _khayil_ zaynen hebreish? bald oyfn ershtn kuk khapt men zikh, az epes iz do krum in di batseykhenungen un in tsugang. nor lomir frier a kuk ton vos es iz take der mer mit der alt-yidisher literatur-shprakh. es iz rikhtik, az in der elterer tsayt, ven keyn slavishe elementn zaynen nokh in undzer shprakh kimat ingantsn nit geven, zaynen oykh di hebreishe elementn mistome geven shvakher fartrotn. ober beshum-oyfn tor men nit meynen, az di eltere literatur undzere iz a _getraye opshpiglung_ fun der yemoltdiker reydshprakh. di filologishe forshung fun di letste tsendliker yorn hot undz oysgelernt bikhlal, az oykh in der fargangenhayt zaynen geven farsheydene stiln un stilizatsyes bay shrayber, un deriber iz dos itst an alefbeys-emes, az di literarishe dokumentn fun fargangene yorhunderter zaynen eyns un di geredte shprakh fun yene tsaytn ken zayn gor epes andersh. dos ken zayn shayekh a mol afile tsu gor a noenter epokhe. nemt, tsum bayshpil, dos daytshmerish fun far 50-70 yorn: tsi hobn yidn in lite geredt azoy vi ayzik meyer dik un shm"r hobn geshribn? baym opshatsn undzer shprakh bizn mitn 16tn yorhundert veln mir zikh opshteln oyf tsvey grupes verk bazunder: 1) iberzetsungen fun hebreish un 2) iberzetsungen oder baarbetungen fun daytsh. in di hebreish-yidishe verterbikher fun dem tip "seyfer reb anshel", un oykh in di verterlekhe iberzetsungen fun tnakh, vos hobn zikh oysgehit fun yener tsayt, zaynen keyn taytshverter-hebreizmen kimat nito. ober mir vayzt oys, as dos iz nit derfar vayl di hebreizmen zaynen nit geven in der shprakh, nor tsulib an ander zakh: men hot zikh _geshayt_ zey arayntsushteln. iberzetsn emes mit _emes_, _bitokhn_ mit _bitokhn_, _kaas_ mit _kaas_, iz dokh nit keyn khokhme, hot zikh getrakht der iberzetser. hot er gegebn di germanishe sinonimen: _vorhayt_, _farzikherung_, _tsorn_. es iz keyn sofek nit, az di dozike germanizmen zaynen oykh geven farshtendlekh; vos ikh vil aroysbrengen iz bloyz, az oyb mir gefinen in di geshriftsn di dray letste bayshpiln, iz nokh derfun nit gedrungen, az _emes_, _bitokhn_, un _kaas_ zaynen nit geven in der shmues-shprakh. nosn-note hanover, vos hot in 1660 aroysgegebn zayn "sofo beruro," a hebreish-yidish-lataynish-italyenish verterbukh, zetst iber _seyfer-toyre_ mit _bukh mozes_, _neviem_ mit _profetn_, _tilem_ mit _psalmi david_ un _gmore_ mit _talmud_. tsi ken zikh den leygn oyfn seykhl, az azoyne verter vi _psalmi david_ oder _bukh mozes_ zaynen ven es iz umgegangen tsvishn yidn? neyn, beshum-oyfn nit. ober der letster bayshpil (gmore-talmud) git undz a vunk vu tsu zukhn dem basheyd. talmud iz geven di batseykhenung, vos iz umgegangen tsvishn kristn; un khotsh der mekhaber shraybt in zayn hagdome, az er nitst dem "loshn ashkenaz", vos iz ongenumen tsvishn yidn, hot er dos ober nit gekent durkhfirn benegeye yene verter, far velkhe es zaynen in yidish keyn ekvivalente germanizmen nit geven. alzo: nosn-note hanover hot nit fartaytsht nor _oysgetaytsht_: an analogye hobn mir in 20tn yorhundert: oykh spivak un yehoyesh hobn gehaltn far noytik tsu fardaytshn (nit fartaytshn) "novi" oyf profet un hobn dermit aroysgerufn a barekhtikte kritik. dos iz benegeye verterbikher un verterlekhe iberzetsungen. vos es iz shayekh vider tsu di verk fun der veltlekher literatur, zaynen dos tsum grestn teyl iberzetsungen oder baarbetungen fun daytsh, tsi loyt daytshe mustern ("ditrikh fun bern", "shmuel-bukh" un azoy vayter), un s'iz klor, az oykh in der shprakh iz men nokhgegangen nokhn daytshn muster. shtif meg zikh shteln oyfn kop, vet er mikh nit ibertsaygn, az ven es iz hobn yidn geredt tsvishn zikh: "mozes hot aroysgefirt yidn fun eyptn-land" (egiptn), vi es zingt zikh in eyner fun undzere biblishe poemes. der yid fun a gants yor hot gornit ongehoybn tsu visn yemolt, az egiptn un mitsraem zaynen hayne-hakh; er hot gornit gevust, az dos land mitsraem, fun vanen got aroysgefirt yidn in pares tsaytn, iz nokh bikhlal faran oyf der velt; un oyb emetser hot im dertseylt, az mitsraem, yoysef hatsadiks mitsraem, iz nokh faran bimtsies un ruft zikh egiptn, hot er mistome gemakht aza mine vi binyomin hashlishis landslayt, vos ven zey hobn tsum ershtn mol derzen a teytl, hobn zey bald oyfgemisht dem khumesh un gevizn dort befeyresh: "tomor-a teytl". der zinger vos hot oysgetsikelt zayn "mozes oys eyptn-land" hot poshet gevolt imponirn zayne tsuherer mitn fremdlekhn oysdruk un mit zayn bkies in geografye. hayoytse midvoreynu: men muz kumen tsum bashlus, az di geshribene shprakh fun der alter yidisher literatur iz _nit identish_ mit der geredter shprakh fun yener tsayt. ibrigens kenen mir tsu di algemeyne rayes brengen konkrete faktn oykh. vi nokh mir kumen tsu in der alt-yidisher literatur tsu verk vos zaynen geshribn mer forzikhtik, oyf a zelbstshtendiker yidisher teme, varft zikh undz bald in di oygn, az s'iz gor an ander loshn. dos "seyfer mides" (gedrukt 1542) iz ful mit azoyne zatsn vi: "oykh zol men mit keyn _goy_ mit _sheker_ oder mit _ramoes_ umgeyn, den es iz a _khilel hashem_." es shviblt dort mit azoyne oysdrukn vi "_mevatl zayn_". --------------------- z' 200 "_mekabl zayn_", "_tsdoke gebn_", un azoy vayter. in yoysef bar yakirs hagdome tsu der sider-iberzetsung (1544) gefinen zikh keseyder zatsn fun dem min: "derum hobn undzere _khakhomem_ dertsu geton un hobn undz di _tfile_ geshribn on." azoyne bayshpiln ken men brengn lerov. shtif veys farshteyt zikh fun di ale faktn, teylvayz dermont ir zey aleyn. nor er taytsht dos azoy, az di "frume" sforem hobn rabonem un yore-shomaems geshribn mit zeyer rabonisher shprakh, in der tsayt vos di veltlekhe "zindike" literatur iz geshribn in a veltlekhn loshn, on hebreizmen. di derklerung volt nokh gekent ongeyn, ven mir voltn gehat bloyz di muser-literatur antkegn di veltlekhe verk. ober di verterbikher tsum tnakh, di iberzetsungn fun tnakh un di tfiles? dos zoln oykh hobn gemakht di folksmentshn mitn frayen gayst? to vu blaybt di teorye, az di religyezkayt iz arayngetrogn gevorn in yidishn lebn bloyz durkh der "lomdish-sokhrisher aristokratye"? es iz mamesh nit tsu farshteyn, vi azoy shtif, vos lozt nit aroys fun moyl dos vort metode, hot gekent bageyn aza min _ikerdikn metodologishn feler_ un glaykhshteln di alt-yidishe shrift-shprakh mit der geredter shprakh fun yener tsayt. teylvayz muz afile shtif moyde zayn, az di hebreishe elementn zaynen mer geven farshpreyt in folk eyder dos kumt tsum oysdruk in der alt-yidisher literatur. er brengt a bayshpil, az in a gevisn tekst iz "shive khadoshem" ibergezetst eyns nokh dos andere zibn _khadoshem un zibn monat_ un dringt derfun azoy: "bekheyn ken men onnemen az in 16tn afile in 15tn yorhundert zaynen shoyn azoyne verter (hebreizmen) geven bakant der folks-mase. ober eyns shteyt fest: parelel dermit hot oykh gegoltn in der folks-shprakh dos yidishe vort far di zelbe bagrifn un zakhn. ersht shpeter iz dos yidishe vort _aroysgeshtupt gevorn_, gor oder tsum teyl, vi vayt far dem zelbn bagrif hot men ongehoybn tsu nutsn derhoypt dos hebreishe vort". gedenkt-zhe: dos yidishe vort iz aroysgeshtupt gevorn durkhn hebreishn vort. iz vibald mir hobn derlebt tsu a tsayt, ven di makht fun der "lomdish-sokhrisher aristokratye" iz gebrokhn gevorn, darf men makhn a sof tsu ir memshole in der shprakh oykh. anshtot der frierdiker aneksye mitsad di hebreishe okupantn darf itst kumen di dezoneksye, di "dehebreizatsye". dos, zogt shtif, ligt oyf der linye fun der historisher antviklung: tsuzamen mit der farveltlekhung fun undzer lebn hot der hebreisher inventar shoyn say vi farloyrn in vog un tsol; itst darf men nor nemen durkhfirn bavustzinik dos vos es iz biz itst gegangen fun zikh aleyn. 5. tsi iz rikhtik der tezis, az der hebreisher inventar farlirt in vog un in tsol? rikhtik un nit rikhtik ineynem. tsi iz rikhtik, az di "dehebreizatsye" ligt oyf der linye fun der historisher antviklung fun yidish? neyn, nit rikhtik. gevis: ven eyrope hot zikh arayngerisn in geto, nokh hunderter yorn opgeshlosnkayt, un genumen aynkneln mit yidn, az nit toyre iz di beste skhoyre, iz tsebrokhn gevorn di alte patryarkhalishe eyde, un men iz aroys in der velt fardinen a shtikl broyt. ver es hot _gebenkt_ nokh der gmore un ver es iz geven gliklekh, vos es iz fun ir poter gevorn, nor dos lebn iz geven shtarker. bay hayntikn tog iz nor lefi erekh a kleyner teyl yidn geblibn bay der gmore un lernen. iz klor, az di alte lomdishe shprakh, di durkhgenumene mit psukem o memres un maymrey khazal, hot zikh gekent oyfhitn nor bay di dozike lamdonem. deroyf darf men nit hobn keyn proletarishe visnshaft; dos hobn di burzhuaze shprakh-forsher shoyn lang oysgefunen, az di sotsyale svive git dem kolir far der shprakh. ver es git zikh nit op mit lernen, der ken oplebn a lebn un s'zol im nit oyskumen tsu zogn oder tsu hern azoyne verter vi _mesekhte_, _sugye_ oder _shor shenogakh_. ver es hit nit op di dinem un religyeze minhogem, der vet nit visn gor (oder fargesn, oyb er hot ven gevust), az es zaynen faran azoyne verter vi _eyrev tavshilin_, _khtsos_, _tashlekh_, _arbe kanfes_ un dos glaykhe. ober tsi heyst dos, az di verter zaynen farshvundn gevorn fun der shprakh? neyn, es heyst nor, az zey zaynen haynt an eygns fun a sakh a klenern krayz mentshn. dos eygene kenen mir dokh tsuzen in a sakh faln vos hobn tsu religye keyn shum shaykhes nit. mit 30-40 yorn tsurik, ven di gantse yidishe imigrantn-mase in nyu-york iz geven bay shnayderay, zaynen ober shnaydershe terminen geven a sakh mer farshpreyt baym oylem eyder haynt. nor tsi heyst dos, az yidish hot zikh sotsyal diferentsirt fun yener tsayt? neyn, di _treger_ fun yidish hobn zikh sotsyal diferentsirt. di shnaydershe fakh-verter zaynen fun der shprakh nit aroys, un keynem vet nit aynfaln tsu zogn, az _preser_, _bigler_, _krok un shtupl_ zaynen mer nit keyn yidishe verter tsulib dem vos shnayderay hot oyfgehert tsu zayn di vikhtikste yidishe parnose. kolzman es vet nokh zayn ergets vu a yeshive, veln tsvishn di yeshive-layt zayn lebedik di ale oysdrukn, vos zaynen shoyn nit bakant dem hayntikn farveltlekhn oylem. kolzman es vet nokh zayn a minyen davener, vet lebn dos vort _minyen_. un vos es lebt hot nokh nit opgedankt, a gloybn vos iz shoyn kimat vi opgeshtorbn ken zikh vider oyfkhapn bay a nayem shikht mentshn. azoyne farshtarkte religyeze khvalyes hobn zikh shoyn nit eyn mol getrofn in der veltgeshikhte, un mayn eytse tsu shtifn iz, er zol nit gebn zayn kop derfar, az itster iz shoyn endgiltik oys religye. nor oyb afile yo, oyb mer vi reshtlekh fun der amoliker yidishkayt veln nit iberblaybn, vet afile an aktiver apikoyres nit kenen zikh bageyn ingantsn on zey. vorn oykh a sovetisher yidisher shrayber vet muzn banutsn a spetsyeln leksikon un a spetsyeln stil baym shildern dem altn besmedresh-yid. ot zeyen mir dokh, az politishe oder shtandishe institutsyes vern oysgerotn ingantsn, on a resht, un fundestvegn blaybt fun zey a gedekhenish in der shprakh. ven men hot in frankraykh ayngefirt a republik, iz dermit dos vort _roi_ (kinig) un dos vort z' 201 _empereur_ (keyser) nit farshvundn gevorn. zey lebn in bikher fun geshikhte, zey lebn in hunderter vertlekh un lider. in estraykh hot men nokh der revolutsye mevatl geven di titlen _graf_ un _baron_, un fort zaynen di verter in der daytsher shprakh geblibn, azoy vi _boyarin_ un _opritshnik_ un _tsar_ un _kryepostnoye pravo_ in der rusisher shprakh. to farvos zoln di verter _gmore_ un _mesekhte_ un _kashe_ zayn "opgefaln" fun undzer yidish? opgefaln zaynen zey bloyz far di vos nitsn dos nit. * * * ober nit dos iz der shpits fun der problem. dos vikhtikste iz di frage vegn der vayterdiker antviklung fun undzer literarisher shprakh. un do zaynen undz di faktn, az di hebreizmen shpiln nokh a groyse role un veln nokh efsher shpiln a gresere, khotsh oyf an ander shnit, vi frier. vos felt undz in undzer literarishn yidish? di alte literatur hot gut gedint di religyeze tsvekn, nor ven di haskole iz oyfgeshtanen, hot zikh oysgelozn, az es felt loshn. vi shver, dermont zikh, iz ongekumen etingern tsu redn vegn zakhn, vos zaynen nit direkt farknipt mit yidishkayt! ersht di letste tsvey doyres hot zikh undzer shrayber oysgelernt tsu shildern di natur. shpeter iz gekumen di yidishe lirik un hot gefunen dem oysdruk far dem subtiln gefil. di yidishe beletristik hot shoyn haynt ir shprakh. itst iz gekumen di tsayt tsu derfirn biz a geheriker madreyge di ongehoybene arbet far an ekzaktn publitsistishn un visnshaftlekhn stil. di frage vegn zatsboy, vegn form iz a zakh far zikh. nor fun vanen zol men shepn verter? dos lebn hot gevizn, az a hipsher teyl funem altn inventar kumt tsunits far naye tsvekn. shtif iz gerekht, ven er zogt, az a groyser teyl fun di hebreizmen in yidish firt ariber undzer gedank in der religyezer sfere. ober s'iz dokh nit dafke mit di hebreizmen azoy. in yene tsaytn, ven dos yidishe lebn iz geven durkhgenumen mit religye fun breg biz breg, hot zikh afile drukn bikher gerekhent far a heyliker arbet. un der zetser hot geheysn "hooysek bamelokhes hakoydesh." yemolt hobn oykh nit-hebreishe verter gants oft batseykhnt religyeze bagrifn. bentshn likht iz a religyeze funktsye, punkt vi opgisn negl-vaser, oder mestn feld, oyfrufn tsu der toyre, leyenen krishme, shteln zikh baym shtender, lernen gmore, forn tsu gutn yidn, zogerin un treyberin, sheytl un gartl un shtrayml, kneydlekh un tsholnt un gilderne yoykh -- di ale verter zaynen in grunt neytrale, ober zey zaynen farreligyezisht gevorn in a velt, vos iz geven kule religye. ven di tsayt un der tsaytgayst hobn zikh gebitn, hot zikh ongehoybn a farkerter protses. di shprakh iz greyt tsu gisn nayem vayn in di alte loglen; zi nemt verter, vos zaynen lekhatkhile geven neytral un zaynen dernokh farreligyezisht gevorn - un neytralizirt zey iber-a-nayes. ot hot men a mol gelernt gmore, haynt lernt men aritmetik: a mol hot men geleyent krishme, haynt leyent men sholem-aleykhemen; a mol hot men oyfgerufn tsu mafter, haynt ken men oykh oyfrufn a redner. interesant iz di geshikhte fun dem vort _shul_. s'iz gekumen in ale shprakhn fun latayn. ven mir hobn dos ibergenumen fun daytsh, hot dos gehat a gants veltlekhn inhalt. nor azoy vi bay yidn hot men dem lernplats oysgenutst far a beys-tfile, hobn zikh beyde bagrifn oysgemisht, un shul hot genumen bataytn dos, vos es batayt haynt. vi di haskole hot tsurik arayngebrakht tsu undz veltlekhe bildung, iz geven a frage, vi azoy tsu batseykhenen dem nayem, dem veltlekhn lernplats. lekhatkhile hot men ongenumen di slavishe form fun demzelbn vort "shkole". in a teyl gegntn (kongres-poyln, byalistok) hot men tsum altn vort "shul" gepruvt shafn a nay vort shule (kinder-shul). ober baym grestn teyl yidn hot zikh di naye form nit ongenumen, un oykh in sovyet-rusland hot men dos alte vort beser ongefilt mit a nayem inhalt. itst iz di frage: tsi hobn zikh di hebreizmen in undzer shraph oykh untergegebn der algemeyner tendents fun neytralizirung? oyb yo, iz a simen, az zey zaynen mesugl dertsu. ---------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.003 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.004 22 February 1999 Max Weinreich on Yiddish without Hebrew: Part Three 1) vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? (maks vaynraykh) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 Febrary 1999 From: Craig Abernethy Subject: vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? (maks vaynraykh) dr. maks vaynraykh vos volt yidish geven on hebreish? [dritn teyl] 6. teylvayz hot men geshafn oder arayngenumen naye verter: anshtot "khevre" hot men genumen zogn "fareyn". anshtot "gabe" -- "forzitser", un anshtot "asife" -- farzamlung. nit vayl di verter far zikh zaynen shlekht, nor vayl men hot zikh gevolt opshoklen fun di alte forshtelungen. gabe, gaboes, tkifes, raytn oyf kool -- nit keyn simpatishe gedanken-asosyatsyes vekt dos oyf. yede revolutsye geyt oyf dem veg fun opshoklen zikh, ven zi shaft anshtot provintsn departamentn oder anshtot ministorn folks-komisarn. ober es iz gring vi a hor fun milkh tsu bavayzn, as masn hebreizmen, vos hobn frier gehat a religyezn batayt oder bay-batayt, zaynen nit geblibn bay zeyer frierdikn, lekhatkhile|dikn pshat. bayshpiln ken men brengen on a shier: mir veln zikh banugenen mit an oysval. dos vort _khale_ hot tkhiles gehat a befeyresh|n religyezn inhalt ("nemen khale"); khale, nide un hadloke zaynen di dray vaybershe mitsves. ober haynt iz khale a gebeks, vos afile apikorsem esn nit farklerterheyt. dos vort iz arayn oykh in der poylisher un in der rusisher shprakh, un ikh hob gehert zogn, az afile komunale bekerayen in der sovyetisher moskve bakn un farkoyfn "khala." tsi volt men zey nit gedarft amol tsutsien tsu farantvortlekhkayt far farshpreytn religyeze ayngleybenishn? a _moytse_ iz an element fun a brokhe ("hamoytse lekhem min hoorets") ober a fir-yorik kind, vos bet bay der mamen: "gib mir nokh a moytse|ele broyt," klert nit beshas-mayse vegn der brokhe. dos shprikhvort: "di khale vet nit klekn oyf der hamoytse" iz shoyn in undzer forshtelung oykh oysgeton funem religyezn inhalt. a _mitsve_ oyf dir, oder: an _aveyre_ di tsayt, vos ikh hob ge|pater|t, oder: host di klep _kosher_ fardint, oder: freg mir _be|kheyrem_, -- tsi zaynen nit di ale oysdrukn fray in gantsn fun zeyer religyezn tam? dos nemlekhe: ikh darf es oyf _kapores_. shtif vet oykh z' 202 moyde zayn, az men ken epes darfn oyf kapores, un nit trakhtn derbay vegn yonkiper, az men ken emetsn mevaker khoyle zayn, un nit klern vegn fardinen a mitsve. opgeshlogene heshaynes treft men nit dafke tsvishn frume. ven men zogt, az far emetsn iz ongekumen der yom-hadin, meynt men nit grod yonkiper, un bale-tshuves bagegnt men nit dafke in besmedresh. vos tuen di bale-tshuves? zey shlogn zikh al-khet grod oyf tsu vayzn, az zey zaynen apikorsem: zey makhn a gantsn peyresh fun yetvider kleynikayt un zukhn oys umetum sirkhes un pgimes. ot nemt di tsvey verter: ver klert bay pgime vegn a kholef, bay sirkhe vegn a beheyme: ven men zol geyn azoy konsekvent radikal vi shtif, vet men efsher oykh dos vort "beheyme" darfn pasl|en (un pasl|en oykh, vorem dos iz oykh religyez loytn opshtam). ikh hob ober nit keyn rekhte emune derin, vayl mir kenen shoyn dem _pizmen_. es iz nit keyn kunts avektsuleygn a _droshe_, khotsh der amoliker _magid_ hot geredt gotsforkhtike reyd un der hayntiker vil dafke apikorses (un _dafke_ meg men zogn?). magides blaybt magides. agev hot litvakov nit lang tsurik in a literatur-kritishn artikl banutst dos vort "magides" oyf ibertsugebn dem rusishn bagrif "povoshtshina" -- der bester bavayz, vos men kon alts arayntaytshn in verter. _gaboes_ iz geven an element fun der fartsaytiker yidisher kool-organizatsye. nor tsi rayst men zikh nit far gaboes oykh in hayntike gants moderne un amol afile revolutsyonere organizatsyes? tsi rukt men zikh nit afile haynt nokh der _mizrekh-vant_? tsi hot _gmiles-khesed_ nit bakumen poshet dem taytsh fun: on-protsentike halvoes oyf a kurtser tsayt? tsi zaynen tsvishn di ateistn nito keyn balonem tsu makhn a lekhayem? tsi zaynen nito keyn geshvorene gegner fun oytoritetn, vos kukn keseyder vi in _posek_ shteyt? ver hot es nit tsvishn zayne bakante azoyne mentshn, vos meynen nit di _hagode_, nor di kneydlekh? shtif vil vayzn, az di fun hebreish genumene verter dekn zikh nit ingantsn mit zeyere nit-hebreishe sinonimen, un er shraybt: "_bal-bitokhn iz nit stam optimist. dos iz der, vos gloybt, az got vet im helfn." az bal-bitokhn un optimist iz nit alts eyns, hot shtif zeyer fayn bamerkt; ober punkt azoy kenen mir zogn bal-bitokhn oyf eynem, vos iz gor an ateist, nor er farlozt zikh blind oyf di ayzerne gezetsn fun der historisher antviklung un vil aleyn nit araynton keyn finger in kaltn vaser. "bal-tsdoke," shraybt shtif vayter, iz nit stam a milder mentsh, vos shenkt oremelayt. dos iz der, vos tut dos un rekhnt zikh dos far "a mitsve." gut. ober "a bal-tsdoke oyf yenems keshene" iz oykh, khap ikh on, yener daytsher natsyonalist, vos vil durkhkumen mit poyln oyfn kheshbm fun a shtik litvisher teritorye. ven azelkhe plener fun tsvey oyfn kheshbm fun a dritn zoln mekuyem vern, vet der driter zayn dos _kapore-hindl_, alts eyns, tsi er iz a ben das Moyshe, a katoylik, tsi a makhmedaner. bay Sholem-aleykhem|en leyenen mir: "der _yeytser-hore_ fun kortn iz azoy groys..." der, vos zogt dos, iz nit mekhuyev tsu gloybn in der realer ekzistents fun yeytser-tov un yeytser-hore. opshpiln emetsn a khasene. ken men afile dan, ven men iz a fanatisher onhenger fun frayer libe. _botl be|shishem vern_ ken oykh di opozitsye oyf a tsuzamenfor fun fraydenker. in di sovyetishe tsaytungen leyenen mir gants oft, vi azoy di arbeter lebn in dem burzhuazn genem. iz vos, dos iz oykh an opneyg fun der rikhtiker religye? azoyne _kashes_(oykh fun neytralizirte verter) ken men fregn on a shier. 7. daytsh un daytshmerish iz take arayn in undzer shprakh in a hipsher mos, iberhoypt in fargangenem dor. ober dos iz geshen unter gants spetsifishe umshtendn, velkhe men darf analizirn a bisl genoyer. undzer geshribene un gedrukte publitsistish-visnshaftlekhe shprakh hot tsum onhoyb, in "kol mevaser" un in "yidishn folksblat", geblondzhet, gevaklt zikh tsvishn besmedresh-loshn un daytshmerish: keyn sintez iz nokh nit geven. a tsveyter shtapl iz geven sholem-aleykhems "folksbiblyotek" un peretses "yidishe biblyotek", nokh frier - mendeles publitsistishe un visnshaftlekhe artiklen. perets hot oykh untergezindikt mit daytshmerish (men ken zogn, az bizn sof), ober ven ir nemt afile zayn barimtn maskilishn artikl, "bildung", zet ir, vi er iz durkhgezapt mit hebreizmen. a shtarkn ris in der antviklung hot gemakht di nay-oyfgekumene yidishe arbeter-bavegung, vos zi hot beetsem arayngebrakht in di tife masn dem nayem shteyger redn un di naye bagrifn. di sibe iz a farshtendlekhe. ven men farmogt di traditsye, ken men zikh haltn bay ir, oder nit haltn; ven men hot zi nit, zaynen nito keyn problemen, ober ver tsvishn di pyonern fun der yidisher arbeter-balvegung hot gekent di traditsyonele shprakh, ver hot gekent shepn fun hebreish afile ven er zol geven veln? bloyz yene gevezene yeshive-bokherem, vos hobn zikh gekvikt mit peretses "yontev-bletlekh" *). der grester teyl tuer un kimat ale firer fun der bavegung in der ershter stadye zaynen geven yene, vos hobn nit nor keyn hebreish, nor afile keyn yidish nit gekent un hobn zikh mit der mase tsunoyfgeredt bloyz mit der hilf fun di "zhargonistn". zey hobn es gebrakht dertsu, az di shrapkh in di ershte krayzlekh iz geven, vi litvak zogt eydes, "mit a shtarkn tsumish fun rusishe verter, vi men flegt demolt (in 1893) geveynlekh reydn in yidish vegn hekhere inyonem". men ken tsugebn: nit nor redn, nor oykh shraybn. in der barimter broshur vegn vilner shtot-maged, vos men hot geshlungen in di toyznter ekzemplyarn,**) leyenen mir azoyne zatsn: "es hot zikh alts umgebitn, un glaykh mit dem hot zikh umgebitn di lage un der sostav fun di yidishe natsyon." "arbeter megn dort (in finland) makhn _sobranyes_, _soyuzn_. rusishe _pravitelstvo_ starevet zikh shoyn lang avektsunemen fun di finlender zeyer frayheyt." "far di yidishe kapitalistn iz _vigode_ di yidishe rekhtlozikayt." _______________________ *) zet a. litvaks zikhroynes vegn di zhargonishe komitetn in zayn bukh _vos geven_. **) ikh tsitir loyt der oysgabe fun 1896, ober mit a mer modernem oysleyg. ---------------------- .."a tsveytn mol iz spetsyel oysgetaytsht: "...rekhtlozikayt (bezpravye)." in der ershter yidisher arbeter-shvue "vi heylik iz di natur" hot zikh der min stil arayngekhapt oykh in der poezye:' "mir zaynen der proletaryat dos iz der _tshorni narod_ ..." ver es hot nit gevolt rusish, hot gehakt daytsh. lyube levinsons shprakh, git undz iber litvak, iz geven mer daytsh vi yidish. zi hot gehat shtudirt in oysland, hot geshtamt fun a raykher familye, -- hot zikh ir, a ponem, gedukht, az daytsh iz der veg tsutsukumen tsum yidishn arbeter. zi hot ongeshribn, vi a. litvak git iber, a broshur untern nomen: "di antshteyung der moderner burzhuazi". fun yener tsayt shtamt mistome in der yidisher arbeter-shprakh der oysdruk: "proletaryer aler lender, fareynikt aykh." -- poshet ibergeshribn mit yidishe oysyes fun daytsh. daytsh iz geven nit nor stam di gehoybene shprakh fun mayrev-eyrope, nor oykh di shprakh fun marksizm, un dariber iz geven gants geshmak arayntsunemen in moyl a daytsh vort afile ven men hot nit oyf hundert protsent gevust dem pshat. in der zelber broshur vegn shtot-maged leyenen mir, tsum bayshpil: "di, vos zitsn oyf undzere pleytses un drikn undz mit di gantse _shvirigkayt_ [cf. StY _shverikayt_ -- LP] fun zeyere geltzek." fun yener tsayt shtamt es di groyse tsol daytshmerizmen in undzer shprakh, vos teylvayz zaynen zey shoyn vider tsurik farshvundn gevorn un teylvayz haltn zey zikh nokh: der _shtat_ (afile bay peretsn), di _urzakhe_, _shtufe_, _anleye_, _niderlage_, _regeln_, _irgend velkher_, dos _forvort_ un di _fortzetsung_ (shpeter abisl faryidisht in forzetsung), dos _proletaryat_, un dos _referat_, di _revolutsyon_ un der _sotsyalizm_. erger nokh vi der banuts fun daytshe verter iz geven di hiltserne konstruktsye, vos men hot arayngebrokt in yidish. gants gikh hot zikh di dozike farfleytsung geendikt. haynt shpirt shoyn yeder eyner dem vider-tam fun azoyne reyn-daytshe verter, vi _darshteln_, _empfeln_, _fartsikhtn_. ober vi ale mol nokh a farfleytsung, ken men zikh shoyn nit umkern ingantsn tsum frierdikn tsushtand. teyl fun dem min verter veln shoyn blaybn: far _gezelshaft_, _antviklung_ un _bavegung_ hot men lekhatkhile gekent shafn andere verter. ober itst iz shoyn nokh alemen. ober fort zaynen mir shoyn hibsh avek fun yenem naivn daytshmerish. fun dem "produktsyons-art" zaynen mir (durkh "produktsyons-oyfn" un "produktsyons-shteyger") tsugekumen tsu der natirlekher yidisher form "produtsir-shteyger"; anshtot "antshteyung" hobn mir zikh oysgelerent tsu zogn "oyfkum," anshtot "aynlaytung" -- "araynfir" un tsu _kamf_ hot zikh geshafn a sinonim _gerangl_. do hobn mir tsu ton mit ineveynikste protsesn in dem germanishn element fun yidish. hipsh iz undz oykh tsugekumen fun di internatsyonale verter-mamesh in di hunderter, fun _kolonizatsye_, _emigratsye_ un _revolutsye_ biz _telefon_ un _radyo_. ober oykh der protsent hebreizmen in undzer inteligentisher shprakh iz oysgevaksn. ikh vel do oysrekhenen a rey tsufelike verter vos ikh dermon zikh itst beshasn shraybn un vos ikh shrayb on azoy vi zey kumen mir unter der feder: milkhome, melukhe (in sovetn-farband redt men vegn a proletarisher melukhe un men klert nit vegn dem, az in der vort shtekt "meylekh"), sofek (mesupek zayn), mayle, khisorn, matsev, maymed, madreyge, mapole, nitsokhn, mekane zayn, mase (mase-tsug, mase-stantsye), shipue ("meshupe|diker pleyn" in geometrye), moyde zayn, medoe, hakkhoshe, dehayne, svive, hakhnose, hetsoe, din-ve|khezhbm, hemshekh, hanokhe (in der sovetisher prese nitst men afile, iberikerheyt, dos vort _forhanokhe_ vi a verterlekhe iberzetsung fun dem rusishn "predposilka"), hashore, svore, shite, yokhed, heore, sakone, sikhsekh, sibe, hagdome, hisnatsles (bay shtifn gufe), nekome, neshome ("di neshome fun der revolutsye"), hasoge, bifrat, biklal, skhum, hiskhayeves, hekhrekh (oyb shtif nitst mit aza libshaft dos vort "niker", iz mit vos iz hakore erger vi _derkentenish_?), mashkhisem, mazikem (oyf di felder; a sovetisher oysdruk), toes, moker, binyen, koykhes, kibets, tsiber (be|tsiber), iker, klolem, dafke, meyle, memeyle, gufe, taymem, emes, yoysher, tkufe, in tokh arayn, tnay, koydem-kol, tsvey-ponem|dik,-- men ken dos tsetl makhn lenger un lenger. 8. aber do git zikh shtif a shtel oyf: dos zaynen dokh nit keyn folksverter. dos zaynen verter fun di privilegirte klasn. "nisht der "hamon" un avade nisht der arbetsmentsh -- der shuster, der shnayder, der vasertreger, dos dinstmeydl - hobn dos gekent araynbrengen." un a tsveytn mol: di "iberike" verter, vos spivak-yehoyesh brengen, zaynen nit keyn oysgetrakhte, zey zaynen faran in yidish, "ober in moyl baym lamdn, baym voylkener, baym klekoydesh, baym soykher, baym "eydlen" balebos, - nisht baym arbeter, nisht baym bal-melokhe , nisht bay der groyser mase biklal." un tomer klert dos nit, hern mir a dritn mol: "der masn-mentsh hot gehat in moyl dem klenstn hebreishn verterbukh, hot nit ibergenumen iberhoypt dos vayt-abstrakte." dos iz rikhtik vi gold, ober vos lozt dos undz hern? ikh volt farshtanen dem kaas un sine (antshuldikt, alpi shtifn volt men gedarft zogn oyf "yidish": dem tsorn un dem has), ven di arbet-mentshn voltn in yene tsaytn gehat bashafn andere oysdrukn far di abstrakte bagrifn. ober in der emesn iz dokh dos nit azoy. ver es hot nit gehat dem "klerikaln" oysdruk _akhdes haboyre_ oder _hashores hanefesh_, der hot vegn dem etsem inyen dem dozikn keyn hasoge nit gehat. oyf vifl a yid hot yo getrakht vegn hekhere inyonem, zaynen zey im gekumen kimat oysshlislekh durkh dem medyum fun di hebreishe elementn. shtif vil pask|enen, az oyf lehabe zoln blaybn in yidish bloyz yene verter, vos zaynen farbundn mit arbet. farvos? loyt der alter sotsyalistisher program, darf a mentsh arbetn bloyz a dritl mes-les, un in sovyetn-farband firt men shoyn itst ayn, zogt men, a zibn-shoe|dikn arbets-tog. blaybt dokh iber a hipshe tsayt, ven men meg klern vegn rukhanyes oykh. un z' 204 a khuts dem: a mentsh iz dokh nit keyn robot, er meg zikh dokh amol afile bay der arbet a trakht tsu ton vegn zakhn, vos hobn nit dafke a shaykhes tsu _makhshirem_ un _keylem_.*) geveyntlekh er vet dos keynem nit oyszogn, vorn s'iz a groyser bizoyen -- ober far zikh aleyn, in di tifenishn fun zayn hartsn, vet efsher afile der kosher|er proletaryer zikh oyf a rege fartrakhtn vegn der natur oder afile, nit oysgeredt zol zayn, vegn hashores-hanefesh? ober dos iz im farvert, un er tor zikh nor farklern vegn der "umshterblikhkayt [cf. StY _umshtarbikayt_ -- LP] fun der zeele"? derfun iz shoyn memeyle klor di gants pshet|ldikkayt fun der teorye, az in der nayer tsayt, vos geher tsum arbeter-klas, zaynen barekhtikt tsu ekzistents bloyz yene hebreizmen in yidish, vos hobn a shaykhes tsu di arbet-protsesn. aderabe veaderabe. dafke fun arbeter-shtandpunkt iz dos di vildste zakh in der velt. der seykhl trogt dokh oys gor andersh. a proletarisher filolog darf dokh nor zogn azoy: di arbeter zaynen biz itst geven in der gezelshaft di same unterdrikte. ekspluatirndik dem arbeters pratse, hobn di hekhere klasn antviklt di kunst, di literatur, di visnshaft un dos arayngekhapt tsu zikh. itst iz gekumen di tsayt, ven der arbeter darf ibernemen di yerushe; er darf di gantse fargangene mentshlekhe kultur makhn far zayn eygns. iz oyb er zol redn yidish -- vi azoy vet er dos aroysvarfn be|yodayem alts, vos di fargangene yidish-redndike doyres hobn ongeklibn un ibergelozn bloyz di verter, vos batseykhenen elementn fun arbet? tsum glik, trakht gor nit di yidishe shprakh tsu geyn oyf shtifs oysge|pshat|lte vegn. nemt a yidishe arbeter-tsaytung un fun far draysik yorn, oder hert zikh ayn vi azoy men redt haynt oyf a yidisher farzamlung, in farglaykh mit a por tsendlik yor tsurik, vet ir bald bamerkn, az der onteyl fun hebreizmen iz nit farklenert, nor fargresert gevorn, hagam di virkung fun der religye iz far der tsayt gevorn shvakher in yidishn lebn. geveyntlekh, ibertraybungn trefn zikh do un zaynen do punkt azoy lekherlekh, vi umetum. redn vegn di _shakle-vetaryes_ tsvishn england un frankraykh, oder onrufn di koalitsye fun der velt-milkhome _bale-bris, iz mir nit tsum hartsn, vayl mit "bris" farbindn zikh bay undz gor andere asosyatsyes. ober lekherlekh kenen dokh zayn nit dafke hebreizmen iber der mos. nemt aza zats: "di dergreykhung funem sotsyalistishn boyung ... iz oysshlislekh _dankbar_ dem kolektivn viln tsum boyung fun di arbetende masn." do zaynen shoyn nit keyn hebreishe, nor "yidishe" verter (loyt shtifs terminologye), un fundestvegn hobn zey oykh dem zibetn kheyn.**) faran faln, vu di hebreizmen darfn spetsyel, bekivn, arayngefirt vern in der shrift-shprakh, khotsh in folks-loshn zaynen faran ekvivalentn. in visnshaftlekhe fakh-arbetn iz a sakh beser tsu nitsn di verter hashtone, bie, beys-kibl, pi-tabaas, tashmish un azoy vayter, eyder di entferndike ***) alteglekhe batseykhenungen. andere shprakhn helfn zikh do mit latayn. far undz iz hebreish der ongemostener moker. nokh andere visnshaftlekhe terminologyes, un nit dafke fun gayst-visnshaftn, kumen teylmol on tsu hebreizmen. ikh hob frier dermont fun geometrye dem _meshpupe|dikn_ pleyn: ikh volt nokh gekent brengen fun matematik dem _madreyge-vayzer_ un di batseykhenungen _khiber_, _khisl_, _kefl_, _khilek_; fun geografye _yam_ un _yaboshe_, _mizrekh_, _mayrev_, _tsofn_, _dorem_. in botanik hot vilne oyfgebrakht far "sempervyum" der termin khaye-oylem|l. dukht zikh, zeyer gerotn. ober der bester bavayz gegn shtifs shite zaynen di faln, vu hebreizmen, lekhatkhile farreligyezishte, zaynen in yidish nit stam neytralizirt gevorn, nor zey hobn bakumen a breyte onvendung in der proletarisher, oder -- nokh beser -- in der sovyetisher shprakh. vos iz nokh heyliker far dem yidishn arbeter, vi dos vort "khaver"? dos vort hot ober a lange religyeze geshikhte. bikhdey nit tsu zukhn in forshungen fun spetsyalistn, bleter ikh oyf di "yevreyskaya entsiklopedye" un gefin dort, az "nokhn khurbm fun tsveytn beysamigdesh hobn di khaveyrem zeyer fil mitgeholfn oystsuhitn di yidishe religye. der khaver hot gezorgt vegn ophitn shabes un yontoyvem, geton tsdoke, getreyst zayne brider in tsar un durkh dem gevorn an onshpar fun folk." in vos zhe darfn di yidishe arbeter fun der gantser velt nokh der doziker revolutsye oyfhern tsu nitsn dos hebreishe vort "khaver" un aynfirn onshtot dem dos yidishe vort (loyt shtifn) "genose" oder "tovarishtsh"? tsi leyenen mir nit yor-yerlekh in der yidisher arbeter-prese dem ershtn may az dos iz der yontef fun proletaryat? shtif volt gedarft protestirn gegn dem, vayl in zayn artikl iz faran a daytlekher onvayz, az _biz der hebreisher okupatsye in yidish_ hot gegoltn dos vort "fayertog." tsu kempfn nit yidishe arbeter mit _mesires-nefesh_ far zeyere idealn punkt vi zeyere elter-zeydes zaynen gegangen mit mesires-nefesh oyf di shayterhoyfns? tsi hot nit lekert, un a sakh andere tsu im, gebrakht zayn lebn a _korbm_ oyfn _mizbeyekh_ fun frayheyt? un tsi zingt men nit in "internatsyonal," in dem ofitsyeln himen fun der sovyetn-republik: "fun frayheyt, glaykhheyt a _ganeydn_ bashafn vet der arbetsman." keyn eyn shprakh iz in dem prat nit keyn oysnam. umetum zaynen religyeze un farreligyezishte elementn geven a sakh oybnoniker vi haynt, un mimeyle hot zikh dos opgeshpilt in der shprakh. ot leyenen mir in shtifs zhurnal "di yidishe shprakh," az an ukrainer bukh vegn tsaytungs-stil, aroysgegebn in yor 1928, in sovyetishn melukhe-farlag, rekomendirt dafke tsu nitsn azoyne bilderishe oysdrukn vi "peredati kuti medu" (arayngegebn tsufil honik in der kutye) onshtot a poshet|n vort vi "iberzaltsn." shtifs zhurnal kritikirt dos, vayl kutye, zogt er, "iz a maykhl spetsyel oyf "vaynakhtn." ------------------------- *) agev: di beyde verter feln in shtifs gevoygn-gemostener reshime fun yene 13 (rikhtik draytsn!) hebreizmen vos batseykhenen arbeter-bagrifn, vern shoyn fun di 13 verter gantse 15 -- a fargreserung oyf hekher 15 protsent. ven men zol shtark zukhn, vet men nokh efsher gefinen a zekhtsnt vort oykh. **) in shtifs zhurnal _di yidishe shprakh_, vos iz lefidati a bisl tsu dogmatish, ober fort zeyer vikhtik un interesant, ken men gefinen azoyne perl lerov. ***) "antshprekhende" b|laa"z. -------------------- z' 205 nit ale zaynen ober azelkhe makhmirem. ot iz dos rusishe "natshayti vo zdravye i kontshiti vo upokoy," oder "kakov pop, takov i prikhod." es shmekt shtark mitn kloyster; nor tsi hot men es derfar ge|pasl|t? un tsi leyenen mir nit keseyder vegn di _martirer_ fun der komune, vegn di _apostoln_ fun sotsyalizm? alts religyeze oysdrukn, un fort ongevendt bay umshtendn, vos hobn tsu religye keyn shum shaykhes nit. ober dem boylet|stn bayshpil hob ikh gefunen nit lang tsurik in der sovyetisher prese. tsum 125tn yorikn yubiley fun kazaner universitet, may 1930, hot der sovyetisher bildungs-komisar, bubnov, geshikt a bagris-telegram un dort spetsyel untergeshtrokhn, az in dem universitet hot zikh gelernt lenin. in der yidisher komunistisher tsaytung, vu ikh hob dos gezen, hot zikh es geleyent azoy: "der kazaner universitet gedenkt, az in zayne vent hot bakumen zayn ershte revolutsyonere kreytsung der firer fun der alveltlekher proletarisher revolutsye, vl. i. lenin." iberleyenendik dos hob ikh zikh farhakt; vos taytsh "revolutsyonere kreytsung"? biz vanen ikh hob zikh gekhapt: s'iz an umgelumperte iberzetsung fun dem rusishn oysdruk "boyevoye kreshtshenye"! ir hert, khaver (oder beser: genose) shtif: "kreshtshenye"! vi kumt aza obskurantisher, klerikaler oysdruk in aza revolutsyonern tekst arayn! der entfer iz a poshet|er. nit yederer git zikh op mit krikhn oyf glaykhe vent, nit yederer shpirt a baderfenish toyvl tsu zayn zayn shprakh in zibn vasern, vayl nit yeder hot moyre far khshodem. * * * di untershte shure: di antviklung fun der yidisher literatur-shprakh vayzt gor an ander veg eyder shtif hot far undz geshildert. bay im kumt oys, az es zaynen geven dray stadyes: yidish-hebreishe okupatsye-un itster dehebreizirung, vos brengt tsurik tsu yidish. in der emes|n iz geven gor andersh: taytsh (mit abisl a yidisher bafarbung)-faryidishung (in a groyser mos durkh der virkung fun di hebreizmen-a daytshmerisher epizod in der tsveyter helf 19tn un onheyb 20tn yorhundert-un itster a nayer yidisher oyfboy, videramol mit a shtarker bateylikung fun hebreishe elementn. ikh khazer nokh amol iber, az mit der frage hebreizm oder yidishizm hot dos nit tsu ton. ver es vil zen yidish mekhtik un leyknt _deriber_ di role fun di hebreizmen bay der oysbildung fun der yidisher shprakh, der iz geglikhn tsum amerikaner patryot, vos hot faynt england un vil deriber aynredn der velt, az england hot nit gehat keyn shum kheylek in oyfboyen di fareynikte shtatn. tsi iz a groyse khokhme tsu leykenen befeyresh|e faktn? dos eygene iz mit shtifs milkhome-tsug: zayn kamf kegn di hebreizmen iz historish falsh un zakhlekh falsh. ---------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.004 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.005 14 March 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) Son and Father: Henri Diament, and Zaynvl Diamant (Leonard Prager) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date:14 March 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters It is not unusual to find -- for a variety of historical, sociological and, simply, familial reasons -- that many children of Yiddish writers and scholars, even of earlier generations, have not known Yiddish and have even been indifferent to Yiddish. It is to the credit of Henri Diament, z"l -- who was born in France, came to America as an adolescent and settled in Israel as a young adult -- that in his latter years he became increasingly respectful of his father's creative achievement in the Yiddish language. In a memorial address for Professor Diament (an accomplished linguist and distinguished onomastician) I trace the father's career as one source for understanding the life path of his son. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date:14 March 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Son and Father -- Henri Diament and Zaynvl Diamant University of Haifa Faculty of Humanities Department of French Language and Literature 8 March 1999 ASSEMBLAGE IN MEMORY OF PROFESSOR HENRI DIAMENT Son and Father: Henri Diament (1933-1999) and Zaynvl Diamant (1904-1963) by Leonard Prager In his _Mayn leksikon_, a highly individual kind of biographical dictionary, the Yiddish poet and essayist Meylekh Ravitsh concluded his eulogistic entry on Zaynvl Diamant, whom he knew personally, with the following words: "mit freyd un shtolts flegt mir zaynvl oft dertseyln vegn dem nakhes fun zayne gerotene zin un zeyere karyeres vi visnshaftlers. mistome hot ot der nakhes gringer gemakht dem azoy frien letstn blik oyf dem eymek-habokhe. iz dos a treyst. zol zi vern fartseykhnt."(1) ['With pride and joy, Zaynvl would often tell me about his two successful sons and their scholarly careers. This pleasure doubtless eased his all-too-early last look at this Vale of Tears. That is some comfort. Let it be recorded'.] If I have chosen on this occasion to talk about the writer Zaynvl Diamant, father of the scholar Professor Henri Diament, alav hashalom, it is at least partly because in my not infrequent encounters with Henri through the years, his father's work was often the subject of conversation. It could not have been more than weeks ago that Henri asked me some question about Yiddish. He had hoped some day to read all of his father's work in Yiddish, which was not one of his strong languages. A better reason for talking about Henri's father is the insight such a focus yields on his own complex history. Reading the entry on Zaynvl Diamant in the standard Yiddish biographical dictionary, the _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_, I found myself asking why there was no mention of family. But from 1933 on, the year of Henri's birth, the father's stormy history was a large part of the son's patrimony and crucial to understanding Henri's life story. Here is a sketch of the father's odyssey, one which encompasses the radically divergent worlds of the Polish shtetl, the Polish socialist Bund, the Parisian Yiddish-speaking proletariat of the late twenties and early 1930s, Nazi-occupied France, detention camp and residence in Switzerland, and finally New York, particularly its seething Yiddish cultural arena in the late forties and fifties: Zaynvl Diamant (1904-1963) 1. Zaynvl Diamant was born in the shtetl of Turbin, in the Lublin district of Poland and at the age of four moved with his family to the shtetl of Krushnik in the same district. He was given a traditional education (kheyder and yeshiva), and also attended a secular school and had private lessons in secular subjects. He began to write at an early age and is said to have kept a diary at age 10 in which he recorded the events of World War One in rhyme. During the war years he left his studies and started to work as a tailor, studying on his own and reading widely in Hebrew, Yiddish and world literature. 2. Through his older brother Shmuel he was drawn into the socialist Bund, the largest organization of Jewish workers in Poland, where he soon proved himself an able organizer and speaker. He founded a trade-union association in his town as well as a library, evening courses, and an amateur theater. In the early 1920s he represented the Lublin region at Bundist conferences in Lublin and Warsaw and under the initials Z.D. and the pseudonym "Secretary" wrote reports for the Bundist and the Lublin Yiddish press. 3. In 1928, at the age of 24, he emigrated to France and settled in Paris, where he worked in a factory while studying French in an evening school. He continued to be active in the Jewish trade-union movement and in Jewish communal and cultural life. For a time he was secretary of his landsmanschaft -- apparently many others had emigrated to France from the Lublin area. In 1933, the year Henri was born, he made his literary debut in the weekly _Parizer handls-tsaytung_ with a humorous story of Parisian Jewish life, which was followed by stories, verse, sketches, essays, and feuilletons in Yiddish periodicals throughout the world, including the Warsaw _Folkstsaytung_, the New York _Forverts_, the Paris _Naye prese_ and many others. 4. In 1939, at the outbreak of World War Two, he volunteered (at age 35) for the French Army and a year later was mobilized in France for the Polish Army in Exile. In the summer of 1940 he was imprisoned by the Germans but escaped after a short period. For the rest of 1940 and the first half of 1941 he lived in Paris under the German occupation. [The Germans invaded France on May 19, 1940 and Paris fell on the 14th of June.] In the summer of 1941 he crossed over to the "Free Zone" of France. For the next two years he lived in Nice, which was under Italian control, and he was one of a group of Jewish refugee writers active in rescue work. His essay on this chapter of French Jewish history, "Jewish Refugees on the French Riviera," is widely cited.(2) In 1943, when the Germans occupied all of France, he hid for a while in the mountains outside Nice. In October 1943, with the help of the French underground, he found safety in Switzerland, where through 1944 he was interned in a Swiss military camp. 5. In the Swiss detention center he was active in social and cultural work in the employ of the Swiss Jewish Refugee Aid Organization, arranging and giving evening courses. He was freed from the camp in 1944 and lived in Geneva. He wrote for the Swiss Jewish refugee weekly, _Der baginen_ and _La revue juive_ in Geneva, and sent stories and essays to the leading Yiddish periodicals in America and Hebrew periodicals in Israel. He also wrote widely for children in such journals as _Kinder zhurnal_ (New York) and _Davar leyeladim_ (Tel-Aviv). In 1946 he published his first book, _Untern haknkrayts_ ('Under the Swastika'), a collection of eight stories, plus -- as we might expect from Henri's father -- a glossary of foreignisms. Meylekh Ravitsh reviewed this book enthusiastically and seventeen years later recalled that, appearing soon after the Shoa, it was in a certain sense new. "_untern haknkrayts_ iz dershinen bald nokh dem dritn khurbm un iz -- in a gevisn zinen -- geven epes nayes."(3) Ravitsh felt that "es hot gehat in zikh yene stoishe ru, un yene kleyne doze fun bitern humor, vos iz olel nokh shtarker untertsushtraykhn un aktsentirn di tragik."(4) ['It possessed that stoical calm and that small dose of bitter humor which can accentuate the tragic.'] 6. In 1948 (at age 44) Zaynvl Diamant emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. For a time he was a traveling agent for the _Algemeyner yidisher entsiklopedye_, for which he also translated materials from Hebrew, French, German and English. In 1954 he joined the staff of the _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_ and until the end of 1956 was in charge of of its archive and card catalogue. Ravitsh wrote in his _Mayn leksikon_ that "er iz vi fun der hashgokhe aleyn tsugepast gevorn tsu zitsn in a literarisher kantselarye fun a bildungs-ministeryum un forshn, koregirn, tsugreytn manuskriptn tsum druk."(5) ['Providence itself created him to fill a literary post in a department of education and to research, correct, and prepare manuscripts for publication'.] "hot dokh undzer bidne yidish nisht keyn bildungs-ministeryum, iz Zaynvl Diamant gezesn in der redaktsye fun der leksikon fun der yidisher literatur un hot gegreyt di biografyes." (6) ['But our poor Yiddish has no Ministry of Education, and so Zaynvl Diamant sat in the editorial office of the _Lexicon of Yiddish Literature_ and prepared biographies']. His second book, _Oyf ale vintn_ ('On All Winds'), a collection of twenty-one short stories, was published in New York in 1957. Until his death in 1963 he wrote numerous literary biographies, including those of major figures such as Khayim Grinberg and Khayim Grade. There are Hebrew, English, French and Portuguese translations of some of his stories. There is no composite bibliography of his work (except for the references given in the _Leksikon_ entry). This account is in large part a free translation of the unsigned entry in the _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_.(7) Zaynvl Diamant was a member of the staff of the _Leksikon_ in 1958 when it was written and was probably the main source of the facts presented there, which in any event could hardly have been critical. In the wake of the Shoa, _Leksikon_ entries often had a memorial quality which muted negative evalutations. Yet the several folio pages devoted to Zaynvl Diamant in the _Leksikon_ are justified by the scope of his career as a whole. The evaluative section of the entry comes from an unpublished ms. by the same Meylekh Ravitsh I cited earlier. He writes that Zaynvl Diamant "belongs to the generation of realistic fiction-writers who became known after the end of World War II and whose subject naturally was tied to the events of the Shoa. At heart he is a romantic and therefore gravitates towards the pathetic and the extra-natural in his realistically detailed stories. Though most of his stories are tragic, in his best work they never lack a quiet humor. Zaynvl Diamant also commands the art of making extraordinary events believable, employing as he does the solid means of the honest narrator who observes closely. Apparently, a large part of his stories are drawn from his own experience and from first-hand observation."(8) Ravitsh saw Diamant's output -- two books -- as small for so talented a writer in a lifetime of 59 years. Yet his final estimate of Diamant's work is deferential and generous: "a shtiler mentsh, a shtiler shrayber, un es iz im bashert geven oyftsushteln an eygnartik vinkl in dem filtsimerdikn hoyz fun der yidisher literatur."(9) ['A quiet person, a quiet writer, he was destined to establish his own individual corner in the many-chambered house of Yiddish literature."] Diamant would have treated such an assessment with self-irony. In his story "Der veg tsu eybikayt" ('The Road to Eternity') the young Parisian Yiddish poet Berele Kharef must weather the envious barbs of his fellow aspiring literati at the Workers' Cafe. He has poured all his energies into publishing his first book of poems, a costly matter which arouses their envy. "in der arbeter kikh, tsvishn khevre shrayber un kinstler "yunge muze," iz itster berele kharef un zayn bikhl lider geven bay yedern oyf der tsung: -- un gey veys , -- hot Naftole zinger zikh gornisht gekent oys|khidesh|n -- az der yung hot farmogt azoy fil gelt! -- vos heyst? hot yankele pizmen farentfert -- er iz dokh a shnayder! -- take an emeser shnayder?! hot simkhe|le dramaturg zikh ge|khidesh|t. -- vos fregstu epes? -- hot im Meylekh|l shleyn opgeentfert -- er iz dokh der bester shnayder tsvishn di shraybers un der bester shrayber tsvishn di shnayders!...(10) ['In the Workers' Cafe, among the Young Muse Society writers and artists, Berele Kharef and his book of poems were on everyone's tongue.' -- "And who would have guessed that the youngster had so much money, wondered Naftoli Singer. . -- What do you mean, replied Yankele Pizmen -- after all, he is a tailor! -- A real tailor? Simkhele Dramaturg pondered. What are you asking about? Meylekh Shleyn countered. He is the best tailor among the writers and the best writer among the tailors!...'] When Diamant made his debut in 1933, he too was a tailor. The story, as seen in these few lines, shows the author using names as descriptors and characteronyms, presaging his son's great fascination with onomastics. Indeed, Zaynvl Diamant is attentive to a range of language phenomena, particularly dialects and sociolects. Nowhere can this be better observed than in his 1961 novella "an orntlekh teyhoyz" ('A Respectable Teahouse'), set in a Polish town during World War One.(11) The story tells how Mekhele Shnayder, a pious widower with two grown daughters, a grown son and two small daughters, tried to ward off poverty by conducting a "respectable" teahouse for the soldiers of "froyem-yoysef" (Franz-Josef) stationed in Glikev, an effort which ultimately fails in ways he could not foresee and which dramatize a clash of cultures in a time of rapid change. This tragic tale is not without comic elements and is much enlivened by the author's representation of colloquial and other speech. In Glikev Yiddish, "ikh vel dikh nisht toyshn" is pronounced as "yekh yel-dekh nish' toyshn." The "kirishe" military (_kira_ is an anagram for "keysar yarom hodo" ['Glory to the Kaiser!'] are called "shmate-lyalkes" ('rag-dolls') because they are so neatly and vainly uniformed and because they wear cloth leggings on their lower legs. Glikev is not accustomed to their terms of address: "afile breyndl di kekhin, rivke|le di tikerin [St.Y. _tukerin_] binele di vaser-tregerin zenen bay zey oykh geven 'genedike frau'."(12) ['Even Breyndl the Cook, Rivkele the Bathhouse Attendant and Binele the Water-Carrier were all addressed by them as 'Gracious Madam'] Note too how the Yiddish ear heard _genedike_ for the German _gnaedike_.] The author shows Glikev Jews speaking a fractured German (13) and a servant-girl adopting the elevated Yiddish of her former wealthy employers (14). His dialogue individualizes his characters and helps evoke their milieu (15); one character quotes a Polish proverb, a typical practice.(16) The Diamant family were among the fortunate few who found asylum in Switzerland, much in the news today because of alleged cooperation with the Nazis and possession of confiscated Jewish wealth. Two striking stories in _Untern haknkrayts_ ('Under the Swastika') are set in the family's Swiss detention period and focus on the theme of identity. The linguistic dimension of this theme interested Henri greatly; I would further claim that the theme as a whole interested him. The dedication which precedes "In kinderheym" ('In the Children's Home') reads: "mayne zundelekh: hershele un peysekh'l -- a matone" ['to my little boys, Hershele and Peysekh -- a gift'].(17) Hershele, of course, is Henri. It is a rather grim story to have given to one's children, but the perspective of 1946 is not that of today. The scene is a home for Jewish refugee children in a Swiss village. The narrator is a child and the events are all seen through a child's eyes. The children play at war and think it is splendid and are annoyed when their game is suspended by the adult supervisor. The children's game, of course, reflects the outside reality which they do not understand. The Shoa is introduced through the boy Henri who wants his mother -- who has been deported -- to come and put him to bed at night. (Apparently the author at this time did not think of his Hershele as Henri.) The children are cruel to the half-Jewish Pyero ['Piero'] whom they have seen at bedtime praying on his knees with his Catholic mother who comes to say goodnight to him. They tell him he is not a Jew and beat him up. The story ends in a bedtime scene with the child Piero rejecting his mother and declaring he is a Jew and jumping up on his bed and singing out a fragment of "Hatikva" that some of the children have been singing: "Od lo avda tikvateynu" ('We have not yet lost our hope'), the meaning of which he cannot know. The story leaves us with a powerful impression of the tangle of confused identities which the Nazis created or exacerbated. In "Beltrami shtarbt" ('The Death of Beltrami'; French translation 'La mort de Beltrami') we find several Jewish refugee patients in a Geneva hospital ward. The central image in the story is the forbiddingly impersonal atmosphere surrounding the death of the poor Swiss shoemaker, Beltrami, whose end contrasts sharply with death in a Polish shtetl. (18) With this death as background and binding narrative thread, the life of the ward unfolds. The Swiss resent foreigners, especially _youpins_ (i.e. Jews); an assimilated French Jew turns his back on his unassimilated fellow Jews until he himself experiences anti-semitism and affirms his Jewishness. Sister Marie attempts to convert an orphaned Jewish youth, and the Jewish writer in the cast of characters (the author's persona) cautions that at this tragic hour in Jewish history it is wrong to cross over to the enemy (19). And amidst the cold and hostile climate of the ward, the Jews trade Yiddish witticisms. Henri would have been able to explicate the ethnophaulisms (the ethnic slurs) which appear in this story, as for example in this passage: "eynem a yidisher shnayder fun parizer 'pletsl', kemat a ben-shivem, hot men do a nomen gegebn 'negus'... un ot der 'negus', iz dos do, in dem shpitol-zal, der spetsimen, der muster fun di 'poloney' [Fr. Polonais]... loyt im urteylt men do dos poylishe folk, di plitim, di yidn... farfelt amol der 'negus' zikh di hent tsu vashn far an esn, zenen ale 'flikhtlinge' shmutsike, men darf zay nisht lozn onrirn dos lebl broyt, nor a shvaytser muz dos broyt tseshnaydn..." (20) ['An almost 70-year old Jewish tailor from the Paris 'Pletsl' has been nicknamed Negus and serves in this hospital as the specimen 'Polack'. He is the standard by which the Polish people, the refugees, the Jews are judged. If Negus happens to forget to wash his hands before a meal, all refugees are filthy and should not be allowed to touch a loaf of bread, only a Swiss should be allowed to cut the bread...'] But against verbal slights like _youpin_ and _Negus_, the Jews have their own verbal defence. When the proselytizing Sister Marie, a Swiss German, reads the Gospel to her patients in a faltering French, one of the Jewish patients remarks: "a shlekhter bal-koyre" ['a poor reader of the Tora']. When she turns back to look at the patients before leaving the ward, her action is described "vi, lehavdl, der khazn tsu 'bo'u be|sholem'"(21) ['like, forgive the comparison, the cantor when he comes to the passage "Come in peace"']. In "The Death of Beltrami" the dying shoemaker is asked if he wishes to see a priest. He does not. The author wonders if this refusal is not perhaps a last protest at the injustice of the world. Deathbed statements have great dramatic force and the author returns to this device in one of his very American stories, one which strikes me as in some respects autobiographical.. The two main characters are defined by the title of the story, "Tate un zun," ('Father and Son').(22) The time is the week of parashat Vayekhi, which deals with the death of Jacob and the blessing of Joseph. The Makrivitser rov, Rabbi Margolis, reviews his life as he lies on his death bed in a New York hospital: he has lost his community and his family in the Shoa, except for his son, who in a sense he has also lost. The son, Yoysef, his father's _kadish_ and hope, is a professor in Los Angeles. There is a long history of alienation between father and son, but it is the father who has turned his back on his son. The son has carved out his own style of Jewishness and is involved in Jewish studies and in work for Erets Yisrael. The father has been slowly coming to see American Jewry in a positive light. Their philanthropy, their work for Erets Yisrael now loom large for him. He is moving towards reconciliation with his son. The long absent son is reunited with his father in an emotional scene in the hospital. At the story's end the Rabbi tries to inpose an oath on his son in the biblical manner -- by placing of the hand on his thigh -- but he dies before he can even express what oath he wants his son to take. The ritual of Joseph taking an oath before Jacob is mimicked but not completed and this irresolution is significant. The story emblemizes the conflict between traditionalist father and modernist son, representing on one level two large camps of the Jewish people and on another two different value systems. The story borrows from Henri's biography in so far as it shows a European-born son who succeeds as an academic in America and cements his ties with the Jewish people in a Zionist and humanist spirit. The old world has its cultural claims on this son but he is not bound by an iron oath to live according to any of its established rhythms. Henri, to a considerable degree, lived his life according to his own lights. And that is not inconsiderable. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Endnotes 1) Meylekh Ravitsh. "Zaynvl Diamant," _Mayn leksikon; yidishe shraybers, kinstlers, aktyorn, oykh klal-tuers in di amerikes un andere lender_. band IV, bukh 1. tel-oviv: velt-rat far yidish un yidisher kultur, 1980, p. 178. 2) "Yidn oyf der frantsoyzisher rivyere unter italyenisher okupatsye," _Yivo-bleter 37 (1953), 234-348; English translation: "Jewish Refugees on the French Riviera," _Yivo Annual of Social Science_ 8 (1953), 264-280. 3) _Mayn leksikon_, p. 178. 4) idem. 5) idem. 6) idem. 7) "Zaynvl Diamant," _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_, New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1958, 2:485-488. 8) ibid., col. 487. 9) _Mayn leksikon_, p. 178. 10) "Der veg tsu eybikayt," _Oyf ale vintn_, p. 18. 11) Diamant, Zaynvl. "An orntlekh teyhoyz," in Pat, Yankev, Meylekh Ravitsh and Zaynvl Diamant, eds. _Almanakh yidish_, New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1961, 94-148. 12) ibid., p. 96. 13) ibid., p. 99. 14) ibid., p. 109. 15) ibid., p. 105. 16) ibid., p. 110. 17) "In kinderheym," _Oyf ale vintn_, p. 123. 18) Diamant, Zaynvl. "Beltrami shtarbt," _Untern haknkrayts_. pariz: farlag fun A. B. Tserata, 1946, p. 115. 19) ibid., pp. 105-106. 20) ibid., p. 97. 21) ibid., p. 114. 22) Diamant, Zaynvl. "Tate un zun," _Oyf ale vintn_. nyu-york: alveltlekhn yidishn kultur-kongres, 1957, pp. 291-300. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- References Diamant, Zaynvl. _Untern haknkrayts_. pariz: farlag fun A. B. Tserata, 1946. [8 stories, glossary] 222 zz' Diamant, Zaynvl. "Yidn oyf der frantsoyzisher rivyere unter italyenisher okupatsye," _Yivo-bleter 37 (1953), 234-348; English translation: "Jewish Refugees on the French Riviera," _Yivo Annual of Social Science_8 (1953), 264-280. Diamant, Zaynvl. _Oyf ale vintn_. nyu-york: alveltlekhn yidishn kultur-kongres, 1957. Diamant, Zaynvl. "An orntlekh teyhoyz," in Pat, Yankev, Meylekh Ravitsh and Zaynvl Diamant, eds. _Almanakh yidish_, New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1961. 94-148. Ravitsh, Meylekh. "Zaynvl Diamant," _Mayn leksikon; yidishe shraybers, kinstlers, aktyorn, oykh klal-tuers in di amerikes un andere lender_. band IV, bukh 1. tel-oviv: velt-rat far yidish un yidisher kultur, 1980, pp. 177-178. "Zaynvl Diamant," _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_, New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1958, 2:485-488. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.005 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _Mendele_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.006 28 March 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: from the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) "tsum vikuekh vegn di hebreizmen" (Noyekh Prilutski) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 March 1999 From: leonard prager Subject: Yiddish Matters In the essay reprinted here from that marvelous treasure house of Yiddish linguistic lore, _Yidish far ale_ ('Yiddish for All'), Noyekh Prilutski returns us to the once heated controversy over the Hebraic component in Yiddish. Soviet Yiddishists made the absurd claim, here demolished by Prilutski, that the October Revolution had significantly dehebraicized Yiddish, effecting a linguistic revolution parallel to the socio-economic one which purportedly had transformed Jewish life. Prilutski's essay complements Max Weinreich's important essay, "Vos volt yidish geven on hebreish" ['What Would Yiddish Be Like Without Hebrew?'] (in Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of Vol. 3 of _The Mendele Review_) and continues our review of Soviet Yiddish. A special bonus: if you have never understood the expression "eyn li" in Yiddish, Prilutski here explains it fully. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 March 1999 From: Lucas Bruyn and Leonard Prager Subject: "tsum vikuekh vegn di hebreizmen" (Noyekh Prilutski) Noyekh Prilutski "tsum vikuekh vegn di hebreizmen"* [*_yidish far ale_ 3 (mai 1938), zz" 65-75] z' 65 in numer 3 (16) funem kiever zhurnal "di yidishe shprakh" (may-yuni 1929) hot b. slutski opgedrukt a sakhakl-artikl: "di arbet fun der filologisher sektsye bay der katedre far yidisher kultur (kiev) oyf der shprakh fun der sovetisher yidisher prese," iz dort geven a kapitl: "dehebreizatsye." di gedakhte filologishe sektsye hot "baarbet... an erekh 120 numern" (tsu meystn fun "emes", veyniker fun "shtern" un "oktyaber" -- ale far a por khadoshem fun yor 1928), un oyfn smakh fun dem dozikn eynzaytikn materyal iz men eyns un tsvey gekumen tsum sensatsyoneln oysfir: -- zeyer a vikhtiker protses kumt for in der sovetisher yidisher prese mit di hebreishe elementn. dos iz di dehebreizatsye -- di farminerung funem altn hebreishn shprakhfarmog in der shprakh. sakhakl hot men fun di 120 numern gekent opshraybn 640 kartlekh mit hebreishe verter un oysdrikn. genug dos tsu farglaykhn mit di 5000 hebreishe verter un oysdrikn in yehoyesh-spivaks verterbukh, az s'zol klor vern, vos far an enderung di revolutsye hot arayngebrakht in der yidisher shprakh: tsuzamen mitn opshtarbn fun alte lebn-shteyger (in grestn teyl -- a farmitlerish-hendlerisher mit a religiez-gaystiker ideologye) shtarbn oykh op di hebreishe verter, vos hobn gedint dem dozikn shteyger. d~o~s y~i~d~i~s~h~e v~o~r~t k~o~n~k~u~r~i~rt m~i~t~n h~e~b~r~e~i~s~h~n [di letste 6 verter shpatsirt inem original]. s'iz geven in fuln zin fun vort a diletantish shtikl arbet, hagam farefntlekht in organ fun a katedre bay a visnshaftlekher akademye. s'iz dokh zelbfarshtendlekh, az kedey tsu kenen redn in aza fal vegn farminerung, iz umbadingt neytik geven an obyektiver onshpar, velkhn es ken gebn bloyz a farglaykh. oyftseylndik di hebreizmen in 120 bleter "emes", "shtern" un "oktyaber" far yor 1928, hot men dos eygene gedarft tun legabe 120 numern fun di zelbike togbleter far yor 1919, tsi 1920, tsi 1921 ukhdoyme, -- demolt ersht volt geven a meglekhkayt tsu shafn zikh a klor bild vegn dem, tsi geyt virklekh unter der dermonter element inem loshn fun der ratnfarbandisher yidisher zhurnalistik. di sibe, vider, funem faln (tsi shtaygn) volt men gekent dergeyn nisht frier, vi s'volt durkhgefirt gevorn an enlekhe oysforshung in der anderlendisher yidisher prese -- oyf 120 numern fun a varshever tsi nayyorker tsaytung: 1 mol far 1919, tsi 1920, tsi 1921 ukhdoyme un 1 mol far 1928. di hern fun der kiever filologisher sektsye hobn zikh an eytse gegebn oyf a gringern -- hekhst humoristishn -- oyfn. gezogt zikh: koym hobn mir in 120 numern fun undzere politishe togbleter gefunen bloyz 640 hebreishe vokablen un vendungen un nisht ale 5 toyznt etlekhe hundert, vos zenen registrirt in yehoyesh-spivaks ---------------------- z' 66 verterbukh, heyst es, az di shprakh fun undzere prese dehebreizirt zikh, -- a poyel-yoytse fun der oktober-revolutsye... oykh a "metod"... aleyn far zikh zenen ober 640 hebreishe verter un oysdrikn, in yor 1928 -- in der shprakh nisht fun beletristik, nor fun komunistisher zhurnalistik, -- geven a gor mamoshes|diker bashtandteyl. nokh meyn: mir do, leyenendik fun tsayt tsu tsayt di yidishe bleter fun yener zayt grenets, hobn gehat dem festn ayndruk, az in zeyer zhurnalistishn loshn -- derhoypt in der publitsistik -- banutst men hebreishe elementn nisht bloyz nisht vintsiker, vi in undzer prese (der varshever, der vilner), nor amol efsher oykh mer. undz hot zikh demolt gedakht, az efsher iz der naturalizirter oysleyg der stimul: koym iz opgefaln di moyre, az der folksmentsh vet nisht farshteyn dos oder yents vort ibern spetsifishn grafishn levush, iz men gevorn frayer un dreyster inem gebroykh fun di hebreizmen. vos darf men mer -- oykh in lutskis rezyume-artikl, fun velkhn s'iz geven oyvn di reyd, bagegnen mir a shpor bisl hebreishe verter, azelkhe vi: -- agev, asakh, bitl, biklal, bekhe(y)n, balmelokhe, kedey, klal, simonem, prat, tsores, rosheteyves|n... zey zenen davke nisht farbitn gevorn oyf: -- bay gelegnheyt. fil. gringshetsung. in algemeyn. alzo. hantverker. um. regl. tseykhens. detal. leydn. initsyaln (tsi abrevyaturn). vayter. slutski aleyn hot informirt, az oyf di 640 kartlekh hobn farnumen "dos greste ort verter far gaystike, derhoypt far r~e~l~i~g~y~e~z~e [shpatsirt in original] zakhn un bagrifn, vi vayt der sovetisher yidisher prese kumt zey oys tsu nutsn in s~p~e~t~s~i~y~e~l~e f~a~l~n (tsu bakemfn dem altn lebns-shteyger, dem klerikalizm)": -- aveyre, oylem-habe, eyn(h)ore, ornkoydesh borkhashem, gabe, ganeydn, tales, tfiln, yore-shomaim, khevre-kadishe, khsidim, matse, moyfes, sider, kameye, kashres, rov, skhite... ober sof-kol-sof iz dokh nisht vikhtik, in vosere faln di yidishe zhurnalistik in ratn-farband hot zikh in yor 1928 badint mit di okersht oysgeshribene verter: genug iz, az zey zenen banutst gevorn. khutsthalbn: shoyn-zhe vern azelkhe oysdrikn vi a~v~e~y~r~e, b~o~r~k~h~a~s~h~e~m, g~a~b~e, k~a~s~h~r~e~s ukhdoyme, gebroykht nor demolt, ven me darf "bakemfn dem altn lebns-shteyger, dem klerikalizm"? (redt men nisht bay undz amol, lemoshl, fun "endekishn kashres", fun "rasistishn kashres" ukhdoyme?) endlekh, hot men oyf di kartlekh gezen fil "verter un oysdrikn fun dem min, vos nutst geveyntlekh, oder di sovetishe yidishe prese nutst spetsyel, far emotsyonel-ekspresive tsvekn -- far ironye, bitl, farakhtung, oyfgebrokhtka1yt u.a.v.": -- ishe, bal-dover, batlones, goles, gedule, gzeyre, hispayles, skus-oves, zokher, yoytser, meshorsem, khavruse, klal-yisroel, knufye, muser haskl, mishebeyrekh, mikolaminem, zgule, roydef, sholem, shemen-zayes, thkine... oyb azoyne vokablen zenen nor farvendt gevorn mit breyter hant, iz zikher tsu fri geven tsu redn vegn "opshtarbn" fun vosere nisht iz hebreishe elementn in der yidisher shprakh. ---------------------- z' 67 nor di aynshtelung fun di kiever filologisher sektsye iz geven zeyer vayt fun visnshaftlekhkayt un shtark nont tsu politik. an ibergang azelkher hot zikh demolt gehat arayngekhapt in dos ratnfarbandishe yidishe gezelshaftlekhkayt, un a boykh-svore mikoyekh|n goyrl fun di hebreizmen hot dort gekent giltn far an obyektivn visnshaftlekhn fakt, oyb nor zi hot tsugetrofn der modisher shtimung. bald nokh slutskis barikht-artikl hot der firer fun der kiever filologisher sektsye -- n. shtif -- tsugeshtelt a teoretishe bagrindung un an ideishe apologye far der "farminerung funem altn hebreishn shprakhfarmog in der shprakh," un derbay shoyn geredt nisht vegn loshn fun yidisher prese far a gevisn period, nor v~e~gn y~i~d~i~s~h in ratn-farband b~i~k~l~a~l. er hot dos getun in a referat, september 1929, in institut far yidisher kultur bay der ukrainisher visnshaftlekher akademye, un di "skheme" derfun opgedrukt in zhurnal "di yidishe shprakh" numer 4-5 (17-18) far yuli-oktober 1929 (shpaltn 1-22). oyf di shpaltn 21 un 22 git der mekhaber dem "sakhakl" fun der ophandlung -- in 4 punktn. far undzer teme iz bazunders interesant der letster fun zey: -- der hipsher hebreisher inventar in yidish hot zikh gekent haltn nor bay der shvakher ekonomisher un kultureler diferentsirtkayt in folk, bay dem ibervog fun di mitl- un kleynbirgerlekhe hendlerish-farmitlerishe shikhtn. mitn oyfkum funem yidishn arbeter-klas un fun der yidisher arbeter-bavegung farlirt der hebreisher inventar mer un mer in stol un in vog in der shprakh, azoy vi di farelterte un opgelebte in der folksshprakh biklal (derhoypt fraseologye, shablon-oysdrikn) vos shtimen nisht mer mit dem lebn in shtrayt funem arbeter-klas. der arbeter-klas shaft zayn shprakh mit der hilf fun internatsyonalizmen un fun di eygene shprakhresursn in der folksshprakh (naybildungen). tsum klorstn kumt der doziker protses tsum oysdrik in der sovetisher yidisher shprakh. kh'bet tsu nemen in akht: der in aza kategorishn ton gemakhter oysfir iz geven in a groyser mos apriorish, nisht geshtitst -- nisht mit keyn analiz fun der shprakh in der ratnfarbandisher yidisher beletristik, nisht mit keyn ankete tsvishn di yidish-redndike masn. un voser kontrast mitn nor vos tsitirtn letstn fragment fun shtifs "skheme" iz der gantser tekst irer, vos iz grod zeyer vayt fun boykotirn di hebreizmen, -- farkert, oyf shrit un trit shtoysn mir zikh dort on oyf azelkhe verter, vi: ovl, eyvrem, avade, alefbeys, emune, emes, a sakh afile, be|emes, biklal, balmelokhe, be|etsem, bifrat, bekitser, broyges, gayve, gvir, guf, gufe, dinem, hamoyn, haskole, hispayles, khoydesh, khuts, khushem, khies, khsides, khkire-sforem, khshives, yikhes, yoytse,zayn yoysher, kedey, kishef, kimat, loshn, moyre, mum, muser-sforem, mies, mides, minhogem, mistame, mayles, mitsve, mitsves, meshikhes, niker, nikhne, nekudes, seyfer, stam, oynesh, anives, pidyen, parnose, tsadikem, kool, koolsh, kloles, rabon|ish, shutfes|dik, skhar, tfiles... kh'hob do gebrakht bloyz a kleynem teyl funem asortiment, mit velkhn shtif hot zikh banutst in der arbet, vos ir hoyptgedank iz geven, az di hebreizmen in ratnfarbandishn yidish shtarbt oys, az der protses der doziker iz a barekhtiker un deriber an umfarmaydlekher un gezunter, un az keyn shodn brengt er nisht, vorn faran andere yidishe (ashkenazish-shtamike) ekvivalentn, iz take geven -------------------------- z'68 a kashe: far vos hot zikh der dermanter shrayber aleyn nisht tsugepast tsu di tezisn fun zayn eygenem artikl? far vos iz er zikh nisht bagangen mit g~l~i~d~e~r, r~e~l~i~g~y~e, v~o~r~h~e~y~t, f~i~l, z~o~g~a~r, v~i~r~k~l~e~k~h, i~n a~l~g~e~m~e~y~n, h~a~n~t~v~e~r~k~e~r, u.a.v. onshtot vayter tsu operirn mit di "altfrenkishe", "opgelebte" e~y~v~r~e~m, e~m~u~n~e, e~m~e~s, a s~a~k~h, a~f~i~l~e, b~e~e~m~e~s, b~i~k~l~a~l, b~a~l~m~e~l~o~k~h~e u.a.v? in dray yor arum -- in der epokhe fun obligatorisher "zelbstkritik" -- hot shtif zikh nokh gehaltn shtol-un-ayzn bay di oyvn tsitirte "emesn". fun dest vegn hot er in der reyde zayner oyfn "revizye-plenum fun der filologisher sektsye" banutst 57 hebreizmen (ze: "afn shprakhfront," numer 4, kiev, yuli-august 1932) -- azelkhe vi: agev, bekivn|dik, beerekh, davke, doyres|dik, derekh-erets, harg|enen, khilek, khkires, toes, tayne, yerushe, shpigl-ksav, megushem|dik, min, mimeyle, maskem, svive, sof, sfeykes, pikkhes, kabole-tsetl, shures [un desglaykhn]. sh. dobin (inem zelbikn numer "afn shprakhfront" hot in a tsvey mol kirtserer al khet-reyde oykh gebroykht 56 hebreishe verter: -- oyfn, akhrayes, boylet|ste, benegeye, beshum-oyfn, beys, hanokhe, far|hanokhes, harkhove, khazn, iber|khazer|t, khesroynes, yesod, kloymer|sht, klal,veklal aftsu|lokhes, lakhlutn, limed, lekhatkhile, mehus, moyde,[zayn zikh] meyaesh,[zayn zikh] mamesh, oylem, alpi,seykhl etsem-mehus, sotn, shaykhes, u.a.v. mer volt afile undzer eyner nisht farvendt! der kheyrem hot in ratn-farband gufe lang nisht ongehaltn. der tsentral-organ funem ofitsyeln yidishn gezelshaftlekhkayt in yener medine heyst er hayom: "emes" (naturalizatsye fun oysleyg andersht dokh nisht dem opshtam funem vort!). der nomen iz nisht gebitn gevorn oyf: "v~o~r~h~e~y~t"... * kh'hob do oyfgemisht a fargelt bletl funem over, makhmes es lozn zikh merkn simonem, az der umgang khapt zikh letstns -- mit a mamshes|diker farshpetikung -- arayn oykh in undzere dalet ames. s'iz genug ontsurufn dos artikl fun Dovid roykhl: "stam lamdones oder a befeyrishe tendents" (3 hebreishe verter oyf 6 fun der kop-shure!) -- mit der unterkepl: "vegn der hebreizirung fun yidish" -- in numer 8 "literarishe bleter" fun 18tn februar 1938. der mekhaber funem maymer hot kentik geleyent shtifs "skheme" un enlekhe ksovem un nemt zikh laydnshaftlekh on di avle 'fun froyen un fun der hayntiker yugnt, vos hot fun dem gantsn leksikon keyn brekl anung nisht," un in zayn eygenem artikl iz er zikh mater tsu banutsn: -- emes. efsher. o~ts-k~o~y~ts~e~ts-l~o~sh~n. besmedresh. b~a~l~ey-d~ey~e. befeyresh. g~a~b~o~em-sh~t~i~b~l. g~a~b~o|i~sh~e. g~v~i~r|i~sh. guf. h~a~s~k~o~l~e-ts~ay~t. kheyder. kh~oy~l~e z~ay~n. kh~i~d~e~sh. khen. y~oy~ts~e-m~i~n-h~a~k~l~a~l. y~e~kh~i~d~e~m. yeshive. k~l~ey-k~oy~d~e~sh. k~l~ey-k~oy~d~e~sh|d~i~k. k~ey~l~e~m. l~a~m~d~o~n~e~s. l~a~m~d~o~n|i~sh. loshn. m~a~r~a~sh? m~a~kh~m~e~s. m~e~m~ey~l~e, m~a~m~e~sh. m~e~f~u~n~o~k~e~m. n~e~g~i~d~i~sh. n~e~sh~o~m~e. n~e~sh~o~m~e - y~e~s~ey~r~e. soykhrish. sof. smakh. sforem. s~t~a~m. i~v~r~i. iker. i~n~y~e~n. ameratsem. poter vern. p~s~u~k~e~m. p~a~r~n~e~s~e~-kh~oy~d~e~sh. kool. rabonishe. shite. shmues|t. seykhl. tkif|ish. ------------------------- 69. er halt, aponem, az di oysdrikn -- derhoypt di fun mir shpatsirte (vi "ots-koytsets-loshn," "yoytste-min-haklal" ukhdoyme) -- zenen "di froyen un der hayntiker yugent" ale biz eynem yo farshtendlekh. nor nisht dos bin ikh oysn. der iker iz dokh der printsip -- un p~r~i~n~ts~i~p~y~e~l f~a~l~t~sh i~z y~e~d~e f~o~d~e~r~u~n~g (un yeder pruv) a~r~oy~s~ts~u~v~a~r~f~n f~u~n d~e~r y~i~d~i~s~h~e~r sh~p~r~a~kh d~i h~e~b~r~e~i~z~m~e~n, v~o~s l~e~b~n i~n i~r m~i~k~a~d~m~oy~n~em, vos elter a hebreisher oysdruk iz in yidish, alts greserer meyukhes iz er, -- oyb nor nishst aroys fun banuts. oykh fargesene hebreizmen meg men tsurik aynfirn -- farshteyt zikh, forzikhtik un mit yishef (opgehitnkayt un iberleygung zenen, ibrikns, tomid a khiev -- oykh baym aktualizirn andere arkhaizmen, punkt vi baym araynnemen internatsyonalizmen oder legalizirn neologizmen). me ken deriber nor shtoynen, ven a mentsh, vos halt in zayn artikl far derlozlekh y~e~k~h~i~d~e~m, m~e~f~u~n~o~k~e~m, n~e~s~h~o~m~e-y~e~s~e~y~re ukhedoyme, mekhtikt zikh tsu paslen azoyne gute yidishe vendungen, vi: -- nisht dershatst dem k~i~e~m ... mayne n~e~s~i~e~s m~e~ey~v~e~r-l~e~y~a~m ... on a sh~i~e~r groys ... b~e~sh~u~t~f~e~s|d~i~k~e inuem ... am vintsikstn ibertsaygevdik iz, ven di khsidem fun "dehebreizatsye" tretn oyf vi farzorger "fun froyen un fun der hayntiker yugnt." vegn velkhe froyen redn zey? der mentsh fun folk iz shtark heymish mit di hebreishe elementn fun der yidisher shprakh, -- di froy, vi der mantsbl. ikh red nisht fun hoyln fas: dos vos ikh zog do, iz rezultat fun perzenlekhn langyerikn un breytn kontakt mit di folksmasn. nisht bay lifshitsn, nisht bay harkavin gefint ir nisht: bekhinem beloy dover, biz ad heyne, bore li ukhedoyme azelkhe vendungen, un bay di yidn fun gkb [= gevezn kongrespoyln] zenen dos tif farvortslte verter -- me ken zey hern oyf shrit un trit in der folksshprakh, un bazunders take in moyl fun der froy. harkavi bukht yaades mit der taytsh: "yudaizm"; voser yidene in land fun der vaysl nutst ober nisht mindstns eyn mol in tog dos hoyptvort (aroysgeredt: yaanes, yaandes) mit der taytsh "gevisn"? "ey~n l~i" iz a yuridisher termin, notirt oykh bay harkavi, un vos hot di poylish yidishe folksmase alts nisht gemakht fun dem dozikn oysdruk! m~e~a~kh~oy~r~ey-h~a~p~a~r~g~e~d, b~e~e~y~r~e~m-u~v~kh~o~y~s~e~r-k~o~l un enlekhe, bay harkavi registrirte vort-farbindungen gehern tsum folkstimlekhstn leksikon. me volt gekent onhoyfenen a barg nokh mit bayshpiln, nor nisht do iz dos ort derfar. fun destvegn mol ikh mir laykht, az a leyener fun folk ken a voser nisht iz hebreizm in der tsaytung tsi in bukh nisht farshteyn. vos-zhe iz dos umglik? vet er zikh dem poshet onshtoysn funem kontekst oder iberfregn bay emetsn! vos shayekh, vider, der "hayntiker yugnt," iz eyns fun di beyde: oder zi ken nisht keyn yidish, vet zi baym lernen zikh dos loshn muzn banemen oykh di hebreishe bashtandteyln zayne; oder di shprakh iz ir nisht fremd, ist nisht shkhiekh, oykh di populere hebreizmen zoln ir nisht zayn bakant (mit di zeltenere iz oberamol dos eygene: me muz zikh tsulernen). agev, kumt mir epes for, az der viderviln tsu di hebreizmen iz bay a teyl penlayt undzere in a geviser mos a min kompleks, vos dem shoyresh zaynem darf men zukhn inem umtsufridnkayt mitn nisht-naturalizirtn oysleyg -- mit der doziker ------------------------- z' 70 baym leyenen yidish virklekh vezentlekher bashverung far perzonen, mit hebreish vintsik oder gor nisht bakante. ober az me iz broygez mitn khazn, shpringt men nisht keyn kdushe? * a kerndl rikhtikayt iz faran in roykhls oyfn banemen dem inyen, nor er hot es aleyn nisht bamerkt un mimeyle nisht antviklt geherik, hagam s'volt gedarft zayn di aks fun zayn artikl. un dehayne handlt zikh do in dem postulat ot, baym bageyn zikh mit der shprakh zol men visn, "vu ayn un vu oys", -- a forderung, vos iz, eygntlekh, barekhtikt legabe andere elementn fun der leksik oykh (legabe di internatsyonalizmen nisht miner vi legabe di yidishe arkhaizmen; legabe di slavizmen nor mer, vi legabe di hebreizmen). in tokh iz es a problem fun s~t~i~l, un bay stil iz nisht shayekh tsu farlozn zikh bloyz oyf fremde onvayzungen: me darf aleyn farmogn abisl khush, zist iz kranter tsu lozn di pen tsu ru. in a lirish lid mit intimen ton voltn arn verter, vi e~l~e~k~t~r~i~z~a~t~s~y~e tsi p~oy~p~e~r~i~z~a~t~s~y~e (mikolshkn ven me zol zey araynhakn in a tsu groyser tsol un gramen tsvishn anander). -- slavismen veln s'rov komish aroysshtartsn in a novele fun fratseyzishn lebn (derhoypt in dialog). -- spetsifishe yidishe khumesh-verter pasn nisht in a tsaytungs-notits vegen a gasn-geshleg tsvishn shikere khuliganes. -- yene hebreizmen, vos zenen ongemostn far der "gildener keyt", lomir onkhapn, muzn klingen humoristish, ven me shpart zey arayn in homers "odiseye". me darf zikh opgebn a khezbm in dem, az oykh di hebreishe elementn fun der yidisher shprakh zenen nisht eynheytlekh vos shayekh di forshtelungen, vos vern aroys gerufn durkh zeyer inhalt. verter vi e~m~e~s, b~e~z~oy~n, kh~ey~n, n~e~k~o~m~e, s~i~n~e un desglaykhn, untersheydn zikh semantish lakhlutn nisht fun di vokablen far di zelbike bagrifn in andere leshoynes. emes, pravda, Wahrheit, verite, truth u.a.v. zenen glaykhtaytshik in der eygener mos, vi es zenen glaykhvertik matbeyes fun eyn un dem zelbikn metal un fun eyn un der zelbiker vog, nor bloyz mit farshidene nemen. iz zelbfarshtendlekh, az far der doziker kategorye hebreizmen zenen ofn tirn un toyern in yidishe iberzetsungen fun yetvider shprakh. ober oysdrikn vi h~a~v~d~o~l~e~ (= likht), y~a~y~e~n - h~a~m~sh~u~m~e~r, n~e~t~i~l~e~s - y~e~d~a~e~m, k~o~r~b~m - t~oy~r~e ukhdoyme, zenen kharakteristish mit der farengerter, vayl spetsifitsirter taytsh, heyoys bagriflekh farbundn mit a bashtimtn religyezn kult. h~a~v~d~o~l~e iz nisht stam a likht, vi dos poylishe 'swieca', daytshishe 'kerze', frantseyzishe 'bougie', nor a likht far a spetsyeler ritueler tseremonye, far "havdole-makhn". y~a~y~e~n - h~a~m~sh~u~m~e~r iz nisht glat yeder oysgehaltener vayn, nor der vayn, vos vert gehit far di tsadikem un vet zey gegebn vern, ven meshiyekh vet kumen. azelkhe oysdrikn, terminen fun yidishn ritus, araynrukn in a klasishn grikhishn epos, vos iz durkhgedrungen mit getsdinerishn patos, -- "yayen-nesekh" rufn mitn nomen "yayen-hamshumer" un desglaykhn -- iz beemes nisht keyn gliklekher aynfal. ober ver iz es shuldik tsu entfern far eynem, vemen es felt stilistisher takt, d"h a gelenk tsu shraybn drukfeik? ------------------------ 71 nokh a bamerkung, vos hot a printsipyeln un tsuglaykh metodologishn kharakter, derfun, vos di ratnfarbandishe yidishe tsaytungen hobn in yor 1928 genutst: -- paynikungen. oysfirlekh. bazunders. barikht. voynung. virkung. bald. tsum bayshpil. oyfshtendler. vakhte. shterungen. neygung. gehalt. loyn. fardinst. urteyl. frier far alts. hiter. vekhter ..., onshtot (tsi lebn? -- dos iz funem tsitirtn artikl nisht klor): inuem, bifrotyes, bifrat, dinvekhezhbm, dire, hashpoe, teykef, lemoshl, mordem, mashmoyre, menies, netie, skhires, parnose, psakdin, koydemkol, shoymer ..., hot slutski gevolt dringen, az "dos yidishe vort konkurirt mitn hebreishn," un dos letste "shtarbt op." mentshn mit zikorn gedenken ober mistame, az nokh far der velt-milkhome hobn yidishe togbleter (in varshe, lemoshl) gebroykht: o~y~s~f~i~r~l~e~kh, b~a~z~u~n~d~e~r~s, b~a~r~i~kh~t, v~oy~n~u~n~g un kedoyme lebn b~e~f~r~o~t~y~e~s, b~i~f~r~a~t, d~i~n~v~e~k~h~e~z~h~b~m, d~i~r~e u.a.v., un az s'hot derbay ekzistirt a gevisn diferentsyatsye: a barikht hot men geshribn fun a protses in gerikht, fun a zitsung, farzamlung, konferents, ober vegn a mentsh hot men gezogt, az er git zikh op "a dinvekhezhbm fun zayne maysim"; mit a psakdin hot zikh geendikt a din-toyre oder a gerikht fun borerem, ober dos kroyngerikht flegt aroysgebn an urteyl ... dertsu darf nokh tsugegebn vern, az b~a~z~u~n~d~e~r~s, v~oy~n~u~n~g, b~a~l~d, l~oy~n, f~a~r~d~i~n~s~t, f~r~i~e~r f~a~r a~l~t~s, h~i~t~e~r ukhdoyme zenen in der gerekhter shprakh alte toyshvem (lekolapokhes in mitl-yidish), lebedik besholem mit b~i~f~r~a~t, d~i~r~e, t~ey~k~e~f, s~kh~i~r~e~s, p~a~r~n~o~s~e, k~o~y~d~e~m~k~o~l, sh~oy~m~e~r ... nor "p~a~r~n~o~s~e" iz nisht tomid sinonimish mit "f~a~r~d~i~n~s~t", efters iz es breyter (in varshe "fardint men oyf parnose", d"h oyf lebnsmitl, oyf di shtub-hetsoes, oyf dos "oyskumenish", vi es heyst bay mendele moykher-sforim), un lebn "v~oy~n~u~n~g" hot dem monopol "d~i~r~e - g~e~l~t" (on konkurents fun a tsunoyfzats mit "voynung"). agev, iz "h~a~sh~p~o~e" nisht bloyz "virkung", nor oykh "aynflus", un "m~i~sh~m~oy~r~e" hot, dakht zikh, keynmol nisht gehert tsu di oysdrikn vos zoln fil genutst vern. biklal iz zeyer primitiv oyftsufasn di zakh azoy, az ven a shprakh farmogt tsvey oder mer verter far eyn un dem zelbikn bagrif, heyst es, az zey "konkurirn" tsvishn zikh. a varshever yid, lomir zogn, koyft zikh a "malbesh", ober shloft "in ontun". ken men haltn, az dos tsveyte hoyptvort bayst aroys inem dialekt dos ershte? oser! s'treft zikh, me drikt zikh oys oykh: "er shloft in di malbushem". -- vayzt oys, demolt, ven der ritem fun di reyd fartrogt nor tsvey iberike trafn ("in ontun" hot dray, "un di malbushem" finf trafn). * do kumen mir am noentstn tsum problem fun sinonimen un zeyer role in der shprakh. 1) gute proze hot ritem vi poezye. er baleyt dos shraybn als orga- ------------------------ z' 72. nisher ingredyent (elehey melodye di kompozitsye in der muzik, arayngetrogn fun zikh aleyn, unterbavustzinik, beshas un durkh dem protses fun shafn. di pen hot oysgegosn oyfn paper undzer gedank -- mir leyenen dernokh iber di fraze, dem pasus, dem peryod, dem fragment, un s'art undz epes: mir veysn aleyn nisht, vos. me muz tsuvayln iberkukn un iberzogn oyfn kol dos ongeshribene eyn mol, un tsvey mol un oberamol, biz me khapt zikh: hagam sintaktish un logish iz alts altsad hayoyser tov, fun dest vegn iz neytik do oystsumekn a vort, dort es ibertsushteln un nokh ergets tsu baytn oyf an anders. azoy iz dos gebot funem bahaltenem ritem! h~e~y~o~y~s un v~o~r~n zenen glaykhtaytshik. mont bay mir der ritem fun stil a tsveytrafik vort mitn kvetsh oyfn endtraf, vel ikh farvendn dem yidishn hebreish-shtamikn vokabl; bet zikh a tsveytrafike konyunktsye mitn kvetsh oyfn ershtn traf, vel ikh farnutsn dos yidishe ashkenazish-shtamike vort. vet in a kauzativn bayzats dem ritem neytik zayn an eyntrafik bindvort, vet aroysshvimen: v~ay~l -- onstat v~o~r~n un h~e~y~o~y~s oder m~a~kh~m~e~s. 2) kh'ken eynem a redaktor -- mekt er sistematish yedn "dortn" in di manuskriptn, vos hobn dos umglik tsu kumen oyf zayne hent: er halt rak fun "dort", -- un vest im nisht ibertsaygn, az s'iz dokh nisht keyn tsufal, vos di shprakh hot tsu der eyntrafiker form tsubashafn a tsveytrafike! der ritem fun der shprakh fartrogt meynstns nisht dem nokhanant fun tsvey alts eyns gekvetshte trafn. -- d~o~r~t iz faran a sheyn veldl... -- aza zats leygt zikh laykht oyf der tsung, heyoys nokhn gekvetshtn "dort" geyt an umgekvetshter "iz." ober umbakvem iz aroystsuredn: "d~o~r~t z~o~g~t men"..., makhmes beyde shpatsirte verter trogn oyf zikh an iker-kvetsh. in dem letstn fal rayst zikh fun zikh aleyn: "d~o~r~t~n z~o~g~t men"... (der umgekvetshter traf -en tsvishn di tsvey iker-kvetshike "dort" un "zogt" fargringert di oysshprakh). 3) dos redn iz meystns a shtrom fun verter (eyntslvayzn vern zey zeltn gebroykht -- nor in dialog). der shtrom der doziker glidert zikh oyf zatsn, vos yeder fun zey hot zikh zayn eygenem aktsent (dem zatsakstent). der letster bavirkt shtark dos fonetishe bild fun di eyntslne verter. vos vintsiker a vort iz batont in zats, alts veyniker feikayt farmogt es ayntsuhaltndem fuln klangn-bashtand zaynem. genoy mit di dozike dershaynungen git zikh op di zats-fonetik. in gutn shriftshtelerishn stil iz ober faran di instiktive shtrebung vi vayt meglekh tsu zikhern dem eyntslnem vort in zats umbarirlekhkayt funem fonetishn farmeg. am laykhstn kumt dos teylvayz on baym oysmaydn dem sandhi, d"h dos trefn zikh, tbsh, fun tsvey alts eyne klangen, vos eyner fun zey shlist a vort, un der tsveyter heybt on dos nokhgeyendike. a shrayber mitn an oyer far voyklang in stil, vet nisht zogn: "s'iz efsher roznbergs mantl" (vayl aroysredn vet men derbay "efsher" on der reysh), nor "s'iz filaykht roznbergs mantl." punk azoy vet er zikh hitn far aza vort-seyder, vi "makhmes sender vil nisht," un vet shraybn: "vayl [oder v~o~r~n] sender vil nisht." ---------------- z' 73. oys di zelbike motivn shayet men zikh far aza oysdruk, vi "dort tut men dos"... shoyn opgeret derfun, az "dort" un "tut" zenen glaykh batont, fun vos di oysshprakh vert bashvert, vert nokh dos aroysredn komplitsirt durkhn tsunoyftref fun di tsvey t. deriber: "dortn tut men dos"... 4) azoy arum zenen a brokhe far der shprakh hen dos farshidnformikayt fun eyntslne vokablen ("itst -- itster, itstert"; "atsund -- atsunder, atsundert"; "zist -- azist, zistn, azistn"; "anumlt -- anumltn" u.a.v.) hen di sinonimen ("vayl -- vorn"; "azoy arum -- azoyernokh" un kedoyme): zey bafridikn biz gor vezntlekhe baderfenishn funem stil. vos shayekh di sinonimen, vert zeyer tsol mamesh|dik fargresert durkh di hebreisheelementn ("heyoys" un "makhmes" lebn "vayl" un "vorn"; "tomed" lebn "shtendik", "bashtendik" un "shtets" un desglaykhn. deriber iz kindish tsu meynen, az oyb me hot shoyn "vorheyt", "lign" "getrank" u.a.v., meg men on kvenklenish oysmekn funem verterbukh "emes", "sheker", "mashke" u.a.v. 5) eyn prat hob ikh do nokh nisht barirt, ober er iz azoy zelbfarshtendlekh, az s'iz iberik mayrekh tsu zayn. s'kumt amol oys eyn un dem zelbikn bagrif ibertsu|khazer|n etlekhe mol oyfn shetekh fun a nisht-langn tekst. a guter stilist veyst, vi paynlekh es iz, ven men ken nit oysvaykhn dem eyntonikayt iber mangl in sinonimen! hot a zin tsu faroremen di shprakh durkh mafkir zayn aza kval fun sinonimek vi hebreizmen in yidish? tsulog** [**the footnotes and phonetic spellings on page 74 have been omitted -- L.P.] e~y~n l~i. in krokever pinkes fun yor 1595 iz faran a takone: -- taynes "eyn li" [vegn an onzetser, vos vil nisht tsoln di khoyves, taynendik, r'iz faroremt gevorn un hot nisht mit vos tsu tsoln]. leyenen mir dortn: - men zol den zelbign [vos taynet "eyn li"] makhrem zayn in alin shuln. blaybt er g' yomem in kheyrem, do zol men im tfise|n be|dudikh [a tfise azelkhe in kroke] shmoyne yomim lepokhes, un der-nokh ad shloyshem zoln dayonem noyse venoysn zayn im roshem vetoyvem, di kayn shaykhes hobn leshney hatsdodem ke|harkhakas roshem ke|n"l. der-nokh zol men kheyrem gebn ver do het vos [= epes], dos [= vos] zayn ver, odr vist vu doz zayni ver... ---------------- z' 74. in mitl-yidish iz "eyn li" (aroysgeredt ayn li) a zeyer populerer adverbyaler oysdruk mit eygntimlekhe taytshn. 1) aponem ibern homonimishkayt (glaykhklangikayt) mitn tsolvort ey~n hot men dem hebreishn "eyn" ongehoybn oyftsufasn, vi ey~ns. azoy: -- er zogt "eyn-li" [= er zogt eyns, er halt zikh bay eyns, er zogt kategorish eyns, er zogt aynge|akshn|t eyns], ikh hob bay im gekoyft (varshe). // yetst shrayen zey eyn li, s'felt zey vesh (varshe). // eyn li [= eyns zog ikh un vel nisht oyfhern tsu zogn], kh'ken im nisht! (varshe). // darf zikh haltn nor eyn li: r'iz fun fiftn yor! [= darf zikh kategorish haltn bay eynem, un dehayne, az er iz geboyrn in yor 1905 (yareve)]. analogish in sheps. 2) fun gebroykh in negative zatsn hot zikh antviklt di taytsh: n~e~y~n u~n n~e~y~n u~n t~o~y~z~n~t m~o~l n~e~y~n, d"h "eyn-li" iz gevorn di kategorishste negatsye. azoy: -- zey voltn geshrign eyn li [= neyn un neyn, zey viln fun gornisht visn] (varshe)] // vet zi zogn eyn li, zi vil nisht mit im voynen (likeve). // zi hot geshrign eyn li, zi hot nisht gekoyft (makeve). oykh in lemberg: "eyn li, kh'veys nisht!" 3) oyf der grenets fun di tsvey okersht gebrakhte taytshn ligt dos tishevitser: -- eyn li, kh'loz nisht davenen! d"h: "Ikh halt mir bay eynem, kh'loz nisht davenen"; "neyn, un neyn un nokhamol neyn, kh'loz nisht davenen". bekhinem beloy dover = umzist, umfarshuldikt. lemoshl: "rateven fun an umglik bekhinem-beloy-dover" (dos umglik iz umfardint). biz ad hiney = biz itst. varshe: "s'iz nishto biz ad hiney". a pleonistisher oysdruk ("ad" iz dokh sinonimish mit "biz"), vi hant-tkies-kaf, lemoshl. be|eyrem-uvkhoyser-kol = naket un bloyz. in di mundartn folksetimologish geandersht: boyre pkhoyse koyl (in varshe); boyre pkhoyser (varshe); beoyre bekhoysekh (in varshe); boyre veykhoyser (in varshe). lemoshl: "kh'bin geblibn boyre pkhoyser", "zibn kinder geyen boyre veykhoyser." bore li, adverb, hot di taytsh: 1) klor, oyf klor, zikher, bashtimt. varshe: "er veys bore li, az kh'hob nisht." -- analogish in mekhev-keltser. ------------------------ z' 75. 2) afile. varshe: "az er iz geven in der heym bore li, iz oykh nisht geven vos tsu esn" [tsesn]. agev, bore kumt for als hoyptvort mit der taytsh: "epes bashtimts. klore zakhn. bashtimte zakhn". stotsk (likever k'): "keyn bore veys ikh nisht". [yaades]/yandes -- gniveshev: 'sjandes', batayt oykh "yoysher, rakhmones" (analogish in varshe). meakhoyrey-haparged -- in di mundartn folksetimologish geendert. in groysbyale dos ershte vort aroysgeredt meakhoyre, meakhore oder meakhire, dos tsveyte: uparge. in moglnitse mit der eygener taytsh "mitokh haparge". [Editor's mote: On p. 71 Prilutski writes that "m~i~sh~m~oy~r~e" hot, dakht zikh, keynmol nisht gehert tsu di oysdrikn vos zoln fil genutst vern." The word listed in most Yiddish dictionaries is _mishmer_/pl. _mishmorem_. The Yiddish sense, as in Mendele's "mishmer iz geven biz halber nakht" [cited from Perferkovitsh; also cited in Niborski], parallels that in Hebrew (cf. Heb. _mishmar_ [Nehemiah 4:16]). A specialized Judaic sense, present in Yiddish and possibly also in Hebrew, is seen in this sentence by Ravnitski: "gelernt gantse teg un oykh oft gantse nekht 'mishmorem'" [cited from Shteynberg; also cited by Niborski], as well as by the sentence in Perferkovitsh: "Di yeshive-bokherem hobn fil tayneg fun a mishmer nakht." Niborski gives mishmer/mishmorim. Harkavi has mishmar, mishmaroys; Stutshkov has _mishmer_ under _vakh_ (#430), synonymous with _shmire_ and _vakh_. Heb. _mishmar_ is masc., but there are plurals in -im and -ot. I find a _mishmara_ [Ashk. Heb. _mishmoro_] with plural _mishmarot_ [Ashk. Heb. _mishmoros_]. I also find a _mishmarot_ which is the plural of _mishmeret_. I do not find in any Yiddish or Hebrew dictionary the form twice given by Prilutski (which he himself says is uncommon: _mishmoyre_ [Ashk. Heb. _mishmoro_ -- with khoylem after mem]. In Even-Shoshan _mishmara_ is defined as '1/3 of the night'. Is Y. _mishmoyre_ a back formation from the feminine plural of _mishmar_ or a variant spelling of H. _mishmoro_? -- L.P.] ------------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.006 Leonard Prager, editor subscribers to _mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _the mendele review_. send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. for a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. to resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. to subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. to unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****getting back issues**** _the mendele review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.007 14 April 1999 Second Anniversary Issue 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) a. Yom haZikaron laShoa uleGvura b. Two Years = 70 issues c. Refoel Finkl's Yiddish Typewriter and _The Mendele Review_ d. Yekheskl Kotik's Memoirs e. Koralnik's "On mazl" 2) The Memoirs of Yekheskl Kotik [Table of Contents and Summary] (David Assaf) 3) Selection from _Mayne zikhroynes_ (Yekheskl Kotik) 4) "On mazl" (Avrom Koralnik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 April 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a. Yom haZikaron laShoa uleGvura .......... Yesterday, 13 April 1999, was an important date in the Israeli civil calendar -- Yom haShoa ('Holocaust Day'), a date which in Israel continues to be widely and solemnly observed. Owing to the coinciding of dates this year, we have respectfully pushed forward by a day notice of the second anniversary of _The Mendele Review_. Not only has the TMR included materials (e.g. Tsvi Kanar's fiction) relating directly to the Shoa, its whole raison d'etre is suffused with Shoa awareness -- of the mortal blow dealt to Yiddish culture and the degree to which both the Shoa period and the world it destroyed are profoundly memorialized in the Yiddish language. b. Two Years = 70 issues .......... Readers who go back to the first issue (TMR v01.001, 13 April 1997) will read a list of projected aims and purposes only part of which have been -- sometimes only partially -- realized thus far. Yet the 70 issues which have appeared to date constitute a rich resource for students of Yiddish. And we have not run out of new ideas for future issues. Warm thanks to those who have assisted in the work of romanization and to those who have provided valuable feedback. c. Refoel Finkl's Yiddish Typewriter and _The Mendele Review_ A number of months ago, on an experimental basis, we modified our romanization rules to conform to Refoel Finkl's brilliant Yiddish Typewriter. We confess that we have not always checked our text against the Yiddish Typewriter printout to make certain that our Yiddish text was perfect. We do, however, regard the experiment as successful and henceforth we shall strive to use the Yiddish Typewriter routinely. We also would like to go back and check all files in the archives so that a large body of correctly pointed Yiddish texts are permanently available. If you would like to help in achieving this goal please contact the editor. d. Yekheskl Kotik's Memoirs .......... The Table of Contents and Summary are given here by permission of Dr. David Assaf, editor and principal translator of the first volume of Kotik's memoirs, and the Diaspora Research Institute [Carter Building, University of Tel Aviv, Ramit Aviv, Israel], from which the volume may be ordered. (The price in Israeli shekels is IS 68.) Dr. Assaf has a personal web site (which also has the book's table of contents and summary): http://spinoza.tau.ac.il/hci/vip/David-assaf.html Dr. Assaf's edition of Kotik's memoirs will be published in English by Wayne State University Press under the title _A Journey to the 19th-Century Shtetl: The Memoir of Yechezkel Kotik_. Margaret Birstein translated the work into English and Dr. Assaf and his wife are working together on both the text and the notes. The editor gives a few randomly selected pages of Kotik's book in Yiddish to give the reader a taste of this remarkable work. e. Koralnik's "On mazl" .......... A Yiddish publicist and essayist of considerable verve, Avrom Koralnik (1883-1937) deserves to be better known. We give here an essay he wrote over seventy years ago contrasting the support given to Hebrew as compared to Yiddish literature and publishing. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 April 1999 From: David Assaf Subject: The Memoirs of Yekhezkel Kotik _What I Have Seen..._ The Memoirs of Yechezkel Kotik Edited and Translated into Hebrew* with an Introduction by David Assaf [*Translated from Yiddish into Hebrew by Rachel Krone and David Assaf] TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ...11 Introduction: Between Memory and History - Yechezkel Kotik and His Book Mayne Zichroynes 1. The Song of the Shtetl ...13 2. Kamieniec Litewski and Its Environs ...16 3. Yechezkel Kotik: The Man and His Times ...19 4. The Reception of the Memoirs A. "I am Crazed with Delight": Yechezkel Kotik and Sholem Aleichem ...33 B. "The Big Spark of a True Writer" or "Silly Tales"? ...47 5. The Lost Volumes of the Memoirs ...56 6. The Memoirs as a Cultural Document and Historical Source A. The Structure of the Book and Its Main Characters ...61 B. A Picture of the Past ...68 C. Between Writer and Storyteller, between Historian and Memoirist ...73 7. On this Edition ...83 Yechezkel Kotik, _What I Have Seen_... A Letter from Sholem Aleichem to Yechezkel Kotik ...88 My Memoirs ...93 Appendices A. Yechezkel Kotik's Letters to Sholem Aleichem ...383 B. Yechezkel Kotik: List of Publications ...389 C. Selected Bibliography on Yechezkel Kotik and His Memoirs..394 Indices ..397 Map ..10 Family Trees ..378 SUMMARY The first volume of Mayne Zichroynes [= my memoirs] by Yechezkel Kotik (1847-1921), one of the masterpieces of modern Yiddish literature, was published early in the year 1913 in Warsaw and opened a new era in the history of Jewish memoir literature and in the description of the traditional Eastern European shtetl. "This is not only a book -- this is a treasure, a garden, a paradise full of blossoms and birds songs, just a simple monumental creation... it is a necessity that each Jewish home with an interest in the Jewish past own and be proud of such a book" -- these are just a few samples of the acclaim the book received upon its publication by no less a figure than Sholem Aleichem, and by the important Yiddish literary critic, Ba'al Machshoves. The distinguished Russian-Jewish historian Simon Dubnov further claimed that no historian of Eastern Europe can refrain from consulting this book. Since its publication, the book has achieved a place of honor among Jewish memoir literature. Attractively written, the memoir records a panoramic description of the author's family members, his childhood, the community of his birthplace Kamieniec Litewski with its many sites, institutions and characters, including those whom he knew personally and those about whom he had heard. The events of the past and present, daily Jewish life in times of happiness and sorrow, hope and fear, find colorful expression in the memoir. These vignettes are an indication of the unique talent of the storyteller, who not only wove into his tale both humor and bittersweet sadness, but also presented an important historical document of Jewish life in the Russian Pale of Settlement of the nineteenth century. "I spent my life in a typical small town," wrote Kotik in his foreword, "this was a life with a special flavor... but today [=1913] none of this exists any longer, the songs of these shtetls have disappeared." Kotik's recounting of the lives of his grandfather and grandmother, his parents, and other members of his large family form the basis of his memoirs. At face value, the work records the saga of a family through four generations describing the life of an ordinary Jewish family, simple though wealthy and influential, who live in a marginal and remote town in Belarus. Yet, the genre is merely a ruse for the author, enabling him to portray a fantastic gallery of colorful characters and events which he describes so vibrantly and loyally, with love but seldom with nostalgia. Kotik's stage features characters and events in moments of despair and warmth. Stories of panic weddings of children to avoid forced conscription and of kidnappers of child recruits intermingle with descriptions of the rise and decline of the Jewish community institutions, the relationships between Jews and the Russian authorities and Polish lords, Jewish livelihood and everyday life, tax collectors, rabbis and zaddikim, merchants and the poor, hasidim and mithnagdim, scholars and illiterates, believers and heretics, matchmakers and informers, teachers and kleyzmers. Strangely enough, most of the important events in the history of nineteenth century Eastern European Jewry were connected with the small town of Kamieniec and are mirrored in the lives of the town's inhabitants described by Kotik: _inter alia_, the brutal decrees of Tsar Nicholas I; the abolishment of the Kahal; the Polish revolts against Russia. Moreover, some of the basic problems of the Jews in modern times are reflected in the history of Kamieniec: the crisis in traditional Jewish society and its confrontation with modern trends; the dramatic economic changes; the social and cultural struggles between hasidim, mithnagdim and maskilim and their vision of the future of the Jewish people; the collapse of traditional authorities -- religious and familial -- and the rise of new sources of authority. Many developments that took place in nineteenth century Kamieniec Litewski can serve as a model for hundreds of similar towns across Eastern Europe. The book was first published in Warsaw in 1913-1914 in two volumes and again in Berlin in 1922, and received warm acclaim from Yiddish readers (the especially friendly comments of Sholem Aleichem are discussed in detail in the introduction). Parts of the book were even translated into German and published in 1936 in the very prestigious series of _Buecherei des Schocken Verlags_. Since then the book has been overlooked and few historians have utilized its historical, cultural, and folkloristic material. The absence of this book from both academic teaching and the research literature may be attributed to the lack of a Hebrew or English translation. The Hebrew edition of Kotik's memoirs, edited by Dr. David Assaf, a senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University, includes a complete translation of the original Yiddish text [i.e. of Volume One -- L.P.], and is accompanied by hundreds of notes, which elucidate terms, names (people and places), customs, realia, as well as bibliographical references to the research literature. The editor has also included a detailed introduction which discusses aspects of Kotik's personal biography, the history of the book, its reception by critics and the public alike, and its importance as a historical, anthropological and folkloristic source. (pp. vii-ix) [The above Table of Contents and Summary are also given on David Assaf's personal home page: http://spinoza.tau.ac.il/hci/vip/David-assaf.html] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 April 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: [a shprakh] on mazl (Avrom Koralnik) [Abraham Coralnik] Avrom Koralnik (1883-1937) on mazl* [*reprinted from _kritik un literatur-geshikhte_, Warsaw, 1928] tsu altsding darf men hobn mazl. afile di toyre in heykhl -- zogt men -- darf oykh hobn mazl. un efsher zi mer fun ale. es iz gevendt in vemes hent zi falt arayn, ver es iz ir "treger," ver ir oystaytsher un farshpreyter. yede toyre, yede gaystikayt, altsding vos iz hekher un tifer un vikhtiker fun der groyer alteglekhkayt, fun der poshet|er, klotsiker erdikayt -- altsding hengt op fun mazl. mer afile fun di materyele zayt fun lebn. tsu raykhkayt darf men nisht tsu hobn keyn mazl. dort iz genug -- der viln, un amol oykh der tsufal. der, vos vil vern raykh -- vert es. frier oder shpeter. un helft im dertsu nokh a tsufal, iz avade gut. un der tsufal iz nokh nisht mazl. tsufal iz dos plutslung ongetrofene, dos nisht foroysgezeene, dos, vos iz, azoy tsu zogn, nisht noytvendik. vert a mentsh raykh derfar, vos men hot tsufelik lebn im gefunen a gold-grub, iz dos nisht keyn mazl -- es iz a tsufal. es hengt nisht op fun im, hot gornisht vos tsu ton mit zayn perzenlekhkayt. mazl ober iz mer. es iz di tife farvortslkayt un farankertkayt fun der perzenlekhkayt. es iz der gruntgezets fun dem zayn, vos tsvingt tsu lebn azoy un nisht andersh. mazl iz -- kharakter un talant. un iber zey iz keyner nisht keyn moyshl. keyner kon nisht tsugebn tsu zey keyn shpritsele, keyn brekele. azoy fil un azoy fil iz oysgefaln oyf dem kheylek -- un mer nisht. un hekher, vi der kop, kon keyner nisht shpringen. es zenen do felker, vos hobn mazl un felker, vos hobn nisht. di englender hobn im. di daytshn nisht. un dos iz nisht keyn tsufal. afile nisht keyn viln. di daytshn hobn gevolt zayn di hersher fun der velt. zey hobn oykh gehat gelegnhaytn, dos heyst tsufaln. ober es hot zey nisht geholfn. di englender hobn gornisht gevolt. zey hobn ober gekont. zey zenen geven barufn tsu a historisher velt-misye un hobn zi oysgefirt -- nisht kukndik deroyf, vos zey hobn gehat altsding antkegn zikh: di tsol, di izolirte lage, dos shpete araynkumen in der veltgeshikhte. der englisher kharakter iz geven der englisher mazl. oykh shprakhn hobn mazl. un eyne fun di mazldikste iz di hebreishe. efsher di mazldikste. di shprakh fun a kleyn felkele in a vinkl fun azye, iz zi gevorn di "heylike shprakh" fun a velt. zi iz gevorn der rezervuar fun gaystike potentsn far toyznter yorn. altsding iz geven antkegn ir -- afile dos eygene folk. ober zi hot goyver geven. yidn hobn azoy lib gehat di hebreishe shprakh, az zey hobn afile nisht gevolt tsukumen tsu noent tsu ir. zey hobn geshafn dos mayste, vos zey hobn gekont, oyf andere shprakhn: arameish, sirish, arabish. ober hebreish hot mazl. yedes mol, ven es iz gekumen eyner a groyser, an ekhter un hot gevolt zogn dem folk dos tifste, dos beste, hot er es gezogt in hebreish; hot er es aleyn nisht gekont zogn, hot di hebreishe shprakh gefunen a veg tsu im. un es iz farblibn. der _moyre-nevukhem_ volt shoyn geven fargesn, ven evn tivun volt im nisht fartaytshn fun dem sheynem, flisndikn, lebedikn arabish in a shvern, umgelumpertn, mitlalterlekhn hebreish. un di shlekhte iberzetsung hot ibergelebt dem gut geshribenem original. hebreish hot gehat mazl. di shprakh, di literatur, hot gehat metsenatn. metsenatn! yedes mol, ven ikh her dos vort, dermon ikh zikh on dem altn ferz fun horats, dem ferz iber dem ershtn metsenat, dem roymishn patritsyer un gvir, vos hot ibergelozt nokh zikh an umshterblekhn nomen -- nor derfar vos er hot geshtitst di literatur. un der ferz iz: maecenas, atavis edite regibus. "metsenas, du, vos shtamst fun malokhem." der ershter metsenas hot geshtamt fun malokhem, malokhem-blut hot gerunen in zayne odern. un vayl fun keniglekhn blut, vayl fun keniglekhn gayst, vayl an aristokrat, farvortslt in doyres, mit tife respekt far ir fargangenhayt, ful mit dem bavustzayn fun der farkeytlkayt fun dem lebn -- hot er oykh gehat dem grestn respekt, di greste libe far dem gayst. un efsher iz take dos der tam, farvos dos yidishe folk hot gehat fun toyznter yorn aza metsenatn-batsiung tsu der hebreisher shprakh. dos eyntsik keniglekhe, aristokratishe, dos eyntsike, vos farbindt di tsaytn; di eyntsike aristokratishe batsiung fun dem yidish folk. ot iz far undzere oygn -- kimat far undzere oygn -- oysgevaksn di nay hebreishe literatur. un far undzere oygn, in undzere tsayt, iz oysgevaksn paralel tsu ir -- di yidishe literatur. tsvey literaturn bay dem eygenem folk. ober eyne hot mazl -- di tsveyte hot nisht. shtil un on impet geyt zikh di hebreishe literatur. nisht in der breyt, ober in der tif. eyns tsu eyns -- pamelekh. "kav lekav," a seyfer nokh a seyfer, a verk nokh a verk. un azoy -- kimat umbamerkt -- a bibliotek, a literatur. a literatur, vos iz oysgevaksn oyf reynem idealizm. keyner hot zi, dakht zikh, nisht badarft hobn. keyner hot zikh nisht geneytikt in ir. zi iz geven a moysres. ober dos iz geven ir lebns-kval. dos "nisht neytike" iz gevorn ir noyt-ventikayt. ir oremkayt, ir bashrenktkayt -- iz gevorn ir greste raykhkayt. zi iz geven fun ale literaturn -- di aristokratishste, vayl di eyntsike, vos hot nisht gehat keyn shum andere motivn, a khuts -- ir aleyn. keyner hot fun ir gornisht dervart. nisht keyn gelt, nisht keyn koved. i der shrayber, i der lezer zenen tsugetretn tsu dem hebreishn bukh tsu dem vort in a "shal neolekho" ['remove your sandals' (for you stand on holy ground) -- Exodus 3:5] shtimung. zey hobn gefilt, az dos iz a "heylike arbet." es iz oft geven naiv, melitse|dik, batlonish, altmodish-orientalish-ibergetribn; ober dos iz geven bloyz di form. in dem tokh iz zeyer gefil geven tif un emes. zey hobn gefilt, az zey zenen shutfem tsu dem velt-historishn gayst. un derfar hot di hebreishe literatur in ir oremkayt zikh gekont haltn shtarker un vortsldiker, vi di yidishe literatur mit ir raykhkayt, mit ir groyse tsoln. di yidishe literatur hot gehat lezer. di hebreishe -- metsenatn, mentshn, vos tuen zikh a koved, ven zey dernentern zikh tsu der keniglekhkayt fun der shprakh. men meg nit batsien, vi men vil, tsu di naye yidishe gvirem in eyrope un amerike, vos hobn avekgegebn groyse sumen far hebreishe literatur. men ken shpotn afile iber dem modnem plan, aroystsugebn oyf hebreish umneytike, shoyn farshimlte bikher, vi, lemoshl, di drit-klasike dramatishe poeme fun der ungar maratsh, vos der shtibl-farlag hot nisht lang tsurik oysgegebn. men kon argumentirn, az es zenen do besere, neytikere bikher. dos iz bloyz a geshmak un a detel-frage. ober in etsem muz men dokh bavundern dem mut, di greytkayt tsu korbones fun di ale yidn, vos grindn farlagn, vos gibn aroys sheyne, gute vikhtike bikher, vos shafn fondn far hebreishe farlagn: shtibl, dvir, gibn avek tsayt un mi un gelt, un, der iker, libe far dem hebreishn vort. un es fregt zikh: vi kumt es? vi kumt es, az es zenen do azoy fil hebreishe farlagn: shtibl, dvir, moria, eshkol, u.az.v., yeder mit a groysn program, yeder mit ernste, sheyne plener, un oykh vunderbare rezultatn. vi kumt es, vos es gefint zikh in amerike a yid, vi der y. mets, vos git avek hundert toyznt doler far a fond far hebreishe shriftshteler? vi kumt es, az far a kleyne tsol yidn, vos leyenen hebreish, iz do altsding -- i gelt, i respekt, i metsenatn -- un far yidish, der shprakh fun milyonen yidn, fun dem yidishn rov, iz gor nishto. gornisht? azoy fil hebreishe metsenatn un keyn eyntsiker yidisher! amerike hot azoy fil yidishe tsaytungen -- mit hunderter toyznter lezer, un keyn eyntsikn farlag, un keyn eyntsike umpartayishe, reyn-literarishe vokhnshrift un keyn monatshrift! un di prese aleyn; ikh vil do nisht araynfaln in dem eykhe-ton. ikh vil nisht araynlozn zikh in a khkire vegn der yidisher prese, farvos zi iz azoy vi zi iz. ober eyns ze ikh: yeder bazunder un ale in eynem hobn tsu ir di batsiung fun opshtupn. opshtupn di tsayt, oplebn di por yor, vos iz nokh bashert -- un dernokh -- "nokh undz der mabl." a shleyer fun pesimizm, fun umgloybn in zikh aleyn, in der tsukunft, in dem vert hengt arum der yidisher prese. un ikh gloyb, az dos iz nisht bloyz in amerike. in eyrope iz dos oykh nisht beser. dort kukt men mit kine oyf amerike. mir do meynen, az got veyst vos er tut zikh dort. un beyde in eynem shteyen mir far a retenish un fregn: farvos iz dos azoy. a literatur on mazl. tsu shpet gekumen -- un derfar nisht farvortslt, derfar nisht tif arayngedrungen in dem yidishn bavustzayn. yidn hobn lib altkayt. vos elter -- alts beser. un dos naye past nisht tsu zey. zey konen nisht trogn dos naye mit gratsye -- nisht di naye frayhayt, nisht di naye ashires un oykh nisht di naye shprakh. men kon vegn dem nisht kemfn. es iz in blut. un fort -- es tut bank. es iz a shod. ikh kon mir oysmoln a tsayt, ven yidn veln badoyern, vos zey hobn zikh batsoygn azoy botl|dik, azoy fun oybn arop, azoy on libe un respekt tsu dem yidishn vort. es vet zayn di tsayt, ven yidish vet zayn a "fargangenhayt." un dos, vos iz fargangen, iz alt, un toyt un shtimungsful. un es vet zikh farbenken di yidn, di english-redndike, di poylish-redndike, di hebreish-redndike, nokh dem eygnartikn ton fun der shprakh, vos doyres un doyres fun yidn hobn geredt. es vet zikh zey farbenken nokh di klangen, vos zenen geboyrn gevorn in mitlalter, farflantst gevorn in di slavishe stepn; klangen fun yidisher aynzamkayt, fun hisoyreres un intimitet un troyer un vits; klangen -- ongezapt mit dem hartsblut fun a folk. un es vet zey bank ton -- di, vos veln kumen nokh undz -- far di lider, vos zenen nisht oysgezungen gevorn; far dem zifts, vos iz nisht oysgevaksn in a simfonye; far di oytsres, vos zenen geblibn nisht oysgenutst. efsher vet zikh demolt gefinen a metsenat far dem toytn, far dem heylik-gevorenem yidish -- ober es vet zayn tsu shpet. a shprakh on mazl! ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.007 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.008 25 April 1999 Warsaw Ghetto Revolt Anniversary Issue 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) "dos geto brent" (author unknown) [internally dated 25 April 1943] 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 25 April 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters: Warsaw Ghetto Revolt, April 1943 Remembering the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt of 56 years ago, we give in this _TMR_ memorial issue the powerful -- there are few more powerful -- documents which somehow survived from that unimaginable maelstrom. "Dos geto brent" (here reprinted from _Di goldene keyt_ 15 [1953], pp. 10-15) is of unknown authorship, yet we somehow come to know its author. His factual account, without a trace of inflated rhetoric or exaggerated pathos, draws us into its facticity and actualness. The emotional bonds within his small group are felt without being talked about. A brief scene of the confiscation of personal papers, including _any_ scrap of paper, gives us a condensed cyclopaedia on the arts of dispossession and dehumanization. (In the horrendous expulsions we see today in Kosovo the Serbian border guards strip fleeing Albanians of their passports.) The present -- half-century late -- revelation of how some Germans and other Europeans enriched themselves during the Shoa is here vividly previewed. And, most remarkably, there is no expression of nationalist or religious compensation. The account ends: "un ven ikh hob shpeter bazukht aza keler mit farshtikte mentshn, gezen kinder mit oysgerisene mayler, vi shvartse farbrente lekher, froyen mit farmakhte foystn, mit hor aroysgerisene fun kop, hob ikh geveynt un di foystn gebaylt un getrakht vegn di milyonen gebaylte foysten oyf der gorer velt kegn hitlerizm un kegn fashizm." Our author weeps and clenches his fists. Seeing the closed fists of incinerated victims and clenching his own, he thinks of the millions of clenched fists of the living who resist Nazism and fascism. This image may at first seem that of an idealogue or party stalwart since the clenched fist is a common political and partisan gesture. But I see our unidentified author's final words as an affirmation of living, a refusal to cease struggling against Evil; moreover, his vision is a universal one, a way of seeing once highly valued in Judaism yet often slighted these days. This romanized essay has been checked against the Yiddish Typewriter [http://www.cs.uky/~raphael/yiddish/test.html] and can by means of the Yiddish Typewriter be converted to a Standard Yiddish text in the Standard Yiddish Orthography (SYO). If you have a PostScript printer, you can print out the file in an attractive font. If you have the Ghostview viewer (which can be downloaded free on the internet) you can read Postscript Yiddish files on your computer screen in either Postscript or PDF form. There is a special poignancy attached to our reading this Yiddish testament in Yiddish letters and on the precise day of the year mentioned within it. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 25 April 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "dos geto brent" (author unknown) z' 10 "dos geto brent" "dos geto brent" iz geshribn gevorn in di teg fun geto oyfshtand in varshe, april 1943. ver s'iz der mekhaber iz umbakant. dem ksav-yad hot der mekhaber minestam mitgenumen mit zikh, ven er iz ariber oyf der arisher zayt. a poylishe mishpokhe hot ibergegebn dem ksav-yad a yidn, vos hot im gebrakht in yisroyl. es iz shoyn a vokh tsayt, vi mir zenen arayn in baheltenishn, arop in di kelern, arayn tsvishn di moyern, farshvundn mer nisht tsu gefinen undz. di blokades hobn a kleynem derfolg. bay undz, fun dem blok fun herman brauer, hot men 30 man aroysgefirt. mer iz geven shver tsu gefinen, khotsh yedn tog hot men di kelern durkhgezukht, di voynungen oyfgebrokhn, -- vi di erd volt undz ayngeshlungen. di fir un a halb toyznt mentshn, vos hobn bavoynt dem teren, zenen vi mit a tsoybershtekele farshvundn -- un nishto. ober opetemen lozt men undz nisht; nisht vi bay di frierdike aktsyes vu di nekht zenen geven undzere, un tsvishn eyn blokade un a tsveyter hot men gekont forzikhtik oyfn teren bavegn. itst hobn zey do ayngeshtelt a grupe shaulistn(1) vos zukhn arum bay tog un bay nakht un oyf yedn shorkh efenen zey a shiseray, zey zenen ibergeshrokn, vayl tsendliker fun zey zenen in di ershte teg gefaln in kamf mit undzere bavofnte grupes. un dokh hot zikh far tog tsugekrogn tsu undz a shokhn fun a tsveytn keler, zikh forzikhtik durkhgeshleykht durkh di kelern, oyfgedekt shtil di klape un zikh ongefregt, vos bay undz hert zikh, geteylt zikh mit a bisl nays. in di ershte teg fun kamf -- hot er dertseylt -- zenen gefaln zeyere arum 300. undzere hobn gehat gute farteydikungs-punktn. zey hobn arayngefirt tsvey tanken. eynem iz undz gelungen tsu farnikhten. undzere hobn aroysgehangen a poylishe fon, di daytshn hobn gevolt di fon aropshisn. es iz zey nisht gelungen. itst iz shtiler, zey gefinen kemat nisht keyn mentshn, vayl di merhayt hot zikh gut bahaltn. vi lang dos vet doyern kon men nisht visn, nor oyb zey veln in di noenste teg keynem nisht gefinen, veln zey dokh muzn iberraysn di aktsye, oder zey veln muzn bald arizirn(2) di shopn, demolt vet men dokh zikh tsupasn tsu di naye badingungen. dermit endikt zikh undzer shmues. der khaver dekt tsurik tsu di klape, farshit mit erd, farshtelt mit altvarg un trogt zikh op umbamerkt. vi shvakh iz geven undzer forshtelung vegn dem oyf vos di daytshn zenen feik! undzer fantazye hot zikh nisht gekont forshteln, az dos gantse farmegn, di gantse hayzer mit skhoyres, vorshtatn, fabrikn, mashinen far z' 11 tsendliker, far hunderter milyonen, -- dos alts vet untergetsundn vern, tsulib undz, tsulib di ale, vos hobn zikh bagrobn unter der erd, bahaltn zikh tsvishn di moyern un farmogn shoyn nisht mer, vi dos bloyze lebn un a viln, a shtarke viln es nisht optsugebn. neyn, mir hobn zikh es nisht forgeshtelt. in undzer baheltenish iz dos lebn vayter gegangen, vi in di ershte teg. mir hobn nokh elektre, mir hobn vaser in klozet, mir kokhn oyf di elektrishe kikhelekh mitog, mir lign oyf di nares un leyenen bikhlekh. di baheltenish iz nisht keyn groyse. dray kleyne tsimerlekh unter dem front fun hoyz baym toyer (nalevkes 8), tsvey tsimerlekh farnumen mit pritshes(3), in ershtn tsimer di kikh. mir zenen tsvelf mentshn, dray kinder, finf froyen, fir mener. mir filn zikh bakvem, vayl es iz tsugegreyt ort far mer mentshn. nor zey hobn gehaltn az tsulib dem front, in der nontkayt fun gas, iz do nisht zikher un zey hobn zikh bahaltn andersh vu. dort iz nisht bakvem, mer mentshn, ober derfar zikherer. bay undz felt shoyn itst luft, di ventilatsye iz a shvakhe. mir bavegn zikh vintsik. mir reydn nisht tsvishn zikh tsulib der nontkayt fun toyer. mir haltn ayn yedn hust un yedn hekhern ton. der tog iz adurkh biz nokh mitog vi ale letste teg, mir hobn a tsvey mol gehert dos araynmarshirn un aroysmarshirn fun militer, vorshaynlekh hobn zey vayter keynem nisht gefunen, vayl mir hobn tsurikvegs gehert bloyz zelnerishe trit un vayter shtil. arum finf far nakht hobn mir derhert un derfilt a fardekhtikte bavegung un oftn araynfor un aroysfor fun vogns. epes lodt men oyf di vogns. epes kumt for, ober vos? tsi vert nisht di firme aroysgefirt. dos iz meglekh, ober azoy fil skhoyres, varshtatn un mashinen, dos darf dokh doyern vokhn un efsher khadoshem, un vos dos ayln zikh, di ofte geshreyen un geloyfn? far zibn iz alts tsurik shtil gevorn. itst, dakht zikh -- nokh shtiler vi geven. ober bald nokh zibn hob ikh gefilt a tshad in tsimer. ikh ver a bisl umruik, ikh heyb on zukhn fun vanen er kumt un gefin az fun eyn vant yogt a roykh, efsher hot men in a zaytikn keler gemakht fayer un der roykh geyt arayn tsu undz. mir hobn bay zikh tsement, zamd. mir mishn es mit vaser un farklepn shnel di efenung fun vanen es yogt aza shtikndiker roykh. nokh der arbet baruikn mir zikh tsufridene, vos mir hobn gehat unter der hant dem tsement mitn zamd. mir shteln zikh nisht for, az mir zenen shoyn untergetsundn un arum undz farshpreyt zikh itst shnel dos fayer. der zeyger iz akht. fun der zayt fun gas hert zikh a farshtarkte bavegung, der roykh in di tsimern vert nisht shvakher, mir muzn efenen un araynlozn mer luft, in der frontvant zenen do kleyne fensterlekh, unter yedn shtik fun a gevelb aza efenung fun tsen biz fuftsn tsentimeter. nor itst zenen zey farklept un farmaskirt un bloyz a por lekher tsu eyn tsentimer di groys zenen do, itst muzn mir zey oyfdekn. ikh klep op in ershtn tsimer a kleyn fensterl un derze oyf der tsveyter zayt gas brent a hoyz, a fayer, fun untn biz aroyf, bizn dakh, dos gantse hoyz iz in flamen. plutsem git zikh an efn a balkon oyfn ershtn shtok z' 12 un es loyft aroys a man, bay fuftsik yor alt, baloykhtn mit fayer, mit a vild ponem, mit oysgeshtarte oygn -- vayzt oys glaykh fun a baheltenish in shtub -- un shrayt: s'brent! s'brent! er farvarft di fis ibern balkon un farmest zikh tsu shpringen. a por shosn raysn iber zayn pruv un er falt arop umbaveglekh, vi a klots. a gelekhter fun der noent rayst zikh arayn in roysh fun fayer, dos lakhn di hiters vos hitn, az dos fayer zol zikh gut farshpreytn un keyn lebediker zol zikh nisht aroyskrign. fun a tsveytn hoyz loyft aroys a grupe mentshn, tsvishn zey a gresere tsol froyen. ikh her zeyere hilfsrufn. zey veysn nisht vu tsu loyfn. in dem, heybn on mashinen-gever tsu klapn, zeyere letste hilfsrufn vern farshtumt. ikh drey mikh oys fun fensterl un kuk zikh um oyf mayne noente, ikh shvayg un trakht, bay undz vet dos nisht forkumen, dort zenen dokh vilde hayzer(3). mir gehern dokh tsu a raykhsdoytshe firme herman brauer, a geveziner daytshisher shpion in poyln, a militer-man un a getrayer hitlerist. do vet men nisht untertsindn. es iz dokh zeyer farmegn. un ot vos s'iz forgekumen oyfn teren fun herman brauer: mit dray teg tsurik hot brauer gerufn tsu zikh etlekhe onfirers, di tsu velkhe er hot gekont dergreykhn, vayl ale zenen geven bahaltn, un zey gemoldn, az zayn firme blaybt un in di noenste teg vet forkumen an iberregistratsye; di vos veln zikh meldn, veln glaykh tsutretn tsu der arbet. di fir onfirers hobn bakumen spetsyele numern oyf groyse vayse shtiker leyvnt un mit dem hobn zey gekont fray zikh bavegn oyfn teren fun der firme. in farloyf fun dray teg hobn shoyn finf un tsvantsik onfirers getrogn vayse numern, un herman brauer hot aropgelozt in keshene hundert toyznt fuftsik zlotes, zayn nokhshleper, der invalid klauz -- fuftsn toyznt zlotes. nokh dem, vi brauer hot shoyn gevust, az zayn firme vert farbrent mitn toytn un lebedikn inventar, hot er di onfirers nisht gezogt keyn vort, nor farsheydene kleynikaytn farn eygenem gebroykh genumen gikh aroysfirn. dem letstn tog finf n.m. iz gekumen di es-es, aroyf in byuro, tsuzamengerufn di onfirers un aroysgefirt zey oyfn ershtn hoyf. umgerikht falt der bafel: di hent in di heykh, nisht rirn zikh fun ort. un kegn di onfirers shteyen zelner mit ongeshtelte biksn. zey vern bazukht, alts vert tsugenumen, nisht nor dos gelt, zeygerlekh un fingerlekh, nor oykh di dokumentn, ale kleynikaytn, afile shtiklekh papir farshribene un nokh dem kumt dos matern a sho tsayt mit shtrof-ibungen. es makhn zikh freylekh di es-es layt un in di fenster fun byuro shteyen di daytshishe direktorn un kukn zikh tsu tsu dem, vos es tuen di es-es mit velkhe zey hobn in eynem getrunken far dem oyskoyf gelt, vos zey hobn derhaltn fun di zelbike onfirers (tsu makhn hulyankes un zey ibertsukoyfn ). nokh di ibungen hot men zey z'13 ge|yogt tsu helfn lodn helmen, vayl in di letste shoen hot men zikh genumen epes aroysfirn, es zenen gekumen a bisl vogns mit krigs-gefangene tsu der arbet, un di onfirers zenen unter klep ge|yogt gevorn tsu der arbet. ober di groyse lagern mit volene sveters, mit shkarpetn, di magazinen mit leder-oysarbetungen, papir-varshtatn, groyse zapasn fun artiklen un groyse lagern mit tornisters(4) un andere zakhn, -- dos alts kon men nisht azoy gikh aroysfirn. deriber zenen nor etlekhe platformes ongelodn mit shtolhelmen aroysgeforn un oyf eyn platforme -- di onfirers. fuftsn minut far zibn (di genoye yedies un pinktlekhe tsayt hob ikh shpeter derhaltn fun eynem, vos hot gehat an observatsye punkt fun zayn baheltenish oyfn ershtn hoyf) iz arop fun byuro brauer, geblibn shteyn baym toyer, tsum letstn mol zikh umgekukt, farroykhert a papiros un arayn in oyto. finf minut nokh zayn opforn zenen arayn shaulistn mit daytshishe zelner un gevorfn brenbombes in di parter-voynungen, in di kelern, oyf di shtign, oyf di boydemer un avek tsu vayterdike arbet. un di raykhsdoytshe firme herman brauer brent fun rog frantsishkaner- nalevkes biz muranov. di ershte, vos hobn dos bamerkt fun di baheltenishn in di shtubn zenen gikh arop oyfn hoyf. ober di merhayt hot nisht bavizn, vayl merstns zenen di holtserne shtign geven der ershter materyal tsum brenen un ven in di voynungen hot zikh bavizn roykh mit fayer un aroysge|yogt fun di baheltenishn, iz shoyn dos gantse hoyz geshtanen in flamen -- un di mentshn zenen umgekumen. di kleyne grupe, vos hot zikh yo gerativet, hot geklapt in di baheltenishn fun di kelern, vu iz geven bakant, az dortn zenen do mentshn. un azoy hot men zikh dermont in mir. arum nayn azeyger hobn fraynd bamerkt, az ikh bin nishto un es hobn zikh derhert oysrufn tsu geyn tsu m... in skhron(5) arayn, efenen un aroysrateven di mentshn. a grupe mit ayzns un lomen iz arayn in ershtn hoyf, tsugekumen tsum keler. ober aropgeyn is shoyn geven ummeglekh. der koridor, vos firt in keler arayn, iz geshtanen in flamen. di baheltenish iz geven zeyer vayt un mit aropgelozte kep zenen ale avek. a shod m. un zayne nonte, ober tsi iz den zeyer lebn shoyn zikher? nokh a sakh arbet hobn zey itst tsu ton, kedey tsu rateven dos lebn. bay mir in skhron hobn mir nokh gornisht gevust. arum nayn ovnt hobn mir zikh gezetst tsum ovntbroyt. vifl tragi-komishes in der situatsye, vos far a stsene, a min tshaplin-film! men hot undz untergetsundn, di kelern arum brenen, dos fayer geyt nenter un nenter tsu undz, di mentshn in droysn zenen gekumen rateven un konen nisht arayn, -- un mir, azoy vi nisht undz meynt men, mir zetsn zikh tsu esn. arum tsen azeyger bin ikh tsugegangen tsum vaser di hent vashn, ikh efn oyf dem kran un derfil heyse vaser. a shoyder iz mir adurkh, es vert mir heys un kalt, mit a mol iz mir klor gevorn; es brent arum undz. z' 14 on a vort bin ikh tsugegangen tsu der efenung, aropgelozt zikh unter der moyer, aroys tsu der klape un zi untergehoybn. der kleyner keler baym arayngang tsu baheltenish iz ful mit hits un hel baloykhtn. fun fensterl yogt a fayer fun a tsindbombe. nor tsum glik hob ikh mit a por teg tsurik ale zakhn in keler avekgeleygt baym arayngang fun tir, un do hot zikh nokh gornisht ongetsundn. mit a shprung bin ikh in koridor, vos firt tsum aroysgang. do iz der langer koridor mit ale kelern fun beyde zaytn in gantsn in flamen. ikh loyf gikh tsurik in skhron arayn, oyf mayn tsurikker vartn shoyn ale bay der efenung. zey hobn bamerkt mayn aroysloyfn un hobn farshtanen, az s'muz zayn zeyer an ernste zakh, vos hot mikh bavoygn oystsudekn di klape. hert -- hob ikh zikh gevendt tsum dershrokenem oylem arum mir -- oyb ir vet zikh farhaltn ruik veln mir zikh ale rateven. alts arum brent, der koridor fun keler iz in flamen. mir zenen shoyn a vokh tsayt in keler. undzer ontuekhts iz durkhgenumen mit faykhkayt [faykhtkayt --L.P.] un ven mir veln loyfn durkhn fayer, vet zikh es nisht azoy gikh ontsindn. zol nor yeder nemen oyfn kop a faykhte zakh, vayl di hor kenen zikh yo gikh onkhapn. un zoln aroysgeyn frier di kinder, nokh dem di froyen un tsum letstn di mener. ikh shtel oys a shpaler [shpalir -- L.P.] un fir der ershter, nokh mir di kinder. mir loyfn in fayer. es farkhapt der otem. ikh trakht: nor nisht faln, nor nisht faln. fal ikh, kumen ale um in fayer. dos ponem brent, ikh tsi di faykhte shmate iber di oygn, mir zenen shoyn bay di shtign, vos firn tsum aroysgang, a por shpring un mir zenen in droysn. ikh kuk mikh um un tseyl iber tsvelf, keyner felt nisht. ober vu zenen mir aroys? arum iz a hits mit fayer, vos flit fun di hayzer biz tsum himl. fun di kelern biz in der heykh shist der flam in himl arayn. ikh dermon zikh on dem mentsh oyfn balkon un zayn geshrey: es brent, es brent! do iz pust. keyn lebediker mentsh iz nishto, nor fayerdike balkns faln in mitn hoyf arayn fun di moyern, vos shitn zikh shoyn. vuhin loyft men? oyf der gas -- veys ikh shoyn -- shteyt men in di ekn mit mashin-gever un men vart oyf di vos loyfn fun fayer. mir muzn gikh tsudekn dem kop vayl es faln tsigl un shtiker fayer, es shitn zikh shoyn gantse moyern. mir loyfn in tsveytn toyer. mir veysn shoyn fun di frierdikn bombardirungen az di pulapn(6) fun di toyern zenen fester, ober der vint yogt do fun ale zaytn funken mit roykh, mir vern dershtikt un di oygn brenen. mir konen do nisht oys|haltn. vu loyft men zikh rateven? plutsling derzeen mir in letstn hoyf links in vinkl, a shvartsn indzl, dort brent nisht, un mentshn bavegn zikh. mir loyfn ahin un faln arayn tsvishn fraynd, mir khapn zikh arum, mir kushn zikh. zey dertseyln, az zey zenen gelofn undz rateven un nisht gekont arayn. geven zikher az mir zenen shoyn umgekumen. nishto keyn tsayt tsum reydn. men muz rateven di gebayde. do iz amol geven di drukeray un redaktsye "moment"(7). di tsvey shtok zenen shoyn eyn mol baym onheyb krig opgebrent gevorn. shpeter iz a helft farrikht gevorn un itst z' 15 muzn mir dos oprateven fun fayer, kedey zikh aleyn tsu rateven. vaser iz do in keler. eyn shpaler mentshn fun keler biz tsum dakh derlangen vaser in blekhlekh fun konservn. a tsveyter shpaler fun dakh biz tsum keler gibn tsurik leydike blekhlekh. ikh nem tsu bay eynem a por shofer-briln un gey aroys oyfn dakh. ot do kegn iber iz geven mayn voynung. gehat a bet, a kishn, vi dem kop avektsuleygn un itst raysn zikh aroys fun dort flamen un farshlingen alts. do darf men ale funken, vos faln oyf dem mit pape(8) gedekte dakh, bald farleshn, vayl dos kon zikh laykht ontsindn. un tsulib dem shtarkn roykh muzn di por mentshn oyfn dakh zikh oft toytshn. arum iz a yam fun fayer, di greste film rezhisirn hobn nokh nisht bavizn oystsurezhisirn aza bild, es roysht un es knakt un es shist, mir vern fartoybt, mir hern gornisht, ven afile men shrayt tsu undz. mir arbetn mit di letste koykhes, mir kemfn mit an ibernatirlekher makht. un mir zign. nokh a gantser nakht arbet hot zikh ayngegebn di gebayde tsu rateven. in der fri iz shoyn ariber der gefar, az dos fayer zol zikh iberkhapn tsu undz. mir kukn zikh arum. a finf hundert mentshn fun di noenste hayzer hobn zikh do geratevet un a groyse tsol iz umgekumen fun fayer, dershtikt gevorn in di kelern fun roykh. un di vos zenen geblibn zenen shoyn geratevet? dervayl trakht men nokh nisht vegn dem. ale hobn shver gearbet baym bazaytikn dem gantsn laykht brenendikn materyal fun hoyz. dos iz geven di papir-opteylung. dem gantsn lager papir hobn mir gemuzt aroysvarfn in mitn hoyf un farbrenen. itst zenen ale mid un krank oyf di oygn. un do geyt oyf aza zuniker likhtiker tog un vayzt undz di farbrente hayzer in geto, di umgekumene shtot. un zol dos blaybn l|zikorn. zuntik, dem 25 april 1943. in ovnt iz untergetsindn gevorn dos yidishe geto in varshe un in di flamen zenen umgekumen tsendliker toyznter mener, froyen un kinder; di vos zenen fun fayer aroysgeshprungen zenen oyf di gasn dershosn gevorn un di, vos hobn el pi nes zikh geratevet, zenen vokhn, khadoshem ge|yogt un gepaynikt gevorn biz men hot zey umgebrakht. un ven ikh hob shpeter bazukht aza keler mit farshtikte mentshn, gezen kinder mit oysgerisene mayler, vi shvartse farbrente lekher, froyen mit farmakhte foystn, mit hor aroysgerisene fun kop, hob ikh geveynt un di foystn gebaylt un getrakht vegn di milyonen gebaylte foysten oyf der gorer velt kegn hitlerizm un kegn fashizm. ================= heores [fun l.p.] 1) shaulistn: "fashistishe litvishe organizatsye fun far der milkhome, eng mitgearbet mit der es.es baym likvidirn yidn in poylishe un litvishe gebitn." [Nakhmen blumental, _verter un vertlekh fun der khurbm-tkufe_, z. 306] blumental shraybt "shaulisn" -- on dem -t. zey hobn geshemt als "erger vi di daytshn." 2) arizirn. di natsis hobn gerufn dos konfiskirn yidish hob-un-guts "aryanizatsye". ze _groyser verterbukh_, band 4. 3) pritshe(s) < poylish _prycza_ 'bet fun breter'. 4) '"vilde hayzer" 'nokh dem vi men hot ayngeshrumpt dos geto zenen di dozike hayzer aroysgenumen gevorn fun geto-shetekh un men hot nisht getort voynen in zey' [tsitirt fun tekst, z' 12]. 5) tornister(s) < poylish _tornister_ 'rukzak; valize'. 6) skhron < poylish _schron_ 'opdakh'. 7) pulapn < poylish _pulap_ 'stelye'. 8) _moment_ iz geven eyner fun di tsvey groyse yidishe teglekhe tsaytungen in varshe tsvishn beyde velt milkhomes. 9) pape < poylish _papa_ 'smole-papir'. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.008 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.009 22 May 1999 Shvues Double Issue 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) "alemen glaykh" (Sholem-aleykhem) -- ershter teyl 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 May 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters -- Sholem-Aleykhem's "Alemen glaykh" This Shvues double issue of _The Mendele Review_ presents a Sholem-Aleykhem story that is not well known. Its seemingly arch-conservative political coloring will puzzle readers accustomed to think of Tevye's creator as the universal democrat and liberal. Yet it is probably a mistake to judge a story written almost a century ago in the light of more recent categories of right and left. Sholem-Aleykhem frames his story as "utopian" but his use of "di royte yidelekh" (first introduced into modern Yiddish fiction by Mendele in _Masoes Binyomin hashlishi_) encourages us to translate this as "messianic" -- there are numerous legends associating the Jews on the other side of the Sambatyon with the messianic age. Sholem-Aleykhem may be saying nothing more counter-revolutionary than that there is not going to be a messianic age until the characters and values of human beings change. The town fool, R' Meyer bal-moyekh, makes wise comments which reflect the author's own views. Man is more than a beast who lives only to satisfy his immediate physical needs; the cash nexus is an unacceptable basis for human existence. R' Meyer predicts that blood will be shed as a result of the universal cash distribution, and we soon learn that the butchers have indeed murdered fellow townsmen who broke into their shops for meat. Ideal solutions are premature at this stage of human development; for the time being the traditional socio-economic relations are to be preferred. It is not such a reactionary critique after all. The teller wakes up in a sick bed, having suffered a mental breakdown. The sojourn among the "royte yidelekh" was, of course, a dream. He wakes up in an unchanged world where "Plus ca change plus ce la meme chose". Rather than a rejection of socialist ideas on redistribution of wealth, the story satirizes naive notions of distributive justice. I suspect that Sholem-Aleykhem was trying to amuse -- which Sholem-Aleykhem can do despite or even with the help of tragic and grotesque ingredients (murder, mob fury, cruelty, madness) -- rather than to disabuse of any particular social or economic program; but his story supports the rabbinic tradition of suspicion of anyone who tries "to hasten the end" a la Shaptse Tsvi (Sabbatai Zevi) -- see Isaac Bashevis Singer's greatest work, _Satan in Goray_. Thanks to the "royte yidelekh" there is a Shvues connection to today's issue of the TMR. According to one legend, Rabbi Meyer Sh[a]ts [cantor of Mainz and of Worms, ca. 1000], to whom the Aramaic Akdomes [Akdomus] prayer read at the beginning of the Tora reading on Shvues is attributed, learned the art of the Akdomes [Akdomus] from the Ten Tribes beyond the Sambatyon. One story recorded in the Israel Folktale Archives in Haifa from Eastern European respondents tells of Rabbi Meyer crossing the Sambatyon on a weekday before the eyes of many; he came to Germany to save the Jews from a threatening decree and remained there. Another version tells of his leaving his German homeland and crossing the Sambatyon following his sacrifical service to his Ashkenazic brothers. Printed Yiddish versions of Rabbi Meyer's miraculous intercession exist from as early as the end of the 17th century. The title of a later Lemberik edition reads: _Mayse gvures adonay_ -- fun eyn groys nes vos yidn iz geshen vos zey zenen nitsl gevorn fun eyn shlekhtn galekh durkh r' meyer vos hot gemakht akdomes un durkh eyn royt yidl unter dem sambatyen [dos iz ibergezetst fun loshn koydesh un iz loyter emes: belvov]. The Akdomes poem was once a subject of keen halakhic debate, since it is a _din_ 'halakhic law' that the Tora reading not be interrupted. But the rabbis ruled here that _mineg_ 'custom' overrides _din_. Sephardic congregations did not adopt the custom of reading the Akdamut at Shvuot, but perhaps some do today recite this remarkable composition. THE TEXT Avraham Novershtern has reported that "Alemen glaykh" first appeared under the title "Nokh der khaluke" ('After the Distribution') in the weekly Warsaw _Folkstsaytung_ 43-46 (21 October - 11 November 1903), was reprinted in the 3-volume Warsaw jubilee edition of Sholem-Aleykhem's works in 1909 and in the 5-volume New York edition of 1912 (which was reprinted in Warsaw in 1914). The story also appeared in _Familyen biblyotek_ No. 74 (Warsaw 1912). It was not included in the quasi-canonical 28-volume New York edition, for which there must be a good reason. Did the Forverts socialists regard the story as unflattering to the proletariat? By kind permission of the editors, the story is here reproduced from Shalom Luria's line-numbered edition in _Khulyot_ 2 (1994), pp. 91-109. It has been carefully romanized according to the Yivo rules and conformed to the additional modifications of Refoyl Finkel's Yiddish Typewriter. Processed through the Yiddish Typewriter it yields a Yiddish-letter text. The spelling instructions (for certain words of Hebrew-Aramaic origin) to the Yiddish Typewriter are assembled at the head of each of the two installments (whose division is arbitrary and not Sholem-Aleykhem's). In the rare instances where the Yiddish Typewriter refused to do my bidding, I resorted to Latin-letter insertions (e.g. kol 'voice'); _kol_ of course, is a homonym. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 20 May 1999 From: Lucas Bruyn and Leonard Prager Subject: "alemen glaykh" (Sholem-aleykhem) Sholem-aleykhem alemen glaykh (mayn utopye) [ershtn teyl] [z. 91] \spell Eli|k #lyk \spell Nekhemye nHmih \spell alef # \spell dalet d \spell gan gn \spell eydn edn \spell meshorsem mshrTim \spell bale beli \spell batem bWim \spell yamem ymim \spell alkn el Kn \spell shel shl \spell ato #Wh \spell bekhartonu bHrWnu \spell mikol mKl \spell hoamim hemim \spell sambatyen smbtyun \spell kasve-rabe KTB# rbh \spell koydesh kudsh \spell shvakh shBH \spell hoydayo hudih \spell khisorn Hsrun \spell prute pruth \spell yefeyfye yfhfyh \spell bikhdey bkhdi \spell khezhboynes HshbunuT \spell mesles meT leT \spell adrabe #drbh \spell eysek esk \spell yoyme yum# \spell depagre dpgr# \spell koyle kuli \spell shoyfres shufruT \spell hariges hriguT \spell kavyokhl KBykhul \spell khezhbm Hshbun \spell khaluke Hluk|h \spell meyad myd \spell leyad lyd \spell negidem ngidim \spell bezdn biT-din \spell mayle melh. \spell malokhem ml#khim \spell shalve shlvh \spell shoymer shumr \spell nekhoyshes nHushT \spell oshamnu #shmnu \spell penim|er pnimer \spell sosn QQun \spell eynhore ein hre \spell meye m#h \spell ipesh eipush \spell minastam mn hsWm \spell kedoyme Kdumh \spell nivl nBhl \spell venishtoymem u|nshWumm \spell nun alef ru"K nun #lf ru"K \spell bal bel \spell khakren Hkrn \spell akhroynem #Hrunim \spell nigen nigun \spell mies|er mi#user \spell broyges brugz alef. 1. az got hot aroysgetribn Odem mit Khave|n fun gan-eydn un zey hobn zikh ongehoybn frukhpern un mern un onfiln di erd, iz zeyere kinder un kinds-kinder gevorn eng di velt un hobn zikh nisht gekont aynteyln mitn gut|s, vos iz zey geblibn b|yerushe fun zeyere elter-elter zeydes, hobn zey zikh tsekrokhn iber der gantser erd, zikh opgesheydt eyner fun dem andern, farfremt gevorn, oysgetrakht zikh itlekher zayn loshn, farheylikt itlekher zayn gloybn, fargesn, az zey kumen ale fun eyn yikhes, un ongehoybn haltn milkhome eyns mitn andern, tsunemen eyns bay dos andere dos farmegn -- un s'iz gevorn a mishmash fun farsheydene mentshn, mit farsheydene leshoynes, mit farsheydene minhogem, mit farsheydene klasn, shtarke un shvakhe, oreme un raykhe, harn un knekht, meshorsem un bale-batem, fabrikantn un arbeter -- un azoy hot zikh es getsoygn a tsayt mit yorn un mentshn hobn gemeynt, az azoy badarf es zayn.(1) 2. nor vos vayter vayter iz di velt gevorn kliger un mentshn hobn ongehoybn mumlen oyf dem seyder-h|oylem, ongehoybn shrayen: far vos kumt eynem gor, dem andern gornit? der geshrey iz gevorn vos vayter greser un shtarker un s'iz derfun aroys nokh gresere makhloykes|n un geshleg. un ersht nokh dem, az mentshn hobn zikh gut ongemordevet, genug ongeredt, ongeshrien, oysgegosn feser mit tint, fargosn taykhn mit trern un yamem blut, hot men aroysgezen bashaymperlekh, az vayter ken es azoy nit zayn. men vet zikh azoy lang harg|enen, shlogn un esn eyns dos andere biz es vet nisht blaybn keyn eyntsiker mentsh oyf der erd un es vet kholile untergeyn, khorev vern di gantse velt. 3. alkn iz geblibn, men zol avekshraybn a papir, a gebet-briv tsum reboyne-shel-oylem, er zol zikh araynleygn tsvishn di mentshn un makhn a sholem oyf der velt. 4. vu zhe gefint men aza mentshn, vos zol zayn a khoshev bay got un zol kenen avekshraybn tsum reboyne-shel oylem a papir? geveyntlekh bay undz, bay [z. 92] di royte yidelekh(2); vorem vu iz do nokh aza folk, vos ken zogn ato-bekhartonu mikol hoamim, du host undz oysderveylt fun ale felker, vi mir royte yidelekh, vos oyf der zayt sambatyen... un es hot zikh gefunen bay undz eyner a mentsh mit a pen, a kasve-rabe, vos hot zikh untergenumen dos altsding forleygn far got, oyfshraybn dos altsding oyf papir, geveyntlekh oyf loshn koydesh, nor azoy es zol zayn eyn mol a papir! 5. ongehoybn hot zikh dos papir geveyntlekh mit a shvakh u|hoydayo, mit a loybenish in tog arayn: "du bist a groyser got, a shtarker got, a moyre|diker got," vi geveyntlekh ale tfiles heybn zikh on ... 6. nokh dem iz gegangen bay im a bashraybung fun der velt, vos far a tayere velt, vos far a sheyne, vos far a likhtike, vos far a kluge velt dos iz!... 7. sheyn, groysartik sheyn hot er bashribn di velt, un nokh dem hot er zikh genumen tsum same rekhtn inyen funem papir, funem gebet-briv. 8. un der rekhter inyen iz geven dos, vos mentshn zenen shoyn ale borekh-hashem genug klug un gebildet un voltn zikh gekont oplebn gliklekh mit zeyer zibetsik yor oyf der erd. 9. iz ober der khisorn, vos nit ale zenen bateylt, nisht mit erd, nisht mit broyt, nisht mit gelt. 10. eyener hot gor, der anderer -- gornit. 11. eyner farmogt berg mit gelt, milyardn, der anderer geyt oys nokh a prute, farshtelt zikh far a betler, tsit oys di hant un vart biz emetser vet zikh dermonen im araynvarfn an altn opgeribenem groshn. 12. eyner flit oyf gumelastikene redlekh, batsolt far an onbaysn ergets mit a yefeyfye a shansonetke azoy fil, vifl der anderer vintsht zikh es farmogn zayn eygns, khotsh halb, khotsh a tsent kheylek!... 13. eyner geyt arum pust-un-pas un vert shi|er nit meshuge, brent gelt oyf dem likht, un der anderer arbet bay 40 grad hits, geyt op mit shveys, leygt avek dos gantse gezunt biz er fardint koym oyf a bulke. 14. un bikhdey tsu nemen dem reboyne-shel-oylem mit statistike, mit khezhboynes, khapt er on eynem fun di greste kapitalistn, epes a gevisn rokfeler fun amerike, vos farmogt nisht mer vi fir milyard kapital un fardint nisht mer vi tsvey hundert milyon a yor, dos makht oys azoy groys vi zibn hundert toyznt rubl a tog, un zayn arbeter, vos horevet mitn blutikn shveys oyf im zekhtsn sho in mesles far onderhalbn karbn, darf oys|haltn dermit a vayb mit [z. 93] zeks hungerike, nakete un borvese kinder mit a kranke muter ergets in finstern, kaltn keler. 15. ven der doziker narisher rokfeler -- zogt der shrayber funem papir -- ven der doziker rokfeler khapt zikh oyf in a sheynem frimorgn un vil zikh koyfn oylem-habe un ruft tsunoyf a milyon oreme arbeter un zogt zey: "nat aykh, brider, lomir zikh tseteyln ale glaykh!" bakumt dokh yeder oreman oyf zayn kheylek nisht mer un nisht vintsiker vi fir toyznt karbn! 16. vey, vey, vifl rokfelers, vifl vanderbilds, vifl rotshilds es zenen faran oyf der velt -- lozt oys der shrayber -- un keynem iz nokh biz aher nit ayngefaln aza gedank! adrabe, tomer derhern zey, az oreme-layt krekhtsn, oreme-layt mumlen oyf zey, oreme-layt tseyln zeyer farmegn, vern zey ongetsundn un tsebeyzern zikh: "akish! nit ayer eysek! ir darft arbetn un zogn a dank vos men git aykh arbet!..." 17. un az se makht zikh bay dem rokfeler, bay dem vanderbild, bay dem rotshild a simkhe, a yoyme-depagre, varft er aroys a beyndl far di milyonen oreme-layt un shrayt oyf koyle-koyles un blozt in ale shoyfres: "ir zet? dos hob ikh geshenkt tsum tog fun mayn geborn..." 18. dos ken fardrisn un derfun nemen zikh ale makhloykes|n mit ale hariges tsvishn mentshn... 19. bekheyn iz vos? 20. "bekheyn betn mir dikh, almekhtiker got, der har fun ale hershaftn, inem nomen fun ale hunderter milyonen oreme, fintstere, dershlogene, oysgehorevete, kranke arbeter, du zolst zikh araynleygn in a sholem, zolst zikh matriekh zayn aleyn kavyokhl mit dayn koved makhn a rikhtikn khezhbm, aynkasirn dos gantse gelt fun der velt un makhn a khaluke tsvishn ale mentshn glaykh, vet oyfhern zeyer kine, sine, makhloykes|n, zidlerayen mit blut fargisn. un es vet vern shtil un ruik oyf dayn veltl, vi in posek shteyt geshribn ..." 21. geveyntlekh hot der shrayber nit gezhalevet keyn psukem fun di heylike sforem fun a mol un oykh fun di bikher fun di shpeterdike doyres mit ale khakhomem un groyse layt fun atsind, un dos papir hot ongehoybn geyn meyad leyad, un ale (akhuts di negidem, geveyntlekh) hobn dos papir opge|khasm|et un men hot dos papir avekgeshikt glaykh ahin aroyf tsum bezdn-shel-mayle. b. 22. un got hot tsugehert tsu undzer gebet un es hot zikh gelozt hern, az men hot aropgeshikt fun oybn modne nefoshes, azelkhe vos men hot [z. 94] zey biz aher nit gezen, epes halb mentshn, halb malokhem. dos heyst, esn esn zey vi mentshn, nor dos aroyszen mitn redn mitn banemen zikh iz fun malokhem. vuhin zey kumen arayn vert likhtik in ale vinklekh, sholem-u|shalve tsvishn mentshn. oys krig, oys sine, un vos zey zogn folgt men zey, un vos zey heysn vert geton. un heysn heysn zey, men zol tsunoyftrogn dos gantse gelt fun der velt oyf eyn ort, gold bazunder un zilber bazunder un mints bazunder, keyner zol nit lozn bay zikh keyn prute shel nekhoyshes. un merkvirdik! keyner hot nit gezogt keyn vort, nit ibergekert di tsung, un men hot genumen tsunoyftrogn dos farmegn, gold un zilber un kuper, perl un dimentn un brilyantn, un sha, shtil, on tuml, on verter. dray teg mit dray nekht hot gedoyert dos aynkasirn funem gelt. men hot ongeshotn azelkhe kupes mit gold, az s'iz geven a moyre tsu kukn. un merkvirdik! dos gold iz gelegn frank un fray, nisht eyn shoymer, nisht eyn bloyze shverd. shtil un ruik hot men getrogn dos gut|s -- gold bazunder, zilber bazunder, un mints bazunder -- un oyfn fertn tog in der fri hot zikh ongekhmaret der himl, badekt mit shvere shvartse volkns, un a pakhed iz gefaln oyf ale mentshn. a sakh zenen tsugefaln mitn ponem tsu der erd, zikh geshlogn "oshamnu"... un a sakh zenen geshtanen un gekukt: vos vet do zayn? un plutsling hot oysgebrokhn a shreklekher duner un a moyre|diker blits hot balaykht dem himl fun eyn ek bizn andern ek, un mir hobn ale derzen a moyre|dike tabele fun fayerdike tsifer oyfn himl: 15,000,000,000,000 : 1,500,000,000 = 10,000 23. un mir hobn farshtanen, az dos iz der emes|er khezhbm, az dos iz di emes|e khaluke, az dos makht tsen toyznt dolar oyf a mentshn. un es hot bald a bloz geton an ander vintl un hot getribn di khmares, un der himl hot zikh opgereynikt un iz gevorn loyter vi krishtol, un di zun hot aropgekukt un geshaynt vi gingold, un di luft iz gevorn frish, un di erd iz gevorn yontef|dik, un di mentshn zenen gevorn ale freylekh un munter, di penim|er hobn geshaynt, oreme-layt hobn zikh arumgenumen un gekusht, un itlekher iz zikh tsugegangen eyntsikvayz tsum gold, zikh opgetseylt punkt zayn kheylek nokhn tsol fun zayn hoysgezind: a gezindl fun fir parshoyn hot genumen fertsik toyznt karbn, a gezindl fun akht parshoyn hot genumen akhtsik toyznt karbn, eyn mentsh aleyn hot genumen nor tsen toyznt karbn. un merkvirdik! keyner hot nisht genumen nisht mer nisht vintsiker, un biz oyf der nakht hot der oylem tsugenumen dos gantse gelt un men iz zikh b|sholem u|b|shalve tsegangen aheym lebedik, freylekh, gezungen lider un geloybt got far [z. 95] zayn erlekhkayt un gerekhtikayt, far zayn groys gnod un barmhartsikayt, vos er hot zikh sof-kol-sof arumgekukt oyf di zindike mentshn un oysgeleyzt di velt fun groyse umglikn, vos hobn gekont zayn, nisht derlozt, az di erd zol kholile khorev vern iber aza narishkayt vi gelt ... a gantse nakht hot men gehulyet, klezmer hobn geshpilt in ale hayzer, flakers hobn gebrent in ale gasn. s'iz geven a sosn ve-simkhe, \english {'very merry' oyr layehudem}... gimel. 24. oyf morgn in der fri -- ikh bin nokh gelegn in bet -- her ikh mayn vaybs \english{'voice' kol}: 25. -- vu bistu ergets, moyd? trog arayn vaser, heyts in oyvn, moyd! 26. nor moyd haynt moyd morgn, nishto keyn moyd! vu iz ahingekumen di moyd? zi iz avekgegangen nekhtn oyf der nakht -- iz zi shoyn mer tsurik nisht gekumen. 27. -- a potefalnost fun a moyd! -- zogt mayn vayb un fayert mit sakones-nefoshes -- ot vestu zen, az ikh shaf zi op! ... un azoy vi zi redt, kumt on di moyd ongeton shabes|dik, mit a hitele un mit a zontikl un knakt nislekh. 28. a gut yontef dir -- zogt tsu ir mayn vayb -- vos bistu epes azoy oysgestrotslt, neshome mayne? 29. -- ikh bin gekumen aykh zogn - makht tsu ir di moyd -- gants oyfgeleygt vi a kale -- ir zolt zikh zukhn an ander mentshn. 30. -- azoy, vos iz di mayse? 31. -- di mayse ... mir zenen shoyn itster borekh-hashem bale-batem glaykh mit alemen. mir zenen keyn eynhore nayn parshoyn, hot zikh ongenumen oyf undzer kheylek nayntsik toyznt dolar. 32. -- zey zenen raykher fun undz -- zog ikh tsu mayn vayb shtilerheyt un mir shteyen un kukn eyns oyf dos andere on verter. 33. -- ikh hob moyre, mayn vayb, az hayntiks mol vestu muzn farkatshn, mekhile, di arbl un zikh matriekh zayn aleyn aynheytsn in oyvn. 34. a sheyne gedule! ale beyze viste khaloymes... 35. ... az mayn vayb heybt on batlen khaloymes gey ikh demolt avek fun der heym. azoy bin ikh mikh noyeg fun tomed on, un azoy hob ikh geton oykh itst. 36. aroysgekumen oyf der gas -- s'iz shtil, yontef|dik! in mark di kleytn zenen ale tsu, men zet nisht a nefesh. "der oylem shloft nokh -- trakht ikh mir -- rut zikh oys nokhn nekhtikn tog." ikh heyb oyf di oygn -- Nekhemye der hinkediker papirosnik loyft hendum-pendum, shpringt [z. 96] unter oyf eyn fisl, un ikh dermon zikh, az s'iz mir oysgegangen papirosn. 37. vuhin iz, Nekhemye? shtey a vayle! 38. -- ikh hob keyn tsayt nit! -- makht er -- ikh loyf aheym. 39. -- eyn rege! -- zog ikh -- ikh vil bashteln bay dir a toyznt papirosn! 40. -- vosere papirosn? -- makht er mir - vosere lokshn?(3) mayn tate hot avekgetrogn nor vos in bank arayn a putike, zogt ir mir gor papirosn. 41. "a sheygets kon! -- trakht ikh mir -- "keyn mol hot mit mir Nekhemye azoy nit geredt." 42. -- ikh badarf ober -- zog ikh -- papirosn! khotsh a meye papirosn! 43. -- meyle vos ir badarft - makht er tsu mir un antloyft mitn krumen fisl un mikh lozt er shteyn vi a nar in mitn mark. 44. "hayntiks mol vel ikh muzn koyfn fartike papirosn"(4) -- trakht ikh mir un loz mikh geyn vayter un derze khlavne dem shuster shteyn bay der tir fun zayn shtibl un es valgern zikh di bebekhes. 45. khlavne der shuster iz a yid mit an oysgeflikt berdl, mit a tsunoyfgetsoygener noz, vos fayft, un mit shvartse grobe finger. 46. -- vuhin iz, reb khlavne? 47. -- ikh kleyb mikh ariber in an ander dire -- zogt er tsu mir un di noz fayft -- genug shoyn tsu zitsn do in ipesh. lozn shoyn andere a bisl farzukhn di vantsn, ikh kon mikh shoyn haynt, mit got's hilf, farginen a shenere dire. 48. -- gut vos ikh hob aykh derzen, reb khlavne, ikh darf take hobn a por naye shtivl. ir vet zikh take matriekh zayn ot bald aropnemen a mos oyf a por shtivl. 49. -- shtivl? -- makht tsu mir khlavne mit a fayf -- lozn aykh shoyn andere neyen shtivl[.] mit zekhtsik toyznt karbn keyn eynhore vel ikh mir gefinen an ander parnose minastam. vi meynt ir? ha? 50. der gedank, az khlavne der shuster iz a yid fun zekhtsik toyznt karbn, gefelt mir zeyer, az ikh tselakh mikh un trakht mir, az ikh vel shoyn muzn koyfn zikh greyte shtivl in kleyt, un ikh loz mikh geyn vayter un bagegn alik dem shnayder mit a shabes|diker kapote un mit a shpogl nayem kashket oyfn kop, oysgetsoygn vi a strune, un di kasoke oygn zayne kukn oyf mir un shmeykhlen. 51. -- gut -- zog ikh -- vos ikh hob dikh derzen, Eli|k! 52. -- vos iz azoy der gut|skayt? -- makht er tsu mir mit a shmeykhl fun an azes-ponem. [z. 96] 53. ikh hob dir gevolt betn, zolst moykhl zayn araynkumen haynt tsu mir nokhn esn. 54. -- vos vel ikh bay aykh ton nokhn esn, a shteyger kedoyme-lemoshl -- makht er tsu mir alts mit yenem azes-ponem-shmeykhl. 55. vos heyst -- zog ikh -- vos vestu bay mir ton? ikh vil mir bashteln a nayem garniter, dos heyst tsvey naye garniters vil ikh mir lozn makhn: eynem fun triko, a bisl a varemen, un dem andern a gringn, fun velvet, oyf di heyse teg. 56. -- nu, vos zhe geher zikh dos on -- zogt er -- mit mir? 57. nivl-venishtoymem bin ikh gevorn fun aza entfer un hob keyn vort nisht gekont mer aroyslozn. er hot a ponem farshtanen, az ikh bin iberrasht. makht er tsu mir vi a rekhter azes-ponem: 58. -- vos zent ir azoy in grimtsorn? ikh bin shoyn haynt mit got|s hilf oys shnayder, a balebos glaykh mit aykh. ikh farmog haynt fuftsik toyznt karbonim, ir farshteyt tsi neyn? nun alef ru"K. 59. un er tut zikh a patsh mit der hant iber der zayt-keshene un a knak mitn finger. 60. -- a palge blaybt a palge -- zog ikh un loz mikh geyn in mark arayn tsvishn di kleytn. ver? vos? nishto a hunt! farshlogn tir un toyer. zeltn-zeltn zet men loyfn emetsn farbay shtark fartrasket. itlekher iz fartrogn mit zikh, hot nisht in zinen keynem, entfert afile nisht oyf keyn 'gut morgn'. plutsling tut mir emetser a zets in pleytse. ikh drey mikh oys tsurik -- reb Meyer bal-moyekh! 61. -- nu? -- makht er tsu mir vos hot ir ge|poyel|t? 62. -- danken got! -- zog ikh -- oys oreme-layt, oys negidem, haynt zenen, borekh-hashem, ale glaykh. 63. a gedule oyf der bobe! -- makht er tsu mir un kukt mir modne in di oygn arayn. 64. reb Meyer bal-moyekh iz a yid an alter mit a groyser groyer bord un mit a hoykhn shtern, un men halt im bay undz far a platshikn, dos heyst, a bisl nit ibergeshpitst. un derfar rufn mir im bay undz beloshn sagenoer 'bal-moyekh'. un dertsu halt er zikh take a gantse khakren, a filozof. er iz a mentsh aleyn, an almone, on kinder, un men shatst im far a groysn oysher, ariber shin alofem. atsind, nokh der khaluke, az s'hot zikh ongenumen oyf zayn khilek sakhakl tsen toyznt, kumt oys, az er hot keyn gut gesheft nit gemakht, un dos gefelt mir take zeyer un ikh bagegn im mit a shmeykhele. 65. -- a|yo -- makht er tsu mir un visht zikh dem shveys -- ir kvelt, ir [z. 97] zent, borekh-hashem, atsind ale negidem un s'iz aykh gut vi di velt? zog ikh aykh, hert ir, az ir zent ale oyf tsores! 66. -- oyf tsores? -- zog ikh -- vos iz di mayse? 67. -- di mayse iz, vos ir zent beheymes. ir heybt nit on tsu farshteyn, vos mit aykh tut zikh! 68. -- nor ir eyner -- zog ikh -- zent a khokhem; nit umzist ruft men aykh 'bal-moyekh'. 69. -- ir megt mikh -- zogt er -- rufn vi ir vilt aykh, nor ikh zog aykh, az ir zent beheymes! ferd! kelblekh! 70. dos hot mir shoyn rekht fardrosn -- a 'bal-moyekh' zol zikh avekshteln zidlen, onrufn a gantse velt mitn nomen beheymes un ferd un kelblekh! un ikh tselakh mikh glaykh im in ponem arayn un gey avek fun im. 71. -- freydt zikh, freydt zikh -- shrayt er mir nokh -- ir vet kharote hobn! es vet aykh oysfaln bokom! 72. "alter nar -- trakht ikh mir -- ikh veys vos aykh brent! se fardrist aykh, vos ikh bin haynt raykher fun aykh! ir zent nisht eyner, faran a sakh bay undz azelkhe negidem vi ir, vos hobn gemeynt, az nor zey kumt, az nor zey badarfn hobn gelt. an ek, oys negidem, oys oreme-layt, oys meyukhosem. 73. ikh ker mikh um un gey aheym. dalet. 74. -- vos vet zayn der takhles? -- zog ikh tsu mayn vayb nokh dem az mir hobn beyde nokh a mol ibergetseylt undzer mayontek zibetsik toyznt karbn, vayl mir zenen keyn eynhore zibn, un gut bahaltn in kastn -- heys khotsh shteln dem samovar, veln mir trinken tey, es khalesht mir dos harts. 75. -- napshiklad* vemen zol ikh heysn? -- makht tsu mir mayn vayb -- dem shames fun der shul? du host shoyn fargesn a ponem az di moyd hot undz avekgevorfn un vil shoyn mer nisht dinen, un di kekhin oykh? 76. -- di kekhin oykh? 77. -- vos den? ale hobn dokh genumen fun der khaluke! ale (zenen) glaykh meyukhosem! 78. -- veystu vos? -- zog ikh -- gis du on dem samovar un ikh vel im tseblozn. 79. -- napshiklad mit vos zol ikh im -- zogt zi - ongisn? mit akhroynem vaser, tsi mitn faryorikn shney? az fun nekhtn on kuk ikh nisht on dem vaser-firer in di oygn! 80. un azoy vi mir redn derze ikh durkhn fentster Nakhmen ber dem vaser-firer [z. 99] forn mit a fas funem taykh; loyf ikh aroys tsu im mekabl-ponem zayn un vil im opshteln. 81. -- reb Nakhmen ber! reb Nakhmen ber! zayt zhe moykhl, shtelt zikh op a vayle, git undz a por emer vaser! 82. -- vaser? in taykh iz faran genug! -- makht er tsu mir un kukt afile nisht tsu mir in vinkl arayn. 83. -- vos makht ir khoyzek, reb Nakhmen ber? men darf shteln dem samovar, nishto a tropfn vaser. 84. -- azoy? ot tsekrats ikh mir di pyates! -- makht er tsu mir gants breytlekh un mit a gelekhter -- az men vil vaser nemt men an emer azoy vi ikh (dem 'ikh' tsit er oys oyf an arshin un men iz zikh matriekh tsum taykh azoy vi ikh, un men farkatshet di poles azoy vi ikh!... 85. ikh ken Nakhmen ber dem vaser-firer shoyn etlekhe un tsvantsik yor, hob ikh im nokh keyn mol nit gehert redn mit aza ton un mit aza breytkayt un mit aza nigen vi itst. 86. -- herstu? -- zog ikh tsu mayn vayb -- s'iz a mies|er eysek! men badarf khotsh geyn krign a bulke. ikh vel a shprung ton tsum beker un du zay zikh matriekh in mark arayn nokh fleysh. 87. gekumen tsu shmulik dem beker, er zitst nit vayt fun undz, un ikh tref im baym tish mit zayn gants gezindl. men zitst, men trinkt tey un men shvitst. 88. -- a gut morgn, reb Shmuel! -- zog ikh tsu im. 89. -- a gut morgn, a gut yor. vos vet ir epes zogn gut|s? -- makht er tsu mir epes zeyer oyfgeleygt un bet mir afile nit zitsn. 90. -- ikh hob aykh gevolt betn -- zog ikh -- a por bulkes, oder koyletshlekh geflokhtene. 91. -- hot keyn faribl nit -- makht er tsu mir un visht zikh dem shveys mit a yontef|diker fatsheyle. -- bulkes hob ikh fun maynt vegn. 92. -- vos heyst fun ayert vegn? 93. -- ot dos heyst -- zogt er -- ir vilt bulkes? bakt. 94. -- ikh vel aykh gut batsoln -- pruv ikh mikh unterkoyfn mit gelt. 95. -- take -- makht er tsu mir mit a shmeykhele -- ir vet mir gut batsoln? efsher vel ikh aykh gut batsoln un bakt ir mir bulkes? 96. -- broyges -- zog ikh -- badarf men do nit zayn. dervayl zent ir dokh a beker, un bay a beker koyft men bulkes ... 97. -- s'iz alts geven a mol! makht er tsu mir mit a shmeykhele fun a shtot-balebos shabes nokhn esn un glet zikh di bord -- a mol bin ikh geven a beker un haynt bin ikh oys beker, adye! lozt dortn grisn ayer vayb [z. 100] 98. ikh zol nit moyre hobn far keyn petsh, volt ikh zikh opgerekhnt mitn dozikn beker, dem grobn yungatsh, er zol mir hobn tsu gedenkn! nor vi past dos far mir, a noged fun zibetsik toyznt karbn un a tatns kind dertsu zol zikh avekshteln oys|taynen mit a bal-melokhe a beker? un ikh tu a klap mit der tir un gey aheym. [hemshekh in band 3, numer 010] ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.009 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.010 22 May 1999 Shvues Double Issue 1) "alemen glaykh" (Sholem-aleykhem) -- tsveyter teyl 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 22 May 1999 From: Lucas Bruyn and Leonard Prager Subject: "alemen glaykh" fun Sholem-aleykhem [hemshekh] \spell Nekhemye nHmih \spell bal bel \spell khakren Hkrn \spell hey h \spell negidem ngidim \spell bikhdey bkhdi \spell poyresh-b|shmoy pursh-b|shmu \spell katsovem ktsBim \spell b|khol bkhl \spell asher #shr \spell efne #fnh \spell lemay lm#i \spell balegoles beli-egluT \spell psures bQuruT \spell diburem diburim \spell memres mimruT \spell shamosem shmshim \spell balmelokhes beli-ml#khuT \spell vav v \spell khaluke Hluk|h \spell adrabe #drbh \spell kaptsonem kbtsnim \spell klezmer Kli-zmr \spell mesameyekh mQmH \spell royfe ruf# \spell mes mT \spell broyges brugz \spell mitsad mtsd \spell zayin z \spell toykhekhe WukhHh \spell khoyshekh Hushkh \spell harige hrigh \spell katsev ktsB \spell bale-batem beli-bWim \spell harugem hrugim \spell takhrikhem Wkhrikhim \spell lakhlutn lHlutin \spell doyfek dufk \spell tnay Wn#i \spell borekhabe brukh hb# [tsveytn teyl] 99. in der heym tref ikh mayne tsvey klenere kinder, nor vos gekumen funem kheyder mit a gedule: der rebe hot zey tselozt fray, ongezogt zey zoln shoyn mer tsu im in kheyder arayn nisht kumen. 100. -- vos iz shoyn? -- zog ikh -- ir hot shoyn epes farshtift a mayse? zayt zikh moyde, vorem ot gib ikh aykh petsh vi holts! 101. -- mir hobn nit farshtift -- zogn zey -- keyn shum mayse. der rebe hot undz nor gezogt, az mir zenen shoyn nit mer zayne talmidem un er iz nit undzer rebe. oyb mir viln, zogt er, lernen, zol der tate aleyn zikh matriekh zayn mit undz kneln ... un dos skhar-limed, vos im kumt, zol men dos avekshenken oyf oreme-layt ... 102. dos hot mir shoyn azoy fardrosn, az ikh hob gekhapt dos shtekl un bin aroysgelofn in droysn un hob mikh gelozt geyn in shtot arayn zen, vos tut zikh oyf der velt, vi azoy iz bay laytn. un azoy vi ikh gey bagegn ikh vider a mol Meyer bal-moyekh mit a baremek holts oyf di pleytses. 103. -- vos iz dos? -- zog ikh tsu im -- aleyn? 104. - aleyn, vos den? -- makht er -- ikh hob dos koym gekrogn, oysgeveynt, atsind badarf men nokh geyn krign mel un zikh bakn broyt. gut derlebt. ha? vart tsu a bisl, dos iz nokh gornit; ot vet ir zen vos vet nokh zayn! blut vet rinen in di gasn! blut! blut! 105. "a khakren redt gor andere verter, er zogt gor nevies!" -- azoy trakht ikh mir un es krikht mir in kop arayn alerley umetike makhshoves un farshtern mir di simkhe mitn fargenign fun di zibetsik toyznt karbn, vos ikh farmog atsind. ikh tsetrayb di makhshoves vi vayt meglekh, nor zey hern nisht oyf krikhn in kop arayn, vi zumer-flign -- un ikh loz mikh geyn vayter. hey. 106. oyf der gas dreyen zikh arum undzere royte yidelekh, ale shabes|dik ongeton -- ale naye oyfgekumene negidem, nor ale onge|broyges|te, blozn zikh vi khosn|s tsad. der oylem epes shushket zikh, men redt eyne oyfn ander loshn-hore. 107. -- gefelt aykh a bisl undzer nayer noged! -- makht eyner tsum andern un vinkt on a zayt. [z. 101] 108. -- psnu! -- makht der anderer un iz azh grin far kine. 109. un bikhdey men zol zikh tseshlogn a bisl di gedanken, dertseylt itlekher bazunder an ander anekdot, vi azoy der shokhn zayner iz gekumen aheym mitn gold, gekhapt dos wayb un gegangen a tentsl, shi|er nit meshuge gevorn far freyd! der anderer dertseylt nokh a shenern anekdot, vi azoy zayner a bakanter, er vil nit poyresh-b|shmoy zayn, iz gezesn a gantse nakht bizn vaysn tog arayn un hot nisht oyfgehert tsu tseyln nokh a mol un nokh a mol dos gelt, vos er hot gebrakht aheym un vi azoy er shtelt zikh op itlekhs mol un tut zikh a knip baym layb un a zog tsum vayb: Sore zisl! vi meynstu, ikh shlof? ... der gantser oylem shist oys kloymersht a gelekhter, nor men zet, az se iz falsh: es lakht zikh epes nit azoy vi es darf tsu zayn. itlekher filt az es gendzlt im epes ineveynik, nor aroyszogn kon er dos nit. 110. -- gehert a mayse? -- ruft zikh on eyner a yunger-mantshik mit a zaydenem kashket un kratst zikh untern kolner -- Shimen Eli der shoykhet vil nit koylen. 111. -- vos heyst er vil nit koylen? -- makht a yid a noged mit a baykhl, vos hengt im arop un er muz dos haltn untergebundn mit a gartl -- vos heyst er vil nit koylen? 112. -- ot dos heyst! -- makht der yunger-man mitn kashket -- er iz shoyn, zogt er, oys shoykhet, er farmogt shoyn itst zayne draysik toyznt karbn un koylet nor far zaynt vegn. 113. -- du makhst zikh narish! -- zogt der yid un tsit aroyf dos baykhl mit beyde hent. 114. -- vi a yid ikh bin! -- makht der yunger-man -- mayn shviger hot geshikt tsu im dos meydl mit oyfes, hot er aroysgetribn dos meydl mit di oyfes. 115. -- dos iz nokh blote! -- ruft zikh on an oysgedart yidl, nebekh a kranker -- ikh hob moyre, mir veln ale oysgeyn far hunger. 116. -- far hunger? vos iz far a hunger oyf aykh? 117. -- vos heyst vos iz? az di katsovem viln nit shekhtn, nisht geefnt afile haynt di yatkes. 118. -- geyt shoyn geyt! 119. -- ikh zol azoy hobn hatslokhe b|khol asher efne. 120. -- ir zogt katsovem? lemay bere brenbukh der beder vil nisht heytsn di bod? 121. -- a nayer noged in shtot! bere brenbukh! kha-kha! 122. -- tsvishn oylem vert kloymersht a gelekhter. 123. -- a sheyner gelekhter! -- ruft zikh on farbayloyfndik a yunger-man mit [z. 102] an ibergeshrokenem ponem -- lakht-lakht, oysgevaksn a gelekhter oyfn pupik! ... a shtot same negidem!... nisht ton fun danen ahin! ... nisht tsu krign in ergets a fur!... balegoles viln nit forn! ... ot darf ikh forn tsum ban vi in lebn arayn, opfirn a kind tsum dokter ... kh'hob moyre ikh vel muzn geyn tsu fus tsum ban. 124. -- tsum ban? -- tut zikh eyner a zog farbaygeyendik -- ikh veys gor nit tsi es geyt ergets a ban... 125. -- a moshl! an ek heyst dos? di velt hot zikh avekgeshtelt? 126. -- zolt ir take visn! 127. mit a farumetikt harts loz ikh mir geyn vayter un horkh ale mol alts ergere psures, modne diburem, farsheydene memres, un ze far zikh stsenes, eyne troyerik mer fun der anderer. do geyt a muter, brekht di hent: di zeygerin hot zi avekgevorfn, ibergelozt ir a brekele kind oyf di hent un zi veys nit vos men tut! ... dort loyft a yunger-man toyt vi der toyt: dos vayb geyt bay im tsu kind, un nishto keyn akusherke, khotsh leyg zikh un shtarb! ... do shteyt a yid farveynt. s'iz bay im geshtorbn hayntike nakht an alter foter un men darf im bahaltn; iz nito ver es zol bahaltn. "vos iz? nu un khevre-kedishe? az s'iz nishto keyn shamosem! keyner vil zikh nit rirn funem ort!"... un dort shteyt a yid farzorgt: er makht haynt khasene a shvester, darf shteln a khupe, iz nito keyn klezmer, nit keyn sarvers, nit keyn shames, nit keyn khazn -- a reyner umglik!... un do klogt zikh eyner oyf der post: er iz gegangen opnemen zeyer a neytikn briv fun zaynem a bruder, iz nishto keyn lebediker mentsh oyf der post! der halt in mitn boyen zikh a dire, hobn im di balmelokhes avekgevorfn in mitn der arbet; un yener hot a groyse fabrik, hot er zi gemuzt tsumakhn! haklal men hert nor tsores un tsores un tsores! 128. "reb Meyer, khotsh men ruft im bay undz 'bal-moyekh', iz a ponem gor nisht umgerekht, vos er zogt, az mir zenen ale oyf tsores" -- azoy trakht ikh mir un loz mikh geyn tsu im aheym, hern vos vet er epes zogn oyf vayter, un ineveynik untern lefele vil ikh vi epes zoygt mikh un nogt mikh, take gor vi verem esn mikh ... vav. 129. arayngekumen tsu Meyer bal-moyekh hob ikh im getrofn gants sheyn zitsn oyf a benkl mit a shtivl oyf di kni un mit a nodl-fodem in hant. di groyse, groye bord hot er tselozt un der breyter shtern hot im geshvitst. [z. 103] 130. -- vos tut ir dos, reb Meyer? -- freg ikh im. 131 -- vos zol ikh ton? -- makht er mit a zifts -- ir zet dokh vos ikh tu, az okh un vey iz mir! sheyn azoy? ha? zikh derlebt? nu, vos hot ir ge|poyel|t mit ayer oyftu? mit ayer 'khaluke'? haynt iz aykh beser vi frier? zogt, shemt zikh nit! a|yo ir shvaygt? 132. un er leygt avek oyf a vayle di arbet un kukt mir glaykh in ponem arayn. ikh shvayg, vorem ikh hob nisht vos tsu zogn. 133. -- vos vet zayn fun dem der takhles, volt ikh veln visn? - makht er tsu mir vayter un nemt zikh tsu der arbet - az men kon keyn zakh nisht krign far gelt, haynt tsu velkhe shvartse yor toyg aykh dos gelt? ikh hob moyre men zol nit onhoybn zikh esn eyns dos andere lebedikerheyt. 134 -- vos zhe iz di eytse, reb Meyer? adrabe, ir zent dokh epes a yid an oyfgeklerter, vi zogt men. a khakren un a filosof, git an eytse! 135. -- an eytse zogt ir? dertsu iz faran nor eyn eytse. 136. -- dehayne? 137. dehayne, s'zol zayn azoy vi s'iz geven biz aher. 138. -- vider -- zog ikh -- kaptsonem un vider negidem? eynem gor dem andern gornit? s'iz take a yoysher? 139. -- es kon ober andersh nit zayn -- makht er un tut zikh zayn arbet -- es muz azoy zayn! kol zman mir arbetn iber noyt, vayl mir viln esn; kol zman mir horeven tsulib der kishke aleyn un mir hobn fun undzer horevanye shum hanoe nit; kol zman horevanye, arbet koyft zikh un farkoyft zikh far gelt -- muz dos azoy zayn, vi s'iz geven biz aher. az der shuster kumt mir nisht helfn farrikhtn di shtivl nor derfar vos er darf shoyn nit mayn getsolt|s; az der beker git aykh nisht keyn bulke nor derfar vos er darf shoyn nit ayer grivne ; az der klezmer vil nisht kumen aykh mesameyekh zayn oyf ayer khasene far gut frayndshaft aleyn; az der melamed vil nisht lernen mit ayere kinder far libshaft aleyn; az di akusherke vil nit kumen helfn ayer gevinerin un der royfe vil nit geyn tsu ayer krankn un der shames vil nit bahaltn ayer mes far rakhmones aleyn -- haynt tsu vos toygt ir un tsu velkhe shvartse yor lebt ir oyf der velt? vos iz der khilek tsvishn aykh un tsvishn der beheyme? a beheyme klert nor vegn ir trelbukh un ir klert nor vegn ayer trelbukh; a beheyme hot in zinen nor zikh mit ir pomoynitse, un ir hot in zinen nor zikh mit ayer pomoynitse. ir hot gezen, az a beheyme zol helfn der ander beheyme beshas yene darf zikh kelbn? ir hot gezen a ferd zol helfn dem ander ferd oyfshteyn beshas yene ferd hot zikh spotiket un iz gefaln? ir hot gezen, az a beheyme zol zikh zorgn far [z. 104] der velt|s kelblekh? haynt zogt mir, ikh bet aykh, mayn liber yid, vos iz mit aykh azoy der yikhes? un vos zent ir geven azoy broyges, az ikh hob aykh alemen ongerufn mitn nomen 'beheymes, ferd un kelblekh'? 140. un der alter reb Meyer hot avekgeleygt dem shtivl un di groye bord hot zikh bay im tselozt, un di oygn hobn im gebrent un er hot oysgezen bay mir epes gor an ander mentsh, gor nisht der platshiker 'bal-moyekh' vos biz aher, un ikh hob im nisht gevolt ibershlogn di reyd; mir hot zikh gevolt er zol nokh redn un redn. un er rut zikh op un redt vayter: 141. -- nu? a|yo ir shvaygt? vorem ir hot nit vos tsu zogn. ir hot gemeynt, az dermit vos ale royte yidelekh veln vern oysgeglaykht in zeyer farmegn vet kumen a yeshue oyf der velt? ir hot gelebt in toes: nisht in dem, nisht inem gelt shtekt dos gantse glik funem mentshn. undzer glik ligt ot o do (er vayzt mit der hant oyfn hartsn) un ot o do! (er vayzt mit der hant oyfn shtern). vi zhe iz ober der din, az do (er vayzt mitn finger oyfn shtern) iz bay undz faran vintsiklekh, un ot o do (er bavayzt mitn finger oyfn hartsn) nokh vintsiker. vet undz ot dos (er bavayzt mit der hant oyf der keshene) nisht helfn gornisht. adrabe, es vet undz nokh a sakh a sakh kalye makhn! s'iz nokh, farshteyt ir mikh, tsu fri, az mir zoln farshteyn, az mir zenen bashafn gevorn nisht nor tsulib dem trelbukh un nisht tsulib der pomoynitse aleyn, az mir darfn eyner tsum andern nisht tsulib gelt, un helfn eyns dos andere nisht far getsolt|s, nor mitsad epes andersh, mitsad rakhmones. neyn, s'iz nokh nit gekumen di tsayt! es darf nokh lang gedoyern biz mir ale zoln dos farshteyn!... un biz demolt muz dos zayn vi s'iz geven biz aher, anit iz shlekht, biter, biter vi der toyt, es vet zikh gisn blut in di gasn; ot vet ir zen, farshraybt mayne verter! 142. plutsling hern mir a rash, a geshrey fun droysn. der alter leygt avek di arbet un mir loyfn aroys beyde oyf der gas zen vos tut zikh dortn. zayin. 143. dos vos mir hobn derzen in droysn lozt zikh nit bashraybn. in mitn gas iz geshtanen an alte froy mit a fuln koshik mit bulkes un arum un arum mentshn hobn zi bafaln, raysn bay ir di bulkes funem koshik un zi lozt nit, boret zikh un shrayt: 144. -- tshepet zikh op! lozt mikh! s'iz nit oyf tsu farkoyfn! ikh farkoyf nit! [z. 105] 145. -- ir farkoyft nit? git undz azoy! 146. -- nit fun ayert vegn opgebakt! fun mayne kinders vegn! lozt mikh! ratevet! karaul! 147. nor der oylem hert zi vi homen dem grager; in etlekhe minut hot men di bulkes ire tsenumen, zi hot men rekht oysge|harg|et. un di froy, nebekh, a tseblutikte, veynt un shelt mit toyte kloles, leyent di toykhekhe. 148. -- gefeln aykh di royte yidlekh, di sheyne layt, di oyfgekumene gvirem ayere? -- makht tsu mir Meyer bal moyekh mit a biter gelekhterl - azelkhe shtile mentshlekh geven tomed, un plutsling gevorn gazlonem! un iber vos? iber a bulke, kha-kha-kha! 149. der vint, vos hot tseblozn di bord zayne ale zaytn, tsetrogt dem gelekhter un fun ale gasn zeen mir royte yidlekh loyfn alts in eyn zayt arayn, tsum mark, tsu di yatkes. 150. -- vos iz? vuhin loyft men dos? -- khapt mir on eynem funem mark. 151. -- ir hot gornit gehert -- makht er tsu undz farvundert -- staytsh, se tut zikh khoyshekh, a geshleg, a harige bay di yatkes! 152. -- a geshleg? a harige? iber vos? 153. -- iber fleysh. 154. -- iber fleysh? 155. -- iber fleysh. men iz zikh tsunoyfgekumen nokh fleysh. hobn di katsovem nit gevolt efenen di yatkes, hot eyner a balebos oyfgeshlogn dem shlos un gevolt aleyn nemen fleysh, hot im der katsev gegebn mit a hak ibern kop, iz er, zogt men, gefaln toyt. hobn zikh ongenumen far im di iberike bale-batem un genumen shlogn dem katsev. hobn zikh aroysgeshtelt di iberike katsovem -- iz gevorn a geshleg, a harige, zol got \english{'watch over and save' shoymer-umatsl zayn!} me zogt hekher tsvey minyonem mentshn zenen ge|harg|et oyf toyt. 156. -- nu ver iz geven gerekht? vos hob ikh aykh gezogt? -- makht tsu mir reb Meyer bal-moyekh un mir heybn on geyn gikher, un der gepilder mitn geshrey vert ale mol shtarker un shreklekher. un ikh her azelkhe koyles, vos kh'hob nokh keyn mol nisht gehert; un ikh derze azelkhe stsenes, vos ikh hob keynmol nit gezen. der mark iz farfleytst mit royte yidlekh. oyf der erd lign a sakh harugem, katshen zikh in blut. tsvishn zey mayne gute bakante. dort ligt eyner a yunger-man in a sheyner kapote mit a bleykh ponem, ikh volt gemegt shvern, az s'iz Shimen Eli der shoykhet. a bisl vayter yener grober mitn baykhl, vos baym lebn hot er dos gehaltn shtendik untergebundn mit a gartl un nokh a sakh bakante parshoynen. eynike zenen shoyn in gantsn [z. 106] toyt un eynike zhipen nokh, un blut, blut arum un arum! der alter mayner shturkhet mikh mitn elboygn ikh zol kukn ahintsu, vayter, zen vos dortn tut zikh; er redt epes tsu mir, nor ikh her nisht vos; er vayzt mir epes un ikh veys nisht vos; ikh ze nor zayn vayse bord, vi zi shoklt zikh un der vint tseblozt ire lange groye hor. funem reyekh fun blut -- mentshn blut -- vert mir nisht gut oyf tsu khalesh|n, dos harts ot ot shpringt dos mir aroys; di fis vern untergehakt, ot ot fal ikh um................. ......................................................................... khes. 157. az ikh hob mikh oyfgekhapt, bin ikh gelegn oyf a betl un dakht zikh nit bay zikh in der heym. epes nisht keyn kentlekh ort un nisht keyn kentlekhe parshoynen dreyen zikh arum; ale geyen ongeton in vaysn, vi in takhrikhem, mit vayse spodikes oyf di kep. meysem! -- flit mir durkh a makhshove in kop un ikh vil zeyer visn, vu bin ikh in der velt? tsi ikh leb tsi ikh bin geshtorbn? ikh heyb oyf dem kop, kuk mikh arum oyf ale zaytn, ikh tap mikh bay mayn layb -- ikh hob nokh ale khushem, a simen az ikh bin nit geshtorbn. ikh leb, un a modne varemkayt fil ikh tsegisn zikh iber mayn gantsn 'ikh'. nor vu bin ikh un vi kum ikh aher un vos iz mit mir -- dos kon ikh nit farshteyn b|shum oyfn. eyner fun di parshoynen, ongeton in vaysn mit a vaysn spodik, derzet az ikh rir zikh, geyt er tsu mir un beygt zikh on iber mayn geleger. 158. -- vu bin ikh? 159, -- freg ikh im. -- shshsh ... -- makht er tsu mir -- der dokter heyst nit redn. 160. -- ver zent ir? -- freg ikh im vayter. 161. shshsh -- ikh bin a feldsher. der dokter hot gezogt, ir zolt lign ruik, nit redn a vort. 162. er geyt avek un lozt mikh iber aleyn. ikh brekh mir dem moyekh, ikh vil mikh dermonen vi arum ikh kum aher? vos iz geven frier mit mir? -- un ikh kon b|shum oyfn nisht dermonen zikh. ikh kon zikh afile nisht dermonen ver bin ikh. ikh hob dos lakhlutn fargesn! -- fargesn ver ikh bin un vos ikh bin un vi azoy men ruft mikh, ikh fil mikh epes vi nay geborn. ot azoy badarf zikh filn a kind beshas es vert geborn oyf der velt. es geyen tsu tsu mir ale mol naye parshoynen, beygn zikh on iber mir, haltn mikh baym doyfek, kukn mir in di oygn arayn. men gist mir ale mol mit a lefl in moyl arayn epes prikre zise un bitere zakhn. bislekhvayz fil ikh, vi es kumen mir tsu ale mol frishe koykhes un di kop vert mir vos vayter loyterer un loyterer, ikh heyb mikh on [z. 107] bislekhvayz dermonen ver ikh bin un fun vanen, un vi azoy ikh heys, un ikh heyb on tsu farshteyn, az ikh bin nit in der heym, az ikh bin ergets in der fremd, a ponem in shpitol ... ikh bet men zol mir shikn ahertsu mayn vayb, mayne kinder. entfert men mir, az neyn, men tor nokh nisht, der dokter heyst nisht. es geyen avek azoy etlekhe teg mit etlekhe nekht. ikh hob koym ge|poyel|t baym dokter, er zol oyf mir rakhmones hobn, araynlozn ahertsu khotsh oyf tsvey minut mayn vayb mit mayne kinder. koym ge|poyel|t bay im, nor mit a tnay ikh zol mit ir fun keyn shum zakh nit redn. mayn vayb kumt arayn tsu mir mit trern in di oygn. ikh vil mit ir onheybn redn, oysfregn, vos hert zikh in shtot un oyf der velt, vu halt dos itst 'nokh der khaluke'? lozt men mikh nisht redn. der dokter, zogt zey, hot ongezogt, az 'derfun' zol men mit mir nit redn un ikh zol 'derfun' gor afile nisht klern. nor vi kon ikh 'derfun' nit klern, az nor 'dos' pikt mir in kop arayn un nor vegn 'dem' zenen ful mayne makhshoves? ... mayn vayb un mayne kinder kumen shoyn itst tsu mir ale tog! bakante lozt men shoyn tsu mir tsu, vorem ikh kon shoyn zitsn, shteyen un a bisl arumgeyn ibern shtub. ikh kon shoyn redn un meg shoyn redn fun vos ikh vil, nor nisht 'derfun'! dos hot der dokter ongezogt toyznt mol: \english{'be careful' hizoher vehishomer --} ikh zol nisht dervegn redn 'derfun' a vort! 163. danken got -- men hot mikh shoyn funem shpitol oysgeshribn un ikh bin shoyn in der heym. ikh hob getrofn altsding oyf dem eygenem ort vi geven. oykh di mentshn di eygene vos frier. afile di dinstmoyd di eygene vi demolt. 164. -- du host zi tsugenumen tsurik? -- zog ikh tsu mayn vayb. 165. -- vemen? 166. -- di moyd. du host dokh zi demolt opgeshaft. 167. mayn vayb kukt oyf mir shtark farvundert, nor ikh bin mer farvundert fun ir ... 168. plutsling efnt zikh di tir un es kumt arayn Nekhemye der hinkediker papirosnik. 169. -- efsher darft ir papirosn? hob ikh far aykh oysgetseykhnte papirosn! volvl! 170. -- bist shoyn vider a papirosnik? -- zog ikh tsu im un ikh bin zikh moyde, az ikh bin fun dem shtark tsufridn. nor Nekhemye kon mir deroyf nisht entfern, vayl mayn vayb traybt im durkh mit di papirosn, un eyder ikh kuk mikh arum, kumt arayn Nakhmen ber der vaser-firer un bet men zol im gebn oyf yenem khoydesh khotsh a halbn karb. [z. 108] 171. vos iz dos? -- zog ikh tsu im un bin zikh poshet mekhaye -- vi kumt ir betn a halbn karbn? vu iz ayer... 172. -- nisht tsulib mir, tsulib dem ferdl -- ferentfert er zikh far mir -- ikh darf koyfn hey dem ferdl, hober bin ikh aykh moykhl! 173. mayn vayb git im in der gikh dos halbe kerbl un shtupt im aroys, er zol mit mir keyn sakh nit redn. 174. in dem kumt arayn di moyd un fregt, tsi kon arayngeyn Eli|k der shnayder? un teykef nokh ir kumt arayn Eli|k aleyn mit di kasoke oygn. 175. -- "borekhabe reb Eli|k -- ruf ikh mikh on tsu im -- vos vet ir zogn gut|s? 176. -- ikh hob gevolt -- zogt far im mayn vayb -- er zol dir aropnemen a mos oyf a khalat. 177. un Eli|k der shnayder khapt arop funem haldzn di lange mos un mest mir fun ale zaytn. ikh vil im a freg ton: vos hert zikh mit di fuftsik toyznt, mit di nun elef ru"K? nor fun der oysgeribener kapote un funem blasn ponem zaynem farshtey ikh, az er iz vayt fun nun elef ru"K... 178. -- atsind - zogt mayn vayb - volt men nokh badarfn shikn tsu khlavne dem shuster, er zol dir oyfneyen a por shtekshikh. 179. -- khlavne iz nokh a shuster? -- khapt zikh aroys bay mir funem moyl. 180. -- vos den iz er? a gubernator? -- makht Eli|k der shnayder un kukt mit di kasoke oygn oyf der stelye un meynen meynt er mikh. ikh rays mikh in droysn aroys, ikh vil zikh zen mit mayn altetshken, mit Meyer bal-moyekh; nor er, nor bal-moyekh kon mir gebn tsu farshteyn, mir klor makhn vos tut zikh ... men lozt mikh ober nisht aroys fun shtub a tsayt, a tsayt. un az der dokter iz gekumen, mikh rekht batrakht, az ikh kon shoyn geyn, hot er mir arayngezetst a naye neshome, ikh hob genumen dos shtekl un hob zikh gelozt geyn. 181. -- vuhin zhe vestu geyn? -- fregt mikh mayn vayb. 182. -- ikh rekhn zikh durkhgeyn tsu Meyer|n. 183. -- tsu voser Meyer|n? 184. -- tsu Meyer bal-moyekh. 185. -- aha! zol er zayn vayt opgesheydt. er iz shoyn lang oyf der emes|er velt. 186. un vi mayn vayb hot mir ongezogt di dozike \english{'tidings' psure; spelled bsure}, azoy hot zikh mir opgerisn in hartsn un ikh bin tsugefaln mitn ponem tsum tish un hob mikh tseveynt vi a kleyn kind. 187. ver vet atsind mir oyfdekn dem forhang? vet mir aropnemen di maske. ver vet mir efenen di oygn? [z. 109] 188. nor er eyner hot gevust dos vos ikh veys, un er eyner iz geshtorbn, mitgenumen dem dozikn sod mit zikh in keyver arayn!... ------------------------------------------------------------------- glosar arshin 'a rusishe mos fun leng, = 28"' batlen khaloymes 'oystaytshn a kholem tsum gutn; redn narishkaytn' grivne [ze _grivnye_ 'rusishe matbeye fun 10 kopekes] mayontek: fun poylish; hob-un-gut|s [Sholem lurya] napshiklad: fun poylish; gemeynt 'lemoshl' [Sholem lurya] potefalnost: umzist gezukht un genishtert in di rusishe un ukrainisher verterbiklher. dos vort "potefalnost" iz dort nit benimtse. loyt stutshkovs _der oytser fun der yidisher shprakh_ (nyu-york, 1950, z' 667) kumt oys, az es vert gemeynt 'umyoysher', 'shifles', durkhfal', oder gor 'a mise mayse'. [Shalom Luria] putike, a '= a hipotek' [Sholem lurya] ru"k 'rubl kesef' yoyme-depagre 'frayer tog' ----------------------------------------------------------------- Endnotes 1. The opening paragraph is the single longest sentence in the story. It serves as a kind of rapid summary of the history of mankind prior to the Brilliant Scheme which would solve all Human Problems, a la the Wise Men of Chelm. 2. From the Isael Folktale Archives at the University of Haifa I received several pages (82-3) of a typescript of a 1973 seminar paper on "Agadot aseret-hashvatim vehaSambatyon" ['Legends of the Ten Tribes and the Sambatyon'] by Shlomo [Yanitski] Yaniv*, written under the direction of Professor Dov Noy. The author asked: "Ma makor hamusag 'yehudim admonim shemeeyver lasambatyon' bakhashiva hayehudit haamamit"? ("What is the source of the expression 'the Red Jews from across the Sambatyon [River]' in Jewish popular thought?") These legendary figures, Yaniv tells us, are relative newcomers and limited to the Polish-Jewish sphere of influence. They are not mentioned in medieval legends of the lost tribes and Rabbi Menashe ben Yisrael, who collected almost everything on this theme, doesn't mention them. Lazar rejects a number of theories regarding the source of the name and puts forth his own. He disagrees that the name stems from that of the Arabic Khimir tribe -- _khimir_ means 'red' -- which converted to Judaism and is identified with the Lost Tribes, or from the North American Red Indians who have likewise been so identified, or from the Mongols who invaded Europe and who characteristically wore red headdress and garments. His own source is a midrash in Genesis Raba 75 on the Edomites -- _edom_ is 'red'. Nadiv cites the following references: Ausubel, Nathan. "The Little Red Jews on the Other Side of the Sambatyon," _A Treasury of Jewish Folklore_, New York, 1949, pp. 526-529. Lazar, Shimon-Menakhem. "Khidot hahagadot haniflaot al davar aseret-hashvatim vepitronam," Drohobitsh: Hamitspe, 1908, pp. 79-80. Rivkind, Yitskhok. "Di historishe alegorye fun R' Meyer Sh[a]ts," _Filologishe shriftn_ 2 (Vilna, 1929), 1-42 [see also inserts]. *[Dr. Yaniv, now retired, went on to become a foremost authority on the Hebrew ballad.] 3. "vosere papirosn? -- makht er mir - vosere lokshn?" vosere lokshn [=idiom] 'what you are referring to is of no relevance or interest to me', said following another's mention of a matter or item [literally 'what noodles']. See "Lokshn" by Noyekh prilutski in _The Mendele Review_ vol. 1, 016. 4) Normally our speaker orders cigarettes in large quantities directly from the cigarette-maker. He sees here that he will be constrained to buy "ready-made" as opposed to "custom-made" cigarettes. His ordering 1000 cigarettes at a time suggests he is a heavy smoker. Cf. "greyte shtivl" in # 50. --------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.010 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.011 18 June 1999 Readers are reminded that the story in this issue of _The Mendele Review_ can be read in Yiddish letters. It is available in the TMR Archive in both PDF and UNICODE formats. http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrtoc03.htm 1) Yiddish Matters: On I.J. Singer's "A Fremder" (ed.) 2) "a fremder" (Yisroel-Yehoyshue Zinger) [I.J. Singer] 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 June 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: On I.J. Singer's "A Fremder" (ed.) Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer's less famous older brother Israel Joshua deserves to be known in his own right. A generation ago, readers of _Di brider Ashkenazi_, _Di mishpokhe Karnovski_, and _Yoshe Kalb_, and theater-goers who saw dramatized versions of _Di brider Ashkenazi_ and _Yoshe Kalb_ were more aware of him than of his younger sibling.(1) IBS's _Mayn tatns bezdn shtub_ is a minor classic of Yiddish memoiristic prose and IJS's _Fun a velt vos iz nishto mer_ rivals it. While IJS's hallmark is the large canvass of his "family novels," he is no less skillful in his shorter fiction (see _Perl_, 1923; _Oyf fremde erd_, 1925; _Friling_ 1937; and _Dertseylungen_, 1949). Many of his short stories are long short stories, almost short novels, but for this issue of _The Mendele Review_, we have selected a true short story, a narrative focused on a single character's dilemma in the wake of a single event, and communicated in relatively concentrated form. "a fremder" ['A Stranger'], the briefest of the eight stories in the 1949 volume _dertseylungen_, is a chronicle of moral conflict as well as a realistic tale of rural Jewish life among peasants in the Eastern Europe of a century or more ago. I do not know the date of composition or of first publication, but it is well known that in his last years its author expressed the view that coexistence of Jews and Gentiles was an historical error. He could write: "... zint yidn zaynen yidn un goyem zaynen goyem, kenen zey beyde zikh nit aynlebn eyner mitn andern, un s'zet oys, az zey veln es keyn mol nit kenen vi lang es vet zey oyskumen tsu lebn tsuzamen." ['... as long as Jews have been Jews and Gentiles Gentiles, the two have not been able to live together amicably, and it looks as though they never will be able to as long they have to live together.'(z. 597)] (see "a tsvey toyznt yoriker toes" ['A Two-Thousand-Year-Old Mistake'], _tsukunft_ 49:9 (okt. 1942, zz' 596-602). It is all too easy to read "a fremder" as a parable of this view of Jewish history, one which understandably gained force in the late 1930s and the 1940s. IJS may well have viewed his story as confirmation of the imagined yet realistic history he was recounting in "a fremder." Readers, however, will let the story tell itself. The miller Refoyl and his wife Beyle are the sole Jewish inhabitants of the peasant village of Lyeshnovke. Refoyl's horses have been stolen, his dog has been killed, and largely out of their sense of solidarity with him, his peasant neighbors decide to "attend to" the suspected thief, the one-eyed outsider Tsegelek. Refoyl is paralyzed by the expectation that he join the posse. The full force of the peasants' xenophobia is directed at Tsegelek; by hesitating to join them Refoyl makes himself an outsider -- their code does not countenance deviation. The issue for Refoyl is not principally justice, for together with the peasants he too believes that Tsegelek is guilty of the crimes attributed to him. We do not know if Tsegelek is guilty for certain, but he is a convicted criminal and at the end of the story is referred to by the teller as "dem ganef tsegelek." The manner in which he is described predisposes us to doubt that it is he who has stolen Refoyl's horses. He is fiercely independent, a non-conformist who is unwilling to adjust to the community's long-established ways; his attitude towards his accusers is defiant, but this stance does not look like subterfuge. In any event, the circumstantial evidence pointing to his guilt is exceedingly thin. The brutal fact is that a mob has found him guilty without trial. But even before an explicit ethical issue enters Refoyl's conscious mind, his very being rebels against the idea of shedding blood (an abhorrence echoed frequently in IBS's work as well). The official Jewish rationale which consecrates _shekhita_ and transforms it from gross murder to justified slaughter for human and natural ends is tacitly, if not feelingly, accepted by Refoyl. Shedding of blood is more than mere squeamishess to him, especially when human blood is in question. But Refoyl does not stand up to his neighbors turned lynch-mob and refuse to participate in their violent plan -- for religious, ethical or any other reasons. Shaken with anxiety, the powerful miller busies himself burying his murdered dog, burial being a consecrative and civilizing act; and then he escapes into deep sleep. But he cannot escape the rendezvous with his revengeful neighbors. They come to collect him for their dire action and find him in bed faking illness. Seeing her husband reduced to helplessness, Refoyl's wife Beyle had improvised a strategem of survival through deception rather than confrontation. She instructed him to groan but his true groans are those of a proud man undergoing acute humiliation. The peasant leader, Yan, says: "gleybt im nisht mentshn... dos vil er zikh oysdreyen fun mitgeyn, der yid...opteyln zikh fun dorf vi a fremder." [Don't believe him, people, the Jew just wants to avoid coming along with us... he is separating himself from the village like a stranger.'] And the omniscient author at the story's end writes: "in der shtiler oysgeshternter nakht hobn di poyerem fun lyeshnovke tsvey mishpotem aroysgegebn iber mentshn, vos kenen nit zayn mit der eyde: dem ganef tsegelek hot men der|harg|et.... Refoyl dem milner hot men mit shteyner di shoybn fun shtub oysgeshlogn." ['In the silent starry night the Lyeshnovke peasants passed judgement twice on persons who could not adhere to the group: they killed the thief Tsegelek.... They broke all the windows of Refoyl's home.'] Refoyl's retreat from violence alienates him from his neighbors. He has no recourse but to to sell his possessions and move. The story concludes with his words: "kh'vil ariber tsu yidn in shtot" ['I want to go live with Jews in town.'] Despite living together in the same small village for several generations, sharing a common vernacular, and enjoying a long history of mutual respect and trust, a single event channels a deep chasm. We might say, of course, that Refoyl's integration in the peasant community was never complete, that the Jew-Gentile divide was somehow always there. Moreover, Refoyl was a miller, and albeit an honest one, his earnings stemmed from the peasants' more arduous work in the fields and might have been resented. Stereotypic categories remain in place even when disused: Refoyl's pacifism is attributed to Jewish separatism rather than individual disposition. The reader, too, while not proud of Refoyl's behavior, knows that it was very Jewish and is probably ready to join him in moving to where one can be among people like oneself. The point is not that Jews can only live among other Jews -- this is obviously not so historically and actually -- but that Jews (or any other group with a highly defined moral code of its own) cannot be integrated in societies whose mores and manners conflict sharply with their own. Traditional Jewish religious and communal life requires a certain concentration of Jews in a circumscribed area to fulfil ritual needs, but the hero of our story is a yishuvnik who davens but obviously can not maintain the higher degrees of observance. Yet it is not because of difficulties in observance -- one reason that yishuvniks left their farms for city or town -- that Refoyl must leave Lyeshnovke. Following his property loss, his humiliating effort to dissemble, and the ostracism imaged in the breaking of all his windows, he felt he must abandon his native village. Ironically, in the town or city to which this yishuvnik will move, he is more than likely to remain always a rustic outsider, "a fremder." ------------------------- Notes 1. Sol Liptzin -- mistakenly -- wrote of IBS vis-a-vis his brother: "Though his fame in the 1960s and 1970s exceeded that of any Jewish novelist since Sholem Asch, it was not likely to be as enduring as that of his older brother, I.J. Singer, whose novels presented a sounder insight into Polish-Jewish reality before its extinction." (_A History of Yiddish Literature_, Middle Village, New York: Jonathan David, 1985, [1972], p. 272). 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 June 1999 From: Craig Abernethy Subject: "a fremder" (Yisroel-Yehoyshue Zinger) [Israel Joshua Singer] \spell Yisroel yQr#l \spell Yehoyshue yhushe \spell kelev KlB \spell tkhiles WHylT \spell taynen tenhn \spell galekh glH \spell mezumonem mzumnim \spell menukhe mnuHh \spell gneyve gnBh \spell ganeyves gniBuT \spell lamdn lmdn \spell pule peulh \spell agmesnefesh egmT-nfsh \spell minkhe minHh \spell moreshkhoyre mrh-shHurh \spell kaas Kes \spell hamoyn hmun \spell mishpotem mshptim \spell mekekh mkH "a fremder" fun Yisroel-Yehoyshue zinger (1893-1944) [z. 99] az di poyerem in dorf lyeshnovke hobn zikh in der fri dervust, az m'hot bay zeyer shokhn Refoyl dem milner aroysgefirt baynakht beyde ferd zayne fun shtal aroys, hobn ale gelozt shteyn di arbet in feld un avek tsu der mil. oyfn groysn farmeliktn hoyf, iber velkhn hiner hobn gepikt kerner, iz di shtal geshtanen oyfgepralt. di ayzerne shtabe oyf der tir fun shtal iz geven ibergeshnitn oyf der helft. Refoyl der milner, a breyt-beyniker yid mit a shvartser bord, vos iz farvayst fun mel un mit getsoygene pleytses fun shlepn zek tvue, hot gekukt mit umetike shvartse oygn fun zayn farmelt ponem aroys un batrakht di tsvey geshpanen, vos hobn iberike gehangen oyf der vant. beyle, zayn vayb, a yidene mit a hoykhn buzem, vos iz bashtekt mit shpilkes un nodl-fodem, hot gebrokhn di hent un ge|yomert mit a nign fun a baveynerke: aza por likhtike ferd -- hot zi nokhgezogt shvokhem un geveynt in fartekh arayn -- aza por tayere leybn. Refoyl|s hunt "burek", a groyser broyn-hoytiker kelev, vos az er flegt arayn in tsorn, flegt er iberraysn di keyt mit velkher er iz geven tsugebundn, iz gelegn in mitn hoyf, a dershtikter, mit a langer bloyer tsung aroysgeshtekt. flign hobn gezhumet un gedreyt zikh in karahodn arum der hintisher tsung. di poyerem hobn mit di shpits-shtivl tsugeglet di dershrokene oyfgeshtelte hor iber dem hunt|s rukn un geshoklt mit di kep: -- oy, rafal, rafal, a shvere avle iz dir geshen -- hobn zey im badoyert. Refoyl iz gegangen ibern hoyf un gezukht simonem fun di ferdishe podkoves. ober keyn shum shpurn zaynen nisht geven. [z. 100] saydn mit kishef zey aroysgefirt -- hobn di goyes gemurmlt. -- keyn simen fun keyn trit nishto. vos far a kishef? -- hot yan der shmid avekgemakht mit der farkasherter un oysgeshmirter hant -- zey hobn di fis mit zek arumgebundn, di hintishe zin, un s'iz keyn simen nishto... fun dorf zaynen alts naye poyerem ongekumen. di ibergeshnitene ayzerne shtabe, der ge|harg|eter hunt oyfn hoyf hobn gevekt tsorn un moyre tsuzamen in di poyerishe hertser: -- shnaydn lebedike pasn darf men fun di ganovem -- hobn roye koyles zikh gehert. un dernokh bashitn mit zalts -- hobn andere tsugegebn. zey zaynen geven oyser zikh fun tsorn, Refoyl dem milners shkheynem. ershtns, iz Refoyl geven an eygener in dorf. nit nor er aleyn, nor afile der foter zayner iz geborn gevorn in lyeshnovke. alte poyerem hobn nokh afile zayn zeydn gedenkt, ven er iz geven a pakhter baym porets in hoyf. oykh hot er zikh gefirt vi di poyerem in dorf, Refoyl, gor vi keyn yid nisht. nisht er hot a kreml gehaltn, nisht er hot zakhn oyfgekoyft. tsuglaykh mit ale lyeshnovker balebatem hot er aleyn baarbet di erd zayne, hot holts fun vald gefirt, beheymes gehodevet. tsuglaykh mit di poyertes in dorf hot beyle zayn vayb gegrobn kartofl, gemolkn di ki, un oyf yedn yarid in shtetl geforn tsu farkoyfn gendz, hiner un eyer. in der alter vint-mil zayner, hobn ale poyerem fun arum gemoln zeyer korn. Refoyl|s vog, hot men gevust, iz a pinktlekhe, men ken zikh oyf ir farlozn. akhuts dem vos er hot nit dermont in redn di heylike muter, yezus-kristus un zayne heylike vundn, hot er geredt poylish mit ale poyerem glaykh. un afile in koykhes iz er nit opgeshtanen fun di shtarkste balebatem in dorf. zeyer gring iz er mit a "korts" tvue gegangen iber di shmole trep fun zayn mil. zey hobn im derfar far an eygenem gehaltn, far a lyeshnovker, un zey hobn zayn avle gefilt vi zeyers an eygene. tsveytns, zaynen zey umruik geven far zikh aleyn. der eyntsiker [z. 101] in dorf, vos hot gehat an ayzerne shtabe iber der tir fun zayn shtal, iz geven Refoyl der milner. oykh a hunt hot er gehat a gresern un beyzern fun ale andere shkheynem in dorf. oyb men hot fun zayn shtal gekont di ferd aroysfirn, iz shoyn dos dorf hefker, iz keyner mit zayn ferdl nisht zikher. tkhiles hobn poyerem genumen taynen, az dos hobn tsigayner geton. zey ganv|enen shtendik ferd, di shvartse getsndiner, un nor bay zey darf men zukhn. ober yan der shmid, der khokhem fun dorf, vos ken leyenen un shraybn, hot avekgemakht mit der farkasherter oysgeshmirter hant: nareshkaytn redt ir, mentshn -- hot er gezogt mit virde, vi tomed, ven er, der gelernter, redt tsum prostn hamoyn -- ershtns, hobn shoyn tsigayner lang do zeyere getseltn nisht farleygt. tsveytns, hobn tsigayner lib tsu geyn oyf a laykhter gneyve. shnaydn ayzerne shtabes kenen zey nit, un dos iz nisht zeyer arbet. -- oyb azoy, hot es Yoyne der shinder geton -- hot an alt poyerl gepruvt trefn -- er iz a shtotisher un er veyst vi azoy tsu maysterevn bay ayzn. yan hot nokh a mol ernst batrakht di ibergeshnitene shtabe un dem gedank vegn Yoyne dem shinder oykh opgevorfn: Yoyne ken opdreyen a shlos -- hot er gezogt -- ober shnaydn a shtabe ken er nisht. dertsu volt Yoyne zikh nisht ongehoybn mit keyn hunt. a yid hot far a hunt moyre. bakant... di poyerem hobn zikh gekratst di kep: ver den hot es gekont ton? -- hobn zey gefregt baym shmid -- zog du, yan ... yan hot gelasn oysgeglet mit di oysgeshmirte finger beyde blonde vontses oyf rekhts un oyf links un geredt gelasn: -- dos iz dem blindn tsegeleks arbet. er iz a mol a shmid geven. dertsu iz er gezesn in kriminal mit shtotishe ganovem un zey hobn im oysgelernt shnaydn ayzn. -- rikhtik, yan -- hobn di poyerem zikh derfreyt -- dos iz es take. un mit hint ken er oykh umgeyn, tsegelek, nokh fun di [z. 102] tsaytn ven er iz a hunt-shleger geven. azelkhe kenen dem grestn hunt baykumen... fun veg iz der eltster fun dorf ongekumen, der "voyt". er iz gegangen mit gelasene trit, vi far an eltstn past. dos blekhl fun zayn amt iz geven tsugetshepet tsu der brust. di poyerem hobn zikh fanandergerukt un gemakht im a veg tsu der shtal. er hot batrakht di leydike shtal un gelozt hern zayn ofitsyel vort: -- aroysgefirt di ferd -- hot er gezogt fayerlekh, vi er volt a nays antdekt -- un keyn tseykhns zaynen nishto. mir zaynen nisht zikher mit di ferd in di shtaln. men darf zukhn bay tsegelekn. m'darf tsegelekn aynzetsn. s'gantse dorf laydt fun dem ganef! lomir geyn tsu tsegelekn! lomir geyn tsu tsegelekn -- hot der "voyt" gezogt. er iz gegangen fri eroys. lebn im, yan der shmid un Refoyl der milner. nokh zey di poyerem, tsu letst di vayber un di kinder. fun a zayt fun dorf, opgerukt fun ale hayzer, oyf a bergl iz geshtanen tsegeleks hayzl, ofn tsu ale vintn, on eyn shtikl ployt, on eyn beyml. far der tir iz geshtanen tsegelek un gehakt a krumen vortsl fun a boym, vos er hot oysgegrobn fun der erd. khotsh er hot gezen di mentshn derneentern zikh tsu zayn hoyz, hot er nisht umgekukt zikh oyf zey un vayter gehakt holts. ersht ven der hunt zayner hot genumen raysn zikh oyf dem keytl un mit vilder retsikhe biln oyf di onkumendike, hot er gelozt shtekn di hak in holts un ayngeshtilt dem hunt. -- tshikho, psha yukha! (shvayg, hintish blut) -- hot er ongeshrign oyf dem hunt un im gevorfn a shtikl holts. di poyerem hobn zikh derneentert, ober nit bagrist im mit dem geveynlekhn "zol zayn geloybt yezus khristus". tsegelek, a kurts-gevuksiker, a shtark-geboyter, vi a dembn-kletsl, mit a groyser glater tshuprine, vos falt im in di oygn arayn, hot mit [z. 103] feste fis ongeshpart zikh in der erd un batrakht di mentshn mit eyn oyg, a sharfs, a durkhdringlekhs un a klugs. dos tsveyte oyg iz geven bay im an oysgerunens, a royt shpeltl bloyz. der oylem hot gevart, er zol onheybn redn, ober tsegelek hot geshvign. der "voyt" hot zikh oysgehust, khotsh er hot es nisht gedarft, un ongehoybn redn: -- tsegelek, men hot di nakht bay Refoyl, dem milner aroysgefirt di ferd fun shtal. nu? - - hot tsegelek a brum geton. nu, zogt men, az dos iz dayn arbet, tsegelek. onshtot gebn an entfer, hot tsegelek gelasn aroysgenumen fun a khazersher bloz abisl makhorke, er hot fardreyt a papiros, ongeklapt tsvey tsind-shteyndlekh un farroykhert. ersht nokhn fartsien a hipsh bisl roykh un aroyslozndik es tsurik durkh dem moyl un der noz, hot er etlekhe getseylte verter aroysgezeyet: az ir vet zey gefinen bay mir, kent ir zey nemen. di poyerem hot oyfgekokht zayn gelasnkayt: zey nisht genumen, nor du -- hobn zey geshrign -- ale zogn azoy. tsegelek hot vider arayngetsoygn a hipsh bisl roykh: -zogn ken men oyf yedn -- hot er geredt gelasn -- afile oyfn galekh aleyn. fun zogn vert men nisht trogn . . . men darf gefinen oder hobn eydes. di poyerem zaynen nokh mer oyfgekokht gevorn. take derfar, vos er hot azoy glatik geredt, un zey hobn nisht gehat vos tsu entfern, zaynen zey nokh beyzer gevorn. der "voyt" hot breyt geefnt tsegeleks oreme shtal. a tsig hot oyf im gemeket fun dem shtal aroys. efsher iz dos dayne, rafal? -- hot tsegelek geshpot -- nem zi un melk zi oys. Refoyl hot di shvartse bord oysgekratst fun mel: -- her oys, tsegelek -- hot er gezogt -- di ferd zaynen bay mir tayere. finf un tsvantsik rubl in mezumonem vel ikh gebn, az [z. 104] men vet zey mir tsurik araynshteln in shtal arayn. ale mentshn hern. tsegelek hot oyf im gepintlt mitn blindn oygl. -- bist khitre, rafal, -- hot er gezogt mit has, -- ober tsegelek iz kliger fun dir. nisht ikh hob dayne ferd genumen, nisht ikh veys ver es hot zey genumen. er hot ongeshpign zikh in beyde hent un genumen hakn vayter dem krumen vortsl, nisht umkukndik zikh oyf di mentshn mer. di poyerem zaynen avek beyze fun bergl. zint etlekhe yor hobn zey gehat fun tsegelekn a sakh tsores oystsushteyn. zint er iz tsurikgekumen fun kriminal un zikh oyfn bergl bazetst, iz keyn menukhe nisht geven in dorf. do iz a lopate avekgekumen fun feld, oyb men hot zi fargesn arayntsunemen; do iz a hak farfaln gevorn; do hot a katshke gefelt fun der stade vos iz gekumen fun taykhl. punkt vi kleyne ganeyves, zaynen oykh gresere ganeyves ongegangen. a mol flegt a geshpan farshvindn fun shtal aroys. eyn mol hot men baym porets dos fentster baynakht geefnt, un dem goldenem zeyger aroysge|ganve|t; der galekh hot zikh geklogt, az in der kirkhe felt gelt fun der pushke. khotsh der "voyt" iz ale mol nokh yeder gneyve in dorf gegangen oyf s'nay zukhn bay tsegelekn un oyfsnay gornit gefunen, hobn ale gevust, az dos alts shtamt fun zayn hoyz; az di kleyne ganeyves makhn zayn vayb un kinder, un di groyse -- tsegelek aleyn. frier zaynen keynmol azelkhe zakhn nit forgekumen in dorf. tomer iz nokh geven vintsik di ganeyves, hot tsegelek oykh alerley andere shodns un shtiklekh dem dorf opgeton. eyn mol hot der yidisher kremer fun dorf gefunen in der fri, az emetser hot oysgeboyert a lekhl in fas naft, vos er hot gehat shteyn in feder-hayzl, un der gantser naft hot oysgerunen. khotsh men hot keynem nit gekhapt bay der hant, hot men gevust az dos hot tsegelek geton. dos hot er zikh noykem geven derfar, vos der kremer hot nisht gevolt gebn oyf borg zayn vayb a kvatirl naft farn lempl. es hot gefelt a hor, az dos gantse dorf zol [z. 105] opgeyn mitn fayer. an andersh mol flegt er ontsindn di ratsn, vos er hot gekhapt bay zikh in hoyz, un lozn zey brenendike loyfn iber di felder, un grod dan ven di trikenish iz groys. a sakh mol flegt er gor khoyzek makhn fun di poyerem, opnarn un makhn zey tsu laytns gelekhter. far di etlekhe yor tsayt hobn di poyerem nisht eyn mol gefodert baym "voyt", men zol dem tsegelek aroystraybn, di shvartse kretsike shof fun der reyner stade aroysnemen. ober der "voyt" hot gornit geton dertsu. -- az men hot im nisht gekhapt bay der hant, kon men gornisht nit ton -- hot er getaynet-azoy iz dos gezets. itst, nokh di ferd, vos m'hot aroysge|ganv|et fun Refoyl|s shtal aroys, hot dos blut bay alemen gekokht fun tsorn kegn tsegelekn. -- vos far an eltster bistu? -- hobn zey geshrign tsum "voyt" -- az du kenst dos dorf nisht ophitn fun shlekht|s? -- vos far a balebos bistu, az mir zaynen nisht zikher mit di ferd in di shtaln? der "voyt" a farlorener, a tsetumlter fun di geshreyen oyf im, iz geshtanen mit an aropgelozenem kop. plutslung hot er oysgeglikhn di brust, aroysgezetst dos blekhl fun zayn amt, un a klap geton mitn shtekn in dr'erd: -- vos shlepn zikh do di "babes" mit di kinder hinter di trit? -- hot er zikh genumen beyzern -- men ken keyn vort nisht oysredn -- aheym, vayber, aheym! di vayber hobn a blik gekhapt tsu di mener, tsu zukhn zeyer hilf, ober di mener hobn zey keyn hilf nisht gegebn. zeyere oygn zaynen geven beyz. hobn di vayber farshtanen, az zey zaynen iberik do, un zey hobn genumen di kinder un umvilik avek aheym. az di vayber zaynen shoyn geven hipsh dervaytert, hot der "voyt" oyfgehoybn di hant un gegebn a tseykhn, men zol im hern. -- mentshn -- hot er gezogt shtil -- di tsung tsvishn di tseyn haltn kent ir? -- az m'darf, vet men haltn -- hobn koyles geentfert. -- hert zhe, vos ikh red tsu aykh -- hot der "voyt" soydes|dik gezogt -- ikh ken tsegelekn gornisht ton. ikh hob gornisht gefunen. ober tsu vos darft ir mikh? poyerem darfn aleyn zikh [z. 106] kenen an eytse gebn mit a ganef, ikh vel fun gornisht nit visn . . . eyder emetser nokh hot a vort oysgeredt, hot der "voyt" zikh ayngeviklt in zayn broyner kapote un gikh avek. di poyerem hobn zikh ibergekukt: rikhtike reyd! shoyn lang gedarft ton. az di politsey git undz nisht keyn gerekhtikayt, veln mir aleyn zi nemen. -- poyerishe gerekhtikayt, brider! tsu tsegelekn tsurikgeyn! -- oproymen im, dem hintishn zun! di kishkes aroyslozn! yan der shmid hot oyfgehoybn a farshmirte, farkasherte hant. -- shrayt nisht ale vi di gendz -- hot er gezogt -- a zakh darf men ton barekhnt; keyner zol nisht visn, un nisht mit di bloyze hent. tsegelek iz a shleger, meglekh, az er hot a biks in shtub. -- rikhtik -- hobn di poyerem tsugegebn -- kluge reyd redstu, yan. der shmid hot a shmeykhl geton in zayne vontses arayn fun di shvokhem vos men git im, un gegebn bafeln vi an eltster. -- geyt yeder tsu zikh aheym -- hot er bafoyln -- un redt keyn vort nisht, afile far di eygene vayber nisht. baynakht, ven di vayber un kinder veln shoyn shlofn, nemt yeder in der hant vos es lozt zikh, a hak, a meser oder a shtekn un kumt zikh tsunoyf bay Refoyl|s mil. fun dort veln mir shtilerheyt avek tsu tsegelekn. az politsey vet tsumorgns kumen, zol keyner fun undz nisht visn gornisht. gedenkt zhe bay der mil trefn mir zikh! di poyerem zaynen shvaygndik zikh fanandergegangen yeder tsu zayn heym, tsu zayn arbet. Refoyl der milner iz avek tsu zikh. ober onshtot arayntsugeyn in mil, iz er arayn tsum vayb in kikh. beyle -- hot er gezogt shtil -- a nay umglik oyf mayn kop. beyle hot farbrokhn di hent, nokh eyder zi hot gevust epes. Refoyl hot ir a dershrokener dertseylt, vos men hot im ongezogt nisht tsu dertseyln. [z. 107] un mikh hobn zey gerufn mit zikh -- hot er mit shrek geredt -- vos tut men? Refoyl un zayn vayb zaynen gezesn shvaygndike. zey hobn gornisht gevust vos tsu ton. fun shtendikn voynen in di derfer, hobn zey gut gevust vos poyerem kenen opton, ven zey teylen oys gerekhtikayt. keyn shum rakhmones iz nishto ven zey trogn aroys a mishpet kegn a zindikn. iberhoypt zaynen zey biter, ven zey pakn a ferd-ganef. bislekhvayz der|harg|enen zey azelkhn. un khotsh Refoyl un zayn vayb hobn gegloybt, vi di iberike aynvoyner in dorf, az nit keyn anderer vi tsegelek hot zey di ferd aroysgefirt fun shtal aroys, hobn zey oyfgeshoydert fun gedank bloyz, az m'vet im der|harg|enen in der nakht. -- vey iz mir -- hot Refoyl geziftst -- a hak hobn zey mir ongezogt mittsunemen. khotsh Refoyl iz nisht geven keyn groyser lamdn, hot er gevust, az retsikhe iz dos ergste in der velt. in zayn gantsn lebn hot er keyn mol keyn blut nisht fargosn, nisht nur fun a mentshn, nor afile nisht fun keyn khaye. er hot afile nisht rekht fartrogn, ven di shkheynem flegn koyln a khazer un der khazer hot s'gantse dorf mit zayne koyles fartoybt. nokh vintsiker hot er gekent laydn, ven di poyerem in dorf flegn zikh a mol shiker|e tseshlogn un mit "klonitses" fun di vogns di kep zikh efenen. bay zayn gantsn koyekh, hot er gefilt an ekl tsu blut. afile ven er flegt a mol aropbrengen dem shtetlshn shoykhet tsu zikh in dorf un shekhtn a kelbl, hot er nit gekent tsukukn zikh tsu der shkhite. der shoykhet flegt im oysredn: -- az men makht a brokhe, filt di beheyme nisht keyn veytik, reb Refoyl -- hot er im gezogt. Refoyl hot dem shoykhet gegloybt, ober kukn fundestvegn vi men shekht a kolb, hot er nisht gekont. a khaloshes flegt oyf im onfaln. itst hobn di shkheynem im geheysn kumen mit a hak, optsuroymen a mentshn baynakht, di kishkes im aroystsulozn. -- vos tut men? vos tut men? -- hot er gefregt zikh aleyn, visndik gants gut az er hot nisht keyn tshuve. redn tsu di poyerem vegn rakhmones hot er nisht gekont. er hot [z. 108] gekent di shkheynem zayne, gevust, az khotsh zey haltn fun im, veln zayne reyd keyn pule nisht hobn. er vet zikh bloyz narish makhn, dos alts. opzogn zikh fun mitgeyn, hot avade keyn zin nisht gehat. zey veln im haltn far a pakhdn, vos hit zikh di eygene fel, ven ale andere shteln zikh ayn. dertsu hobn zey zikh ongenumen far im. tsulib zayne ferd vos men hot aroysgefirt fun shtal, viln zey tsegelekn oproymen. vos far a ponem vet es hobn, ven er vet zey azoy optsoln derfar. beyle hot aroysgenumen fun der kikh a top poredike kartofl un ongeshotn in leymene shislen. zi hot aroyfgenumen fun keler kalte zoyer-milkh un avekgeshtelt oyf dem tish. dertsu hot zi oykh a yunge tsibelke tseshnitn un farbrokt di heyse kartofl. di geshmake pare iz zikh tsegangen iber der kikh. Refoyl -- hot zi gezogt -- gey tsu esn. host nokh haynt in dayn moyl nisht gehat. Refoyl hot nisht gekont esn. a shvaygndiker iz er aroys in droysn. in hoyf iz nokh alts der ge|harg|eter hunt gelegn. Refoyl hot im avekgeshlept hintern hoyf un a tifn grub far im oysgegrobn. a mider fun grobn un fun agmesnefesh iz er in der mil arayn un zikh in di leydike zek arayngevorfn. -- got -- hot er gerufn, oyfheybndik di shvartse oygn tsu di oysgefoylte krokves -- helf mir, tate ziser in himl. er hot zikh ibergedekt mit a zak un shver ayngeshlofn. * * * a gantsn tog un a shtik in ovnt arayn iz Refoyl opgeshlofn in mil. ven di hint in dorf hobn ongehoybn shtark biln oyf der nakht, vos iz ongekumen, hot er oyfgeefnt di oygn un arumgekukt zikh arum zikh. durkh a nisht-farlatetn lokh in shindl-dakh hot a shtikl oysgeshternter himl arayngekukt. Refoyl hot zikh dermont, az er hot durkhgelozt a minkhe un arayn a moreshkhoyre|diker in shtub. beyle zayn vayb hot im vider gerufn esn: Refoyl, vest dokh faln fun di fis -- hot zi gezogt -- gey tsu un es epes op. -- kh'vel davnen mayrev -- hot Refoyl geentfert, un er hot zikh gevashn di hent. [z. 109] in mitn der shimenesre hot er derhert trit, vos derneentern zikh. er hot gikh opgezogt di shimenesre un aroysgekukt durkhn fentster. di ershte poyerem hobn genumen onkumen un zikh oysgezetst oyfn klots in hoyf. di fayerlekh fun zeyere makhorke-papirosn hobn geloykhtn un geloshn zikh in der tunklkayt. zey kumen on -- hot er gesheptshet -- vos tut men, beyle? a vayle iz beyle geshtanen a farshteynerte, mit beyde hent farleygt oyf der brust. bald iz ir a gedank ayngefaln. fun ir bobe der arendarke hot zi kindvayz nisht eyn mol gehert vi azoy zi flegt rateven dem zeydn, ven der porets flegt zikh on|shiker|n un gevolt im shlekht|s ton. shtendik flegt zi im in bet araynleygn, a heyse shtarts tsum boykh tsuleygn un ongezogt im, er zol krekhtsn, mit ale koykhes krekhtsn. ot der bobes eytse iz beylen itst in kop arayn. zi hot shnel tserudert dos shtroy in mans bet, etlekhe kishns avekgeleygt tsukopns, vi geveynlekh men makht far a krankn un Refoyl|n arayngevorfn unter dem iberbet. bizt krank -- hot zi im ongezogt -- herst! krank biztu, der boykh tut dir vey. Refoyl hot zikh geshemt: beyle, got iz mit dir -- hot er gemurmlt -- zey hobn dokh mikh in der fri gezen. red nisht un tsi beser arop di shtivl fun di fis -- hot beyle bafoyln. eyns un tsvey hot zi a khap geton a fayerke fun der kikh, ayngeviklt zi in shmates un tsugeleygt Refoyl|n tsum boykh; dernokh hot zi im ibergedekt un avekgezetst zikh oyfn breg bet lebn im. krekhts, -- hot zi im gezogt, -- vi got iz dir lib, Refoyl, krekhts. di shtimen in droysn hobn zikh alts mer gehert oyfn hoyf. bald hot zikh durkhgeshnitn a fayf. az keyner iz nisht aroys, zaynen di poyerem arayn in shtub. rafal -- hobn zey gerufn -- vu biztu? beyle hot zikh geshtelt lebn bet vi a shuts. -- Refoyl|n hot der boykh gekhapt -- hot zi gezogt a krekhtsndike [z. 110] kh'hob im shoyn etlekhe shtartsn tsugeleygt un es helft nisht. alts fun agmesnefesh iber di ferd, ot ligt er. di poyerem hobn gekukt oyf der shvartser bord zayner, vos hot aroysgekukt fun betgevant aroys, un shver geshvign. der shmid, mit a shtik ayzn in hant, hot opgedekt di perene. der boykh gekhapt -- hot er nokhgeshpet beylen -- mir ken men azelkhe zakhn nisht aynredn. ikh farshtey mikh oyf yidishe kuntsn. Refoyl hot derfilt an emesn veytik in di gederem: shkheynem, -- hot er gemurmlt, -- hob ikh aykh shoyn a mol opgenart? yan hot mit kaas tsugedekt im tsurik mit dem iberbet: gleybt im nisht mentshn -- hot er gezogt tsu di poyerem -- dos vil er zikh oysdreyen fun mitgeyn, der yid . . . opteyln zikh fun dorf vi a fremder. beyle hot beyde hent farbrokhn: mentshn hartsike -- hot zi ongehoybn redn. yan hot ir ibergerisn: -- shvayg, beyle -- hot er gezogt mit tsorn -- mir'n aleyn geyn. ober mir'n es gedenken -- kumt, mentshn! kumt! -- hobn di poyerem gezogt, un aroysgeshpart zikh fun shtub. in der shtiler oysgeshternter nakht hobn di poyerem fun lyeshnovke tsvey mishpotem aroysgegebn iber mentshn, vos kenen nit zayn mit der eyde: dem ganef tsegelek hot men der|harg|et, mit drenger dos harts untergehakt. Refoyl dem milner hot men mit shteyner di shoybn fun shtub oysgeshlogn. glaykh oyf tsu morgns hot Refoyl genumen zukhn a koyne oyf zayn mil un di felder. -- kh'vel farkoyfn in mekekh -- hot er gezogt tsu di meklers -- kh'vil ariber tsu yidn in shtot. --------------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.011 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.012 31 July 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) South African literature in Yiddish and Hebrew (Joseph Sherman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 July 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters: Joseph Sherman on South African Yiddish Literature In this mid-summer issue of _The Mendele Review_ we turn to a far corner of Ashkenaz Three (to employ Max Weinreich's term for the Yiddish world transplanted from Eastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century), to South Africa, a land whose Yiddish-speaking immigrants were overwhelmingly Litvak in origin. In a comprehensive review of South African Jewry's contribution to Yiddish and Hebrew letters, Joseph Sherman sketches the creative ferment that characterized a small but vibrant community, one that many of us know little about. Joseph Sherman, Associate Professor in the Department of English, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, has been researching and writing on Yiddish literature for the past 20 years. He has published critical essays on Sholem Aleykhem, Dovid Bergelson, Lamed Shapiro and I.J. Singer [Y.-Y. Zinger]. His major research interest, however, has been the works, in Yiddish and English, of Isaac Bashevis Singer [Yitskhok Bashevis], on whom he has published widely in the academic press, including _Prooftexts_, _Judaism_ and _The Journal of Narrative Technique_. He has published a number of South African Yiddish stories in English translation, and his translation of I.B. Singer's novel _Shadows on the Hudson_ was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux at the beginning of 1997. Recently Professor Sherman spent six months as Dorot Fellow at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, when he sorted the large Yiddish archive of I. B. Singer's papers. He is currently preparing a volume of hitherto untranslated and unpublished short stories and essays culled from the Singer Yiddish archive, to be published by the University of Texas Press. He has also translated into English and redacted the Yiddish text of Dovid Bergelson's 1923 novella _Opgang_ (Descent), which will appear in two volumes as part of the MLA's ongoing Texts and Translation series. The text and its translation will be launched at a special session of the annual MLA Convention in Chicago in December this year. He is a member of the International Editorial Board of the _Complete Sholem Aleykhem in English Project_. The South African Yiddish writer, Jacob Mordechai Sherman, was his uncle. **** A Note on the Text of the Essay In the _Encyclopaedia Judaica_, vol. 15 (Jerusalem: Keter, 1971, cols. 207-210) the entry on South Africa: Literature includes the rubrics Biblical Influences, The Figure of the Jew, The Jewish Contribution, Writers in English, Writers in Afrikaans -- but no mention of Yiddish. In the 1986/7 Year Book (on p. 416) and in the 1983-1992 Decennial Book (1994) (on p. 392), Sol Liptzin devotes a few lines to South African Yiddish literature in his periodic reviews of Yiddish literature generally. It was not until the 1990/91 Year Book, that South African Yiddish and Hebrew literature were given respectful attention by the _Encyclopaedia Judaica_. The author of this redemptive entry, four and a half folio columns long, was Joseph Sherman. The text given here is a revised, corrected and expanded version of both the Introduction (pp. 1-15) to his volume of South African Yiddish stories in English translation entitled _From a Land Far Off_ (Foreword by Dan Jacobson. Selection and translation [with notes and glossary] by Joseph Sherman. Cape Town: Jewish Publications South Africa, 1987, xiii + 210pp.) and his 1990/91 Year Book entry. The extremely useful CD version of the _Encyclopaedia Judaica_ includes the Sherman additions on Yiddish and Hebrew in the South Africa: Literature entry. It will be noted that not all author birth and death dates have been given in the essay. It will be appreciated if some reader can supply this missing information. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 July 1999 From: Joseph Sherman Subject: South African literature in Yiddish and Hebrew South African Literature in Yiddish and Hebrew by Joseph Sherman From 1881 onwards the steady influx of Yiddish-speaking immigrants escaping to South Africa from poverty and discrimination in Tsarist Eastern Europe enormously increased the size and composition of South Africa's existing Jewish population, until then mainly comprised of British and German Jews. Many of these new immigrants, most of whom came from Lithuania, worked towards establishing an active Yiddish press and laid the foundations for the subsequent development of an indigenous South African Yiddish literature. 1. Yiddish Newspapers and Journals The pioneer of Yiddish journalism in South Africa was the professional belletrist, Nehemiah Dov Ber Hoffmann [Nekhemye Dov-Ber Hofman] (1860-1928), who arrived in Cape Town in 1889 amazingly enough carrying in his luggage a complete set of Hebrew-Yiddish typeface, the first in the land. Moving up to the Transvaal in 1890, he founded South Africa's first Yiddish weekly, _Der Afrikaner Izraelit_ (The African Israelite), which unfortunately lasted only six months. Returning to the Cape, Hoffmann started a second weekly entitled _Ha-Or_ (The Light), which survived from April 1895 to July 1897. Over a period of some seventeen years, Hoffmann published various short-lived Yiddish newspapers with the assistance of several partners, the most important of whom was David Goldblatt [Dovid Goldblat] (1866-1945), who had arrived in Cape Town in 1898. Goldblatt independently founded South Africa's most successful Yiddish weekly, _Der Yidisher Advokat_ (The Jewish Advocate), which appeared regularly from the end of September 1904 until 5 June 1924 and was recognised by the government as an official newspaper. N. D. Hoffmann remained one of its regular contributors until Goldblatt emigrated to the United States. Hoffmann's major contribution to the development of Yiddish literature in South Africa was his volume of memoirs, _Seyfer Hazikhroynes_ (Book of Memoirs), the first full-length Yiddish book to be printed in South Africa, published in 1916. Divided into three parts, it described the author's experiences in Europe, America (in Hebrew), and Africa. Hoffmann's account of the hardships experienced in the interior by the travelling Jewish peddler (smous) was the first appearance in South African Yiddish literature of what was to become one of its major themes. His first-hand impressions of the relationship between the Jewish smous and the Afrikaner farmers with whom he traded have often been quoted in historical analyses of early South African Jewish history, although recent research has revealed the degree to which they are heavily romanticized. Yiddish weekly newspapers before World War 2 were generally short-lived because the poor who desired to read them could not afford to sponsor them, while the wealthy, who could, were firmly committed to rapid acculturation. The legitimacy of Yiddish as a European language had moreover been repeatedly called in question by successive governments anxious to restrict Jewish immigration to South Africa, and many Yiddish-speaking Jews already established in the country were only too willing to abandon their mother tongue in favour of English. Added to this was the technical difficulty of acquiring linotype machines and trained compositors. In the 1920s two Jewish firms in Johannesburg undertook piecework Yiddish printing, but handsetting from loose type on old machines proved hopelessly uneconomical. Despite such difficulties, however, between 1920 and 1948 six books of short stories and essays and four volumes of poetry were published locally. In addition the Yiddish press in South Africa steadily increased in both quality and quantity from the end of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902, so that when a new Yiddish weekly, _Der Afrikaner_ (The African), was founded in Johannesburg in 1911 by Solomon [Shloyme] Fogelson (d. 1920), there were at least three flourishing Yiddish periodicals being published at the same time. Fogelson's newspaper survived for over twenty years, developing the Yiddish sketch and short story beyond anything previously achieved in Yiddish in South Africa. In 1932, _Der Afrikaner_ was taken over by and incorporated into a new weekly, the _Afrikaner Yidishe Tsaytung_ (The African Jewish Newspaper), under the direction of Boris Gershman. When Gershman died in 1953, the newspaper was bought by Levi Shalit (1916-1994) in partnership with Shmarya Levin (d. 1965), steadily building up its own press and maintaining a permanent qualified staff. At its peak, the paper had a weekly readership of 3000, attracted extensive advertising, and carried regular contributions from distinguished overseas writers. Although declining readership eventually forced its closure in 1983, during the thirty years in which Shalit was its editor the Afrikaner Yidishe Tsaytung stimulated Yiddish writing throughout the country. Apart from newspapers, a steady supply of short-lived but robust Yiddish journals were produced by various Jewish socialist groups. Between 1912 and 1939 organizations such as the Gezerd, acronym for the Gezelshaft far Erdarbet (Society for Agricultural Labour), Po'alei Zion (Workers of Zion), and the Yidisher Arbeter Klub (Jewish Workers' Club) all produced their own Yiddish-language periodicals. The literary journal which did most to stimulate local creative writing at this time, however, was _Dorem Afrike_ (South Africa), the organ of the Yidisher Literarisher Farayn (Jewish Literary Union), which appeared first in nine issues between 1922-1923 and then reappeared as a monthly from July 1928 to January 1931. Hitler's destruction of Eastern European Jewry understandably awakened a fresh determination in South African Yiddish speakers to preserve their cultural heritage by uniting old pre-war political factions in a common cause. A national conference of all Yiddish clubs in Southern Africa met in Johannesburg in May 1947 and established Di Dorem Afrikaner Yidishe Kultur Federatsye (The South African Yiddish Cultural Federation) with a monthly organ, a new _Dorem Afrike_, the first issue of which appeared in September 1948 under the editorship of Melekh Bakalczuk [Meylekh Bakaltshuk] (d.1953). This journal appeared monthly for over ten years, with 90 per cent of its original short stories and poems, as well as essays on a wide range of literary, historical, and sociological subjects, originating in South Africa. In 1954, after Bakalczuk's death, the journal's editorship passed to David Wolpe [Dovid Volpe] (b.1908) who held it until 1970, when he was succeeded by Zalman Levy [Zalmen Levi] (b.1910) who continued to run it until _Dorem Afrike_ finally ceased publication in 1992. By the end of the 1950s increasing costs and declining readership compelled the journal to appear bi-monthly; with the financial support of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies it survived for nearly forty years longer. At the time of its closure, _Dorem Afrike_ still commanded an international circulation of 800 copies per issue. This valuable series is now internationally much sought after. In 1949 Pacific Press and its ancillary, Kayor Publishers, were founded by Nathan Berger [Nosn Berger] (1910-1989) and Joseph Borwein [Yoysef Borvayn] (d. 1971). Between them, Kayor and the Kultur Federatsye inaugurated the most productive era in South African Yiddish publishing. The Kultur Federatsye vigorously pursued a multi-faceted Yiddish cultural programme, to serve the expression of which Kayor acquired a wide range of Yiddish and Hebrew type-fonts, the services of a first-class compositor, and up-to-date technical expertise. Between them, cultural federation and publisher established South Africa as a significant centre of Yiddish creativity, a remarkable achievement given the steadily declining numbers of native speakers of Yiddish in South Africa. Between 1949 and 1962, Kayor, in association with the Kultur Federatsye, published six collections of essays and short stories, six volumes of poetry, and one novel. 2. Authors and Themes in South African Yiddish Fiction In a complete break with the Jewish religious and cultural tradition of Eastern Europe, economic necessity and the disproportionate ratio between immigrant men and women made the old bachelor a normative figure in early South African Jewish life. For some single men, marriages were arranged in Lithuania and brides were sent out to alien Africa to spend their lives with men they had neither met nor seen before. Men who had married in Eastern Europe before they immigrated often could not afford to bring out their wives and children to join them in Africa. Given the endemic scarcity of eligible Jewish women, there was considerable intermarriage both with Afrikaans and black women in country districts. Sensitively treated, all these matrimonial complications, common in the immigrant experience, became recurring subject matter in the emerging Yiddish literature of South Africa. Many Yiddish-speaking immigrant Jews went to work in the exploitative store-cum-eating houses which the mining companies granted by concession to entrepreneurs, mostly Jewish themselves, who were wealthy enough to run them. There they lived solitary lives, working long hours in unhygienic conditions. To describe these places and those who worked in them, Yiddish speakers created two neologisms which entered the language as unique South Africanisms: _kaffireater_, the place, from the pejorative racist English title `kaffir eating-house'; and _kaffireatnik_, a noun of agency formed by adding the -nik Slavic agency ending. The kaffireatnik became one of the stock figures of South African Yiddish literature, because his role and plight were so commonplace. The problem of adaptation, and the ensuing conflict between traditional ways of Jewish life and the demands of social accommodation, are another chief focus of the writing. The complexities of interracial and intercultural conflict are often portrayed with insight. The ambivalent relationship between Afrikaners and Jews recurs in different forms, but inevitably it is the alienating and bitter gulf between black and white which most profoundly touches sensitive observers. The most important early writers in South African Yiddish literature were Hyman Polsky [Haymen Polski] (1871-1944), Morris Hoffman [Moris Hofman] (1885-1940), and Jacob Mordecai Sherman [Yankev-Mortkhe Sherman] (1885-1958). Polsky, a photographer by profession, became a journalist on Fogelson's Yiddish weekly in 1912, and took over the paper as both publisher and editor when Fogelson died eight years later. He maintained it virtually single-handedly until it was bought by Gershman in 1933, after which he remained its chief contributor until his own death. So prolific an output was inevitably uneven in quality, but in 1936 Polsky made a selection of his best stories. Published in Warsaw under the title _In Afrike_ (In Africa) in the summer of 1939, virtually the entire print run was destroyed with the outbreak of war; the volume was subsequently republished in South Africa in 1952. Its pieces follow the moralising tradition of the earliest Yiddish literature, comprising monologues in which struggling artisans speak out their hearts, sketches in which an irresolvable moral dilemma is posed as a challenge to the reader's sensibilities, and linear stories in which socio-political and economic crises disrupt or destroy the difficult lives of small people. The best of Polsky's work is direct and poignant without lapsing into sentimentality. Morris Hoffman, a man of wide culture and learning, spent most of his life as a shopkeeper in the Little Karoo, writing with equal fluency in both Yiddish and Hebrew. He published a major anthology of poetry in Yiddish, _Voglungsklangen_ (Songs of a Wanderer), in Warsaw in 1935. After his death, his widow published a selection of his best Yiddish stories under the title _Unter Afrikaner Zun_ (Under the African Sun) in 1951. Although he repeatedly expressed strong dislike for the arid wastes of the Karoo, Hoffman acquired there that realistic, unsentimental view of immigrant Jewish life in South Africa which pervades his fiction. Although often melodramatic in plotting and stereotyped in characterization, Hoffman's tales vividly capture the difficulties of living as a Jew in rural districts dominated by poor Afrikaners whom the Depression and Nazi ideology turned increasingly antisemitic in the decade preceding World War 2. Apart from contributing extensively to all the country's Yiddish publications and editing several periodicals himself, J.M. Sherman worked in almost all literature genres. He developed a keen interest in the history and literature of Afrikaans, the first language he learnt after his emigration to South Africa in 1903, seeing in its struggle for recognition and literary maturity a kinship with the vicissitudes of Yiddish. In 1936 he published a full-length study in Yiddish entitled _Di Afrikaans Shprakh un Literatur_ (The Afrikaans Language and Literature). In his own writing, he produced a wide range of poems and short stories, the best of which were selected for a volume entitled _Oyf Transvaler Erd_ (On Transvaal Soil) and published in 1949. Sherman went on to write South Africa's first Yiddish novel, _In Land fun Gold un Zunshayn_ (In the Land of Land of Gold and Sunshine), a fictionalised autobiography, which appeared in Johannesburg in 1956. Pervaded with both irony and compassion, Sherman's fiction depicted the ambivalent relationships between Afrikaner and Jew in farming communities, the tense sensitivities at play between black and white in an increasingly racist society, and the intensifying isolation of immigrant Jews attempting to resist acculturation. Black-White relations, and the bitter humiliations endured by black people in the face of institutionalised racial discrimination, were powerfully drawn by Richard [Rakhmiel] Feldman (1897-1968), whose passionate social concern made him prominent in Transvaal labour movements. He sat as a member of the South African Labour Party in the Transvaal Provincial Council from 1943-1954. Feldman's volume of short stories, _Shvarts un Vays_ (Black and White), first published in South Africa in 1934, was republished in New York twenty years later. The intensity of the protest articulated in these stories has justly earned them recognition and appreciation as among the most scathing indictments of racism in South African Yiddish literature. Their purpose is overtly polemical, aiming to awaken the outrage of Jewish readers by recalling for them their own history of racial victimisation. Although Nehemiah Levinsky [Nekhemye Levinski] (1901-1957) left only one volume of stories, _Der Regn hot Farshpetikt_ (The Rains Came Late), posthumously published in 1959, he proved himself a writer of insight and compassion. He too observed the ironic interplay between immigrant Jews and South African people of colour, showing sensitive appreciation of the centrality of their traditional culture to both Jews and Africans, and pained awareness of the spiritual price exacted on both by the inexorable processes of urbanisation. Outraged by the steady intensification of the apartheid laws and profoundly shocked by the extent to which a racist society poisoned equally both its victims and its beneficiaries, Levinsky's feelings found expression in tales which were, by his own description "race stories", typified by multivalent characterisation and an avoidance of glib solutions. Yiddish writing in South Africa did not lack wit. The most prolific of its humorists was Hersh Shisler (1903-1978), whose amusing, often flippant weekly newspaper sketches were keenly enjoyed. During his lifetime, Shisler selected and published seven volumes of these between 1937 and 1974, as well as editing a quarterly newspaper, _Yontev Bleter_ (Holiday Pages), which appeared regularly for over twenty years between 1955-1978. A keener South African Yiddish satirist was Hyman Ehrlich [Haymen Erlikh] (1888-1981), a selection of whose biting sketches appeared in 1950 under the title _Ot Azoy_ (That's the Way). In 1956 he published a book of childhood reminiscences entitled _Dankere_, the name of the small village in Russia in which he had grown up. A gifted short-story writer was Samuel Leibowitz [Shmuel Leybovits] (1912-1976). Although a regular contributor to most of the leading South African Yiddish periodicals, Leibowitz did not live to publish a selection from his considerable output in book form, and his work must be sought in a variety of Yiddish journals and a small selection of anthologies. Other talented writers, with more limited outputs, were Leibl Yudaiken [Leybl Yudayken] (1904-1989), Wolf Rybko [Volf Ribko] (1896-1955), and Chaim Sacks [Khayem Zaks] (1891-1981). Although all three published their stories in _Dorem Afrike_, only Rybko and Sacks had their work collected in a volume each. Rybko, a schoolteacher, was equally at home in Hebrew and divided his literary activity between both languages; after his death, a committee of his friends published a selection of his stories in a bilingual volume entitled _Oyf di Pleynen fun Afrike_ (On the Plains of Africa) which appeared in 1961. In 1969 Sacks, a successful businessman, published a series of vignettes of life in his father's rabbinical household in Poland under the title _S'iz Geven a Mol_ (Once Upon a Time). One of the most versatile and prolific of South African Yiddish writers was Mendel Tabatznik [Mendl Tabatshnik] (1894-1975). Teacher, singer, actor, theatre director, and finally businessman, Tabatznik produced South Africa's second Yiddish novel, _Kalman Bulan_, a sprawling family saga which, over three volumes published between 1968 and 1971, looks realistically, although often sentimentally, at the disrupting processes of assimilation into white South African society. A variety of Tabatznik's stories and essays, published in _Dorem Afrike_, examine various aspects of Jewish life in South Africa, while his two volumes of memoirs and two volumes of poems have the charm of simplicity without pretentiousness. 3. Memoirs and History Memoirs have always been a chief feature of all Yiddish literature, and fifteen volumes of this genre have appeared in South Africa. The motivation to produce these varied: some writers never really adjusted to life in the harsh environment of Africa, and looked back with nostalgia to that world they had left behind in Eastern Europe, so savagely obliterated by the Holocaust. The horrors of the Holocaust itself were movingly chronicled in two Yisker-bikher (Books of Remembrance) edited by South Africans and published in Johannesburg: _Yisker-bukh fun Rakishok un Umgegnt_ (Remembrance Book of Rakishok and Environs) edited by Mendel Tabatznik (1952), and _Yisker-bukh Khelm_ (Chelm Remembrance Book), edited by Hersh Shisler (1954). Personal Holocaust experiences were movingly chronicled by two survivors who emigrated to South Africa after World War 2: Levi Shalit in two volumes of essays, _A Yid in der Velt_ (A Jew in the World) (1972) and _Tsaytn Dertseylen_ (Time's Tales) (1974) and David Wolpe, in several stories which have appeared in South Africa, Israel and the United States. Foremost among South African Yiddish writers of non-fiction was the polemicist, researcher, and historian Leibl Feldman (1896-1975). Not content with vigorously describing his own early adventures as a diamond digger, Feldman, a passionately committed Yiddishist with strong Marxist leanings, became the earliest chronicler of South African Jewish life. He published five books of history, providing indispensable documentation of early Jewish settlement in South Africa, particularly in the ostrich boom town of Oudtshoorn (Cape) and the gold rush city of Johannesburg (Transvaal) at the turn of the century. He also investigated the history of the Indians in South Africa, and published a controversial essay of generally unfavourable impressions after several visits to the newly-founded State of Israel. 4. South African Yiddish Poetry Yiddish literature in South Africa expressed itself most profoundly in poetry, a genre in which women particularly excelled. Impressive anthologies came from Chaya [Khaye] Fedler (d. 1953), Rachiel Levin-Brainin (d. 1980), and Leah [Leye] Benson-Rink (ca. 1892-1974). Sarah Eisen [Sore Ayzen] (1910-1981) [Kagan, LYS:d. 1982]*, equally at home in Yiddish and Hebrew, wrote sensitive lyrics in both languages. Although her subjects ranged freely from nostalgic memories of Eastern Europe to impressions of Israel and vivid pictures of life in Africa, her most memorable poems are simple statements of a woman's grief; a comprehensive selection of her verse appeared in 1965 in the volume _Geklibene Lider un Poemes_ (Selected Lyrics and Poems). Hyman Ehrlich turned to charming children's verses in his 1964 anthology _Vaksn, Vaksn, Blimelekh_ (Grow, Little Flowers, Grow); his tones grew more sombre in the lyrics of two later volumes, _In Shpigl fun Umru_ (In the Mirror of Disquiet) (1976) and _Shtile Vegn_ (Quiet Paths) (1979). In 1966 Nathan Berger published an epic poem in rhyming couplets entitled _Baym Rand fun Gold_ (On the Gold Reef), to celebrate Johannesburg's seventieth anniversary. South Africa's two finest Yiddish lyricists were Michael Ben Moshe [ne Greysman] (1911-1983) and David Fram (1903-1988). Through verse characterised by terseness and vivid, telling metaphor, Ben Moshe explored the anguish of loneliness in three major anthologies, _Opris_ (Fragments) (1949), _In Tog Vos Fargeyt_ (In the Dwindling Day) (1952), and _In Likht fun Ovnt_ (In the Gleam of Night) (1971). His poetic gift and deep learning made Ben Moshe one of South Africa's finest literary critics and researchers. When Fram emigrated to South Africa in 1927, he had already established a reputation in Lithuania as a young poet of exceptional promise, having published widely in the leading Yiddish literary journals of Vilna, Warsaw and New York. The earliest verse he wrote in South Africa sharply contrasted the gentle landscapes of the Eastern Europe he had left behind with the harsh extremes of the African climate and landscape, physical features which seemed to him paralleled in the rival ambitions of English- and Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans, united only by a common determination to maintain white hegemony over the country's indigenous blacks. Inevitably Fram's poetic concerns underwent profound changes in Africa, and his first major anthology, Lider un Poemes (Lyrics and Poems), published in Vilna in 1931 under the sponsorship of a Johannesburg committee, reflected the growing unease he felt at the injustice and cruelty he saw all around him. By far the most cosmopolitan of South African Yiddish writers, Fram numbered among his closest friends some of the country's leading painters and sculptors as well as poets and writers in both English and Afrikaans. He steadily determined to reflect the pulsating vibrancy of tribal Africa in his verse, to enrich Yiddish literature, as he himself remarked, "with an entire continent", an undertaking which led him from the lyric to the epic mode. His experience of Africa was inevitably subordinated to the terrifying events of the Holocaust, however. In London between 1947 and 1948 Fram published two epic poems, _Efsher_ (Perhaps) and _Dos Letste Kapitl_ (The Last Chapter), both in different ways expressing his utter desolation. _Efsher_ is an autobiographical charting of Fram's pervasive spiritual disquiet; _Dos Letste Kapitl_, probably his masterpiece, is a unique sanctification of the martyrs of the Holocaust. Later Fram returned to African themes in the long poems "Matabela", "Matatulu", and "Matumba", all published in _Dorem Afrike_ during the 1950s. To commemorate his eightieth birthday in 1983, two of these long African poems and all the lyrics he had written since the war were published in a jubilee anthology entitled _A Shvalb Oyfn Dakh_ (A Swallow on the Roof). South African Yiddish verse continued to achieve international distinction in the work of David Wolpe (b. 1908) whose substantial modernist anthology, _A Volkn un a Veg_ (A Cloud and a Way), published in 1978, was awarded the Itzik Manger Prize for Yiddish Literature in Jerusalem in 1983. Wolpe's themes range widely, from his experiences as a survivor of Dachau to his revulsion at South African racial discrimination, and from surrealistic visions of the mine-dumps of Johannesburg to tender expressions of parental love. Wolpe's verse is allusive and evocative, employing a rich vocabulary and experimental versification. In the last decade, Wolpe has turned to prose, producing two volumes of insightful literary criticism and a substantial book of short stories. 5. Yiddish Drama in South Africa Yiddish plays were staged in South Africa from 1895, but were mainly written by overseas playwrights. Most of the local work produced between 1916 and 1954 was light entertainment, written for the moment and lacking serious purpose; it was performed from typescript and if published at all appeared in ephemeral local journals. Only Hirsch Brill (1891-1925) attempted to deal with serious dramatic themes and published two collections which regrettably survive only as catalogue entries in major libraries. Richard Feldman wrote a short play entitled "Tryers", dramatising the difficulties encountered by immigrant Eastern European Jews in eking out a livelihood through trade in the earliest days of Johannesburg's gold rush. Although this play was published in a volume together with three short stories in 1954, there is no evidence that it was ever performed. Steadily declining communal interest and commercial competition from the English theatre slowly forced all Yiddish drama from South Africa's boards. 6. Hebrew Writing in South Africa Despite the fact that South Africa's Jewish educational leaders firmly committed themselves to the Zionist ideal of privileging Hebrew over Yiddish, and were consistently hostile to Yiddish both before and after World War 2, over a period of almost a century (1895-1990), Hebrew writers in South Africa produced only three volumes of poetry, one novelette, one volume of memoirs, a biography, six volumes of rabbinical sermons and essays, and one translation from Yiddish. The reason is obvious -- where Yiddish was the mother-tongue of Eastern European immigrants, alive in their mouths and in their homes, modern Hebrew was an artificial import into South Africa: opportunities to use it were extremely limited, and all endeavours to do so were of necessity lifeless and contrived in a community striving to acculturate itself in an English and Afrikaans-speaking country. Not surprisingly, the most remarkable South African achievement in Hebrew came from Judah Leib Landau [Yude-Leyb Landoy] (1866-1942), who arrived from Galicia via Vienna and Manchester to assume a rabbinical and teaching position in South Africa in 1903. Between 1884, when he was only eighteen years old, and 1923, he published eight five-act epic dramas on mainly historical themes. These plays, two of which were subsequently staged in Johannesburg, were all published overseas. Only one of them dealt with the life and problems of Africa; the rest were concerned with the problems of Westernization and assimilation which troubled Landau all his life and which he directly confronted in the many essays he contributed on the life of South African Jews during the thirty years in which he served as Chief Rabbi of Johannesburg, an office he assumed in 1912 and held until his death. The first Hebrew journal published in South Africa was the literary- cultural periodical _Basad_** which appeared monthly between 1932 and 1934 when it was absorbed into a new Hebrew journal called _Barkai_ (Morning Star). This lively journal, containing essays and vigorous polemical material about the Hebrew language and the politics associated with the emergent State of Israel appeared on a regular monthly basis for twenty-seven years, until April 1962, when it became a bi-weekly, introducing essays and correspondence in both English and Afrikaans alongside its Hebrew contributions in a desperate attempt to maintain a viable readership. This periodical lasted for over forty years, until 1977, a remarkable achievement owing solely to the dedicated and virtually single-handed efforts of its founder-editor Jack Rubik who, in the face of indifference and pressing financial needs, continued to produce it regularly until his death in 1978. The journal died with him, as the South African Histadrut Ivrit (Hebrew Union) declined to take it over. No better proof can be found of the failure to make Hebrew a living language in South Africa, since the South African Histadrut Ivrit had close links with its parent body in Israel, and was theoretically committed to the propagation and advancement of Hebrew education in South Africa. Instead, during the 1960s, after an absence of nearly thirty years, a monthly Hebrew supplement, the _Musaf Ivrit_, was reintroduced into one of the Jewish community's English-language newspapers, the _Zionist Record_. This supplement existed more or less in competition with _Barkai_, and continued fitfully until 1987 when the financially bankrupt _Zionist Record_ ceased to exist. 7. South African Yiddish Literature in Translation Although with the passing of the generation for whom Yiddish was a mother tongue Yiddish literature is no longer produced in South Africa, the wide-ranging significance for historians, sociologists and literary critics of the considerable body of Yiddish writing in various genres they left behind is steadily being recognised. There has consequently been an increasing demand for the best of this material to be made available in English translation. The first representative selection of South African Yiddish stories in English translation was published in 1987 under the title _From a Land Far Off_. Edited and translated by Joseph Sherman with a foreword by Dan Jacobson, the volume attracted the attention of both the general and the scholarly reader, and has been quoted as original source material in several academic research projects. In 1989, an English translation of Leibl Feldman's _Oudtshoorn: Jerusalem of Africa_ was published in a lavishly illustrated, carefully annotated limited edition; this volume has become a much sought-after piece of Africana. A translation of sections of Nehemiah Dov Ber Hoffmann's _Memoirs_ is scheduled to appear, and further translations are planned of Leibl Feldman's history, _Jews in Johannesburg_, and Jacob Mordecai Sherman's pioneering Yiddish novel, _Land of Gold and Sunshine_. From the time it was first established in June 1941, South Africa's only Jewish cultural and academic journal, _Jewish Affairs_, has regularly carried translations of South African Yiddish poetry and short stories; some of these have appeared in Britain and the United States as well. Through the medium of translation, South African Yiddish scholars are happy to meet the enthusiastic international demand to make accessible its productive vein of Yiddish literature. This hitherto neglected body of material will undoubtedly contribute much to enlarging the perspective in which South Africa's multicultural and multi-lingual literature is viewed and understood. ---------- Notes -- L.P. *Kagan, LYS=Berl Kagan, _Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers_, New York, 1986. **The text reads _Basad_ which means 'in the stocks', an unlikely title for a journal. Could it be _bes"d_ ('With God's Help') or basade 'in the field' or _boser_ 'young grapes'? The journal is apparently rare. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.012 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.013 31 August 1999 Perets' "Bontshe Shvayg" Revisited (Part One) 1) Translating "Bontshe Shvayg" 2) Critics on "Bontshe Shvayg" * Readers are reminded that the story in this double issue of _The Mendele Review_ can be read in Yiddish letters. It is available in the TMR Archive in both PDF and UNICODE formats. http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrtoc03.htm 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31.8.99 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Translating "Bontshe Shvayg": Helena Frank; A.S. Rappoport; Moshe Spiegel; Hilde Abel; Hillel Halkin Translating "Bontshe Shvayg" Perets' "Bontshe Shvayg" is not only one of the most famous of Yiddish stories, it is also one of the most translated.(1) English versions of the story span the entire twentieth century, from Leo Wiener in 1899 to Hillel Halkin in 1990. Hilde Abel's "Bontsha the Silent" in the groundbreaking Howe and Greenberg anthology (1954) brought the story to the attention of a broad non-Yiddish-reading audience. The academization of Yiddish has influenced standards of literary translation, which must be why some students of Yiddish reacted critically to the liberties Abel (among others) took with the text, both her "filling out" meanings and explaining, and her omitting descriptive and other details. At the same time a number of her turns of phrase were quite felicitous. Satisfying a wide range of readers, much less Yiddish cognoscenti, is no light task. Translating anew a widely translated story also carries the perils of conscious or unconscious plagiarism.(2) The following grouping of paragraphs [1], [11] and [99-102] from five English translations of "Bontshe Shvayg" shows us how variously the translators worked and how great were the choices facing them. The intricate verbal art of the author was all too often ignored -- regard the cadences and emphases of the opening paragraph in Yiddish -- as well as Perets' plain meaning. The rendition of the final sentences especially challenged the translators' skill -- and influenced the reader's total response. ----------------- Helena Frank [1] Down here, in this world, Bontsye Shweig's death made no impression at all. Ask anyone you like who Bontsye was, _how_ he lived, and what he died of; whether of heart failure, or whether his strength gave out, or whether his back broke under a heavy load, and they won't know. Perhaps, after all, he died of hunger. [11] When they carried Bontsye into the hospital, his corner in the underground lodging was soon filled -- there were ten of his like waiting for it, and they put it up to auction among themselves. When they carried him from the hospital bed top the dead-house, there were twenty poor sick persons waiting for the bed. When he had been taken out of the dead-house, they brought in twenty bodies from under a building that had fallen in. Who knows how long he will rest in his grave? Who knows how many are waiting for the little plot of ground? [99-102] "_Taki_?" asks Bontsye again, this time in a firmer voice. "_Taki_! _taki_! _taki_!" they answer him from all sides. "Well, if it is so," Bontsye smiles, "I would like to have every day, for breakfast, a hot roll with fresh butter." The Court and the angels looked down, a little ashamed; the prosecutor laughed. [in _Stories and Pictures_ by Isaac Loeb Perez. Translated from the Yiddish by Helena Frank. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America. 1936, pp. 171-181] ---------------- A.S. Rappoport [1] Here, in this world below, the death of Bontshe produced no impression whatever. In vain you will ask: "Who was Bontshe? How did he live? What did he die of? Was it his heart that burst, his strength that gave out, or his dorsal spine that broke under a burden too heavy for his shoulders?" No one knows. Maybe it was hunger that killed him. [11] When they took him to the hospital, Bontshe's corner in the basement did not for long remain unoccupied; ten people of his kind were already waiting for it, and they knocked it down among themselves to the highest bidder. When they carried him from his hospital bed to the mortuary chamber, twenty poor patients were already waiting for the place vacated. And scarcely had Bontshe left the morgue, when twenty corpses extricated from underneath the ruins of a house that had fallen down were brought in. [99-102] "Really?" Bontshe asks again, but this time his voice sounds more firm and assured. "Certainly, certainly, certainly," he is assured on all sides. "Then, if such is the case, says Bontshe with a happy smile, "I should like to have every morning a hot roll with fresh butter." Abashed, angels and judges drooped their heads; while the accuser burst out into loud laughter. [in _Bontshe the Silent_ by I.L. Peretz. Translated from the Yiddish with a Preface and Glossary by Dr. A.S. Rappoport. London / Philadelphia: David McKay Company, n.d. (ca. 1927?), pp. 13-22] -------------- Moshe Spiegel. [1] In this world, the death of Buntcheh the Silent passed utterly unnoticed. Just try to ask whether anybody knew precisely _who_ Buntcheh was, _how_ he lived, _why_ he died: because his heart had burst, because his strength was exhausted, or because perhaps his back had broken under his inordinate burden? [11] When Buntcheh was carried off to the hospital, the corner which he had occupied in a cellar did not remain unrented; it had been coveted by a dozen people just like Buntcheh, and they cast lots for it. From his cot in the hospital, Buintcheh was carried to the morgue -- and his cot was awaited by a dozen of the indigent sick.... When he was carried out of the morgue, they carried into it twenty corpses -- bodies of people who had been killed when a house had caved in and buried them under its ruins. And who knows how many people are already waiting for this patch of ground? [99-102] "Really?" asked Buntcheh, by now in a firmer tone. "Naturally! Naturally!" he was answered from all sides. "Well, in that case," Buntcheh announced with a smile, "I would like to have a hot roll with butter for breakfast every day!" The judges and angels were stunned. The Heavenly Informer burst into laughter. [_In This World and The Next_. Selected Writings by I.L. Peretz. Translated from the Yiddish by Moshe Spiegel. New York: Yoseloff, 1958, pp. 58-65] ------------- Hilde Abel. [1] Here on earth the death of Bontsha the Silent made no impression at all. Ask anyone: Who was Bontsha, how did he live, and how did he die? Did his strength slowly fade, did his heart slowly give out -- or did the very marrow of his bones melt under the weight of his burdens? Who knows? Perhaps he just died from not eating -- starvation it's called. [11] When Bontsha was brought to the hospital ten people were waiting for him to die and leave them his narrow little cot; when he was brought from the hospital to the morgue twenty were waiting to occupy his pall; when he was taken out of the morgue forty were waiting to lie where he would lie forever. Who knows how many are now waiting to snatch from him that bit of earth? [99-102] "Really?" Bontsha asks again, and now his voice is stronger, more assured. And the judge and all the heavenly host answer, "Really! Really! Really!" "Well then" -- and Bontsha smiles for the first time -- "well then, what I would like, Your Excellency, is to have, every morning for breakfast, a hot roll with fresh butter." A silence falls upon the great hall, and it is more terrible than Bontsha's has ever been, and slowly the judge and the angels bend their heads in shame at this unending meekness they have created on earth. Then the silence is shattered. The prosecutor laughs aloud, a bitter laugh. [in Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg, _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_, New York: The Viking Press, 1954, pp. 223-230; in Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg. _Selected Stories / I.L. Peretz_ Edited with an Introduction by Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg. London: Paul Elek, 1975, pp. 70-77.] -------------- Hillel Halkin [1] Here on earth the death of Bontshe Shvayg made no impression. Try asking who Bontshe was, how he lived, what he died of (Did his heart give out? Did he drop from exhaustion? Did he break his back beneath too heavy a load?), and no one can give you an answer. For all you know, he might have starved to death. [11] Whe Bontshe was brought to the hospital, the corner of the cellar he had called his home did not remain vacant, because ten men bid for it at once; when he was taken from the hospital ward to the morgue, twenty sick paupers were candidates for his bed; when he was carried out of the morgue, forty men killed in the fall of a building were carried in. Think of how many others were waiting to share his plot of earth with him and well may you wonder how long he will rest there in peace. [99-102] "Truly?" asked Bontshe again, a bit surer of himself. "Truly! Truly! Truly!" clmored the heavenly host. "Well, then," smiled Bontshe, "What I'd like most of all is a warm roll with fresh butter every morning." "The judges and angels hung their heads in shame. The prosecutor laughed." [in _The I.L. Peretz Reader_ edited and with introduction by Ruth R. Wisse. New York: Schocken Books, 1990, ed.; text read by Harold Gould in the audio cassette _Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond_, So. Hadley, MA: Nat'l Yiddish Book Cener, 1996] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31.8.99 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Critics on "Bontshe Shvayg": Irving Howe / Eliezer Greenberg (1954); Efroyem Oyerbakh (1969); Sol Liptzin (1972); Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg (1975); Ruth Wisse (1991); Irena Klepfisz (1994); David Roskies (1995) The critical statements randomly assembled here reflect a range of readings between the satirical and the eulogistic. Perets's main intent is clear; the shift in readers' attitudes due to a host of historical events is equally evident.(3) It is indeed curious that many readers forget the story's last line, but can quote Bontshe's pathetic request. The sharply political thrust of the author may indeed have been dulled by time, but there are still many readers who would never choose to canonize the incredibly unfortunate Bontshe -- no martyr by virtue of his own complicity in his victimization. His silence, awesome to some, leaves unmoved those for whom the fable itself is deeply flawed. ------------------- Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg (1954) '... Peretz's gift for enriching and complicating folk themes... is also to be seen in "If Not Higher" and "Bontsha the Silent," two of his best-known stories, which are folk tales in origin yet clearly reveal the hand of a sophisticated artist -- in the subtle distance from faith that is maintained in the first story and in the desperation with which the second one ends.' [Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg, "Introduction," _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_, New York: The Viking Press, 1954, p. 70.] ------------------- Efroyem Oyerbakh (1969) Bay der oyfgevakhter yidisher arbetershaft iz P. gevorn alts mer populer un alts mer un mer balibt un mit umgeduld hobn proste horepashnikes gevart oyf a nayer numer _Yontev bletlekh_... Inem... _Lekoved shvues_, hot P. opgedrukt a shafung, vos hot im nor mer balibt gemakht bay di arbeter; 'Di aseres hadibres; mit a peyresh fun a kleyn balebesl', a sotsyale satire kegn rabonim un kley-koydesh biklal. In di vayterdike _Bletlekh_ hot P. gedrukt felyetonen, vos zaynen sharf gevendet kegn der yidisher traditsye, bifrat kegn azelkhe dinim, vi khalitse, kegn di hebreyistn un khoyvevey-tsien un kegn di 'aristokratn', vos vern dertsitert, az zey hern vi shrayber heybn on tsu nutsn 'zhargon'. Inem eygenem nusekh shraybt P. zayne dertseylungen 'Dos shtrayml' un 'Bontshe shvayg', vos zenen geven gedrukt in _Literatur un leben_ [lebn]. Di beyde dertseylungen hobn shtark bavirkt di yidishe arbeter-leyener un zey bakert tsum sotsializm." [Peretz became more and more popular and beloved among the awakened Jewish working class, uneducated laborers looking forward eagerly to each new issue of the _Yontev bletlekh_ ('Holiday Pages')... In the Shavuot number Perets published his "The Ten Commandments; with a Commentary from a Small Householder," an anti-clerical social satire. In further issues of the _Holiday Pages_ Peretz printed feuilletons which were hostile to Jewish tradition, especially laws such as those of khalitsa, to Hebraists, Lovers of Zion and to the 'aristocrats' who quaked when they heard that writers were beginning to use Yiddish. In the same style Peretz wrote the stories "Dos shtrayml" ('The Sabbath and Holiday Hat') and "Bontshe Shvayg, which were published in _Literatur un lebn_ ('Literature and Life'). Both of these stories strongly influenced Jewish worker-readers and turned them towards socialism.](tr.: LP) [Efroyem Oyerbakh. "Y.-L. Perets," _Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_ New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1969, 7:243-4.] ------------------- Sol Liptzin (1972) "... Peretz['s]... supreme achievement must be sought in his short stories and sketches. These combined clear observations of real life with flights into romantic, mystic heavens. In his tales, visible phenomena were overtopped by higher strata of eternal truths to which one ascended via the ladder of faith or through the medium of dreams. His humble characters, such as Bontsie the Silent... were not crushed by their hard tasks and endless dull routines, because they had faith in a higher reality, a more just existence awaiting them at the end of their earthly journey." "The title hero of 'Bontsie Shvaig' was unnoticed by his fellow-men and mistreated by his wealthy employer. He endured in silence the deprivations and humiliations to which he was subjected until his death. In heaven, however, he ranked with the most deserving saints because there true, eternal values prevailed." [Sol Liptzin. _A History of Yiddish Literature_. Middle Village, NY: Jonathan David, 1972, [paperback] 1985, p. 58.] ----------------------------- Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg (1975) "In the main, the voice dominating these stories is ironic, ambivalent, skeptical, a modern voice that knows enough not to be content with being merely modern. The skepticism is sharpest in Peretz' single most famous story, 'Bontsha the Silent', in which the archetypal _kleyne mentshele_ (little, little man), whose life contained little of either good or evil*, evokes from the prosecutor 'a bitter laugh', as if shamed before the paltriness of most human desire. Peretz -- and here he does seem a litte like Kafka -- touches in this story on one of the major themes of modern literature, the radical, hopeless incommensurability between morality and existence, the sense of a deep injustice at the heart of the universe which even the heavens cannot remedy." * Peretz, who knew something about Nietzsche, had an evident horror before the idea of moral vacuum. [Irving Howe/Eliezer Greenberg. _Selected Stories / I.L. Peretz_ Edited with an Introduction by Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg. London: Paul Elek, 1975, p. 18.] ---------------------------- Ruth Wisse (1991) "... Peretz challenges the ideal of goodness that had a powerful grip on the folk imagination. So you think that passive goodness in this world will be granted divine recompense in the world beyond?.... [E]verything works schematically as it should, except that this creature is beyond redemption. His soul is too meek and his outlook too narrow to make possible any ultimate restitution.... [It] is the prosecutor who has the last laugh.... Yet... The times soon began to exert their influence on the text.... showing Bontshe as suffering saint, a holy fool, the Jewish martyr." Ruth Wisse (whose remarks are best read in their entirety [pp. 47-51]) also points out that "When the story of Bontshe was dramatized in the Broadway production, _The World of Sholem Aleichem_ [sic], a halo of light was cast on him as he made his request." (fn. 14, p. 117). (This might at first suggest Christian symbolism, but the use of light to image holiness is widespread in Judaism.) Ruth Wisse. _I.L. Peretz and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture_. Seattle/London: University of Washington Press, 1991, pp. 47-51; 117. ------------------- Irena Klepfisz (1994) Of the three classical writers, Peretz openly championed "the women's cause," understanding the price women paid for men's unreflective piety and the need for social reform. But like many who argue for a political position theoretically, Peretz never internalized it as a moral imperative and it is conspicuously absent from much of his writing. Critics have described _Monish_ (1888), his first Yiddish literary endeavor, as expressing the feelings of a whole Jewish generation. Yet _Monish_ is a man's poem about men's conflicts, sexual needs, attachments to Judaism and artistic aspirations. Peretz's interest in Hasidic tales, as well as his conceptualizing of "_di goldene keyt_/the golden chain" of Jewish tradition in terms of male dynasty, contributed to the defeminization of Yiddish literature. In the early stories of _Impressions of a Journey through the Tomaszow Region in the Year 1890_ and in the later, more overtly political ones, when not focussed on the plight of women, Peretz reverts to stereotypes. This is true even in his famous "Bontshe the Silent" (1894), whose title character embodies passive Jewish masses incapable of protesting his/their oppression or conceptualizing a future. Among Bontshe's burdens is a cruel wife who abandons him and the son he is unaware is not his. This story calls for workers' liberation from their own passivity _and_ for men's liberation from women's basic deceitfulness. Bontshe, Everyworker, is a "universal" man. So not only how these writers views themselves, but also what they wrote, point to a desire to create a literature by men and for men.... [Irena Klepfisz. Introduction to _Found Treasures: Stories by Yiddish Women Writers_, ed. Frieda Forman et al (Toronto: Second Story Press, 1994, pp. 38-9). The context of the following passage is in a section called "The 'Classical' Period: The Defeminization of _mame-loshn_."] (Submitted by Ron Robboy) --------------------- David Roskies (1995) [quote from and summarize pp. 7, 109-111, 137, 138, 307, 308, 309] "...I.L. Peretz's 'Bontshe the Silent' turned the Jewish sacred legend of the hidden saint on its head." (p. 7) "By trial's end the folksy facade was just as surely obliterated as any pretense of heavenly justice. The divine judge -- voicing the story's political message -- counseled Bontshe if he had broken his silence he might have brought down the walls of Jericho.... The folktale burlesque is what packed the final pumch.... Just as Bontshe stood by and watched the proceedings in terror, so the teller of his tale observed how the naive conventions, the supernatural trappings, and the grotesque characters all self-destructed in a gale of cynical laughter." (pp. 109-111) "Most readers misread the...irony [in 'Dray matones' (Three Gifts)] and took it as a paean to martyrdom -- as they would consistently misread 'Kabbalists' and 'Bontshe the Silent'."(137) "[Yosl] Bergner recast Peretz's most pathetic character in a tragic mold."(p. 308) [David G. Roskies. _A Bridge of Longing_. Cambridge, MA/London, UK: Harvard University Press, 1995, pp. 7, 109-111, 137, 308. ___________ Endnotes 1) The following have translated the story (names with an asterisk are illustrated above): Hilde Abel*, Mark Feder (dramatization), Helena Frank*, Henry Goodman, Hillel Halkin*, Elly Margolis, A.S. Rappoport*, Henry T. Shnittkind, Moshe Spiegel*, Leo Wiener. Translations of "Bontshe Shvayg" in English (see _The Field of Yiddish_ 1, 1954) not illustrated above include the following (listed according to date of publication): _History of Yiddish in the 19th Century_ by Leo Wiener. New York: Scribner's / London: John C. Nimmo, 1899, pp. 333-353 ["Bontsie Silent" tr. by Leo Wiener]. _Best Short Stories of the World_, ed. Konrad Bercovici. Boston: Stratford, 1925, pp. 61-73. [Bontsye the Silent tr. by Henry T. Shnittkind] _A Book of Jewish Thoughts_, sel. and arr. Joseph H. Herts, New York: Bloch, 1926, pp. 109-116. ["Bontsye Shweig" tr. by Helena Frank] _Jewish Advocate_ [Boston] 27 Sept 1927 ["Bonzye Schweig" tr. by ??]. _The Jewish Caravan_, ed. Leo W. Schwarz. New York: Farrar and Reinhart, 1935, pp. 342-348 ["Bontche Shweig" tr. by ??]. _Jewish Spectator_ [New York] July 1940 ["Bontzye Shweig" tr. by ??]. _Australian Jewish Forum_ [Sydney] 34 (Dec 1944), pp. ??-?? ["Bontsie Shweig" tr. by ??] _Three Gifts and Other Stories_ by I.L. Peretz. New York: Book League of the Jewish people's Fraternal Order, I.W.O., 1947, pp. 23-30 ["Bontche Shweig" tr. by Henry Goodman] _A Treasury of Jewish Folklore_, ed. Nathan Ausubel. New York: Crown, 1948, pp. 507-513. ["Bontshe the Silent" tr. by A.S. Rappoport] _Prince of the Ghetto_ by Maurice Samuel. Philadelphia: Jewish Publicaiton Society of America, 1948, pp. 75-83 ["Silent Bontche" tr. by Maurice Samuel]. _I.L. Peretz: A Sourcebbook on Programming_. New York: National Jewish Welfare Board, 1951, pp. 15-19 ["The Trial of Bontche" (dramatized) and tr. by Mark Feder]. _As Once We Were; Selections from the Works of I.L. Peretz_, tr. Elly Margolis, Los Angeles, 1951, pp. 209-220. ["Silent Bontsie" tr. by Elly Margolis] Ed. note: I have not seen the following Peretz collection: _Selected Works of I.L. Peretz_, contributions by Marvin Zuckerman and Gerald Stillman, ed. Marion Herbst. Malibu, CA: J. Simon, Pangloss Press, 1995. 2) Compare A.S. Rappoport's last sentence with Leo Wiener's 1899 version of the last two lines. Wiener: "Judges and angels drooped their heads abashed. The Prosecuting Attorney laughed out loud." Rappoport: "Abashed, angels and judges drooped their heads; while the accuser burst out into loud laughter." In innumerable instances of this kind it is impossible to pinpoint borrowing. 3) A popular humorist and journalist on the staff of _Moment_ in interwar Warsaw, Avrom Rozenfeld (1884-1941/2), was widely known by his pen name, Bontshe Shvayg, sometimes reduced to "Bontshe". Borekh-Nakhmen Vladek-Tsharni (1886-1938) used the pen name "Bontsye Shvaygs Eynikl" ('Bontshe Shvayg's Descendant'). Such pseudonyms are hardly imaginable in the period after the Shoa. -------------------------------------------------- End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.013 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.014 31 August 1999 Perets' "Bontshe Shvayg" Revisited (Part Two) 3) "Bontshe Shvayg" [Yiddish text]* (Yitskhok-Leybush Perets) * Readers are reminded that the story in this issue of _The Mendele Review_ can be read in Yiddish letters. It is available in the TMR Archive in both PDF and UNICODE formats. http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrtoc03.htm 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31.8.99 From: Leah Krikun Subject: Perets' Bontshe Shvayg(*) \spell bekheyrem b|Hrm \spell neveyle nBlh \spell skhye zkhyh \spell kabren kbrn \spell harugem hrugym \spell meshiekhs mshyH|s \spell malokhem ml#khim \spell nifter nftr \spell nisbakesh nTbksh \spell yeshive yshyBh \spell beyeshive byshyBh \spell kisey-hakoved Ks#-h|KBwd \spell Avrom #Brhm \spell ovinu #Bynu \spell kateyger ktigwr \spell bezdn biT-din \spell kaptsn kbtsn \spell kafakl Kf-hkl \spell tsadik tsdyk \spell bekitser bkytswr \spell malekh ml#kh \spell meylits mlyts \spell kohl kwl \spell Iyev #yuB \spell mal ml \spell moyel mwhl \spell marshas mrsheT \spell beged bgd \spell bakoshe bkshh \spell bal- bel- \spell tsdoke tsdk|h \spell toyve twBh \spell oylem ewlm \spell ho|emes h|#mT \spell ha|sheker hshkr \spell goyses|n gwss|n \spell raboysay rbwTy \spell av- aB- \spell yerikhoy yryHw \spell kheylek Hlk \spell dayonem dynym \spell mesupek msupk bontshe shvayg [1894] fun Yitskhok-leyb Perets [1] do! oyf der velt, hot bontshe shvaygs toyt nokh keyn ayndruk nisht gemakht! fregt emetsn bekheyrem: v e r bontshe iz geven, vi azoy er hot gelebt, oyf vos er iz geshtorbn! tsi hot in im dos harts geplatst, tsi di koykhes zenen im oysgegangen, tsi der markh-beyn hot zikh ibergebrokhn unter a shvere last... ver veyst? efsher iz er gor far hunger geshtorbn! [2] a ferd in tramvey zol faln, volt men zikh mer interesirt. es voltn tsaytungen geshribn, hunderter mentshn voltn fun ale gasn gelofn un di neveyle bakukt; batrakht afile dos ort, vu di mapole iz geven... [3] nor dos ferd in tramvey volt oykh di skhye nisht gehat, es zol zayn azoy fil ferd vi mentshn -- toyznt milyon! [4] bontshe hot shtil gelebt un iz shtil geshtorbn; vi a shotn iz er durkh -- durkh undzer velt! [5] oyf bontshes bris hot men keyn vayn nisht getrunken, es hobn keyn koyses geklungen! tsu bar-mitsve hot er keyn klingendike droshe nisht gezogt... gelebt hot er vi a groy kleyn kerndl zamd baym breg fun yam. tsvishn milyonen zayns-glaykhn; un, az der vint hot'n oyfgehoybn un oyf der anderer zayt yam aribergeyogt, hot es keyner nisht bamerkt! [6] baym lebn hot di nase blote keyn tseykhn fun zayn fus nisht bahaltn? nokhn toyt -- hot der vint dos kleyne bretl fun zayn keyver umgevorfn; dem kabrens vayb hot es gefunen vayt fun keyver un derbay a tepl kartofl opgekokht... es iz dray teg nokh bontshes toyt, fregt dem kabren bekheyrem, vu er hot'n galeygt! [7] volt bontshe a matseyve gehat, volt efsher iber hundert yor an altertum-forsher zi gefunen, un der nomen "bontshe shvayg" volt nokh amol ibergeklungen in undzer luft. [8] a shotn! zayn fotografye iz nisht geblibn bay keynem in moyekh, bay keynem in harts; es iz fun im keyn zeykher geblibn! [9] "keyn kind, keyn rind"; elnt gelebt -- elnt geshtorbn! [10] ven nisht der mentshlekher geruder, volt efsher emetser amol derhert vi bontshes markh-beyn hot unter der last geknakt; volt di velt mer tsayt gehat, volt emetser efsher amol bamerkt, az bontshe (oykh a mentsh) hot lebedikerheyt tsvey oysgeloshene oygn un shreklekh ayngefalene bakn; az afile ven er hot nor shoyn keyn last nit oyf di pleytses, iz im oykh der kop tsu der erd geboygn, glaykh er volt lebedikerheyt zayn keyver gezukht! voltn azoy veynik mentshn vi ferd in tramvey geven, volt efsher amol emetser gefregt: vu iz bontshe ahingekumen?! [11] ven men hot bontshen in shpitol arayngefirt, iz zayn vinkl in suterine nisht leydik geblibn -- es hobn deroyf tsen zayns glaykhn gevart, un tsvishn zikh dem vinkl "in flus" litsitirt; ven men hot'n fun shpitol-bet in toytn-shtibl arayngetrogn, hobn oyfn bet tsvantsik oreme kranke gevart... ven er iz aroys fun toytn-shtibl -- hot men tsvantsik harugem fun unter an ayngefaln hoyz gebrakht -- ver veyst vi lang er vet ruik voynen in keyver? ver veyst vifl es vartn shoyn oyf dem shtikl plats.... [12] shtil geboyrn, shtil gelebt, shtil geshtorbn un nokh shtiler bagrobn. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [13] nor nisht azoy iz geven oyf yener velt! dortn hot bontshes toyt a groysn ayndruk gemakht! [14] der groyser shoyfer fun meshiekhs tsaytn hot geklungen in ale zibn himlen: bontshe shvayg iz nifter gevorn! di greste malokhem mit di breytste fligl zenen gefloygn un eyner hot dem andern ibergegebn: bontshe iz "nisbakesh gevorn beyeshive shel mayle!" in ganeydn iz a rash, a simkhe, a geruder: "bontshe shvayg! a shpas bontshe shvayg!" [15] yunge malokhem|lekh mit brilyantene eygelekh, goldene drotarbetndike fligelekh un zilberne pantofelekh zenen bontshen antkegngelofn mit simkhe! der geroysh fun di fligl, dos klapn fun de pantofelekh un dos freylekhe lakhn fun di yunge, frishe, royzike maylekhlekh hot farfult ale himlen un iz tsugekumen biz tsum kisey-hakoved, un got aleyn hot oykh shoyn gevust, az bontshe shvayg kumt! [16] Avrom ovinu hot zikh in toyer fun himl geshtelt, di rekhte hant oysgeshtrekt tsum breytn "sholem aleykhem" un a ziser shmeykhl shaynt azoy hel oyf zayn altn ponem! [17] vos redlt azoy in himl? [18] dos hobn tsvey malokhem in ganeydn arayn far bontshes vegn a gingoldene fotershtul oyf redlekh gefirt! [19] vos hot azoy hel geblitst? [20] dos hot men durkhgefirt a goldene kroyn mit di tayerste shteyner gezetst! alts far bontshen! [21] nokh farn psak fun bezdn shel mayle? fregn di tsadikem farvundert un nisht gor on kine. [22] - - o! entfern di malokhem, dos vet zayn a proste puste forme! kegn bontshe shvayg vet afile der kateyger keyn vort in moyl nisht gefinen! di "dyele" vet doyern finf minut! - - ir shpilt zikh mit bontshe shvayg! - - _________________ [23] az di malokhem|lekh hobn bontshen gekhapt in der luft un opgeshpilt im a zemer; az Avrom ovinu hot im vi an altn kamerad di hant geshoklt; az er hot gehert, az zayn shtul iz greyt in ganeydn; az oyf zayn kop vart a kroyn; az in bezdn shel mayle vet men iber im keyn vort nisht redn -- hot bontshe, glaykh vi oyf yener velt, geshvign far shrek! ez iz im dos harts antgangen! er iz zikher, az dos muz zayn a kholem, oder a proster toes! [24] er iz tsu beyde gevoynt! nisht eyn mol hot im oyf yener velt ge|kholem|t, az er kloybt gelt oyf der podloge, gantse oytsres lign... un oyfgekhapt hot er zikh nokh a greserer kaptsn vi nekhtn... nisht eyn mol hot im emets far toes tsugeshmeykhlt, a gut vort gezogt un ibergedreyt zikh un oysgeshpign... [25] -- mayn mazl.-- trakht er -- iz shoyn azoy! [26] un er hot moyre gehat di oygn oyftsuhoybn, der kholem zol nisht farshvindn; er zol zikh nisht oyfkhapn ergets in a heyl tsvishn shlangen un ekdeshn! er hot moyre fun moyl a klang aroystsulozn, mit a glid a rir tsu ton -- men zol im nisht derkenen un avekshlaydern oyf kafakl... [27] er tsitert un hert nisht di malokhem|s komplimentn, zet nisht zeyer tantsn arum im, er entfert nisht Avrom ovinu oyfn hertslekhn "sholem aleykhem", un -- gefirt tsum bezdn shel mayle -- zogt er im keyn "gut morgn" nisht... [28] oyser zikh iz er far shrek! [29] un zayn shrek iz nokh greser gevorn, az er hot, nisht vilndik, derzen di podloge fun bezdn shel mayle. same alabaster mit brilyantn! "oyf aza podloge shteyen mayne fis!" -- er vert in gantsn farshtart! "ver veyst velkhn gvir, velkhn rov, velkhn tsadik men meynt... er vet kumen -- vet zayn mayn fintsterer sof!" [30] far shrek hot er afile nisht gehert vi der prezident hot befeyresh oysgerufn: "di dyele fun bontshe shvayg!" un, derlangendik dem meylits yoysher di aktn, gezogt: "lez, nor bekitser!" [31] mit bontshen dreyt zikh der gantser salon. es roysht im in di oyern. inem geroysh hert er dokh ale mol sharfer un sharfer dem malekh|s meylits|es zis kohl vi a fidl: [32] -- zayn nomen -- hert er -- hot im gepast vi tsu a shlank layb a kleyd fun an artist a shnayders hant. [33] -- vos redt er? -- fregt zikh bontshe, un er hert vi an umgeduldiker kohl hakt iber un zogt: [34] -- nor on mesholem! [35] -- er hot zikh keyn mol -- heybt vayter on der meylits yoysher -- oyf keynem nisht geklogt, nisht oyf got, nisht oyf layt; in zayn oyg hot keyn mol nisht oyfgeflamt keyn funk fun has, er hot es keyn mol nisht oyfgehoybn mit a pretenzye tsum himl. [36] bontshe farshteyt vayter nisht a vort, un dos harte kohl shlogt vayter iber: [37] -- on retorik! [38] -- Iyev hot nisht oysgehaltn. er iz umgliklekher geven -- [39] -- faktn, trukene faktn! ruft nokh umgeduldiker der prezes. [40] -- tsu akht tog hot men im mal geven -- [41] -- nor on realizm! [42] -- a moyel a fusher hot dos blut nisht farhaltn -- [43] -- vayter!" [44] -- er hot alts geshvign (firt vayter der meylits yoysher) afile ven di muter iz im geshtorbn un er hot tsu draytsn yor a shtifmame bakumen... a shtifmame a shlang, a marshas.... [45] -- meynt men dokh efsher fort mikh? trakht bontshe -- [46] -- on insinuatsyes oyf drite perzonen, beyzert zikh der prezes. [47] -- zi flegt im kargn dem bisn...eyernekhtik farshimlt broyt... hor-flaks far fleysh... un zi hot kave mit smetene getrunken -- [48] -- tsu der zakh! shrayt der prezes. [49] -- zi hot im far dos keyn negl nisht gekargt un zayn broyn-un-bloy layb flegt oyskukn durkh ale lekher fun zayne farshimlt-tserisene kleyder... vinter in di greste frest hot er ir borves oyfn hoyf holts gehakt, un di hent zenen tsu yung un tsu shvakh geven, di kletslekh tsu dik, di hak tsu shtumpik... nisht eyn mol hot er zikh di fis opgefroyrn, nor geshvign hot er, afile zikh farn foter -- [50] -- farn shiker! lakht arayn der kateyger, un bontshen vert kalt in ale eyvrem -- [51] -- nisht geklogt, endikt der meylits yoysher dem zats. [52] -- un shtendik elnt -- firt er vayter -- keyn khaver, keyn talmetoyre, keyn kheyder... keyn gants beged... keyn fraye minut -- [53] -- faktn -- ruft vayter der prezes. [54] -- er hot geshvign afile shpeter, ven der foter hot'n shiker|erheyt a mol ongekhapt bay di hor un in mitn a shneyendiker vinter-nakht aroysgevorfn fun shtub! er hot zikh shnel oyfgehoybn fun shney un iz antlofn vu di oygn hobn im getrogn... [55] oyfn gantsn veg hot er geshvign... baym grestn hunger hot er nor mit di oygn gebetlt! [56] ersht in a shvindlendiker, naser friling-nakht, iz er in a groyser shtot arayngekumen, er iz arayn vi a tropn in a yam un dokh hot er di eygene nakht in arest farbrakht... er hot geshvign, nisht gefregt farvos, far ven? er iz aroys un di shverste arbet gezukht! nor er hot geshvign! [57] shverer far der arbet iz geven zi tsu gefinen -- er hot geshvign! [58] bodndik zikh in kaltn shveys, tsuzamengedrikt unter der shverster last, baym grestn kramp in leydikn mogn -- hot er geshvign! [59] bashpritst fun fremder blote, bashpign fun fremde mayler, ge|yogt fun tratuarn mit der shverster last arop in gasn tshvishn droshkes, karetn un tramveys, kukndik yede minut dem toyt in di oygn arayn -- hot er geshvign! [60] er hot keynmol nisht ibergerekhnt, vifl pud last es kumt oys oyf a groshn, vifl mol er iz gefaln bay yedn gang far a drayer, vifl mol er hot shir nisht di neshome oysgeshpign, monendik zayn fardinst; er hot nisht gerekhnt, nist zayn, nisht yenems mazl, nor geshvign! [61] zayn eygn fardinst hot er oykh nisht hoykh gemont! vi a betler hot er zikh bay der tir geshtelt, un in di oygn hot zikh a hintishe bakoshe gemolt! "kum shpeter" un er iz farshvundn shtil vi a shotn, kedey shpeter nokh shtiler oystsubetlen zayn fardinst! [62] er hot afile geshvign, ven men flegt im opraysn fun zayn fardinst, oder araynvarfn a falshe matbeye!... [63] er hot als geshvign... [64] -- meynt men dokh take mikh! treyst zikh bontshe. ________ [65] -- eyn mol -- firt vayter der meylits yoysher nokh a trunk vaser -- iz in zayn lebn an enderung geshen... es iz durkhgefloygn a kotsh oyf gumene reder mit tseploshete ferd... der shmayser iz shoyn lang fun vaytns gelegn mit a tseshpoltenem kop oyfn bruk... fun di dershrokene ferds mayler shpritst der shoym, fun unter di podkoves yogn zikh funken, di oygn blishtshen vi brenendike shturkatsn in a fintsterer nakht -- un in kotsh zitst nisht toyt nisht lebedik a mentsh! [66] un bontshe hot di ferd farhaltn! [67] un der gerateveter iz geven a yid a bal-tsdoke un hot bontshen di toyve nisht fargesn! [68] er hot im dem ge|harg|etns baytsh ibergegebn; bontshe iz a shmayser gevorn! nokh mer -- er hot im khasene gemakht, nokh mer -- er hot im afile mit a kind farzorgt -- [69] un bontshe hot a l t s geshvign! [70] -- mikh meynt men, mikh! bafestikt zikh bontshe in der deye, un hot dokh nisht di hoze an oyg tsu varfn oyfn bezdn shel mayle"... [71] er hert zikh vayter ayn tsum malekh meylits: [72] -- er hot geshvign afile ven zayn bal-toyve hot in kurtsn bankrotirt un im zayn loyn nisht batsolt... [73] er hot geshvign afile ven dos vayb iz fun im antlofn un ibergelozt im a kind fun der brust... [74] er hot geshvign afile mit fuftsn yor shpeter, ven dos kind iz oysgevaksn un genug shtark geven -- bontshen aroystsuvarfn fun shtub... [75] -- mikh meynt men, mikh! freyt zikh bontshe. _____________ [76] -- er hot afile geshvign -- heybt on veykher un troyeriker der malekh meylits -- ven der eygener bal-toyve hot zikh mit ale oysgeglaykht, nor im keyn groshn skhires nisht tsurikgegebn -- un afile demolt, ven er iz bontshen (vayter forndik oyf a kotsh mit gumene reder un ferd vi leybn) ibergeforn.... [77] er hot alts geshvign! er hot afile der politsey nisht gezogt, ver es hot im tsurekhtgemakht... ___________ [78] er hot geshvign afile in shpitol, vu men meg shoyn shrayen! [79] er hot geshvign afile ven der dokter hot on fuftsn kopekes nisht gevolt tsugeyn tsu zayn bet, un der vekhter, on finf kopekes - toyshn im di vesh! [80] er hot geshvign baym goyses|n -- er hot geshvign baym shtarbn!.... keyn vort kegn got, keyn vort kegn layt! [81] -- diksi! __________ [82] bontshe heybt on vayter tsu tsitern oyfn gantsn layb. er veyst az nokhn meylits yoysher geyt der kateyger! ver veyst vos d e r vet zogn! bontshe aleyn hot zayn lebn nisht gedenkt. nokh oyf yener velt hot er yede minut di frierdike fargesn... der malekh-meylits hot im alts dermont....ver veyst vos der kateyger vet im dermonen! [83] -- raboysay! heybt on a sharf-shtekhndik-briendik kohl -- nor er hakt op -- [84] -- raboysay, heybt er nokh a mol on, nor veykher un hakt vayter op. [85] endlekh hert zikh, fun dem eygenem haldz aroys, kemat a veykh kohl: [86] -- raboysay! er hot geshvign! vel ikh oykh shvaygn! [87] es vert shtil -- un fun fornt hert zikh a naye veykhe tsiterdike shtime: [88] -- bontshe, mayn kind bontshe! ruft im vi a harpe... mayn hartsik kind bontshe! [89] in bontshen tseveynt zikh dos harts...er volt shoyn atsind di oygn geefnt, nor zey zenen farfintstert fun trern... es iz im azoy zis-veynendik keyn mol nisht geven... "mayn kind," "mayn bontshe" -- zayt di muter iz geshtorbn, hot er aza kohl un azoyne verter nisht gehert -- [90] -- mayn kind! firt vayter der av-bezdn -- du host alts gelitn un geshvign! es iz nishto keyn gants glid, keyn gants beyndl in dayn layb on a vund, on a blutik ort, es iz nishto keyn eyn bahaltn ort in dayn neshome, vu es zol nisht blutn... un du host alts geshvign... [91] dort hot men zikh nisht farshtanen deroyf! du aleyn host gor efsher nisht gevust, az du kenst shrayen, un az fun dayn geshrey kenen yerikhoy|s moyern tsitern un aynfaln? du aleyn host fun dayn farshlofenem koyekh nisht gevust... [92] oyf yener velt hot men dayn shvaygn nisht baloynt, nor dort iz der oylem-ha|sheker, do, oyfn oylem-ho|emes vestu dayn loyn bakumen! [93] dir vet dos bezdn shel mayle nisht mishpetn, dir vet es nisht pasken|en. 1 [94] dir vet es keyn kheylek nisht oys- un nisht opteyln: nem dir, vos du vilst! a l e s iz dayn! [95] bontshe heybt dos ershte mol di oygn oyf! er vert vi farblendt fun der likht fun ale zaytn. ales blankt, ales blishtshet, fun ales yogn shtraln: fun di vent, fun di keylem, fun di malokhem, fun di dayonem! same englen! [96] er lozt di mide oygn arop! [97] -- take! -- fregt er mesupek un farshemt. [98] -- zikher! -- entfert fest der av-bezdn! zikher, zog ikh dir, az ales iz dayn. ales in himl geher tsu dir! klayb un nem, vos du vilst, du nemst nor bay dir aleyn! [99] -- take? fregt bontshe nokh a mol, nor shoyn mit a zikhern kohl. [100] -- take! take! take! -- entfert men im oyf zikher fun ale zaytn. [101] -- nu, oyb azoy -- shmeykhlt bontshe -- vil ikh take ale tog, in der fri a heyse bulke mit frisher puter! [102] dayonem un malokhem hobn aropgelozt di kep farshemt; der kateyger hot zikh tselakht. ___________ Endnote *) In Yiddish the title is often given as Bontsye, a variant pronunciation of the name. The meaning of the title is literally 'Bontshe be Silent', but the prevalent translation is 'Bontshe the Silent'; 'Bontshe Silent' has also been used. The text here is based on _Y.-L. Perets; ale verk_. nyu-york: tsiko bikher farlag, 1947, band tsvey, zz' 412-420. This text leaves much to be desired. The form 'Bontshe' is used here (though the Tsiko text has 'Bontsye') and the orthography is modernized, e.g. inderfri = in der fri; eynmol = eyn mol. Paragraphs have been numbered for the reader's convenience. Corrections in the text: [33] ir > er; hakt im iber > hakt iber; [56] shvindldiker > shvindlendiker; [79] kopikes > kopekes; kop. > kopekes. I have not followed the Tsiko text emphases by letter-spacing. The word for 'voice'is romanized _kohl_ to avoid confusion with its homonym _kol_ 'all'. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.014 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.015 10 September 1999 Rosheshone Double Issue 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) Review Essay: What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for His Work -- A Review of Five Recent Books (Joseph Sherman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 September 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters -- The Bashevis Canon The radical divide between the Yiddish Bashevis and the English Singer has long been evident to many, though how the critical split would be treated by Bashevis/Singer scholars has been uncertain. At an international Bashevis conference at University College, University of London in 1993 -- continuing a theme raised earlier at a Yiddish conference at Oxford in 1979 -- several speakers stressed the need to define the Bashevis canon. Two of the authors whose books are reviewed in this issue of the TMR and many of those who took part in the recent Bashevis Singer conference in Austin, Texas, participated in that London conference. The Texas conference ably continued a line of investigation opened much earlier. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 September 1999 From: Joseph Sherman <071Jos@muse.arts.wits.ac.za> Subject: What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for His Work -- A Review of Five Recent Books, Part One What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for His Work: A Review of Five Recent Books, Part One by Joseph Sherman Lester Goran. _The Bright Streets of Surfside: The Memoir of a Friendship with Isaac Bashevis Singer_. (Kent and London: Kent State University Press, 1994). xiv + 176, illus. Janet Hadda. _Isaac Bashevis Singer: A Life_. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). x + 243, illus. Dvorah Telushkin. _Master of Dreams: A Memoir of Isaac Bashevis Singer_. (New York: William Morrow, 1997). xiv + 350, illus. Agata Tuszynska. _Lost Landscapes: In Search of Isaac Bashevis Singer and the Jews of Poland_. Translated from Polish by Madeline G. Levine. (New York: William Morrow, 1998). viii + 184. Israel Zamir. _Journey to My Father, Isaac Bashevis Singer_. Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara Harshav (New York: Arcade, 1995). x + 240, illus. Part One Sometimes there is value in pausing before reviewing important books. "Some books are to be tasted," says Francis Bacon, "others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" ('On Studies', 1605). Taken together, the volumes reviewed here complement one another, and deserve reflection in one another's light. I am glad therefore not to have rushed from cursory glance to superficial remark. Between 1994 and 1998, five different books about the life of I. B. Singer have appeared: one a full-scale scholarly biography, three, in different ways, memoirs of personal relationships, and one a journey of discovery by a young Polish journalist. All offer valuable insights into the character of a writer who, for better or worse, in the most striking way, made normally indifferent general readers aware of the Yiddish language and the Jewish world that language expressed. In attempting to assess the significance of these books, the chief question must surely be: How do they help us to understand the work of this erratic writer, who continues to excite the same conflicting responses as much after his death as he did throughout his long life? What, in other words, is the value of biographies of literary figures? That we know so little about the life of Shakespeare is often bemoaned. Would a more scrupulous recording of the minutiae of his life add to our understanding of his work? The New Criticism, so popular in academia some forty years ago, rigorously denied that it would, insisting, with the monomania characteristic of doctrinaire schools of literary criticism, that the personal lives of writers were unimportant, and that their texts alone were the proper objects of study. Nowadays we are aware of the cramping narrowness of this approach, and value biographical information for its capacity to open wider literary insights. If we knew more about Shakespeare's life, particularly from accounts by his contemporaries, we could probably solve the vexed mystery of the Sonnets, for example. A book long celebrated as the greatest literary biography ever written is Boswell's _Life of Johnson_ (1791). Where does its merit lie? Surely not merely in faithfully recording Johnson's table-talk and eccentric habits. Its true worth is its capacity to set before us a three-dimensional living figure, all his imperfections on his head, who steadily articulates the supremely ethical tenets that everywhere inform Johnson's magisterial body of work. What Boswell does is to open a massive door into the great scholar's mind. Comparing the five books under review here, it is doubtful whether the Boswell treatment was quite what Singer had in mind for himself when he encouraged his devoted factotum Dvorah Menashe Telushkin: "It is good you are writing everything down. He did this, Bosvell [sic], for the famous Johnson. You vill [sic] write your memoirs one day." (Telushkin, p.2). The evidence all these books present is that as he aged, Singer grew obsessional about a definitive biography -- but one to be written by himself. Despite having published three volumes of what he termed "fictionalised autobiographies," despite having reworked the same tired old events of his early life into whining and wearisome novels like _The Certificate_ (posthumously published in English in 1992), he was convinced "that there was something of himself, a solitary Jamesian 'great, good place' where lay truths about himself that only he knew" (Goran, 163). In the end, however, as Goran came to believe from his bruising friendship, "[Singer] reached into what he thought was hidden and discovered nothing there. And he shrank from the spectacle of his golden city ruined and finally empty" (Goran, 165). The dominating question preoccupying serious scholars of Singer's work today was posed at a conference, held at the end of February 1999 at the University of Texas at Austin, where some twenty Yiddish scholars of Singer's work probed the relationship between "The Real Bashevis and His Creation -- I.B. Singer". This fundamental contradistinction is therefore a major concern of Janet Hadda's carefully researched "life." Hadda puts into clear perspective the irritatingly familiar rage of a considerable number of Yiddish writers against Bashevis. The veteran Yiddish journalist and publicist Heshl Klepfish [Heszel Klepfisz], indeed, is still fuming: "I never wrote about Singer. That's filth. ... Singer fantasizes. ... My father didn't commit all those filthy acts that religious Jews, even rabbis, do in Singer. ... My family were ... decent, worthy of respect ... not the types you find in Singer: degenerates, abnormal, sick people" (quoted in Tuszynska, 116-117). Dispassionately, Hadda identifies the need of some Yiddish writers and critics for a taxonomy of Yiddish writing, and the stubborn, wholly unqualified assertion that Bashevis's brother was a "better" writer. To contemporary eyes, those Yiddish critics who reviled Bashevis's work present the sad spectacle of a clique that is afraid to believe that all literature, in every language, is integrally part of world culture. >From the moment the English version of _The Family Moskat_ (1950) emerged modestly enough in American bookstores under the imprint of his brother's English publishers Alfred Knopf, the howls of outrage began. As Bashevis began attracting a growing body of readers among the non-Jewish majority, he was rejected by some of the leading voices of what was left of contemporary Yiddish writing. The final insult for the latter came when he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Chaim Grade spoke for the majority of them when he greeted the news with the lament that this recognition was "a great tragedy for the Jewish people" (Hadda, 172). At the same time, as Hadda is at pains to show, among the "goyim" I.B. Singer's public image evolved into an elfin figure from a vanished world, endowed with saintly virtue and possessed of mystical truths. He presented himself as a gentle old man feeding pigeons in New York's parks, a witty speaker at innumerable venues, and a becomingly modest recipient of dozens of honorary doctorates. His detractors denounced this image as a fabrication designed to curry favour with the uninformed and sensation-seeking. Singer's millions of fans, however, most of whom knew little of Yiddish literature and less about Jews, revered him as an icon. Information brought to light after his death has now compelled us to reassess this old conflict of views; to wonder whether, after all, there is more than a little truth in the contention that "[Bashevis] is a cynic above all, a very smart, very witty cynic. And he laughs at his readers. He doesn't respect them. But he knows how to give them what they are looking for" (quoted in Tuszynska, 154). How are we to get some idea of the "real" Bashevis, to understand what motivated his work in both Yiddish and English? How would such an understanding, if we could have it, aid in revaluing what he produced? Anecdotes about him, either favourable or unfavourable, are not much help unless we have some framework within which to place them. Janet Hadda's study admirably provides it. Her book received mixed reviews when it first appeared -- some I read bewailed the author's "psychobabble"; others detected a perverse "feminist" bias. Neither of these putative defects are even vaguely apparent to readers who approach her book with some knowledge of Bashevis/Singer's work, knowledge Hadda herself abundantly possesses. Furthermore, her qualifications and experience not only as an informed scholar of literature but also as a practising psychoanalyst give her a unique perspective from which to examine the driving forces behind a writer who was simultaneously a rigid political conservative and a non-observant Orthodox Jew, a tormented exile from his real home, Jewish Poland, and consequently a guilt-ridden survivor of the Holocaust, a hack journalist and a gifted teller of tales, a hater of American values and an opportunist with a shrewd eye on American chances, an author dependent upon translators for his commercial success yet resentful of all of them, a millionaire who remained demeaningly stingy. What are we to make of all this? Janet Hadda makes a great deal. Where Hadda's book is particularly persuasive is in its detailed probe of Bashevis's upbringing in an appallingly dysfunctional family. Hadda usefully -- though perhaps a little too uncritically -- draws on Bashevis's memoir _Di mishpokhe_ (serialized in _Forverts_ between 2 February 1982 and 4 February 1983 when Bashevis was nearly eighty years old), significantly never translated into English. Singer, of course, writes endlessly about himself, and is often at his most sterile, repetitive and boring when he does so. Among many other brazenly ignorant assertions about a modern literature he read little and understood less, Singer castigated Proust for the very solipsism in which he himself indulges to tedious excess, without any of the delicacy, subtlety or finesse of Proust. From his self- absorption, Proust produced a masterpiece; from his own, Singer produced mounds of material for the biographer seeking to understand why he wrote at all. And Hadda finds much that is revealing. The mismated parents of the four Singer children -- three of whom, in different ways, became distinguished writers -- created, through personal friction exacerbated by grinding poverty, a home environment that traumatized their children. As Hadda points out, "despite his attempt to emphasize the beauty of Krochmalna Street and its inhabitants, especially his father, Yitskhok was faced with the same issues that had occupied Israel Joshua and Hinde Esther in their recreations of the past. ... how to tolerate the pain and loneliness of parental neglect" (Hadda, p. 46). Bashevis spent a lifetime idealizing his parents, but his praises can now be seen both as expressions of guilt at having survived, and as weaving dreams about what might have been rather than recording what actually was. To this emotional conflict and its effect on Bashevis's oeuvre, Hadda gives deserved weight: "Over time, the stories assumed such power that [Singer] confused them with reality. ... [he] understood that his compulsion to write stemmed from misery" (Hadda, 66). In addition to anatomizing the parental burden Singer had to bear, Hadda convincingly identifies the two most formative influences on Bashevis's creativity. The first, with all its ambivalence, was that of his elder brother Israel Joshua, which Bashevis himself repeatedly acknowledged, especially after his brother's premature death in 1944. Hadda's study counterpoints Bashevis's fraternal encomiums with his intense sibling rivalry, stressing what Bashevis always denied: "In 1944, he experienced an artistic dream together with a personal nightmare: he got the upper hand in his struggle with the gigantic influence of his brother, but he did so literally over Israel Joshua's dead body" (Hadda, 108). We may now suspect that the posthumous praise he lavished on his brother's memory was also an act of expiation, called forth by another kind of guilt. The second major influence, however, is not widely recognized, and in pinpointing it Hadda makes a seminal contribution to our understanding of that area in which Bashevis's work achieved its greatest notoriety -- his portrayal of women. This was the turbulence of his sister Hinde Esther, a deeply disturbed woman as cruelly abandoned by her family in adult life as in childhood and adolescence. Suffering from what Hadda diagnoses as a "type of epilepsy known as partial complex seizures" (Hadda, 43), desperate for love in a family where neither parent was capable of offering it, Hinde Esther turned to her brothers, becoming "the source of warmth and affection for the rest of the family ... little Yitskhok vividly recalled his sister's uninhibited and passionate displays of feeling" (Hadda, 42). But her physical and psychosomatic illnesses caused violent mood swings, and her epileptic seizures were terrifying, so that "Yitskhok was ... raised in constant awareness of bizarre and unexplained behavior." This combination, Hadda persuasively concludes, "caused lifelong complications for Yitskhok in his associations with women: he forever oscillated between attraction and loathing, fascination and terror, cordiality and aloofness, friendship and rancor." (Hadda, 45). As proof of Hadda's assessment, we learn from another source that as late as 1981, during the fraudulent "classes" he gave at the University of Miami, Singer -- who always spoke so freely of his powers as a lover -- had to be moved from an informal discussion group to a more conventional classroom arrangement so that "he could be seated somewhat back from the awareness of pressing femininity round our long table that disturbed and provoked him" (Goran, 53). This discordance intensified with age, plunging to its rawest depths during the last fifteen years of his life, when Dvorah Menashe Telushkin came to work for him. The pain of this experience is the substance of Telushkin's memoir which, while often elegiac in tone, barely disguises the hurt she evidently continues to feel. In her opening chapter, a scene she sets in the Singer apartment she has helped to clear after Isaac's death, Telushkin utters the book's keynote protest: "Did you abandon everyone? ... Was this the theme of your life? The sole purpose? Are you happy now that you have managed to deceive every human being you ever touched?" (Telushkin, 12). This reproach can be levelled at every one of Singer's major characters, all of whom emerge from these new source materials as endless reworkings of Singer's own life. Perhaps that is why Singer kept on deriding Proust: not only to get a cheap laugh from the uninformed, but also as unconscious self-exposure. Singer stands revealed as a writer defined by the Holocaust, one who spiritually never left Poland, and whose abiding concern after 1945 was to memorialize a destroyed world. As a result, most of his major works after _Der sotn in goray_ (1935) can be read as fictionalised "yisker-bikher" ('memorial books'). His thematic range, as those who have read all his published work will readily testify, is extraordinarily narrow, moving from a brilliant recreation of a lost world to a hack retelling of what purport to be other survivors' stories indifferently transformed into what are at best anecdotes, at worst unstructured "mayses," poorly rendered into cliche-ridden English, and published only to underprop a talent seriously on the wane after 1970. That Singer was almost wholly ignorant of modern literature -- obvious from his deplorably shallow quips about Modernist masters like Joyce -- is testified to by Goran (p.49); his son Israel Zamir records that when his father was testing him out to see if he would do as a cheap Hebrew translator, Bashevis asked him if he had "read any Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Adam Mickiewicz, Knut Hamsun, Kafka" (Zamir, 100). This is basically where Singer's reading of European literature begins and ends, and even there we find interminable gibes that "Kafka was a genius, but one Kafka in a century is enough." Of other art forms Bashevis knew nothing and cared nothing; his cultural world is bleakly summed up as "[t]he hermetically sealed world of Isaac Singer -- complete and airless, no art or architecture in it, no room in it for anyone else's fiction or music or film ..." (Goran, 56). From such severe limitations Bashevis undoubtedly created some works of genius, but only the winnowing of time will properly determine which these are. For the time being, we must try to discover what exactly Bashevis did in fact write. To assist this search, these new sources give us a startling picture of Singer's view of translations, and the work of those translators and editors on whom his international accessibility, and hence his fame, so greatly depended. Since current scholarly re-evaluation of Singer's oeuvre centres on the relationship of Yitskhok Bashevis the Yiddish writer to the English author Isaac Bashevis Singer, this area repays examination in some detail. As early as 1967, only fifteen years after Singer had started attracting an English readership, his son records that he and his father went to New York's 92nd Street YMHA to hear a lecture by that year's Hebrew Nobel Laureate S.Y. Agnon. Singer's remark about Agnon, whose work he knew well, is highly revealing: "Too bad there aren't any translators so his books could be distributed widely" (Zamir, 118). Evidently this was not the fate Singer had in mind for his own work. Here Hadda's study again provides essential information. As is well known, Singer's most important introduction "to American readers who could appreciate him was the 1952 appearance, in the prestigious _Partisan Review_, of 'Gimpel the Fool,' masterfully translated by Saul Bellow" (Hadda, 130). Bellow, Hadda reveals, was initially reluctant to take on this task, but was pressed into it by Eliezer Greenberg, then collaborating with Irving Howe on their celebrated collection of Yiddish stories in English. Bellow's translation was a superb success -- a happy combination of the best talents of two Yiddish-speaking Jewish writers who both later won the Nobel Prize. This, it turns out, was precisely the trouble: "Long after the success of 'Gimpel,' when the two met at a social gathering, Bellow asked Bashevis why he had never been invited to translate additional stories. Bashevis replied that if the works were greeted with acclaim, 'they'll say it's you, not me.' ... Many years later, on the occasion of his Nobel award, Bashevis would stoop to mock Bellow, a fellow laureate and the very man who, although eleven years younger than Bashevis, had nonetheless managed to 'put him on the map' of English-language literary life" (Hadda, 130-131). Here is the clearest illustration of Singer's paranoid churlishness in respect of his translators. Privately he knew he depended on them, but publicly he was unwilling to concede them any significance. [end of Part One] _____________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.015 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm  _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.016 10 September 1999 2) Review Essay: What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for his Work -- A Review of Five Recent Books (Joseph Sherman) 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 9 September 1999 From: Joseph Sherman <071Jos@muse.arts.wits.ac.za> Subject: What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for His Work -- A Review of Five Recent Books, Part Two What's the Corpus? Bashevis / Singer and the Search for His Work: A Review of Five Recent Books, Part Two by Joseph Sherman Part Two In his earliest American years, when he employed so gifted a professional as Mirra Ginsburg, she refused to take Singer's dictation, insisting instead on working directly from the Yiddish texts, and revising her work with him only after she had completed it alone. Ginsburg's English translations of Singer's short stories -- among them "Tseytl un Rikl" (published as "Zeitel and Rickel" in _The Seance and Other Stories, 1968) -- are among the finest we have, a fact easily verified because all the tales Ginsburg laboured over have published Yiddish texts that permit detailed comparison. Despite this -- or because of it -- Singer soon parted ways with Ginsburg, a rift ostensibly caused by Bashevis's nasty reluctance to pay properly for first- rate services, particularly from someone who knew Yiddish well. The acrimony between them is evident from a sour interview with Ginsburg conducted by Paul Kresh and published in his collection of Singer anecdotes -- many still exceptionally valuable -- _The Magician of West 86th Street_ (New York: Dial, 1979). Given her expertise, Ginsburg, a source of several scathing exposes of Singer's mean-spiritedness in Hadda's biography, inevitably called forth Singer's deepest animus against the translators on whom he was so reliant. Hadda illustrates this with a revealing incident. In 1978 Ginsburg was invited to a reception at the Swedish Consulate: "At first [Ginsburg] did not understand why she had been included. Then she saw Singer and enquired after her friend and colleague, Elizabeth Shub [the editor who first persuaded Singer to write stories for children]. Explaining that Ms. Shub had not been invited, Singer added: 'She's just a translator.' Ginsburg retorted: 'Well, who am I?' She understood that Singer may well have suspected that he was being 'interviewed' for the Nobel prize, and that he was not inclined to be generous to his long-time collaborators." (Hadda, 169). Singer's meanness reached its nadir in his despicable public treatment of Rachel MacKenzie, the gifted literary editor of the _New Yorker_, whose immaculate taste and precise editing did so much to make Singer's stories shine -- and win tremendous acclaim -- in the glittering magazine for which she worked. Over several chapters Telushkin describes with distress the deteriorating relationship between MacKenzie and Singer, quoting extensively from correspondence that passed between them. MacKenzie's letters, overflowing with admiration, are written with old-world graciousness. Yet as Telushkin tells it, "about a year after winning the Nobel Prize ... [Singer] stopped crediting his editors and translators. On _The Dick Cavett Show_, Isaac told his [television talk-show] host, 'Vhen [sic] it comes to my stories, I often dictate the translation to someone who knows English vell [sic]. My novels are translated for me. But all the editing I do myself" (Telushkin, 115). Singer pointedly chose to ignore a subtly-worded rebuke MacKenzie sent him in the letter in which she announced her retirement, for health reasons, from _The New Yorker_. In private conversation with Dvorah Menashe, however, MacKenzie let her mask of refined forbearance slip: "Oh, the ego on that man! ... He never really gave his translators or editors enough credit, you know" (Telushkin, 114-116). Penny-pinching, though always a hallmark of his dealings with those who worked for him, in this case took second place to Singer's near-pathological refusal to acknowledge the degree to which good translators were indispensable to him. For this reason he kept switching translators from year to year, getting people progressively less and less qualified to undertake the work but who, since they knew no Yiddish, could not justifiably claim to have any creative share in it. Telushkin's memoir has been criticised in earlier reviews for her sustained rendering of Singer's spoken English with a spelling that stresses its Polish-Yiddish accent. To my mind, however, this is a remarkably successful literary device that admirably serves a dual purpose. Quite apart from any "charm" it undoubtedly conveys in recreating a living, speaking Singer for the reader, this writerly stratagem highlights Singer's fundamentally _poor_ command of idiomatic English. This matters not at all in speech, where he is fluent and witty and perfectly capable of communicating everything he wants to. But such poor command of English idiom is fatal for a writer with pretensions to being fully bilingual: "'English is my "second original,"' Isaac always said. He was referring to the fact that the foreign translations of his work were done from the English versions, not the Yiddish. 'And because of this I must labour over the revisions. A story that will vone [sic] day be translated needs to be vone [sic] hundred fifty percent good since it will lose fifty percent of its power in translation'" (quoted in Telushkin, 47). As a telling comparison, one need only recall the work of Nabokov, another of Singer's countless literary _betes noirs_. A native speaker of Russian, Nabokov commanded idiomatic English to perfection; such command alone enables him to set up the brilliant literary games he plays in his remarkable novels, distinguished by, as much as dependent on, their dazzling style to achieve their purposes. Nothing could be further from Singer's own case or ability. It is of course nothing to the point here that Singer strives after a style completely antithetical to that of Nabokov, and is wholly and generically a different kind of writer. What is very much to the point, however, is that as a _Yiddish_ writer, Bashevis depends on the power of his style -- praised even by the harshest and most puritanical of his Yiddishist critics -- to achieve the effects central to his themes. In English, he cannot achieve such effects simply because he does not know the language well enough. The evidence for this, and for the deteriorating quality of the work his "translators" were steadily required to do, comes in a number of revealing insights. Lester Goran, himself a novelist with six published titles to his credit and a professor of English literature in addition, was charmed into working with Singer on some of the pieces that appeared in his final collection of stories, _The Death of Methuselah_ (1988). In the published volume containing twenty stories, Goran is credited as the co-translator, with "the author", of six; of the remaining fourteen, five are credited as being "translated by the author" alone, one each is credited to Ruth Schachner Finkel and Joseph Singer, and the remaining seven are credited to Deborah [sic] Menashe. The ubiquitous "Author's Note" to this volume awards its grudging thanks with calculated expediency: "All the stories in this collection were edited by my friend and redactor of many years Robert Giroux. Many thanks to him and to all the translators who have helped me prepare this, my tenth collection of stories in English." (_Methuselah_, ii). What lay behind all this apparent blandness is exposed in the books now before us. That Singer relied, far more than he would ever admit, on both translators and editors is obvious from the comment he made to Goran in the earliest stages of their decade-long relationship: "You are the ghost of Rachel MacKenzie ... You will win the Nobel Prize too ... God sent you. He knew I needed you when Rachel MacKenzie died and He sent you" (Goran, 3-4). On his devoted Dvorah he heaped similar extravagant blandishments: "You are a cleveh [sic] baby ... Let me tell you, you may not be able to spell, but you have an excellent taste in literature, and an excellent style" (Telushkin, 13, 47). Singer's method of "translation" in his last two decades is more or less identically described in two separate memoirs: "He would hold the Yiddish original in his lap and translate directly from the page. Isaac's power of concentration ... [enabled him] ... to sit and dictate for hours ..." (Telushkin, 33). "['Translating' with Singer] was actually a clerical refinement of transcription more than a literary exercise. He read to the 'translator' in English, putting his Yiddish into a form the auditor could understand, and then the translator put the words down into grammatical or, at best, more idiomatic usage" (Goran, 4). Both recollections also corroborate a far more devastating revelation: Singer did not understand English well enough to distinguish the fresh from the hackneyed phrase, the vigorous from the tired idiom, the life-giving from the death-dealing colloquialism. For Dvorah, wide-eyed with veneration, "he worked tirelessly over every line, every word. Jumping up for a word finder, a thesaurus, looking for synonyms and antonyms, flipping back and forth through his pages, he would repeat with infectious energy, 'Vee [sic] will polish it until it vill [sic] shine'" (Telushkin, 45). Goran, more knowledgeable about writing, notes that "Singer ... wanted colloquialisms or direct slang in the dialogue or the idiomatic in the narration. He was delighted to hear explanations of slang, breaking off our work and almost clapping his hands with pleasure at the derivations of words and phrases" (Goran, 4-5). This is the delight of a foreigner learning a new language and encountering usages that excite him only because he has not come across them before. Lack of facility denies him the capacity to know whether or not these usages have dated, what register they currently occupy in the language as it is received by educated native readers, how quickly they have become confined to a particular period or milieu light years removed from a new context into which they are incongruously thrust. Singer, as Goran describes with bitterness, never tired of objecting to their student's contemporary references to makes of automobiles (like Mercedes) or the names of film stars (like Bette Davis) on the grounds that "in a hundred years from now no one will know what these things are". Ironically, however, he himself was totally deaf to the datedness of English vernacular in a way he never was in his native Yiddish. Goran records Singer's enthusiasm for a student story that was "synthetic ... [employing] sentimental, television tough-guy talk of the fifties. ... He exulted over words like 'clobber,' which I explained to him one day. He liked the expression 'out of sight'. He liked 'buzz off' and 'get out of town.' Without resistance, he fell over himself in the students' sweep of fifty years of outdated language and my-feet-are-killing-me kind of hostess prose" (Goran 109). In such few of Singer's published Yiddish texts as we have, their deployment of different registers of speech, of idiomatic usage, slang and colloquialisms to create a character's occupation, education, or social pretension, or through description to evoke with haunting authenticity a period of Jewish life centuries before, is unsurpassed: "'Singer was a master of the Yiddish language. ... What a style! ... He has an exceptional mastery of the language, which is why no translation can possibly convey it. ... He lived in one of those little towns ... that were the source of the Yiddish language. He knew all its colors and shapes'" (quoted in Tuszynska, 110). The English versions of the same texts, by contrast, surrender their Yiddish stylistic mastery to trite American cliches because, despite all his grandiose posturing, Singer never mastered the English language. Moreover, in Englishing his later tales Telushkin steadily came to recognise that Singer consciously emasculated his Yiddish to pander to the taste of his American readers: "One important conflict ... involved my tendency to make literal translations, especially of [Yiddish] idiomatic phrases. Isaac always tried to find an English equivalent or a condensed English phrase; it was the eternal shame of the Jewish immigrant, his overwhelming need _not_ to sound like a "greenhorn". But in translation, I believed, too much of the flavour would be lost by accommodation to English expressions. ... The native expressions are vital and vivid and give the flavour to the original. But Isaac was firm." (Telushkin, 224). This "firmness" was actually deference to the marketing strategies of his publishers and their editors, who to this day ruthlessly eliminate all trace of "foreignness" in Singer's English versions, sacrificing Yiddish authenticity to American commercialism, a process to which I can personally testify from my own recent experience in translating _Shadows on the Hudson_. When the earliest English versions of his novels are compared with those of the latest, the steady coarsening of tone and diction is crudely apparent. When we add to his undiscriminating choice of English idiom Singer's determination to present in English translation Yiddish works cut and reshaped to please a predominantly non-Jewish readership largely ignorant of Jewish customs and the observances of Judaism, we confront a far more serious problem of literary misrepresentation. The case of "Der yid fun bovl" amply proves this, as Seth L. Wolitz has recently shown in his meticulous comparison of the original Yiddish text -- one of Bashevis's most powerful tales, published in 1935 before he left Warsaw -- and its progressive emasculation in successive English reworkings (see Seth L. Wolitz, "'Der Yid fun Bovl': Variants and Meanings." _Yiddish_, a double issue, Vol. 11.1-11.2 [1998], pp.30-47). But as Telushkin reveals, this literary hustling occasionally failed to work. In 1981 the _New Yorker_ judiciously rejected "The Jew from Babylon". Singer, by now convinced of his own infallibility, called the magazine's literary editor in a rage, threatening permanently to sever their connection. The editor abased himself in terror at "losing" The Master, took him to lunch, laved him in flattery, and then accepted the story. Smugly well pleased at the awe he still commanded -- "You see, vhen [sic] I finally made a real _geshray_, they got frightened" -- Singer then spitefully withheld the piece from the _New Yorker_ (Telushkin, 127-28). In what was now its wholly enfeebled form, it appeared with a flourish as the lead story in _The Death of Methuselah_. But the initial judgement of the _New Yorker_ was correct; in English, this tale is among Singer's weakest, glaringly displaying all the many defects with which his Yiddish critics had charged him for decades. The latest list of Singer's books in English numbers thirteen novels, ten volumes of short stories, five volumes of memoirs, fourteen books for children and three anthologies of selected writings. In Yiddish, on the other hand, we have access in published book form to only five novels, three collections of short stories, and two volumes of _Mayn tatns bezdn shtub_(*). This disparate ratio is staggering and disturbing. In Stockholm, at an unprecedented question-and-answer session after his Nobel Lecture, Singer told an outright lie to a questioner who wanted to know why his books were not published in Yiddish: "My books did appear in Yiddish, but they sold out, and there were no second editions. ... With the prize money, I hope to get my works published in Yiddish" (quoted in Zamir, 164). For so passionate a defender of Yiddish to so fanatical a detractor as Menachem Begin (Telushkin, 199- 200; Zamir, 184-86), Singer seemed to take extraordinary pains to ensure that very little of his work ever appeared in book form in Yiddish. Why was this? The question, impossible to answer with any certainty, is nevertheless central in evaluating what exactly it was that Singer actually wrote in his long, productive and much publicised literary life. Hence the most pressing question raised by the volumes under review. What constitutes the authentic corpus of Bashevis/Singer's writings? With what texts is the literary scholar to engage to get to the heart of his work? Quite obviously there are two corpuses, and in the larger of the two - - the English corpus -- we confront texts that are not simply "translations" but entirely different works, conceptually recast by the author, and Englished by a whole team of collaborators. In the English corpus we dare not speak of "style," since we face a conflation of styles. But we cannot easily gain access to the Yiddish corpus. Serialisations over extended periods of time in the _Forverts_ remain not only inaccessible but also ephemeral. It is absurd for chairmen of university presses to demand from potential students of Singer's work -- as has been my own experience -- that any evaluation of Singer's novels, for example, must be based on their Yiddish texts. Even with the indispensable aid of the comprehensive bibliographies compiled respectively by David Neal Miller and by Roberta Saltzmann, if their innumerable episodes could all be tracked down in the crumbling pages of sixty years of the _Forverts_ or their costly (and incomplete) microfilms, the scholar would still be confronting two wholly disparate texts. Janet Hadda's biography pointedly highlights this signal problem. She devotes an entire chapter to the origins and development of the dual personae of the Yiddish Bashevis and the English Singer. From the late 1940s, Hadda notes, when Bashevis's works first started appearing in English, "[a] major change was underway in Bashevis's life: he had entered the world of English translation ... Bashevis, that sharp-witted, conflicted, sometimes harsh literary genius, would gradually yield to Isaac Bashevis Singer ... Consciously or not, he had learned that Bashevis, the _enfant terrible_, would never capture the heart of an American audience. ... Bashevis had correctly, if intuitively perceived that for readers of English, an Eastern European Jew had to be old-fashioned, mild-mannered, even naive in order to be believable. Whether or not he knew what he was doing, Bashevis was never the innocent he claimed to be, according to Saul Bellow: 'He was sophisticated. He was an opportunist. He was a careerist.'" (Hadda, 128, 131) The president of New York's PEN Club in 1976 concurred: " [H]e had no desire ... to create something in a common effort for Jewish culture ... What was he interested in? ... Writing and being translated into English" (quoted in Tuszynska, 111). From the evidence offered, individual readers will have to test the validity of these judgements for themselves. Though Hadda's book sympathetically identifies the emotional and cultural problems confronting Bashevis in his adaptation to America and his transformation as a writer, her project is obviously not primarily concerned with what the corpus called "The Works of Bashevis Singer" exactly is. That problem, however, remains the crucial one confronting Bashevis/Singer scholars in the immediate future. With the discovery over the last five years of many unpublished and untranslated Bashevis materials, dating both from his years in Poland before 1935, and during his most productive period in the United States between 1960 and 1975, the problem will not go away. It may intensify, or it may become easier to resolve. One thing, however, is certain -- Bashevis/Singer, both in Yiddish and in English, is a writer who will be very much with us for a long while. In tone, these five books vary from the scholarly (Hadda) to the sentimental (Telushkin), from the embittered (Goran) through the bewildered (Tuszynska) to the primitive (Zamir). Nevertheless all repay attentive reading. All are indispensable for Singer scholars. What they say may not be what everyone expects to hear, but we are obliged to pay attention. ---------------------- *Ten works of Yitskhok Bashevis published in Yiddish in book form include five novels: Sotn in goray, Der kuntsnmakher fun lublin, Di familye moshkat, Der knekht, Der bal-tshuve; three story collections: Gimpel tam un andere dertseylungen, Mayses fun hintern oyvn, Der shpigl un andere dertseylungen; and two books of memoirs: Mayn tatns besdn shtub, Mayn tatns besdn shtub [hemskhekhim zamlung]. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.015 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm  _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.017 4 October 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor (Leonard Prager) 2) A Response to Joseph Sherman's Review of Five Books on Isaac Bashevis Singer (Golda Gross) 3) On Yoysef Guri's _Klug vi Shloyme hameylekh_ (Leonard Prager) 4) Books and Reprints Received 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 October 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a. Sherman on Bashevis/Singer Joseph Sherman's review of five recent books on Isaac Bashevis Singer elicited appreciative voices; Golda Gross (whose letter we are happy to print below) demurred, accusing Prof. Sherman of joining a band-wagon of Singer-detractors. She argues that an immense talent is being traduced and that the best cure for this onslaught is a return to Singer's work, especially the unread tomes waiting to be translated from the pages of the _Forverts_. All of us who engage in the public dissection of Singer's writings should be open for self-examination. I am happy to say that in re-reading Prof. Sherman's _TMR_ review I encountered the word "genius," reminding us of the stature of Yitskhok-Bashevis Zinger (who is not identical to Isaac Bashevis Singer). Immediately I think of the short novel _Der sotn in goray_ -- a small masterpiece; of Bashevis' neo-hasidic tales -- among the very best we have in this genre. As students of Yiddish literature we still have much to learn about the many-faceted art of Bashevis. The substantive (and not merely stylistic) discrepancies between the Yiddish and English versions of many of our author's works (versions often _conflict_ with one another) are vexing problems. The multiplicity of performances is the core of the Bashevis/Singer dichotomy. Work on Bashevis' literary biography needs to be continued; much remains to be done in disentangling the enormously complicated politics of Bashevis-in-translation and in defining the Bashevis/Singer canon. But, of course, it is Bashevis' genius that justifies all this effort. b. Yoysef Guri on Yiddish Folk-Similes In this issue of _The Mendele Review_ I discuss Yosef Guri's recently published lexicon of folk similes, a volume parallel to two others. _Klug vi Shloyme hameylekh_ joins _Az der sof iz gut iz alts gut, shprikhverter_ (1993) and _Vi kumt di kats ibern vaser_ (1997) (reviewed in TMR vol. 1, no. 025) to complete a three-part publication program. _Klug vi Shloyme hameylekh_ is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Yiddish educator Shoyl Ferdman, whose knowledge of the Yiddish language was exemplary. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 October 1999 From: Golda Gross Subject: A Letter in Response to Joseph Sherman's Review in TMR vol. 3, 15-16. The publication on Rosheshone of the continued picking to pieces of his reputation would no doubt have tickled Isaac Bashevis Singer's fancy. He would have appreciated the irony of evaluating the "corpus" of his writings by being summoned back to life as a Dybbuk. Joseph Sherman's two-part essay appearing in _The Mendele Review_ on recent books about Singer is yet another onslaught in a relentless campaign to conjure up and drive out the notorious bogeyman of Yiddish literature. From a survey of five books, Mr. Sherman draws a portrait of Singer as a lowdown, mean-spirited, baldfaced liar who had no compunction about misrepresenting himself. He lied to his family, his friends, his editors and translators and publishers, the Nobel Prize committee, and to Dick Cavett. If this were not enough, Mr. Sherman himself attacks the author's memoirs as whiny and banal (except in the service of psychoanalysis, see below); mocks and impugns his knowledge of modern literature and the English language; and cavalierly dismisses the only Nobel laureate in Yiddish as washed up by 1970. So radically has he fallen into disrepute, that whole academic conferences are convened with the sole purpose of determining: Who is the REAL Isaac Bashevis Singer? Trotting out the usual suspects, these conferences feature endless harangues about the Yiddish Bashevis/Isaac Singer conundrum, trying to negotiate a slippery slope between art and life. Clearly questions about the definition of the Singer canon are legitimate, that is, whether to accept the Yiddish or which English versions as standard text. It is when these questions degenerate into spiteful gossip, innuendo, and personal insult that we must take offense. There are good and bad translations, inspired and uninspired, and Singer seems to have followed recommended guidelines by striving for a strong idiomatic English instead of word-for-word transcription. But to malign him for being so ignorant of the English language that he appropriated the work of others--in effect, coming close to plagiarism, with all its sleazy, sordid associations--is simply outrageous. And so is the barrage of quotes, amounting to no less than character assassination, that Mr.Sherman gathers in his review. Most troubling is his skipping over four of the five books, sometimes with just a word--Zamir (Singer's son) is "primitive," Agata Tuszynska "bewildered" (for many readers, these were the most moving renditions)--in order to adulate and gush over a "full scale scholarly biography" by Janet Hadda. Using psychoanalysis, Ms. Hadda's book claims to take us to the heart and soul of the real Isaac Bashevis Singer, who harbors hatred for his mother, father, sister (particularly) and brother, thus accounting for his mistrust and cruelty toward women and just about everyone else. A slim volume, it is packed with long paraphrases of Singer's memoirs (albeit ridiculed by Mr. Sherman for being pitiful and tedious when standing alone), which become grist for the mill of theories about conflict, hostility, dysfunctional family,and so forth, as do the memoirs of Israel Joshua and Hinde Esther. Much of the rest is hearsay, with shaky creditability and little effort to uncover new information, by this I mean FACTS, about a Polish-Jewish refugee who came to America right before the Holocaust, a prominent writer whose lifetime spanned the twentieth century. Instead, we get the Dybbuk, who haunts Ms. Hadda's project unmercifully, just as he appears to haunt similar endeavors by a baffling brigade of professional Singer bashers. Why would anyone undertake to study an individual he/she so obviously disdains? Where sneering and contempt and derision jump off the pages of too many recent appraisals of Singer, a point Mr. Sherman amply demonstrates, how can we help but be influenced by the negative publicity? Mention Singer nowadays to the general reader, Jewish or not, and the response is frequently, "Oh yes, he was a crazy one, wasn't he?" Or, "He was a penny-pinching fraud." "He hated women." "He was a clown." Perhaps Mr. Sherman's passing reference to Boswell's _Life of Samuel Johnson_ may shed some light on the problem. As a matter of fact, the _Life of Johnson_ is not celebrated as "the greatest literary biography ever written." For Johnson scholars, it is something of an anathema -- patronizing, ingratiating, self-promoting -- in short, making up a version of Johnson to suit Boswell's craving for superiority. We know this from painstaking archival research, comparing others' accounts of the man, even Boswell's own journals, which do not jibe with the accounts in the _Life_. But mostly, we know Boswell's Johnson was almost pure fabrication because we can READ Johnson, and see for ourselves that he was not the bigoted, pompous Mr. Oddball his foremost hanger-on describes. But until people actually began to dip into Johnson himself, his reputation suffered miserably. The moral of this tale is READ SINGER. If not in Yiddish, then in English, and we need to call for more translations, and variant ones at that. Dozens of stories and novels once serialized in the _Forward_ remain untranslated, not to mention a wealth of journalistic pieces from his regular contributing columns. As for biography, we desperately need a serious guide to Singer's life and works, based on hard evidence from his papers, manuscripts, correspondence, interviews, in addition to balanced and substantiated accounts by others. What, for example, was Singer writing in the _Forward_ during the War and its aftermath? What was he thinking? What was he doing? What are the facts of his attitude toward significant events of the twentieth century? Toward the creation of Israel? Toward Communist Poland? What was his opinion of American culture? The sexual revolution? New directions in science and medicine? In art and literature? Scattered here and there and inaccessible to most readers, this information needs to be gathered into a responsible, comprehensive whole. For me, as for countless others, Singer is a beloved author to be discovered anew at every reading, as doubtless he will be for future generations. It does us no good to have him sliced up, dishonored, and demonized. These glib and tactless personal attacks have got to stop. There is too much positive work to be done. Golda Gross 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 October 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yoysef Guri's Lexicon of Yiddish Folk-Similes Yoysef Guri. _Klug vi Shloyme hameylekh; 500 yidishe folksfarglaykhn fartaytsht oyf hebreish, english un rusish_. hebreisher universitet in yerusholaim, opteyl far rusishe limudem, 1999 [English title page: Yosef Guri. _500 Yiddish Similes and Their Equivalents in English, Hebrew and Russian_. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dept. of Russian and Slavic Studies, 1999 (ISBN 965-90250-0-9), 164 + xxvii pp.] [Distributed by the Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, P.O. Box 39099, Jerusalem 91390, Israel, Fax 972-2-5633370] As early as 1920, Sh. Bastomski listed folk similes in his _Bayn kval_ (Vilna, 1920, pp. 77-86). Over half a century ago Yudl Mark published a remarkable collection of over 2800 folk similes in _Yidishe sprakh_. In the school years 1925/26 (or 1926/27?) and 1935/36, groups of 13-15 year olds from Vilkomir and Kovne schools respectively (Vilkomirer Yidisher Real-Gimnazye and Kovner Yidisher Komerts-Gimnazye) collected folk similes in their communities as part of their study of figures of speech in Yiddish. In "A zamlung folksfarglaykhn" ('A Collection of Similes') [_Yidishe sprakh_ 5::4-6 (1945), 97-140], Mark edited this collection, arranging the similes alphabetically in three groups -- according to whether the headword is 1} adjective or participle (e.g. "eydl vi a kneydl", 2) verb ("arbetn vi an oks"), and 3) substantive ("reyd vi perl"). Since Vilkomir and Kovne are only seventy kilometers distance from one another the folk similes collected in these communities reflect a specific region. Psakhye Frimer's list of several hundred additions to Mark's work ("Miluim tsu der zamlung folksfarglaykhn," _Yidishe shprakh_ 6:1-2 (1945) are all gathered from Podolye. Mendl Mark's additions ("Dergantsungen tsu der zamlung folksfarglaykhn," _Yidishe shprakh_ 6:3-6 [1946], pp. 133-138) are not marked as regional. It can be assumed that all or most of the above lists are incorporated in Nokhem Stutshkov's _Der oytser fun der yidisher shprakh_ (New York, 1950), whose organization is by semantic groups (e.g. animals, fatigue, revenge). _Yidishe shprakh_ and Stutshkov, unfortunately, are known only to a minority of Yiddish students; Yoysef Guri's lexicon of folk similes makes readily accessible a substantial sampling of the riches encased in these sources. Guri has given the reader of English, Hebrew and Russian, as well as of Yiddish, a clear and concise explanation of what a folk simile is (it is a fixed expression), how it differs from the literary simile, what its structural features are. Guri largely adopts Yudl Mark's methodology, except for the improved practice of giving all items in a single alphabetical list. Guri contributes a new feature by providing a reverse list -- not headwords but the comparative portions starting with _vi_. This list is indexed to the main list of similes. Thus "vi a beheyme" will point to both "hobn seykhl" (p. 63) and "narish" (p. 92). Another useful feature of Guri's lexicon is the phonetic spelling (in the Yiddish alphabet) of words of Hebrew-Aramaic origin. Perhaps in a majority of instances the distinction between folk simile and literary simile is clear, but it is often impossible to place an item squarely in one category. "Vays vi shney" (p. 71) is after all a biblical expression, no less literary than popular. The most recent American collection of similes bundles both types together (see Elysee Sommer, ed. dir; Mike Sommer, ed. _A Collection of More Than 16,000 Comparison Phrases from Ancient Times to the Present Compiled from Books, Folklore, Magazines, Newspapers, Plays, Politics, Stage, Screen and Television Arranged Under More Than 500 Thematic Categories_, First Edition, Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co., 1988.) Guri tries to provide simile equivalents in English, Hebrew and Russian and where he can find none he simply translates. It is in this area that many readers will wish to offer substitute expressions. The English equivalents/translations often suggest an elderly British hand. The English for "oysgeputst vi a khosn-bokher" is 'dressed up to meet the Queen: in his best bib and tucker' (p. 31). Few Americans have ever heard the British idiom "best bib and tucker," much less understood it. No less quaint to a North American ear is "curse someone up hill and down dale" for the Yiddish "oyszidlen emetsn vi a hunt" (p. 32). In the rendition "I would not trust him as far as I could kick him" (Yiddish: "gleybn emetsn vi a hunt"), my ear expects "throw" rather than "kick." "Zogn epes vi a vaser" is a folk simile; there is nothing folklike in 'speak like a rippling stream' (p. 72). "frum vi a rov" is not ironic, whereas the supposed equivalent 'pious as the Pope" generally is -- partly because of the alliteration (p. 108). By and large the English equivalences/translations are not especially apposite. Russian-speaking friends tell me the equivalences in Russian are generally successful. The Hebrew is satisfactorily idiomatic but there is much paraphrase where one would have liked equivalence -- as difficult to find as this may be. "frum vi der groyer koter" is rendered 'epikoros gamur; porek ol' (p. 108), accurate enough but all the color is missing. Not a British hand but the proverbial "der bokher der zetser" may be blamed for such constructions as "kosher vi a khazer-fisl" 'kosher as a pork sausages [sic]' (p. 82), "trukn vi a beyn" 'hide like a rhinocerous [sic]' (p. 79), "tsukhapn zikh vi tsu heyse lokshn" 'take to something/someone like to hote [sic] cakes' (p. 111), "rirn zikh vi a ber" 'clamsy [sic] like a baby elephant' (p. 131). Proofreading here can be improved. In his Preface, Guri surveys briefly the principal semantic fields of Yiddish folk similes, noting those which reflect Jewish folkways ("fet vi a heldzl in tsholnt"), Bible ("farfaln vi Yoysef"), Judaism ("tayer vi di toyre"), shtetl life ("faynt hobn vi a misnaged a khosid"). In his admittedly subjective choice of a corpus he aimed to include the most familiar items, a reasonable approach -- particularly when one has beginning students of Yiddish in mind. Some readers, however, might have preferred more of those folk similes which are dense with ethnicity, opaque and today often requiring glosses. Among the numerous ways of expressing the idea of incompleteness in Yiddish we have such folk similes as "vi a yidene on a tsenerene" 'like a Jewish woman without a copy of the _Tsenerene_': one needs to know about this famous Yiddish text and who read it. In Podolye they said "gring vi bay a litvak a droshe" 'as easy as for a Litvak to deliver a sermon': one needs to understand the connection between Litvaks and preaching. Here we can be helped by an expression which few today will recognize: "tsunoyfshtupn zikh vi tsu hern dem kelemer maged" 'squeezing oneself in to hear the Kelmer [often spoken 'kelemer'] preacher (Stutshkov, p. 30). With the help of Berl Kagan we can illuminate the simile: "R' Moyshe-Yitskhok Darshn iz geven do [in Kelm -- L.P.] nor dray yor, ober geven barimt vi 'Kelmer Maged', vos flegt dunern iber yidishe shtetlekh mit zayne fayerdike droshes kegn haskole, kegn nit-frume un tkifim in shtot. Geven an oysergeveynlekher darshn un gehat groyse feyikaytn tsu shildern zayne reyd mit kinstlerishe bilder un fantastishe stsenes. Far zayne sharfe reyd kegn groysn gvir un takef in shtot Meshulem Liberman, iz er -- loyt der hishtadles fun gvir baym porets fun shtot Grazhevski -- glaykh aroysgetribn gevorn fun Kelm." ('Reb Moses-Isaac Preacher was here [in Kelm] only three years, yet he was famous as the Kelmer Maged who took Jewish towns by storm with his fiery sermons against the haskala, the non-orthodox and the town's power cliques. He was an extraordinary preacher who skilfully enriched his speech with artistic images and fantastic scenes. Because of his sharp words against Meshulem Liberman, the most powerful person in town, he was thrown out of Kelm -- Liberman having petitioned the local baron Grazhevski to bring this about.') Berl Kagan goes on to relate the following anecdote about our fiery but not very diplomatic preacher: "In der alter shul fun Kroke flegt men nit lozn darshenen fremde magidim, ober dem Kelmer maged hot men eyn mol gegebn reshus tsu zogn a droshe. Di shul iz geven gepakt. Men iz geshtanen oyf di kep. Der Kelmer hot ober meramez geven oykh oyf di porondkes fun krakover kool. Hobn di gvirim zikh gefilt getrofn un geheysn dem shames davnen mayrev un der Kelmer maged iz geblibn in mitn droshe." (In the old synagogue of Cracow, outside preachers were not allowed, but on one occasion the Kelmer Maged was permitted to preach. The synagogue was packed. People stood on top of one another. But the Kelmer Maged alluded to irregularities in the Cracow Congregation. The rich were offended and instructed the sexton to start the Evening Prayer, leaving the Kelmer preacher in the middle of his sermon.} [Berl Kagan, _Yidishe shtet, shtetlekh un dorfishe yishuvim in lite_, New York, 1990, pp. 492-3] Yoysef Guri's attractively printed and wittily illustrated lexicon of Yiddish folk similes assures us that not only Litvak super-preachers (hardly remembered today) were inventive in their speech, but the Yiddish-speaking community as a whole. 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 October 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Books and Reprints Received Books and Reprints Received Bat, Shmuel. _Oyf eybik; oysgeveylte shriftn 1970-1996_. Los-anzheles: Shmuel-Bat bukh komitet, 1996. iv + 274 zz' (yidish), 187 zz' (english). [English t.p.: Batt, Samuel. _For Eternity; Selected Writings 1970-1996_. Los Angeles, CA: Samuel Batt Book-Committee, 1996, 187 pp. (English) + 274 pp. (Yiddish)] [24 stories and essays in Yiddish, 12 stories in English translation] Belkin, Ahuva. _Beyn shtey arim; hamakhaze haivri "Simkhat purim"_. Lod: Makhon Haberman lemekhkarey sifrut [POB 383, Lod 71103; tel. 972-8-9234008; fax 97208-9249466], ii + 158 + faksimilya (13) amudim. [ISBN 965-351-019-3] [English: Ahuva Belkin. _Between Two Cities; the Hebrew Play "Simchat Purim"_, 1997, ii + 158 + 13 pp.] (This anonymous short Hebrew play published in Amsterdam in 1650 was translated into Yiddish in 1715 and should be known to students of Yiddish literature. The two cities of the title are Amsterdam and Gluckstadt.) [Author's address: 14 Nahum Gutman St., Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, 69343, Israel] Risse, Siegfried. "Das Psalmenbuch des Mosche Stendal; Ein Zeugnis juedisch-deutscher Psalmenfroemmigkeit aus dem 16. Jahrhundert," _Theologie und Glaube_ 89 (1999) 23-40. [Kurzinhalt: Im Jahr 1586 gab Roesel Fischel ein Psalmenbuch in jiddischer Sprache heraus, uebersetzt von Rabbi Mosche Stendal. Es ist eine Nachdichtung aller 150 Psalmen in Strophenform. Sprache und poetische Form werden kurz besprochen. Ausfuehrlicher untersucht wird, wie Stendal durch Einfuegung wichtiger Schluesselwoerter als auch durch drei laengere midraschartige Erzaehlungern seine theologischen Schwerpunkte setzt. Daran laesst sich in wichtigen Punkten erkennen, wie Stendal die Psalmen deutet un zu beten empfiehlt.] [Summary: In the year 1586 Roesel Fischel published the Book of Psalms translated into Yiddish by Rabbi Moshe Stendal. Language and form of this poetic translation are briefly explained. A more detailed examination deals with the way Stendal interprets the psalms by inserting certain theological keywords and in three places by inserting longer midrashic tales. Through this interpretation one can perceive some important aspects of Jewish understanding and reciting [of] the psalms in the 16th century.] [Author's address: Hobirkheide 14, D45149, Essen, Germany]. Tsalim, Meir. _Yidishland; sikhot al yidish, folklor, glaykhvertlekh un bedikhot_. Tel-Aviv: Y.-L. Perets, 1999, 223 zz' [ISBN 965-7012-21-X [three popular essays in both Hebrew and Yiddish by Dr. Meir Tsalim] (1908-); "Roza at the Doctor" in Hebrew and Yiddish; random list of "yidishe glaykhvertlekh" with no commentary (pp. 185-223)] [Author's address: Y.L. Baruch 14, Hertzlia, Israel; tel. 972-9-9501776 or c/o Uri Liel, P.O. B. 1845, Mevaseret Tsion, Israel] ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.017 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.018 30 November 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor -- On Levin Kipnis (Leonard Prager) 2) "Mayn mame-loshn" (Levin Kipnis) 3) "Mikhl mitn bikhl" (Levin Kipnis) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 November 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters: From the Editor -- On Levin Kipnis (L.P.) 1. Levin Kipnis (1894-1990) was a pioneer of children's literature in Hebrew; legions of Israeli children (pre- and post-1948) were raised on his numerous books and stories. He wrote for all the important Hebrew childrens' magazines and his stories were translated widely in their Yiddish counterparts. In the 1950s Kipnis, a native Yiddish-speaker, began to write in Yiddish and his work, original as well as translated, is today well represented in the corpus of Yiddish childrens' literature. His own account of his return to Yiddish, a moving personal commentary on the Hebrew-Yiddish divide, was published after his death in the two-volume anthology _Yidish-literatur in medines-yisroel_ (Tel-Aviv: H. Leyvik Farlag, 1991, vol. 2, pp. 304-309); when this essay was written and if it appeared previously elsewhere, I do not know -- the Israeli Yiddish anthology lists no sources. Today, almost a decade after his death, I present it here in its entirety as a memorial to him. The pattern of turning from Hebrew to Yiddish, exclusively or sporadically, is integral to the early history of Yiddish literature and is one which, for altered reasons, continued up to our own day. All members of the classic triumvirate -- Mendele, Perets and Sholem-Aleykhem -- wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish, as did hundreds and hundreds of others of their and of the following generation. Kipnis is but one of a large class of Hebrew writers who "returned" to Yiddish at a later stage of their lives. The tenth anniversary of the death of one of the greatest of these "returnees" -- Dov Sadan -- is now being celebrated in Israel. There are large differences among the returnees. Kipnis' revision of a lifelong anti-Yiddishist stance is deeply emotional, rooted in reminiscences of a world he and his fellow Hebraists had rejected but whose utter decimation they could never have anticipated. Though returning to Yiddish was for him a deeply meaningful reunion with elements of his self that he had jettisoned, his view of Yiddish hardly exceeds the stereotypic Israeli praise of Yiddish jokes and folksongs -- Yiddish as folklore. His prose-poem ending imagining future readers of his Yiddish stories abandons reality in favor of a fantasy vision -- in which he does not believe. Dov Sadan on the other hand, seeing Yiddish and Hebrew literatures as integrally related components of a Jewish literature, buttressed this thesis with powerful scholarship, prepared disciples who are still active, and thus helped assure Yiddish an honored place in Jewish Studies. 2. The last of Levin Kipnis's Yiddish books to be published (to the best of my knowledge) was the charming _Untern faygnboym_ ('Under the Fig Tree'). I trust that readers will forgive me for my pedagogical experiment in presenting and anatomizing "Mikhl mitn bikhl" (Mikhl's Book'), the shortest story in the volume with 129 running words (79 separate words). In the original volume the story is faced by a drawing which illustrates little Mikhl's dream. The story consists of three progressively shorter sections divided by asterisks. I provide a mini-concordance of all the words, their meanings and grammatical classification -- none of which is necessary for anyone who has grown up with Yiddish, regardless of age. The story is complete, with situation A (Mikhl and Danny disagree over the lending of a book) inducing event B (Mikhl's "therapeutic" dream), which eventuates in event C (the happy resolution of the problem). (Some parents and children might object to what apppears to be the story's double "muser haskl" ('moral') -- loan your books and "believe" your dreams -- but that might even generate interesting discussion.) The child will intuitively grasp the tripartite structure and with coaching may be able to summarize the story in three short sentences, using the words of the story but getting help with grammatical forms. Some such summary as the following can be elicited: 1. Deni zogt tsu Mikhl: "Megst mir layen dayn bukh, kh'vel di verter nisht oyfesn." 2. Mikhl kholemt az ale verter in zayn bukh flien aroys und dos bukh blaybt mit leydike zaytn. 3. Mikhl shteyt oyf in der fri un loyft tsu Deni's hoyz im derlangen zayn bikhl. Obviously one who is not a native speaker will need to know a certain amount of grammar to teach this story, simple as it is. In a Yiddish-speaking home a child would learn such expressions as "gants fri" and "vi nor" with his mother's milk; in second-language learning idiomatic phrases can be minor obstacles because the whole expression is more than its individual parts. Yet so often it is the particles, intensives, expletives, idioms whose meaning or position are hard to explain logically, that give a language its special flavor. The cultural ambience of the story, and thus its vocabulary, is universal, though many children might not know what a dovecote is -- the author employs it in an extended simile. Dovecotes are mentioned frequently in Yiddish literature, since they were common in Eastern Europe (see in particular Shalom Asch's "Kola Street" and Moyshe Kulbak's "Munie the Bird Dealer"). 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 November 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "mayn mame-loshn" (Levin Kipnis) "mayn mame-loshn" biz dray yor bin ikh geven a shtumer. "shtume-lele" hot men mikh gerufn. dokh hob ikh geredt, geredt oyf shtum-loshn... nokh dray yor hob ikh mit a mol ongehoybn redn -- oyf mame-loshn! mame-loshn mit der mamen, mit mayne brider un shvester, mit mayne khaveyrem, mit alemen. gelernt in 'kheyder' "komets-alef -- o," un gekhapt shmits funem reb|in oyf mame-loshn: -- a yingele zol nit zayn keyn sheygets!... finf yor alt hob ikh shoyn gelernt "khumesh" mit a khumesh-loshn: "veruekh -- un der gayst, eloyhim -- fun got, merakhefes -- hot geshvebt"... "hoodom -- un der mentsh, yodo -- hot bavust, es -- nun, Khave -- Khave|n" "vayoymer -- hot gezogt, eloyhim -- got, yishretsu -- zey zoln vidmen..." un akdomes-loshn: "akdomus... eyder ikh heyb on, milin -- tsu reydn, ve|shoroyus -- un ikh bager, shuso -- tsu shprekhn..." vos es batayt "bager" -- hob ikh zikh ongeshtoysn, ober vos iz "shprekhn" hob ikh dafke yo gevust: "opshprekhn a gut-oyg"... kh'hob nisht lib gehat dem khumesh-loshn. derfar erev-peysekh ven men lernt "shir-hashirem," hot mayn mame-loshn oyfgelebt un zikh gezungen: "shir -- a gezang, hashirem -- fun ale gezangen. dos gezang iz khoshev|er fun ale gezangen. an ander gezang hot gezungen a meylekh, un dos gezang hot gezungen a meylekh ben-meylekh! an ander gezang hot gezungen a novi, un dos gezang hot gezungen a novi ben-novi! an ander gezang hot gezungen a tsadik, -- un dos gezang hot gezungen a tsadik ben-tsadik! asher -- vos le|Shloyme -- tsu got, vos der sholem fun der velt iz zayner..." a groys gezang fun reynem-sheynem mame-loshn, baputst mit etlekhe loshn-koydesh|dike verter. a meylekh, a novi, a tsadik iz dokh oykh mame-loshn... un vayter: "alamos -- yungfroyen, dodekho -- dayn frayndshaft, kedar -- toter." in ek shtetl hot gevoynt a toter mit a toterke. arum zeyer shtub geven a groyser sod fun vaynshl, epl, barn un kraytekhtser... mir, kleynvarg, hobn moyre gehat zikh dernentern. a toter iz dokh vi a tsigayner vos khapt kleyne kinder... ober porlekh fun yunge-manen mit yung-froyen flegn shabes geyn ahin shpatsirn. un di peysekh|dike zun hot geshaynt, un vintlekh hobn geblozn, un feygelekh hobn gepishtshet un mayn mame-loshn iz geven azoy sheyn, azoy lib, azoy shir-hashirem|dik... ikh bin shoyn a zibn yoriker bokher, lern shoyn gemore. di gemore iz geven a groyse, di shures gedikhte, der rashi-ksav -- kleyninke oysyes|lekh, un der rebe a beyzer, a shleger... lernen mir gemore, masekhes gitin. "hashoyleyekh get le|ishto -- az Ruvn shikt a get fun zhitomir tsu zayn vayb keyn barditshev durkh a shaliekh, Shimen, oykh fun zhitomir, geyt Shimen fun zhitomir mitn get keyn barditshev tsu der vayb fun Ruvn fun zhitomir vos voynt in barditshev..." mir, yinglekh, hobn farblondzhet tsvishn zhitomir un barditshev, un der rebe shlogt, un mir veynen, un mame-loshn veynt mit undz tsuzamen... * mayn eltere shvester hot arayngebrakht in shtub shomers romanen, gegesn mit zey, geshlofn mit zey un geshmak geveynt... ikh hob araynge|ganv|et a kuk in di bikhlekh un zikh shoyn nisht gekent opraysn... fun der gemore hob ikh zikh a bisl opgerisn un geleynt shomern ven der tate hot nisht gezen, shpeter hobn zikh bavizn spektors dertseylungen un nokh azoyne, biz Sholem-aleykhem iz ungekumen in shtetl mitn "tepl," mit Tevye|n -- dos shtetl hot ongehoybn lakhn! undzer shtub -- a frume shtub, mayn tate iz a khazn, peysi der khazn. shabes baym esn, lebn dem teler, iz shtendik geven ofn a seyfer, "likutey Tsvi", un tsvishn yoykh un roslfleysh flegt der tate araynkukn in seyfer, un a mol oykh "gezogt" epes. dos zelbe tsvishn roslfleysh un kompot. ze ha|shulkhan asher lifney adoynay, baym tish darf men zogn divrey toyre. flegt er fregn di yinglekh vos zey hobn gelernt in "kheyder" - - - hob ikh zikh ongenumen mit mut, un nokhn tsimes geleynt oyf a kol Sholem-aleykhems a maysele. der tate -- di oygn hot er gehaltn in seyfer, ober zayne oyern hobn zikh shtark tsugehert tsu der maysele. ale arum tish hobn geshmak gelakht, der tate hot geshmeykhlt un gezogt: "a lets eyner!" un dos iz shoyn gevorn a mineg. ale shabes hern Sholem-aleykhem|en. oyneg shabes. ikh hob geleynt, vayzt oys, mitn gantsn hartsn, un mayn mame-loshn hot gekvelt. * mayn shtetl iz geshlofn, shtark geshlofn, zikh oyfgekhapt un zikh nit derkent, di inteligents redt rusish demonstrativ, besmedresh bakhurem zenen gevorn tsienistn un brekhn di tseyner tsu redn hebreish. afile yidishe meydlekh hobn gelernt tanakh, a sgule tsu a shidekh, a halber nadn. funem "kheyder" iz gevorn a "kheyder mesukn" -- ivrit be|ivrit. yidish hobn tsvishn zikh geredt di yidn in shul baym davnen un in kleyt baym gesheft. di vayber hobn baputst zeyer yidish mit rusishe verter -- mame-loshn iz aropgefaln, mame-loshn iz zhargon... a bushe tsu redn... in eyn sheynem tog "dershaynt" in shtetl a sheyner bokher, fun der groyser shtot gekumen, mit a vayser tuzhurke, mit an oysgeneytn kolner, fargartelt mit a shnur -- a sotsyalist. gekumen tsu haltn a "referat far der yugnt." sheyn iz er geven, a shtim -- a reytsndike, un a tsung -- a sharfe. er hot ober veynik geredt vegn sotsyalizm, er iz gikh ariber khoyzek tsu makhn fun hebreish, fun "lokshn-koydesh." oyb nit rusish -- darf men redn yidish. yidish iz undzer folkssprakh. ot iz geven a konferents in tshernovits, un der groyser shrayber perets hot geredt, un men hot bashlosn azoy un azoy... ikh bin geven a farbrenter hebreist... gegrindet kursn tsu lernen un redn ivrit. ikh hob shoyn geshribn ivrit un oykh gedrukt shirem in der kinder-tsaytung "ha|perakhim. ikh bin gevorn a groyser kegner fun yidish... * fort a yid keyn erets-yisroel... oyf der shif hot men undz fun odeser komitet gegebn a kleyn bikhele, zikh oystsulernen redn arabish... "salam alikum, kif khalak, vakhed, tinin, talate"... in gants erets-yisroel iz geven a kleyn bisele yidn. in tel-oviv zenen geven tsvey oder dray gasn mit dem sheynem binyen fun der gimnazye "hertsilia." in tel-oviv hot men geredt ivrit un mer rusish, un a bisl yidish. di talmidem fun der gimnazye hobn in di gasn geteylt tsetelekh: "ivri, daber ivrit." in yerusholaim hot men geredt oyf ale zibetsik shprakhn: frenkish, arabish, terkish, frantseyzish, english un azoy vayter. un oykh yidish un a bisl ivrit. ben-Yehuda hot nokh demolt aroysgegebn zayn tsaytung. bay di khsidem un in zeyere "yeshives" hot men geredt nor yidish. ikh hob gevoynt in a shtub, vu men hot geredt a galitsianer yidish. plutsem iz oysgebrokhn di ershte velt-milkhome. mir, in erets-yisroel, hobn veynik-vos gelitn fun der milkhome aleyn, ober mir zenen oysgeshtanen groyse tsores fun der terkisher regirung un gelitn hunger. dos land iz geven farshpart -- eyn yoytse ve|eyn bo. fun tomed iz di "khiyune" funem land, far yidn be|iker, gekumen fun khuts-loorets, fun trumes fun der gantser velt. mir hobn gelitn a sakh. geven a sakh hunger-korbones. un dafke in di shlekhte yorn hot ivrit oyfgelebt. s'hobn zikh geefnt shuln un ganey-yelodem oyf ivrit, etlekhe gimnazyes un a por seminarn far lerers un gananot. ikh hob ongehoybn shraybn lider un dertseylungen far kleyne kinder, dos land hot zikh tsezungen fun "rosh-pina biz kostina" oyf ivrit -- in dem prat hot erets-yisroel geblit, gevaksn fun zikh aleyn, oykh ivrit "sigsiga." * di velt milkhome hot zikh geendikt mit balfurs deklaratsye. yidn hobn ongehoybn bislekhvayz kumen keyn erets-yisroel. yidishe yidn, ober glaykh zenen zey gevorn ivrit|dik. ven Sholem ash iz gekumen un geredt farn kool yidish, hot men im sheyn oyfgenumen, ober az zhitlovski iz gekumen makhn propaganda far yidish, hot men im nisht gelozt efenen dos moyl. nokh der shoa, hot yidish zikh bazetst in land mit a togtsaytung, mit zhurnaln, mit teater forshtelungen un nokh un nokh. be|kitser -- lebn zol yidish in erets-yisroel land! fraytik oyf der nakht, oder shabes-tsu-nakhts farzamlen zikh gute fraynd oyf a "mesiba," gute fraynd fun der tsveyter un driter aliya. men farbrengt bay a glezele vayn un lekekh-gebeks, men knakt fistashkes un men dertseylt anekdotn. un oyb anekdotn -- iz nor oyf yidish. a vits nit in yidish hot gor keyn tam nit. un tomed gefint zikh a zinger oder a zingerin vos heybn on zingen "yismekhu hashomayim" un men geyt glaykh ariber tsu yidishe folkslider un ale helfn unter un men balekt zikh mit "reyzelen," "avromele melamed," "mikitka," oykh "kornblimelekh" biz itsik mangers "rabeynu tam." un men git a krekhts: -- akh, vi zis, vi hartsik iz mame-loshn!... * tsendliker yor in erets-yisroel iz mayn mame-loshn geshlofn -- un plotsem hot es zikh oyfgekhapt! durkh a tsufal hob ikh gezen a numer fun "kinder-zhurnal" vos geyt aroys in amerike, dortn iz gedrukt mayne a maysele "tsigele kapigele," ibergezetst fun y. goykhberg. sheyn ibergezetst. ikh leyn un hob hanoe. un ot vi ikh leyen, git mir epes a pik... mayn mame-loshn pikt mir: "anu, pruv, mayn kind, iberzetsn dayns a zakhele fun ivrit!" zets ikh zikh avek iberzetsn mayns a zakhele fun ivrit oyf mame-loshn. zetst zikh nisht... s'shraybt zikh gor... un gor andersh vi in ivrit... un s'shraybt zikh azoy laykht, azoy klor. ikh vunder zikh, fun vanen kumen tsu mir di yidishe verter vos yorn-lang hob ikh zey nit geredt, nit gehert, afile in zinen nit gehat. epes vi shmeterlingen, feygelekh, taybelekh kumen zey tsu flien un tsaplen zikh, un betn zikh bay mir: "nem mikh! khap mikh! shrayb mikh arayn in der maysele"... shrayb ikh on "di kleyne palmes" un shik tsum "kinder-zhurnal." entfert mir glaykh: "s'iz sheyn, shikt nokh!" shrayb ikh zey "Naftole geyt in shule" -- viln zey nokh. shik ikh zey "der marants," "a zis yor," "shekeydias geburtstog," "a meydele Yardena un a tsigele a kleyne," un nokh un nokh... lipe lehrer, der redaktor, shikt komplimentn mayn mame-loshn. oykh y. kaminski firt mir arayn in "kinder-zhurnal" un shraybt libe-briv tsu mayn mame-loshn. dos zelbe mit "argentiner beymelekh," un ikh shrayb un shik un druk -- kh'hob "erets-yisroel|dik" gemakht ale kinder-zhurnaln un kinder-vinklen... in yor 1961 geyt aroys in farlag "matones" mayn bukh _untern teytlboym_. oyfn efn-blat shrayb ikh: "tsum ondenk fun mayn mame rokhl -- mayn ersht bukh in mame-loshn." mayn mame hot gekent leyenen in taytsh-khumesh "tsenerene" nisht mer, ober zi flegt redn mit gramen... * mayn ersht bukh... nisht mer... der tsveyter, driter un nokh un nokh lign farshtekt, farshemt ergets in a shuflod. zey veln zen a mol shayn? un s'vilt zikh shraybn, s'bet zikh shraybn, dos mame-loshn benkt, dermont zikh in di gute tsaytn, un s'veynt zikh. shraybn... far vemen? "heyvi li bonim!" hot getaynet Rokhl imeynu... nishto keyn kinder far mayn mame-loshn... vos zol ikh ton far dir, mame-loshn, mayns? zol ikh zikh zetsn oyf a kleyn benkele un dir baklogn, baveynen? zol ikh onshraybn an "eykho yoshvo" ["vi iz geblibn zitsn aleyn di shtot fun fil folk...," eykho 1:1 -- l.p.] mit psukem nokhn seyder fun alef-beys un arayngisn in di trern di beste, shenste verter fun mayn mame-loshn? neyn! nokh nit baveynen! vos zhe zol ikh tun mit mayne ibergeblibene yidishe verter? fun mayne alte yidishe verter iz geblibn a bis-bisele. / glet ikh zey, kush ikh zey, farshlis ikh zey in a goldn nes-nisele. / "loyf-loyf, nisele, katshe zikh, kaykl zikh biz ek velt-veltele, / barg-aroyf, barg arop, vald-ayn, vald-oys tsu a yidish getseltele." ale mayne farblibene verter farshlosn in goldn nisele; / hoykh-hoykh in klorn loytern himl oysshtrekn zayn vays-tsart fligele / un farvign mayn shlisele -- ay-li-lyu-li -- vi in a kinds vigele. un efsher vet der liber malekh shvebn-flien mitn gildn shlisele -- / flyu-flyu-fli -- tsum yidish-getseltele, un efenen dos nes-nisele, / veln ale mayne yidishe verter-vunder, vunder, vunderlekh / oyflebn, oyfklingen oyf kheyn-lipelekh fun yidishe kinderlekh! efsher... 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 November 1998 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Levin Kipnis's "Mikhl mitn bikhl" Levin Kipnis. "Mikhl mitn bikhl," _Untern faygnboym_. Tel-Oviv: Yisroel-bukh, 1993, z. 159. [English title: Levin Kipnis. _Under the Fig Tree_]. ISBN 965-430-012-5. Levin Kipnis "Mikhl mitn bikhl" 1. Mikhl hot derhaltn a matone -- a sheyn bikhl. Dos bikhl iz geven 2. ful mit mayses. Mikhl hot geleynt un ibergeleynt ale 3. mayses. Kumt tsu im zayn khaver Deni un bet: 4. -- "Lay mir dayn bikhl, ikh vil leyenen." 5. Hot Mikhl nit gevolt im layen dos bikhl. 6. Ruft zikh on Deni: 7. "Vos hostu moyre, ikh vel opbaysn fun dem a shtikl? Kh'vel 8. aynshlingen di verter? 9. Un er iz avekgegangen. *** 10. Bay nakht kholemt Mikhl a kholem: 11. Er efnt zayn bikhl tsu leyenen. 12. Vi nor er hot geefnt dos bikhl, hobn zikh oyfgehoybn ale 13. verter un zenen aroysgefloygn funem bikhl. -- Azoy vi toybn 14. flien aroys fun a toybnshlak. In bikhl iz geblibn nor 15. vays-leydik papir - - - *** 16. Gants fri iz Mikhl oyfgeshtanen, gekhapt zayn bikhl un iz 17. gelofn un es derlangt zayn khaver Denin. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Key to Abbreviations adj. adjective adv. adverb art. article aux. v. auxiliary verb (zayn or hobn) conj. conjunction dim. diminuitive imp. imperative inf. infinitive n. noun p.ppl past participle poss. possessive prep. preposition pron. pronoun v. verb *words marked with asterisk belong to the Hebrew-Aramaic component and are thus not spelled phonetically Concordance of all the words in the story YIDDISH DEFINITION + Part of Speech LINE(S) WORD a 'a' [indefinite article] 1,7,10,14 ale 'all' 2,12 aroys 'out' [prep.] 14 aroysgefloygn 'flew away' [p. ppl.] 13 avekgegangen 'went away' [p. ppl.] 9 aynshlingen 'swallow' [v.] 8 azoy 'as' [conj.] 13 bay 'at' [prep.] 10 bet 'requests' [v. betn] 3 bikhl 'little book' [n.] [bukh/bikhl] 1,4,11,12,13,14,16 dayn 'your' [poss. pron.] 4 dem 'the' [definite article, accusative] 7 Deni 'Danny' [proper name] (not Dani) 3,6 Denin 'Danny' [proper name, dative] 17 derhaltn 'received' [p. ppl.] 1 derlangt 'gave' [v.] 17 di 'the' [def. art., plural] 8 dos 'the' [def. art., neut.] 1,5,12 efnt 'opens' [v.] 11 er 'he' [pron.] 9,11,12 es 'it' [pron.] 17 flien 'fly' ]v.] 14 fri 'early' [adj.] 16 ful 'full' [adj.] 2 fun 'from' [prep.] 7,14 funem 'from the' [prep+art] 13 gants "gants fri"='early in the morning' [adv.] 16 geblibn 'remained' [p. ppl.] 14 geefnt 'opened' [p. ppl.] 12 gekhapt 'grabbed' [p. ppl.] 16 geleynt 'read' [p. ppl.] 2 gelofn 'ran' [p. ppl.] 17 geven "(iz} geven" = 'was' [p. ppl.] 1 gevolt 'wished' [p. ppl.] 5 hobn [aux. v.] 12 hostu 'have you? [= host + du] 7 hot [aux. v.] 1,2,5,12 ibergeleynt [read' [p. ppl.] 2 ikh 'I' [pron.] 4, 7 im 'him' [pron.] 3, 5 in 'in' [prep.] 14 iz 'is' [aux. v.] 1, 9, 14, 16 kh'vel = ikh vel 'I will' [pron. + aux. v.] 7 khaver* 'friend; comrade' [n.] 3, 17 kholem* 'dream' [n.] 10 kholem|t* (he/she) dreams [v.] 10 kumt 'comes' [v.] 3 lay 'loan' [imp.] 4 layen 'to loan' [inf.] 5 leyenen 'read' [inf.] 4,11 matone* 'gift' [n.] 1 mayses* stories [n.] 2, 3 Mikhl Mikhl [name: Mikhe+ dim. l] 1, 2, 5, 10, 16 mir me [pron.] 4 mit with [prep.] 2 moyre* 'fear' [n.] 7 nakht ' night' [n.] 10 nit 'not' [adv.] 5 nor 'only' ('adv.} 14 on [zikh] on[rufn] adv. complement 6 opbaysn 'bite off' [v.] 7 oyfgehoybn 'gt up' [p.ppl.] 12 oyfgeshtanen 'woke up' [p. part] 16 papir 'paper' [n.] 15 ruft 'calls' [v.] 6 sheyn 'pretty' [adj.] 1 shtikl 'little piece' [shtik + l] 7 toybn 'doves' [n.] 13 toybnshlak 'dovecote' [n.] 14 tsu 'to' [prep.] 3, 11 un and [conj.] 2, 3, 9, 13, 16, 17 vays-leydik 'bare' [lit. 'white-empty'] 15 vel will [aux. v.] 7 verter 'words' [n.] 8, 13 vi 'like' [prep.] 13 vi nor 'just as' [= idiom] 12 vil 'will' [aux. v.] 4 vos 'which' [pron.] 7 zayn 'his' [poss. pron.] 3, 11, 16, 17 zenen [aux. v. 'to be'] 13 zikh 'self'[makes verbs intransitive/reciprocal] 6,12 ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.018 Leonard Prager, editor Send articles to: lprager@research.haifa.ac.il The editor of _TMR_ can also be reached via _Mendele_'s homepage: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.019 28 December 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: From the editor (Leonard Prager) 2) International Workshop on Yiddish Theater (Joel Berkowitz) 3) Books and Reprints Received (Leonard Prager) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 December 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters -- 1. Yiddish theater conference 2. _Politics of Yiddish_ table of contents. 1. We are pleased to present Joel Berkowitz's report on the recent international conference on the Yiddish performing arts held at Yarnton Manor, Oxford. The complete program of the conference can be viewed at http://members.tripod.com/~jtheater.oxford.htm. 2. Abe Brumberg's review of _The Politics of Yiddish_ appeared in _Mendele_ vol. 9, no. 39 on November 1, 1999. In this issue of the _TMR_ we give the Table of Contents of the volume, whose editor is Dov-Ber Kerler. 2---------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 December 1999 From: Joel Berkowitz Subject: Scientific Report on International Workshop on Yiddish Theater, Drama, and Performance (Oxford, 1999) International Workshop on Yiddish Theater, Drama, and Performance Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Yarnton Manor, Yarnton, Oxford 29 June - 2 July 1999 Scientific Report by Joel Berkowitz Introduction A landmark event in Jewish Studies took place at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies from 28 June to 2 July 1999: the first conference devoted to the study of the international Yiddish theater, made possible by a substantial grant from the European Science Foundation. Over those four days, thirty-one participants in the International Workshop on Yiddish Theater, Drama, and the Performing Arts delivered papers from a broad range of perspectives, including theater history, cultural studies, musicology, dramatic analysis, folklore, legal history, and eyewitness accounts. The workshop participants, from eight different countries and three continents, included many internationally acclaimed figures in the study and performance of Yiddish theater. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Nahma Sandrow (New York), author of the seminal study _Vagabond Stars_, translator of the recent anthology _God, Man, and Devil_, and award-winning adaptor of Yiddish theater material. Celebrated performers Raphael Goldwasser (Strasbourg), Lea Shlanger (Israel), Shifra Lerer (New York), and Bernard Mendelovitch (London) entertained the audience with songs, monologues, and scenes from the Yiddish theater. The papers concluded with a special address by Mr Joseph Schein (Paris), world-renowned theater scholar and author of _Around the Moscow Yiddish Theater_. Mr Schein, speaking from memory without referring to notes, held the audience spellbound with his firsthand reflections on the Moscow State Yiddish Theater's legendary productions of _The Travels of Benjamin III_, _King Lear_, and _Tevye the Dairyman_. The participants, including many seasoned veterans, seemed to agree that the papers delivered at the Workshop were of a consistently high quality. Virtually all of the presenters--and the performers as well--attended every session, and given the unprecedented nature of the event and its specific focus, every panel generated considerable discussion that tended to spill over into the breaks between sessions and long after each day's events ended. I. Scientific content of the event Regardless of the content of individual presentations, one theme consistently asserted itself: the questioning, and at times a critical re-evaluation, of much of our received knowledge of the Yiddish theater and its repertoire. Examples abound, of which we cite just a few of the highlights: 1) In a panel on purimshpiln, the amateur theatrical performances given on the holiday of Purim and dating back as far as the fourteenth century, Professors Jerold Frakes and Ahuva Belkin demonstrated the political and social subversiveness of the form, while Dr Jean Baumgarten illustrated its continued viability in Hasidic Jewish communities today. 2) Several of the presenters documented the richness of Yiddish theater outside of the best- known centers of such activity. Dr Brigitte Dalinger, author of a recent book on Yiddish theater in Vienna, presented an overview of her findings. Miroslawa Bulat chronicled performances in Cracow between the two World Wars. Professor Avram Greenbaum gave an account of the important but generally ignored State Yiddish Theater of Belarus (BelGOSET). And perhaps most surprising, two participants reported on the influence of Yiddish theater on modern-day Italian theater: through a creative use of audio and video materials, Laura Mincer gave the participants a taste of Italian actor/director Moni Ovadia's use of Yiddish themes, while Dr Paola Bertolone described highlights of her own translation into Italian of Avrom Goldfaden's beloved Yiddish operetta Di kishefmakherin, performed in Italy as La maga. 3) Participants also came away from the conference with a deeper understanding of the Yiddish repertoire after hearing papers probing the form, content, and meaning of Yiddish drama. Professor Nahma Sandrow set the tone for this in her Keynote Address, in which she firmly placed the roots of modern Yiddish drama in the romantic movement, citing such figures as Goethe, Schiller, Coleridge, and Hugo as models for the concerns of many Yiddish dramatists. Dr Helen Beer offered the revelation that playwright and poet Itsik Manger had translated Georg Bchner's tragedy Woyzeck into Yiddish. Like Dr Beer, Dr Yitskhok Niborski addressed the audience in his native Yiddish, and also analysed the work of a poet/playwright: Polish Yiddish writer Aaron Tsaytlin. Vassili Schedrin gave a condensed overview of the work of Osip Dymov--like Mr Schedrin, a talented Russian- born emigrant to the United States. The papers also gave a taste of how Yiddish playwrights and performers often went beyond the boundaries of traditional drama. Professor Itsik Gottesman brought a folklorist's approach to the subject, movingly describing the monologue performances of a ^„folk reciter.' Professor Edna Nahshon explored the often blurred boundaries between law and theater in a discussion of Yiddish mock trials. And David Mazower taught the participants about a little-known form, the melodeklamatsiye, as exemplified in the work of London Yiddish playwright/composer Joseph Markovitch. 4) The influences upon the Yiddish repertoire--and on the means of staging that body of work--have been manifold and diverse, as illustrated in many of the papers. Dr Jeremy Dauber examined how the quotation of classical Jewish texts--particularly Torah and Talmud--was used for polemical ends in the satires of the Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah. Such techniques demonstrate the linguistic fluidity of many Yiddish writers, an issue also addressed in Dror Abend-David's exegesis of German, Yiddish, and daytshmerish [heavily Germanised Yiddish] elements in Yiddish translations of The Merchant of Venice. Yiddish language has in turn influenced writers working in other tongues, as discussed in Ben Furnish's paper on Yiddish reverberations in American Jewish drama. 5) A paper given by Professor John Klier offered exciting and original research into the well-known 1883 ban on Yiddish theater in the Russian empire. Professor Klier provided persuasive evidence that the ban, which he argues arose more from practical reasons than from ideology, was haphazardly enforced, and thus that there were numerous ^„forbidden' Yiddish performances in Russia between 1883 and 1905. Dr Barbara Henry further demonstrated the widespread performances of Yiddish plays in the Russian language between 1905 and 1917. Taking the participants into the Soviet period, Dr Jeffrey Veidlinger posed the provocative thesis that the Soviet Yiddish theater employed a network of encrypted Jewish content, making actors such as Shloyme Mikhoels a sort of 'modern-day Marrano.' Joseph Schein, the world's leading authority on the Moscow Yiddish theater, provided an eyewitness account of his work with such figures as Mikhoels, Binyomin Zuskin, and Marc Chagall. 6) The session devoted to Yiddish theater music proved as stimulating as it was controversial. Ron Robboy played an example of renowned composer Alexander Olshanetsky's use of Wagner's 'Tristan Chord,' raising perplexing questions about musical intertextuality and the intersection of Jewish and anti-Semitic cultural expression. Professor Seth Wolitz stayed closer to home, exploring Avrom Goldfaden's melding of music, subject matter, and dramatic context in the opera Shulamis and thereby making a claim for Goldfaden's being a great artist rather than merely a successful entertainer. 7) Yiddish theater criticism was shown to contain more nuance than is generally known even by scholars in the field. Nina Warnke, exploring the aesthetic politics of critics in New York around the turn of the century, argued that their widely shared view of the Yiddish theater audience as a bunch of wayward children blinded them to many of the achievements of the Yiddish theater. Chronologically, Dr Joel Berkowitz picked up where Ms Warnke left off: in 1913, the time of the Mendel Beilis blood libel trial in Kiev. Dr Berkowitz documented responses to dramatic representations to the trial in Europe and North America, a phenomenon that raised many fundamental questions about the implications of staging current events and the content of the Yiddish repertoire. II. Assessment of the results The presentations surveyed in section (1) offered a great deal of new information about the study of Yiddish theater that will undoubtedly have lasting implications for scholars in the field. Collectively, the sessions demonstrated that the Yiddish theatrical repertoire is broader and more diverse than generally believed, more widespread geographically, and more intertwined with politics, social forces, and aesthetic sensibilities of any given time and place. Of course, the ideas laid out in this Workshop represent only the beginning: what we believe will pave the way to a new generation of Yiddish theater scholarship. In his Opening Address to the Workshop participants, Dr Berkowitz outlined several areas requiring further attention by scholars, teachers, and performers of Yiddish theater. Many of those attending eagerly took up his call for a formal discussion of such issues in a round-table discussion that constituted the last session of the symposium. That discussion led to the creation of a new research network, the Yiddish Theater Forum. The Forum, which will expand to include other theater scholars worldwide, intends to carry on an ongoing internet discussion of research issues concerning the Yiddish theater, hold a biennial conference, and enhance the visibility and quality of Yiddish theater studies in academic organisations such as the Modern Language Association, the Association for Jewish Studies, and the European Association for Jewish Studies. A volume of conference proceedings is being planned. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 December 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Books and Reprints Received 1. Samuel Batt, _Farn koved funem folk_, Los Anzheles: Mayrev Holivuder Yidish Kultur Klub, 1999, 129 zz. [yidish], 118 zz. (english). [English title page: Samuel Batt, _For the People's Honor; screenplay_, Los Angeles, CA: West Hollywood Yiddish Culture Club, 1999] [author's address: 7540 Hampton Ave., #396 West Hollywood, CA. 90046]. ["geshribn in english april 1983 ibergezetst baym mekhaber oyf yidish nerts 1999' ('written in English in April 1983 and translated by the author into Yiddish in March 1999'). 2. Kerler, Dov-Ber, ed. _Politics of Yiddish; Studies in Language, Literature, and Society [=Winter Studies in Yiddish , Volume 4] (Walnut Creek / London / New Delhi: Altamira Press, 1998, 213 pp. [ISBN 0-7619-9025-9]). CONTENTS Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dov-Ber Kerler On the "Politics of Yiddish". 1 Politics, Ideology, and Scholarship 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Emanuel S. Goldsmith Yiddishism and Judaism. 11 Avraam Greenbaum Yiddish language politics in the Ukraine (1930-1936). 23 Christopher Hutton What was going on at the 1935 Yivo Conference? 29 Robert D. King The Czernowitz Conference in retrospect. 41 Holger Nath The first international Conference of the Catalan Language in Barcelona (1906): a spiritual precursor to Czernowitz (1908)? 51 Rakhmiel Peltz The politics of research on spoken Yiddish.63 Communities, Centres, and Cities 75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Milton Doroshkin Yiddish socialist press in New York, 1880s-1920s. 77 Miriam Isaacs Yiddish in orthodox communities of Jerusalem. 85 Josef Kerler Shloyme Mikhoels and his theater. 97 Hannah Kiiger Writers must eat: the New York City Yiddish Writers Group of the Works Progress Administration. 107 Raphaela Lewis Petticoat Lane and the North-West Passage (London, 1880-1940). 123 Edna Nahshon Art and politics: the case of the New York Artef Theater (1925-1940). 133 Language, Folklore, and Literature ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ahuva Belkin _Zmires purim_ -- the third phase of Jewish carnavalistic folk-literature. 149 Dafna Clifford Dovid Bergelson's _Bam Dnieper_: a 157 passport to Moscow. Josef Kerler Dovid Hofstein - our first wonder. 171 Frank Knowles The Aston corpus of Soviet Yiddish lexicon. 187 Rina Lapidus A Vilna folklorist's collection: Structural analysis of Yiddish riddles. 193 193 Wolf Moskovich Mr Khauruchenka, Miss Shaihets', Mrs Hoika and others: the origin of some unusual family names. 201 List of contributors 213 ======================================================================= End of _The Mendele Review_ 03.019 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 03.020 30 December 1999 1) Yiddish Matters: from the editor (Leonard Prager) 2) "noyekh prilutski" (a. almi) 3) "misnagdim" (from _mayne zikhroyenes_) (yekhezkl kotik)      Yiddish      Yiddish annotated 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 December 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters --- a) _The Mendele Review_ completes its third volume and looks forward to the new millenium; b) "noyekh prilutski" by a. almi; c) yekhezkl kotik on misnagdim a) With this issue _TMR_ completes its third volume and looks forward to the new millenium, one in which the Noyekh Prilutski spirit -- "zogt iber s'vertl akurat" -- will continue to inform all we do. I would like especially to thank another Noyekh, our own Noyekh Miller, for his constant help and encouragement, for the prodigious amount of work he has done on the _TMR_ archive and for his exciting plans for the future. I thank Refoyl Finkel for the wonders of his ever more powerful Yiddish Typewriter and Iosif Vaisman for his steady cooperation. I, thank, too our romanizers and proofreaders, past and present -- Craig Abernethy, Lucas Bruyn, Itsik Goldenberg, Mirl Hirshan, Leah Krikun -- and invite others to join in this vital part of the _TMR_ enterprise. b) A. Almi's poem "noyekh prilutski" Almi's poem "noyekh prilutski" expresses the love that Yiddish poets and fiction writers have had for the scholars of Yiddish. Noyekh [Noah] Prilutski (1882-1941) was an advocate who assisted many persons in their struggle against an antisemitic regime which used bureaucratic means to thwart its Jewish citizens economically. He was also a linguist and an indefatigable collector of folk expressions (see _TMR_ vol.1, nos. 16 and 17 for the first dialogue in his _Dos gevet_). The poem paints the Jewish situation in Poland before the German invasion, and may have been composed around 1939-1940. It appears in a collection significantly titled _letste gezangen_ ('Last Poems'). The author had decided never again to publish a book of poems -- his personal situation and that of Yiddish were his reasons. He asked "For whom?" (p. 9) and would indeed be surprized that several thousand Mendelistn are reading his poem in praise of a great student of Yiddish; he would be less surprized that the dwindling company of Yiddish writers continue to ask themselves "For whom?" c) yekhezkl kotik's _mayne zikhroynes_ In full agreement with Sholem-Aleykhem and other discerning readers, we continue in this issue to show our high estimate of Yekhezkl Kotik's _mayne zikhroynes_ by giving an arresting excerpt from Volume One, Chapter 29. The next issue of _TMR_ will give the second half of this chapter, "Khsidim." Subsequently, thanks to the romanizing labors of Lucas Bruyn, we will offer the first two chapters of the less well known second volume. See _TMR_ 3:007 for an earlier introduction to Yekhezkl Kotik. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 December 1999 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "noyekh prilutski" by a. almi a. almi (1892-1963) "noyekh prilutski" fun smotshe, stavke, gizke, shliske un fun di shtetlekh -- nont un vayt -- es tsit zikh folk tsu shvyente kzhiske, skeynim, vayber, yungelayt. mit peklekh un mit hoyle poles kumt s'folk tsu noyekhn tsu geyn; prilutskis hoyz iz ful mit goles, mit krekhts un folkslid un geveyn. men nemt fun yidn tsu parnose, "oy, ratevet, her advokat"; nor do hot noyekh a bakoshe, "zogt iber s'vertl akurat".... prilutski shraybt, farshraybt papirn: mishpotim -- lider -- rednsart; zayn feder eylt -- nisht tsu farlirn a yidish vertl, klug un tsart. er hert un forsht a yede mine un zapt zikh on mit yedns tsar; un teyl mol iz a lid, a tkhine zayn eyntsiker un hekhster skhar. (fun a. almi [Elias Sheps], _letste gezangen_, buenos-ayres, 1954 [aroysgegebn mit der hilf fun farband fun varshever un prager yidn in Argentine], z. 60.] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 December 1999 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: "misnagdim" [from Chapter 29, Volume One _mayne zikhroynes_] (yekhezkl kotik) yekhezkl kotik "mayne zikhroynes," berlin 1922 (tsveyte oyfgabe) ershter teyl, kapitl 29 (zz. 331-336) khsides un misnagdes. --- vos far a rayts ligt in khsides, vos hot oyfgerirt di gantse yidishe velt? --- misnagdes als shite --- der shulkhn-orekh. --- di khesroynes fun misnagdes. --- khsidim --- der bal-shem. --- di tsugenglekhkayt fun khsides far ale shikhtn fun folk. --- reb moyshe-khayim lutsatos mesilas-yeshorim. --- di demokratishe oyffirung fun khsidim. --- der rebe un di khsidishe simkhes. --- di khesroynes fun khsides. --- der sakhakl. [misnagdes] mit mayn bobes toyt hot zikh eygntlekh badarft shlisn der ershter teyl fun mayne zikhroynes. ikh fil ober, az es muz vos gezogt vern vegn khsides un misnagdes. vi der lezer hot bamerkt, iz in mayn bukh a sakh mol barirt gevorn der kamf tsvishn khsides un misnagdes. ot der kamf, velkhe ikh hob aleyn badarft durkhtrogn oyf mayne pleytses, hot mikh gekost nisht veynik gezunt, un deriber, vilndik nisht vilndik, muz ikh dokh eyn mol shteln in klal di frage: vos far a rayts ligt es in dem khsides, vos hot oyfgerirt di gantse yidishe velt un vos hot ibergetsoygn tsu zikh a gevaldike tsol yidn in di shtet un shtetlekh? in vos fort ligt zayn kraft? farvos hot der khsidizm gekont afile bay misnagdishe rabonim tsunemen di kinder un onmakhn an emesn khurbm in a misnagdisher mishpokhe? ikh vel mikh pruvn nokh mayne koykhes nokh tsu farentfern di dozike frage. makhmes nisht ale veysn bekhlal dem tamtses fun khsides un afile fun misnagdes, veln mir pruvn dem inyen etvos farbreytern un klorer makhn. misnagdim firn zikh loyt dem shulkhn-orekh, in velkhn es kumen arayn ale dinim fun toyre-shebiksav un toyre-shebalpe. dos zaynen alts dinim-maysim, vos der mentsh (332) darf ton un vos er darf nisht ton; ober der shulkhn-orekh hot nisht geshribn, vos der mentsh darf trakhtn un denken, vi di gemore zogt, "rakhamono libey boiy," dos heyst, got fodert dos harts. vegn dem iz in shulkhn-orekh gornisht dermont. un azoy hobn di geoynim nokhn shulkhn-orekh geshribn, vos a yid darf ton, vi er darf zikh firn un alts shverer gemakht di shvere yidishe dinim, vos iz geven ummeglekh ibertsutrogn. hagam der barimter seyfer khoyves-halevoves, vos iz farfast fun rabeynu bakhye hazokn, mit akht hundert yor tsurik un redt arum mit zeyer klore un daytlekhe verter, vi azoy der mentsh darf nor reynikn dos harts mit gute mides, dokh nisht kukndik oyf dem, vos der seyfer iz zeyer ongenumen, tayer un populer bay yidn biz hayntikn tog, hot der shulkhn-orekh, vos iz aroys fil shpeter fun khoyves-halevoves, fundestvegn farnumen bay yidn dem hoyptplats. der shulkhn-orekh iz gevorn bay zey der gantser iker fun yidishkayt un gevizn mitsves-maysim, dos heyst nor ton mitsves bepoyel mamesh, ober nisht denken. di mitsves, vos zaynen shayekh tsu der neshome, tsu der psikhik fun mentshn, vi gayve, anove, ahave, sine, kine, kaas, khnife, sholem voriv ukhedoyme, loyt dem zin fun toyre un neviim zaynen gevorn bay yidn a tofl, a min bayzakh, oyf velkhe men kon kukn mit fardros, mit harts-veytik, ober dokh farbaylozn farbay oyg. loyt dem shulkhn-orekh mit di iberike geoynishe sforim, darf a yid davnen un lernen, un fastn, un zikh paynikn un gor keyn hanoe nisht hobn fun der velt, azoy vi men dertseylt fun vilner goen, velkher hot gefirt a groyse makhloykes mit di khsidim, az er flegt oprikhtn goles, flegt er broyt nisht esn, nor shlingen, kedey er zol keyn tam fun esn nisht filn. un di frume misnagdim hobn take gedavnt fil un gelernt fil, un geton mitsves fil, un hobn zikh fil gepaynikt, un fil geveynt, un nokh alem zaynen zey geven in groys shrek far di malakhe-khabole, vos paynikn dem mentshn oyf yener velt mit di shreklekhste yesurim, vos a moyl kon nor oysreydn. der frumer misnaged iz shtendik geven fartroyert, farkhoyshekht un dershlogn: fun der velt hot er nisht getort genisn un far yener velt hot er moyre gehat, un er iz keyn mol nisht yoytse gevorn farn shulkhn-orekh un far di sforim fun di geoynim. er (333) iz shtendik geven hintershtelik in emune-zakhn un hot zikh geshrokn far der hintershtelikayt. un ver redt --- yene misnagdim, vos hobn nisht gehat keyn shtarke frume naturn, zaynen avade geven dershlogn fun zeyer shvakher yidishkayt un hobn shtendik gelebt in eyn eyme un pakhed far dem din-vkhezhbm fun bezdn-shel-mayle, velkher bashtroft shreklekh far yede mindste aveyre. azoy hot zikh yeder misnaged arumgetrogn mit zayn emune-tsar, un keyn brekl simkhe iz bay zey nisht geven tsu zen. a fartsogt folk, vos laydt goles un tsores, un oyserdim hobn zey a yene velt, nokhn toyt, nokh mit gresere yesurim, vos di yesurim fun der velt zaynen a tropn in yam antkegn yene. loyt di shite fun misnagdim kon an amorets, a yid vos kon nisht lernen, avade keyn erlekher yid nisht zayn. er muz lernen un visn ot di ale dinim, er darf bekhlal lernen, lernen un lernen. es farshteyt zikh, az an amorets hot bay keynim keyn vert nisht, er vert gehast, un oyb er iz an oreman, vos tsulib dem darf men im gevis moykhl zayn zayn ameratses, vert er nokh dertsu gehaltn far a gemeyn bashefenish. aza yid iz bay zikh genug gefaln, vorem er iz nisht mer, vi a ben-odem, un di iberike zaynen bney-elohim. in ot der nideriker madreyge hobn zikh shtendik gefunen bale-melokhes. bale-melokhes zaynen fun oreme eltern. di oreme eltern hobn opgegebn di kinder yung tsu der arbet. di kinder hobn deriber nisht gekont lernen, zaynen geven ameratsim un nokh oreme-layt! iz bay misnagdim a bal-melokhe farrekhnt geven vi a gemeyn bashefenish. es farshteyt zikh, az fun aza batsiung tsu a poshetn yidn, vos hot zikh, nebekh, tsulib goles gemuzt opraysn fun lernen, hot zikh bay di misnagdim gemuzt shtark antviklen dos gefil fun gayve. hersht take shreklekh dos gefil fun gayve bay misnagdim. a kleynikayt --- koved! yogn zey zikh nokh koved oyf alerley oyfanim. yeder misnaged mest mit a mos zayn yikhes un dem khavers yikhes. der yikhes bashteyt fun tsvey sortn: raykhkayt-yikhes un toyre-yikhes. geyt es azoy: ver es kon beser lernen, tsi ver es hot toyznt rubl halt zikh groys kegn dem, vos hot hundert rubl, un der vos hot tsen toyznt rubl, halt zikh groys kegn dem, vos hot toyznt un azoy vayter. (334) itst iz farshtendlekh di niderike un dershlogene madreyge, in velkher es gefinen zikh in di shuln un bote-midroshim di oreme-layt (sofkl-sof falt di kharpe fun ameratses nor oyfn oreman, vorem on di ameratses fun gvir fargest men tsulib zayn gelt). mit zey shemt men zikh tsu redn, far zey zaynen oysgeteylt erter nebn tir un men kukt zikh nisht um oyf zey. oykh felt bay misnagdim di mide fun akhdes un sholem. yederer lebt far zikh un keyner vil nisht visn vos der anderer makht. az dos gefil fun gayve iz shtark antviklt, antviklt zikh shoyn bmeyle dos gefil fun kine un azoy fargint men nisht bay misnagdim eyner dem andern nisht yenems gelt, nisht yenems koved, nisht yenems yikhes. un shtendik iz bay zey krig un makhloykes say in di shtotishe inyonim, say in privatn lebn un say in di bote-midroshim. di bote-midroshim zaynen bay yidn dos eyntsike ort, vu men klaybt zikh tsunoyf. amol flegt men farbrengen dem grestn teyl tsayt in besmedresh. dray mol in tog davnen, lernen un glat shmuesn. azoy iz der besmedresh der eyntsiker "klub" bay yidn. nor tsulib der misnagdisher shite iz ayngefirt, az yeder hot zayn bashtimt ort, vos er koyft far gelt, un az er kumt in besmedresh tsum davnen, shtelt er zikh oyf zayn plats, vos heyst "shtot". yeder hot in besmedresh zayn shtot, vos geyt iber tsu di kinder byerushe. di "shtet" shpiln a groyse role in dem inyen fun koved un yikhes. a misnaged kon zikh onton di greste shverikaytn, abi er zol hobn in besmedresh a hekhere shtot fun zayn khaver, oder khotsh nisht keyn klenere. in di shtetlekh, in mayne kindershe yorn, gedenk ikh, az der prayz fun a shtot in mizrekh iz geven azoy groys vi der prayz fun a hoyz. di dozike "shtet" hobn nisht veynik blut kalye gemakht dem misnaged, un der, vos vet amol shraybn di geshikhte fun zey, vet hobn aza materyal, vos vet im gikher dermonen in a drobner heslekher milkhome, eyder in an inyen, vos iz shayekh tsu emune, tsu a shul. di oreme-layt, vi gezogt, shteyn baym same tir. zey hobn nisht keyn ort, vu tsu zitsn, punkt vi zey voltn geven shteyner un nisht keyn mentshn. un keyn eyn misnaged hot zikh zikher - khotsh oyf a regele --- nisht farklert, tsi iz dos pasik far gots hoyz, az mentshn zoln dort (335) geteylt vern oyf "shener" un oyf "miser", oyf raykher un oyf oremer. afile bay di alies tsu der toyre iz vayter koved. men teylt di balebatim alies, un in di alies zaynen oykh do madreyges vi lemoshl, shlishi, shishi, vos zaynen di hekhste madreyges. un shvii, akhren, mafter, vos zaynen shoyn fun a klenerer madreyge, un revii, khamishi, --- fun nokh a klenerer. der gabe, vos shteyt bay der toyre un teylt di alies, vegt dem koved fun yeder balebos un kneytsht gut dem shtern, tsi past di un di parshe fun undzer heyliker toyre, vu yedes vort iz an oytser, far dem un dem balebos, vi meshune dos iz! un dos rov mistame "past" zi nisht, krigt men zikh, shlogt men zikh afile, un mit sine-kine iz ongefilt di atmosfer fun a misnagdim-shul. alies zaynen faran ingantsn akht, tsvishn di por hundert davner zaynen ober faran in yeder shul bay etlekhe tsendlik gvirim negidim, groyse balebotim un "sheyne" yidn, vos viln umbadingt an aliye --- tseteylt men bay misnagdim di psukim fun der toyre un men ruft oyf nokh shishi nisht parshevayz, nor psukimvayz. di oreme-layt ober vern kemat keyn mol nisht oyfgerufn tsu der toyre. vi yidn, un vi frume yidn, farshaft es zey, farshteyt zikh, a sakh tsar un fardros, un derfun mistame hot zikh dos genumen, vos dos rov hobn oreme mentshn un bale-melokhes ayngeordnt minyonim far zikh, vu zey konen genisn an aliye un opotemen fray fun di kharpes, vos zey hobn oystsushteyn in di shuln un bote-midroshim. alzo, iz in besmedresh bay di misnagdim nishto keyn akhdes un keyn sholem, un keyn simkhe. azoy vi in der-vokhn, azoy iz shabes un yontef. yeder misnaged geyt nokhn davnen aheym, est op mit zayn familye un geyt shlofn. men zingt nisht, men tantst nisht, men freyt zikh nisht. oder gedavnt, oder gelernt, oder epes geton, oder gegesn, oder geshlofn. zakhn, vos zoln zayn oyser davnen, oyser lernen, oyser esn un shlofn, torn nisht zayn. es farshteyt zikh, az fun dem alem iz der misnaged arayngefaln in a shreklekher truknkayt, in a min vistenish, vu simkhe, ekstaz un emese lebns-bagaysterung hobn gornisht gekont zayn. dos zaynen in kurtsn di khesroynes fun misnagdes, als azelkhes: opgezundertkayt, opgeteyltkayt, eyme far yener velt, (336) absolut on der velt, has un farakhtung tsu umshuldiker ameratses, vos iz geven bloyz oyfn oreman, makhmes dem gvir, dem amorets, hot men moykhl geven. has un farakhtung tsum oremen bekhlal, als azelkhn, gayve, kine, sine, makhloykes, yikhes, un iberhoypt, truknkayt, lebnslozikayt, on simkhe, on freyd, on ekstaz, --- ot di ale zakhn, vos zaynen shtendik azoy tsum hartsn di demokratishe teyln fun folk. es farshteyt zikh, az bay azoyne badingungen hot bay yidn gemuzt aroysshpringen epes a naye shite, an iberkerenish, a nayes, vos iz take bald gekumen. ======================================================================= end of _The Mendele Review_ 03.020 Leonard Prager, editor Subscribers to _Mendele_ (see below) automatically receive _The Mendele Review_. Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to: listproc@lists.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele ****Getting back issues**** _The Mendele Review_ archives can be reached at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm