_The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 04.001 31 January 2000 1) Yiddish Matters: from the editor (Leonard Prager) a. Is Yiddish a "kultur-shprakh"? b) Yekhezkl Kotik on Hasidim c. Books Received 2) "khsidim" (from Chapter 29, Volume One _mayne zikhroynes" (yekhezkl kotik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 January 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a. Is Yiddish a "kultur-shprakh"? Yochanan Reshet in a review of Dan Miron's _Sheleg al kanaf ha-yona; pegishot im shirato shel avraham sutskever" ['Snow on the pigeon's wing; encounters with the poetry of Abraham Sutzkever'] (Keshev leshira, 1990, 92 pp,) writes: "At the center of the book, chapters of which were written at various periods from 1982 on, is Miron's portrait of Sutzkever as a romantic classicist, a poet whose verse is intricate, modern and intellectual. Miron thereby refutes the accepted image of Yiddish as a folk language and a humorous one." [my translation - ed.] Reshet's crucial sentence in Hebrew reads "soter et hadimui hamekubal shel hayidish kesafa amamit veaf humoristit." [HaAretz 7.1.2000, p. 14 B] In the history of the "riv haleshonot" (the language quarrel) in Palestine, especially during the first three decades of the twentieth century, Hebraist opposition was not so much to Yiddish per se as to its use as a "cultural" medium. Hence the boycott of Yiddish lectures, theater performances, etc. The State of Israel continued this delegitimization of Yiddish as a medium of "high culture" in its resistance to the establishment of a chair in Yiddish at the Hebrew University, Yiddish dailies and Yiddish television. Miron in his book on Sutzkever rates the poet as a major world poet but concedes that he has not won recognition in Israel as an Israeli poet; the late Dov Sadan's concept of "one literature in two languages" has not penetrated beyond a small circle of critics and scholars. In the past few weeks the literary columns of the Israel press have heaped praise on Avraham Yavin's new translation of Sholem-Aleykhem's _Motl peyse dem khazns_. _HaAretz_ (28.1.2000, p. 15B) cites the famous "Mir iz gut -- ikh bin a yosem!" passage from the novel in Yiddish (though in obsolete spelling) together with six Hebrew translations (Y._D. Berkovits, Bialik/Ravnitski, Uriel Ofek, David Shtray, Aryeh Aharoni, Avraham Yavin). For almost a century efforts have been made, with lesser or greater success, to capture Sholem-Aleykhem's Yiddish classic in Hebrew. The Hebrew language in this same century has developed brilliantly and today gives us translations from many languages that are indesputable works of art. Yet everyone knows the intrinsic limitations of translation and no one doubts that Sholem-Aleykhem's Yiddish works are best enjoyed in Yiddish. It is also true, as Reshet indicates above, that both in Israel and in the diaspora Yiddish has been "ludicized" and "folklorized" -- i.e. made to be seen by many as principally a vehicle for humorous anecdotes, sayings and songs. This completes the early Hebraist program to dissociate Yiddish from "high-culture" functions. The independent reader, however, who makes the effort to master Yiddish and reads _Motl peyse dem khazns_ in the original, will not care that Yiddish lacks the image of a "kultur-shprakh."(1) It is a principal aim of _The Mendele Review_ to subvert the "accepted image" totally. -------- (1) The novel is now available in Yiddish in a modern-spelling edition. See Sholem-Aleykhem. _Motl peyse dem khazns_. Editsye, nokhvort un tekstologisher aparat: Khone Shmeruk. Tsugegreyt tsum druk un tsunoyfgeshtelt dem glosar: Vera Solomon. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1997, 360 pp. [ISBN 965-223-955-0]. See _The Mendele Review_ vol. 1, no. 12 for selections from this edition. b) Yekhezkl Kotik on Hasidim In the first part of Chapter 29 of Volume One of his memoirs (see _The Mendele Review_ vol. 3. no. 20), Kotik painted a forbidding view of the life of misnagdim and argued that a reaction was inevitable. It arrived in the form of hasidism. Kotik in the present issue of _The Mendele Review_ concludes his Chapter 29 with a portrait of hasidism as he knew it. The neglect of family on the part of poor hasidim was of particular concern to him: "What disturbed me about hasidim, even as a child, was the sorry condition of the women which I observed in poor hasidic homes. The men were always cheerful, hearty, eating and drinking and dancing together while their wives and children sat at home, cold and hungry. After work, the hasidim would meet in their prayer hall for a jovial evening, little concerned, it seemed, for hungry wives and children left sitting in their cold homes." c. Books Received --Bat, Shmuel. _kleynikaytn, vizyes un nokh_. mayrev-holivud, kalifornye: shmuel-bat bukh-komitet, 1999, 205 zz., mit fotograf fun mekhaber [Samuel Batt, _Trifles, Visions and More_, West Hollywood, California: Samuel Batt Book Committee, 1999, 205 pp., with photograph of author] [author's address: 7540 Hamptom Ave. #306, West Hollywood, CA 90046. Tel/Fax: 323-851-4657] Biographical sketches, court cases, stories and essays written mainly in the past few years and arranged under five headings: kleynikaytn, funem gerikht zal, vizyes, dertseylungen, eseyen. "a vizye: sholem-aleykhem aykh, sholem-aleykhem!" describes an imagined experience of the author ten years earlier: Sholem-Aleykhem, unrecognized except by the author, attends his own centenary celebration in Warsaw and tells Shmuel Bat: "yidish iz atsind vi dos groz. me toptshet oyf dem, men leygt oyg dem asfalt un beton. ober vi nor a shpurunkele, shtupt es zikh aroys un grint frish un lebedik in der zun. kumen vet a tsayt ven undzer mame loshn vet zikh tseblien afile in medines yisroel. fargedenkt vos ikh zog aykh. kon men den oysrotn dem zeydns, dem tatns, dem eynikls shprakh? zayt gezunt un shraybt, shraybt in mame-loshn..." (p. 102) In the thirty years since receiving this injunction, Shmuel Bat has persisted in writing in Yiddish. His latest collection includes lively accounts of the Polish-Yiddish theatrical figures, Yankev and Sore Rotboym. --Volpe, Dovid A. _ikh un mayn velt; oytobiografishe bleter_. bukh tsvey. yohanesburg / yerusholaim: dov-tov* / y.-l. perets farlag, 1999, 334 zz., ilustrirt, ISBN: 965-7012-33-3 [English t.p.: David E. Wolpe. _I and My World; Autobiography_, Book Two, Johannesburg / Jerusalem: Dov-Tov* / Y.-L. Perets Publishers, 1999, 334 pp., illustrated (pp. 315-334), ISBN: 965-7012-33-3] [author's address: D. Wolpe, 14 Grace Road Observatory, Johannesburg 2198, South Africa] [* = authorial pseudonym] The Lithuanian-born poet and essayist, Dovid Volpe, has written an engaging personal account of a half-century of his life in South Africa. A holocaust survivor, he has been at the center of South African Yiddish culture, editor for many years of the respected monthly _Dorem afrike_. "Teyl Zeks (1951-1998)" is the heading on the first page of text (p. 5) and, curiously enough, it is the _only_ heading outside of the title in the entire volume. The author's style, fortunately, is highly readable (and no less so for the occasional bits of literary gossip), although chapter headings and other devices of division and organization would have been helpful to readers. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 January 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: "khsidim" (from Chapter 29, Volume One _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekhezkl kotik) yekhezkl kotik "mayne zikhroynes," berlin 1922 (tsveyte oyfgabe) ershter teyl, kapitl 29 (zz. 336-344) [khsides] gekumen iz es mit a hundert-zibetsik yor tsurik, --- mitn bal-shem, vemen es hot gelungen tsu zayn der foter fun der iberkerenish. der bal-shem hot gearbet in tsvey punktn: fun eyn zayt hot er fargringert dem yokh fun emune, vos iz geven ummeglekh aribertsutrogn, un az men hot em shoyn yo in gantsn opgehit un getrogn oyf zikh, iz men nokh alts nisht geven zikher mit yener velt; fun der tsveyter zayt, vider, hot er gezen tsu farshtarkn dos yidntum in dem zin, az di eyropeyishe bildung, vos hot zikh shoyn demolt ongehoybn arayntsushparn tsu ale felker, zol nisht kalye makhn di yidn als folk. un nokh demolt hot der geoyn|isher bal-shem farshtanen di umgehoyere badaytung fun der talmudisher fraze, velkhe er hot opgefrisht un farshpreyt tsvishn zayne onhenger: baavor shloysho devorim nigal yisroyl avor sheloy shinu es bigdeyhem, veloshoynom, veshmoyseyhem --- tsulib dray zakhn zaynen yidn oysgeleyzt gevorn, vayl zey hobn nisht umgebitn zeyer shprakh, zeyer nemen un zeyer kleyder. der bal-shem hot zikh oykh batsoygn mit zayn shite oyf der toyre, neviyim, ksuvim un talmud. koydem-kol hot der bal-shem tsebrokhn di shvartse vant, vos misnagdim hobn avekgeshtelt tsvishn yidishkayt un simkhe, tsvishn emune un lebn. er hot gezogt, az got hot hanoe fun simkhe, fun lebn un az afile esn un trinken iz oykh leshem-shomayem. di koyanim, tsum bayshpil, hobn badarft esn di korbones in heylikn ort, in oyhel-moyed. az a yid darf dinen got mit simkhe, shteyt in der toyre in dvorim bay der toykhekhe in [perek 28] posek 44: takhas asher loy ovadeto es adoynay elohekho bsimkho uvetuv leyvov --- vayl du host nisht gedint got mit simkhe un (337) mit harts, derfar hostu di toykhekhe. oykh gefinen mir in shmuel [perek 10, posek 5]: ufogato khevl neviyim yordim mehabomo velifneyhem neyvel, vesof, vekhalil, vekhinor veheymo misnabim. shmuel hot gezogt tsu shoeln: az du vest geyn, vestu bagegnen a makhne neviyim geyen fun heylikn ort, un bay zey iz a poyk mit a fayfl un a fidl, un zey zogn nevies. vayzt dokh oys az di neviyim hobn andersh nisht gekont nevies zogn, nor ven zey hobn geshpilt. in divre-hyomim iz oykh faran: ven doved hot menadev geven fil gold un zilber oyfn bes-h|migdesh, hot er gezogt in zayn tfile: veato amkho h|nimtso po roisi b|simkho lehisnadev lekho --- dayn folk, vos gefint zikh do, hob ikh gezen, az zey zaynen zikh mit simkhe menadev tsu dir. in tilim 43: veovoo el mizbakh elohim el-eyl simkhas gili veodekho bekhinor elohim elohoy [tilim 71 posek 23] teraneyno sefosay ki azamro lokh venafshi asher podiso --- ikh vel kumen tsum mizbeyekh fun got mit mayn freyd un ikh vel loybn mit mayn fidl dikh, got, mayne leftsn veln zingen un mayn nefesh vet zingen tsu dir, vos du host mir oysgeleyzt. nokh iz faran in tilim 68 [posek 4]: tsadikim yismekhu, yaaltsu lifney elohim veyosisu besimkho --- di tsadikim freyen zikh far got un freyen zikh in simkhe. oyf dem zogt der medresh: keshetihye oymed lehispolel yehey libekho sameyakh olekho sheato mispalel lelohim sheeyn keyoytse bo. ki zos hi hasimkho haamitis. yehey libo shel odom alez veeyn hashekhino shoyro elo mitokh simkho shel mitsvo --- ven du vest shteyn un davnen, zol dayn harts in dir zikh freyen, vos du davnst tsu aza got, vos iz zayn glaykhn nishto, vorum dos iz di emese simkhe, ven dos harts fun mentshn iz durkhgedrungen mit freyd. in tilim 100 posek 2: ivdu es adoynay besimkho bou lefonov birenono --- dint got mit simkhe un kumt far im mit gezang. deroyf zogt di gemore in shabes 66: eyn hashekhino shuro elo mitokh simkho shel mitsvo --- di shkhine rut nisht andersh, nor beys der simkhe fun a mitsve. tilim 104 [posek 34] : yeerav olov sikhi onokhi esmakh badoynay --- far got zaynen zis mayne reyd un ikh frey mikh mit got. in tilim 149: yismakh yisroyl beoysov bney tsiyon yagilu bemalkom --- yisroyl freyt zikh mit zayn bashefer, di bney-tsien freyen zikh mit zeyer meylekh. shir-hashirim [perek 1 posek 4]: mashkeyni akharekho narutso, havieyni hameylekh khadorov, nagilo venismekho bekho --- tsi mikh, got, ikh vel dir nokhloyfn; der meylekh hot mikh gebrakht in zayne khadorim, veln mir zikh freyen un fargenign hobn mit dir. der barimter r' moyshe-khayim lutsatw, vos iz nokh geven farn bal-shem, hot geshribn in zayn "mesilas yeshorim," az a yid darf nor reynikn dos harts far got. shoyn in der hakdome zogt er: "sheyirmu (338) rohv bney odom, shehakhasidus beamiras mizmoyrim harbey, viduim arukim meod, tsomos kashim --- kulom devorim, asher eyn haseykhl noyekh bohem veeyn hadaas shekeyto, vehakhasidus haamitis hanirtse vehanekhmod rakhok mitsiyur sikhleynu" --- dos rov mentshn meynen, az khsides iz ongevendt bloyz oyf zogn fil mizmoyrim mit lange viduim, mit shvere taneysim --- azelkhe zakhn, vos der seykhl iz zey nisht maseg. in perek 18 bay der derklerung fun mides khsides, zogt er, az mentshn hobn kalye gemakht dem ruekh hakhasides in di oygn fun hamoyn un oykh bay di maskilim, velkhe meynen, az khsides batsien zikh tsu azelkhe narishkaytn oder azelkhe zakhn, vos dos iz kegn seykhl-hayoshor. zey gloybn, az dos gantse khsides balangt nor in zogn fil bakoshes, in geveynen, in bukenish mit meshunedike paynikungen, vos der mentsh zol zikh toytn durkh zey. neyn, nisht dos iz khsides! un er rekhnt oys di gute madreyges, vos der mentsh darf bazitsn, un az dos vort khosed iz di hekhste madreyge, hekher fun tsadek, un khsides iz durkh simkhe mitn harts, mitn gayst. veomru khazal [khokhmeynu zikhroynom levrokho] [shabes 30b]: eyn hashekhino shoyro loy mitokh atsvus --- di gemore zogt: di shkhine rut nisht oyf troyer. un der bal-shem hot fartift un farbreytert dem gedank, az a yid darf dinen got nor mit simkhe, der mentsh tor gor nisht tsulozn keyn moreshkhoyre, keyn troyer. er darf shtendik zayn lustik un freylekh, un dos heyst mit an emes dinen got. vayter darf a yid zikh dervaytern fun ale shlekhte mides, bazunders fun gayve, vos dos iz di muter fun ale shlekhte mides. yidn darfn lebn in akhdes un sholem. es darf nisht zayn keyn greser, keyn klener --- un demolt vet kumen di geule. ober azoy vi yidn lebn nisht dervayle in zeyer land, zey zaynen tsevorfn iber medines un shtet, zol yeder teyl, yeder kibuts yidn oysklaybn far zikh a rebe, vos zol shteyn absolut brosh fun dem kibuts, un zayne verter darfn zayn heylik far alemen! men tor im nisht vidershprekhn oyf a hor. vi di gemore zogt [rosheshone 25,72]: "yerubaal bdoro kmoyshe bdoro dan bdoro karn bdoro, yiftakh bdoro kshmuel bdoro, lelamdekho sheafilu kal-shebekalim shenismane parnas el hatsibur, harey hu avir shebeavirem" --- yerubaal in zayn dor iz, vi moyshe in zayn dor, don in zayn dor iz, vi arn in zayn dor, yiftakh in zayn dor iz, vi shmuel in zayn dor --- fun danen iz gedrungen, az afile a kal (339) shebekalim, der gringster (der klenster) mentsh, az er vert oyfgenumen far a firer bay a tsiber, iz vi der grester mentsh. yeder gedank fun a yidn, vos gefint zikh in a kibuts, darf nor zayn getsilt tsu ot dem mentshn, far im darfn zey antdekn ale zeyere soydes, far im darfn zey efenen zeyere laydn un freydn, zeyer harts un neshome, un nor azoy vet konen bay yidn zayn akhdes un sholem. un oyf sholem shteyt di velt. es farshteyt zikh, az di dozike verter zaynen geven akurat tsugepast tsu der trukener, moreshkhoyrediker misnagdisher tsayt. zey zaynen geven vi a guter regn oyf a fartriknt feld. un yidn hobn zikh a shot geton tsu khsides. di zelbe emune, der zelber das, der zelber shulkhn-orekh, nor a laykhterer, a laykhter lebn, a laykhterer emune-yokh mit simkhe, hespayles un ekstaz. un iberhoypt --- ale glaykh , ale glaykh --- nisht do keyn yikhes. itst darf men zikh nisht paynikn biz in toyt arayn un zikh nisht metsaer zayn, nor farkert, esn di beste maykholim un trinken di beste vaynen --- abi zol nor zayn. mitn esn un trinken di beste vaynen kon men azoy gut dinen got, vi mitn davnen un mitn lernen, abi men est nor leshem-shomayim, mit a freylekh harts, mit simkhe, tayneg. a yid darf tomed zayn lustik un freylekh, a yid darf nisht zayn bay zikh gefaln mit zayn yidishkayt, ven er kon afile nisht lernen. men kon dinen got mitn gedank, mitn gefil, afile mit a krekhts. bay di misnagdim zaynen afile di lomdim gefaln bay zikh in di inyonim fun yidishkayt. zey haltn fun dem, vos der tane r' zire hot gezogt in der gemore [shabes 112b]: im rishoynim bney malokhim onu bney anoshim, veim rishoynim bney anoshim onu kekhamoyrim, veloy kekhamor shel r' duse ve|r' pinkhes ben yair elo kekhamoyrim stam --- oyb di ershte zaynen kinder fun malokhim, zaynen mir kinder fun mentshn, un oyb di ershte zaynen kinder fun mentshn, zaynen mir khamoyrim, eyzlen, un afile nisht der eyzl fun r' khanine ben duse un fun pinkhes ben yair, nor proste eyzlen... ober loyt der shite fun bal-shem, zaynen yidn zeyer groys, men darf eygntlekh nisht hobn geoynes un keyn oysergeveyntlekhe feikaytn. zaynen zey do, iz avade gut, anisht --- shadt oykh nisht. ale yidn konen zayn tsadikim, di ameratsim vi di lomdim, nor a gut harts (340) farmogn iz shoyn genug. di misnagdim haltn fun dem posek [oves 2:5]: "veloy amoretss khosed" --- an amoretss kon keyn khosed nisht zayn, dos iz nisht rikhtik. an amoretss mit a gut harts kon zayn a greserer yid, a greserer khosed, eyder der grester talmid-khokhim. vi gezogt, hobn zikh yidn a shot geton tsu khsides. far proste yidn iz dokh dos khsides geven mamesh a glik. zayn aktsye hot zikh itst in gantsn gehoybn. oyser dem, iz er frier in besmedresh nor keyn mentsh nisht geven, nisht bay zikh un nisht bay andere. un do, in khsidem-shtibl, vi men ruft dem khsidishn besmedresh, iz er glaykh mitn grestn talmid-khokhim. oreme-layt vider zaynen glaykh mit di greste gvirim. lomdim misnagdim hot dos khsides oykh tsufridngeshtelt dermit, vos zey hobn zikh gekont bafrayen fun moreshkhoyre, zaynen gevorn royshndiker, rirevdiker un tif-denkerisher, vos zey hobn frier nisht gekont. far zey hot zikh oykh geefnt a nay feld fun mistik un kabole, vos di poezye fun dem trinkt on vi mit gute vayn. un nokh alemen hot geraytst un getsoygn di fraye khsidishe shtimung. a misnaged tut shtendik un dayget. az es kumt far yontef, muz er zikh makhn a sheynem malbush, vorem in besmedresh kukt men shtark oyf malbushim. tomer hat a misnaged nisht keyn sheynem malbush, shemt er zikh far dem tsveytn, vos geyt in a shenern malbush. bay di khsidim iz di dayge fun malbushim arop in gantsn, vi bekhlal dayges. dort, in khsidim-shtibl, shpiln sheyne kleyder keyn role nisht. men kukt zikh nor nisht um, in vos far a kapote der oder yener khosed geyt. ale zaynen glaykh. in khsidim-shtibl iz nishto keyn khazoke-shtet, nishto in gantsn keyn shtet, yederer shtelt zikh davnen, vu es kumt im oys, un in klal shteyt men nisht bay khsidim oyf eyn ort baym davnen. men dreyt zikh, men varft zikh, der temperament lozt nisht aynshteyn. men muz zikh bavegn. geyn take um khsidim beshas zey davnen. eyner shteyt frier in mizrekh, dernokh baym tir, dernokh in dorem, in tsofn --- mit eyn vort, men dreyt zikh. un oykh hitn zey nisht dos davnen btsiber; di haltn "borekh-sheomar" un yene "yishtabakh," un di "shimenesre," un der roykhert a lulke. roykhern iz bay zey oykh a mitsve. un do in a vinkl shteyen etlekhe khsidim. eyner halt in hant a fleshl bronfn mit a kelishok [vaynraykh un stutshkov: "kelishik"] un trinkt mit an eyde yidn lekhayim --- (341) di hobn shoyn opgedavnt nokh farn oylem. kotsker khsidim konen zikh makhn lekhayim, afile nokh farn davnen, in mitn kumt nokh eyner on mit a nigundl, un etlekhe yinglekh helfn im tsu --- un es iz freylekh. gayve iz bekhlal bay khsidim nisht faran, azoy vi dos volt nor oyf der velt nisht geven. ale zaynen glaykh, oreme mit raykhe, ameratsim mit lomdim, yungere mit eltere. dos rohv "dutsn" zikh khsidim, un zey konen gor nisht farlaydn, az men "irtst" zikh. irtsn zikh iz bay zey a min anti-khsides. nor der, vos kon gut zogn, hot a zisn kohl, mit harts, mit kavone, vert zeyer geshetst bay khsidim. oykh der, vos hot in zikh a sakh simkhe, kon makhn a shnaps un khapn a tentsl, vert oykh shtark gelibt. un az im farvilt zikh tantsn, shlept er mit ale khsidim un men geyt. er meg zayn a yungerman, oder an oreman, oder a proster yung. es makht nisht oys. er shlept shoyn arayn in tants dem grestn gvir, dem grestn lamden, dem eltstn zokn, un men tantst in a glatn mitvokh. un tomer foylt zikh tsu amol a raykher zokn, vos dos treft eygntlekh zeltn, krigt er a klap in pleytse un men tsit im far der bord biz er nemt tantsn. un er muz makhn a shnaps oykh, vert er shoyn begilufndik un tantst oyf vos di velt shteyt. bay di khsidim iz shtendik yontef un shtendik freylekh. ven eyner hot yortsayt, raysn shoyn bay im di khsidim in shtibl shnaps. tomer iz er an oreman, gebn di negidim far im shnaps, un ven a shtikl noged hot yortsayt, muz er shoyn gebn shnaps lerov, un der oylem trinkt nokhn davnen un es iz lebedik. in grund iz bay zey yeder tog a min yontef. do iz yortsayt nokhn rebn, makht men a sude un men trinkt, un men est, un men zingt, do iz a gast --- iz vider dos zelbe, do farvilt zikh glat eynem hulyen un azoy vayter. der shabes vos far slikhes beys oyf ale misnagdim tsit zikh aroyf a groyse moreshkhoyre un men rikht zikh oyfn yom-hadin, beys men zogt farnakht in di bote-medroshim dem yomerikn lamenatseyekh, iz do, in khsidim-shtibl, ersht an emese simkhe. in dem zelbn farnakht zingt men bay di khsidim zmires biz shpet in der nakht arayn, nokh shpeter vi ale shabes, un shabes tsu nakhts vert gekokht a krupnik mit fleysh, men brengt shnaps mit bir (dem krupnik kokht (342) men in khsidim-shtibl, oder bay a shokhn), un der oylem zingt farsheydene nigunim dem gantsn ovnt biz halbe nakht. demolt kumen zikh shoyn oyf ale khsidim, men zogt slikhes kurts un munter, un in a halbe sho iz men shoyn fartik mit slikhes. dernokh greyt men tsum tish. oyb der krupnik iz fartik, geyt men esn, anisht zingt men un men tantst mit kavone. un azoy hulyet men op biz fartog, in der nakht iz men mesader dos forn tsum rebn, vifl furn men vet darfn hobn un dos glaykhn. di oreme rukn zikh tsu di raykhere. yeder oremer bashtelt zikh a raykhn oyf tsu forn, un interesant: der oreman kloybt oys dem noged, un nisht der noged dem oreman. un az der oreman kloybt zikh oys, lomir zogn, khayimen, tor im shoyn khayim nisht opzogn. farkert, der noged git im nokh a klap in pleytse, der oreman git im tsurik, un men makht zikh a gelekhter. tsum gresern noged rukn zikh tsu tsvey oreme khsidim, un nor tsu a groysn noged ----- a dray, fir. mayn foter hot shoyn gehat zayne khazoke-khsidimlekh: avrem, hirsh un motke, vos zaynen shoyn mit im geforn ale rosheshone tsum rebn. tsum rebn forn oyf rosheshone mer vi a dritl khsidim, un di iberike, vos forn nisht, kumen zikh ale oyf tsum baleytn di avekforer. men git zey mit kvitlekh-bekoshes tsum rebn, in velkhe es vern oysgeshribn di bekoshes, vos der oder yener farlangt fun reboyne-shel-oylem. un vi azoy khsidim lebn a gants yor, hob ikh, dukht mir, genug bashribn oyfn geherikn ort in mayne zekhroynes. vi ikh hob shoyn gezogt, iz dos khsides tsugepast far ale teyln un klasn fun folk, farn oreman, farn gvir, farn amoretss un farn lamden, farn altn un farn yungn. dem negidishn khosed iz mamesh mekane tsu zayn. im iz beser farn grestn gvir fun misnagdim. un nisht nor bay yidn, a raykher un frumer krist hot gevis nisht dem tayneg fun a raykhn khosed. bay dem letstn iz di shtub ful mit gezang, mit ekstaz un groyser simkhe. nor ikh hob dokh keyn khosed nisht gekont vern. tsu khsides iz nisht gelegn mayn harts. ershtns, hot mikh opgeshtoysn fun khsides der inyen rebe, vos iz shreklekh fremd dem kharakter fun a misnaged. a rebe an un far zikh iz nokh efsher tsu derlaydn. nor der kokh, vos arum em, di umgehoyere badaytung zeyer un dos, vos di rebeshaft geyt iber beyerushe, vi bay a keysr, shtoyst op in gantsn. ikh kon beshum-ofn nisht gloybn, az es zol zayn a mentsh, nisht nokh keyn oysgeklibener, nor beyerushe, far velkhn men zol konen oysreydn dos harts, fartroyen ale felern, vos kumen durkh der natur, oder durkh geveynthayt. un ot der mentsh, vider, zol im lernen vi azoy zikh oystsubesern, optsugeveynen zikh fun zayn shlekhter natur, fun zayne shlekhte geveynthaytn un azoy vayter. un es zol zikh veln im folgn. vider hot mikh opgeshtoysn fun khsidim yinglvayz dos, vos ikh hob mikh ongezen bay oreme khsidim dos shlekhte lebn fun zeyere vayber. di manen, di khsidim, zaynen shtendik freylekh, lustik, esn, trinken, tantsn un zingen mit khsidim, un zeyere vayber un kinder zitsn in der heym in kelt un in hunger.geven khsidim arbeter, vos flegn fardinen in gantsn tsen gildn oder tsvey rubl a vokh. zey flegn vashn shepsene felkhlekh baym taykh um vinter, un di vayber mit di kinder zeyere flegn laydn hunger un kelt. ober nokh der arbet flegn zey, di manslayt, geyn in shtibl, flegn zikh makhn freylekh, hulyen un zingen, un zey hobn zikh, a ponem, veynik metsaer geven derfun, vos dos vayb un kinder zitsn in a kalter dire un hungern. un dos hot mir farshtert di simkhe. psikhologish iz efsher der kibuts gerekht: vos vet shoyn zayn, az er vet zitsn in der heym mit di farkumerte vayb un kinder? vet er zey den dervaremen? vet er zey freylekher makhn? ober oyf mir hot es shtark gevirkt un mir zaynen beser geven gefeln di khmarne misnagdim, vos freyen zikh nisht, vos tantsn nisht un zingen nisht, ober derfar zaynen zey mer nebn zeyere vayb un kinder un trogn oyf zikh dem shvern yokh fun parnose. kegn khsidim hob ikh gehat, farshteyt zikh, teoretishe argumentn oykh, vi ikh hob shoyn geshribn, nor do iz vikhtik tsu dermonen di praktishe zayt, tsulib velkher ikh hob, a ponem, hoyptzekhlekh nisht gekont mushve vern mit der shite. un nokh vos: men darf zikh konen fargesn on dem praktishn lebn un ibergebn zikh in gantsn tsu gezang ( 344) un zorglozikayt. ikh hob dos nisht gekont, un fun mir hot keyn khosed nisht gekont aroys. nokh a feler in khsides muz ikh dermonen, vos hot oyf mir demolt shlekht gevirkt. bay khsidim hobn keyn groyse lamdonim nisht gekont aroyskumen. a gut khsidish yingl mit a gut kepl iz farfaln gegangen. er hot nisht gelernt, bay im zaynen avek di teg in gornisht, un dos hot zeyer vey geton. misnagdishe kinder hobn ober a sakh gelernt, hobn take a sakh gekent un mit zey hot men zikh getsatsket. a misnagdish yingl hot gehorevet. un mir hot zikh oykh gevolt horeven un kenen. un ikh bin azoy in gantsn dervaytert gevorn fun khsides... ======================================================================= end of _The Mendele Review_ 04.001 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: _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 04.002 29 February 2000 1) Yiddish Matters: from the editor (Leonard Prager) a. An exchange of letters on translating Sholem-Aleykhem b) The dissolution of a family -- Kotik's opening chapter of the second volume of his memoirs. 2) Project Onkelos (Noyekh Miller and Leonard Prager) 3) Volume Two, Chapter One, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 29 February 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a. Sholem Aleichem [Sholem-Aleykhem] is not quite headline material in the newspapers of the world, not even in Israel where his name is widely known, where streets are named after him, where his plays or dramatized novels are frequently performed (not to mention _hakanar al hagag_ 'Fiddler on the Roof'), where translators vie to make him as memorable in Hebrew as he is in Yiddish. Readers of book reviews and letters-to-the-editor on the back pages of _HaAretz_ may -- as has happened recently -- run across his name with a certain refreshing frequency. In conjunction with Avraham Yavin's new translation of _Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son_, the literary section of _Haaretz_ (28 January 2000) printed the Yiddish passage "Mir iz gut -- ikh bin a yosem!" ('This is fun -- I'm an orphan!') together with the Hebrew versions (by Y. D. Berkowitz, Kh. N. Bialik and Y.Kh. Ravnitski [according to Khone Shmeruk's deduction], David Shtray, Arye Aharoni and Avraham Yavin). As I indicated in the last issue of _The Mendele Review_ (4.001), Avraham Yavin's new translation of Sholem-Aleykhem's _Motl peyse dem khazns_ -- _Motl ben peysi hakhazan_, Tel Aviv: Am Oved Publishers, 1999 [ISBN 965-13-1366-8] -- has been widely acclaimed. It is not hard to see what many reviewers found praiseworthy in the Yavin translation. It is written in a very readable modern Hebrew. Yochanan Reshet (_Haaretz_ 3 December 1999) concluded his positive estimate with the words: "There is a synthesis of the old, the new, and the faithful -- a mix that distinguishes all of Yavin's translations, which are aimed at the more discriminating, more tasteful reader, but also at the simple Israeli reader. In any event, this rendition avoids the hackneyed "yidishkayt" of earlier translations and achieves a surprizing Hebrew-Israeli modernity. Thus we are given a Sholem Aleichem who is both eternal and contemporary." [my translation -- ed.] It would be interesting to know precisely what the reviewer meant here by "'yidishiut' hakefuya mashehu shel hatargumim hakodmim" [which I have translated as "the hackneyed 'yidishkayt' of earlier translations"]. Yavin followed the Yiddish text of the recently published (1997) modern-spelling edition edited by the late Professor Khone Shmeruk (see _The Mendele Review_ vol. 1, no. 12 for selections from this edition). Almost nothing in Israel can be unanimous and I give here an exchange of letters regarding the Yavin translation [translation mine- ed.]: 1. "All the Works of Sholem Aleichem" _HaArets_ 8.2.2000 [in answer to "Through Motl's Eyes" by Yael Dar in _HaAretz_, 19 January 2000, "Gallery," p. 2B] One applauds all steps taken to shorten the Hebrew reader's path to the Jewish bookshelf, including Avraham Yavin's new translation of Sholem Aleichem's classic work, _Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son_. We should also remember earlier translations, especially Y.-D. Berkowitz's, and that of Arye Aharoni published two years ago by Am Oved. As a reader and lecturer in Yiddish literature, I prefer Aharoni's translation to Yavin's. As we know, Berkowitz felt free to "correct" the original text by emendations and omissions. The same is true with regard to Yavin, who followed the supposedly scientific edition of Professor Khone Shmeruk, who excised chapters and changed the title of the first chapter. Instead of the original text's charming caption: "haynt iz yontev, me tor nit veynen" ['It's a holiday today, one mustn't cry'], Shmeruk -- followed by Yavin -- gives us the altered 'I and the Little Calf'. Since we are talking about Sholem Aleichem, it is worth mentioning that during the past year Arye Aharoni completed his life work of translating the complete works of Sholem Aleichem from Yiddish to Hebrew. This is the first complete edition of Sholem Aleichem's writings in any language -- including Yiddish. Professor Gershon Weiner Jerusalem 2. "Sholem Aleichem's Word" _HaArets_ 15.2.2000 [in answer to "All the Works of Sholem Aleichem" by Professor Gershon Weiner in _HaArets_ 8.2.2000] Sholem Aleichem initially published chapters of many of his works in the Yiddish press as separate stories. He made a variety of changes, deletions, and additions before finally issuing these separate items in book form. This was the case with _Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son_. Stories of Motl began to appear in the Eastern European and American Yiddish press as early as 1907, whereas the book was first published in 1913 (in the Warsaw "Progres" edition). Sholem Aleichem made various changes for the "Progres" edition, including substition of the title "ikh un dos kelbl" ['I and the Little Calf'] for the earlier "haynt iz yontev, me tor nit veynin" ['It's a holiday today, one mustn't cry']. Since this edition appeared during Sholem-Aleichem's lifetime and with his active participation, it undoubtedly represents his last word and expresses his views and wishes. This text, therefore, was properly acknowleged in Professor Khone Shmeruk's academic edition published by the Magnes Press in 1997, and in Avraham Yavin's translation. Professor Chava Turnianski Chair, Department of Yiddish The Hebrew University b. The opening chapter of Yekhezkl Kotik's less well known second volume of memoirs is a narrative version of a familiar melodrama of family dissolution -- indeed, it could readily be adapted to the stage. "di kinder hobn zikh yederer gevoynt in zayn hoyf eynzam. der familye-farband iz zikh bislekhvayz in gantsn opgeshvakht gevorn." ('The children lived in their separate quarters. The family bond was gradually weakened.') The grandfather, the affluent, wilful patriarchal figure accustomed to mete out benefits and reap the affection and respect of an extended family of children, in-laws and grandchildren remarries soon after becoming a widower. Famous for doting upon his wife of many years, he brings home a new wife who is considerably younger than himself and encouners general hostility. While not quite a Yiddish version of "January and May," Kotik's account of his uxorious grandfather is not only a moral tale of an old man's folly; it is a vivid canvas of a family's life together and in conflict. 2)-------------------------------------------------------- Date: 29 February 2000 From: Noyekh Miller and Leonard Prager Subject: Project Onkelos Project Onkelos Onkelos, first century (C.E.), was a proselyte and student of Rabbi Akiva who translated the Torah into Aramaic. His translation, universally known as the Targum (translation) Onkelos, is taught and used to this day. His targum caught on because by his time a great many Jews no longer understood Hebrew, at least not very well. Placed as it normally is along the side of a Torah page, those who wanted help with their Hebrew found Onkelos an invaluable teacher. We at the beginning of the 21st century face the same problem with respect to Yiddish. There are many who want to become Yiddish readers or improve their Yiddish, but the tools available to them are often sparse. It is our intention with Project Onkelos to help readers to read Yiddish by providing them with exemplary Yiddish texts that also exist in English translation. Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg dedicated their anthology of Yiddish stories in English translation "To the Six Million," and it is hard to think of a more fitting memorial. We propose to add a further dimension to this highly influential bridge to the Yiddish-language culture of Ashkenazic Jewry by providing in an easily accessible and attractive format the original stories, which readers will be able to read alongside the Howe-Greenberg anthology in a kind of improvised Loeb Classic edition. Reading these great stories in Yiddish means not only entering into the world of the Six Million, but entering deeply into their imaginative life, hearing their voices. This ambitious project (subject, of course, to copyright limitations) will be realized over the next few years, hopefully with the aid of additional volunteers. The list below gives the table of contents of the Howe/Greenberg anthology. Stories marked with an asterisk are already available in _The Mendele Review_ in UTF and PDF format (see: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm). Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg, eds. _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_ New York: Viking Press, 1954. Table of Contents 1. The Calf Mendele Moykher-Sforim 2. On Account of a Hat Sholem-Aleykhem 3. Devotion Without End Y.-L. Perets 4. Eternal Life Sholem-Aleykhem 5. Hodl " 6. The Search " 7. Dreyfus in Kasrilevke " *8. The Pair " 9. The Dead Town Y.-L. Perets *10. Neilah in Gehenna " 11. Cabalists " *12. Bontsha the Silent " 13. If Not Higher " 14. The Mad Talmudist " 15. Rabbi Yochanan the Warden " 16. The Golem " 17. And Then He Wept Dovid Pinski 18. A Meal for the Poor Mortkhe Spektor 19. Sanctification of the Name (A legend) Sholem Ash 20. Kola Street " 21. The Poor Community Avrom Reyzn 22. The Big Succeh " 23. Tuition for the Rebbe " 24. The Recluse " 25. Mazl Tov Y.-L. Vaysnberg 26. Father and the Boys " 27. Revenge (Extracts from a Student's Diary) Zalmen Shneyer 28. The Girl " 29. White Khale Lamed Shapiro 30. Smoke " 31. Tbe Rebe and the Rebitsn " 32. Munie the Birl Dealer Moyshe Kulbak 33. Repentance Y.-Y. Zinger 34. Sand " 35. Competitors Yoyne Roznfeld 36. The Sick Goose " 37. Gimpel the Fool Y.-Bashevis Zinger 38. May The Temple Be Restored Yoysef Opotoshu 39. A Page from the Song of Songs Sholem-Aleykhem 40. My First Love Moyshe Nadir 41. The Adventures of Hershl Zumervint Itsik Manger 42. Eating Days Lamed Shapiro 43. In a Backwoods Town Dovid Berglson 44. To the New World Isaac Metzker 45. A Quiet Garden Spot Sholem Ash 46. The Little Shoemakers Y.-Bashevis Zinger 46. Higher and Higher Peysekh Markus 47. The Eternal Wedding Gown Yoysef Opotoshu 48. The Return Yankev Glatshteyn 49. The Man Who Slept through the End of the World Moyshe Nadir 50. A Ghetto Dog Shaye Shpigl 51. My Quarrel with Hersh Rasseyner Khaym Grade 52. Yiddish Proverbs 53. A Tale of a Candelabrum R. Nakhmen Bratslaver 54. Stories of Hershl Ostropolier 55. Tales of Khelm 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 29 February 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Volume Two, Chapter One: _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) yekheskl kotik "mayne zikhroynes," berlin 1922 (tsveyte oyfgabe) tsveyter teyl, kapitl 1 (zz. 7-14) [nokh der bobes toyt] [z. 7] kapitl I nokh der bobes toyt. -- der zeyde tut a shidekh. -- plutsling gekumen mit a vayb. -- der ayndruk oyf der familye. -- di "bobe". -- dem zeydns tayneg. -- zayne naye tekhter. -- tsezeyt un tseshpreyt. -- mayontkes. -- undzere hakhnoses-orkhims. -- yokheved. -- leye. -- men dervaytert zikh fun zeydn. -- nishto amolike yomim-neroim. di bobe iz geshtorbn -- un dem zeydns lage hot zikh grod farbesert. er iz vayter geblibn der eyntsiker goyel umoshie, der bal-yoyets un vegvayzer bay di pritsim, vos zenen geven tsemisht fun oyfshtand, fun di redifes un tsores, vos hobn zikh geshotn oyf zeyer kop fun muravyovs breyter ayzerner hant. mankhe fun zey hobn itst gefunen treyst in dem altn kluger arn-leyzern un er hot zey take mitgeholfn in ale protim. a dank zayne eytses, hobn zey opgegebn zeyere mayontkes tsu di yidn in arende un bakumen genug gelt, um tsu firn zeyer pritsish lebn vayter. gelt hobn zey demolt bazunders noytik gehat. der zeyde hot ober oykh ongehoybn fardinen a sakh gelt un zayn lebn iz avek nokh breyter vi frier. zayn britshke mit di por ferd, vos hobn frier oysgezen yidishlekh, hobn ersht gekrogn a pritsishn oyszen. di ferd mitn shpan hot im a porets avekgeshenkt, un in britshke iz er gezesn mit der gantser breytkayt zayner. der zeyde, vos iz shtendik geven ongegosn mit impet un hast, hot, farshteyt zikh, nor badarft oysgisn di gantse trern, vos er hot gehat, oyf der bobes toyt, un koym hobn di dozike trern-kvaln etvos oyfgetriknt, hot er shoyn a trakht geton vegn a tsveytn vayb... shatkhonim hobn dos bald dershmekt un genumen balegern [z. 8] dem zeydn tog-teglekh mit farsheydene shidukhim, yunge vayblekh, raykhe, afile sheyne, u. az. v. dos hot ober dokh nisht gepast far der familye. flegn di shatkhonim zogn, az zey reydn shidukhim arn-leyzers zun yisroeln, vos iz mit mir geven in eyn elter. keynem fun di kinder iz dokh nisht ayngefaln, vi men hot nisht gekent dem zeydn, az er zol veln khasene hobn nokh aza heym-gelibtn vayb, bay azoyne eltere yorn, beys er hot bay zikh ale kinder mit a zibetsik eyniklekh un ureyniklekh. der gedank vegn a tsveytn vayb hot dem zeydn azoy tsehitst, az er hot nor fargesn on zayn zuns shidukhim, mit velkhe er hot zikh zeyer interesirt frier, un er, vi men hot zikh shpeter dervust, hot nokh getaynet mit di shatkhonim, az men zol im shatkhenen epes a sheyn vayb, fun mitele yorn un a yakhsnte. alts zol zayn tsuzamen. un in a dray khadoshim arum kumt der zeyde plutsling fun ergets tsuforn aheym a freylekher, un heyst makhn an ordenung on shtub. es darf kumen a gehoybener gast. un in a vayle arum zogt er zikh azoy farbaygeyendik tsu di kinder: - ikh hob khasene gehat... mit a groyser yakhsnte... r' itsele, karliner rovs, tokhter... a yidene a tsadeykes... un bald deroyf ruik dertseylt vegn ir. dem man hot zi geget, vayl er iz gevorn an apikoyres, nisht kukndik oyf dem, vos er iz a yid, zeyer a sheyner, a gebildeter un hot dervaksene kinder mit ir. zi, di tsadeykes, hot nisht gekukt oyf di ale glikn un hot nisht gevolt lebn mit an apikoyres. in shtub iz gevorn a khurbm. alemen iz finster gevorn in di oygn; un men iz zikh tselofn in di andere tsimer -- zikh oysveynen. di zakh iz ober opgeton gevorn, farfaln, heyst es, un der zeyde hot vi es iz aropgeshlungen dem tsar fun di kinder un iz bald avekgeforn brengen dos naye vayb... ven er iz avekgeforn, hot zikh ersht ongehoybn di groyse yelole. di geveyneray un gvalderay iz geven kimat azoy groys, vi in dem tog fun der bobes toyt. ale hobn mit trern gekukt eyner dem andern in di oygn, on verter, vi mentshn, vos darfn iberkumen an umfarmaydlekhe gefar, es hot zikh keynem avade nisht gegloybt, az der zeyde, vos hot lib gehat der bobn un azoy fil ayngelegt di velt nokh ir toyt, zol bald fargesn oyf dem alem, un oyf der elter, [z. 9] tsu zekhtsik yor, bay a fule shtub mit kinder un kinds-kinder, zol er araynbrengen a shtif-muter. di trern zenen ober nisht mer geven vi trern. helfn hot men nisht gekont. un in a por teg arum iz take aropgekumen a breyte, a sheyne yidene fun a yor finf-un-fertsik, sheyn oysgeputst, un der zeyde hot geheysn der dinst shteln dem samovar. di kinder hobn zikh gemakht harts, nisht aroysgevizn far der breyter sheyner yidene zeyer tsar un fardros, un hobn zi oyfgenumen nisht kalt un nisht varem. dem zeydn iz geven zeyer nisht bakvem: im hot zikh shtark gevolt, az zayn tsveytes vayb zol varem oyfgenumen vern. ober farlangen es hot er nisht gekent, un dos zelbe hoyz, vos iz shtendik geven azoy kokhedik un royshik mit kinder un mit eyniklekh, vu men hot geshtift un gelakht, getantst un gezungen -- dos zelbe hoyz iz itst gevorn shtil, farmoret, vi oysgeshtorbn. keyn hoykh reydn, keyn gelekhter, keyn geshreyen, keyn gepilder, alts ayngehaltn, dershlogn, shtil. fun shtot hot men oykh oyfgehert tsu kumen, nisht tsu di kinder un afile nisht tsu arn-leyzern. men hot gevust, az er iz farnumen mitn nayes vayb, az er muz mistame zitsn bay zikh in tsimer mit ir un klaybn fargenign. di "bobe" nome, vi di eyniklekh hobn zi far laytn gerufn, hot zikh dervayle oykh gehaltn korekt tsvishn di kinder un eyniklekh. zi hot a ponem, farshtanen, az der shtub-oylem iz lefi-erekh a gants eydeler un az men darf zikh staren vi vayt meglekh tsu tsutsien ot di ale mentshn, kedey zey zoln nisht varfn oyf ir keyn um-kheyn, vos dos iz nisht gevuntshn. hot zi zikh batsoygn tsu der gantser familye zeyer heflekh un aroysgeshtelt zikh far a "mamen" un a "bobn". in a tsvey vokhn arum iz gekumen tsu forn tsum zeydn a gast. dos iz geven dem vaybs a yungere tokhter, a fraylin fun a yor fertsn. shpeter, in a por vokhn arum, iz gekumen nokh a gast. vider a tokhter, a fraylin shoyn fun a yor zibetsn. di dozike tekhter zenen farblibn nebn der muter. in a por khadoshem shpeter hot dem vaybs a zun khasene gehat mit a tokhter fun kamenitser balebos... un azoy arum iz shoyn in a kurtser tsayt fun a knapes halb yor oysgevaksn baym zeydn a naye familye... di beyde tekhter hobn zikh shoyn gehodevet baym zeydn un er hot zey aroysgevizn a sakh foterlekhe libe. der eydem mit der shnur, der mekhutn un mekhuteneste mit zeyer [z. 10] gantser familye zenen gevorn gantse bney-bayis baym zeydn in shtub, hobn farnumen dem oybnon, azoy az es iz shoyn nisht geblibn keyn ort far beyle-rashes kinder un eyniklekh, vos hobn frier ful gemakht di shtub mit simkhe un gelekhter. di kindershe fargaltkayt un dershlognkayt hot teylvayz oykh gevirkt oyfn akhdes tsvishn eynander. es iz nokh geven di noentkayt, es iz nokh geven epes libe, ober di libe hot shoyn nisht geflakert un vos shpeter hot es alts gekilt un gekilt... der zeyde, vos hot shtendik gezogt dos vertl, az "dem zol di erd aroysvarfn di beyner, ver es git op a kind fun zikh," hot zikh dokh genumen tsu farzorgn di kinder yedn bazunder. meglekh, az er hot gikher gevolt poter vern fun zeyere fargalte blikn, vos hobn im fardorbn dos fargenign mitn nayes vayb. far yedn kind hot er gedungen an ander hoyf in arende. far zikh aleyn hot er oykh gedungen a hoyf -- "pruske" bay vilevinskin, fir vyorst fun kamenits, mit a bronfn broyz. in a halb yor tsayt hot er bavizn tsu farshtekn yedes kind in an ander hoyf. men iz tseforn un tseshpreyt zikh un er hot zikh geshept nakhes fun zayn "vaybl" un ire tekhter. arum iz geven: sha, shtil... poter gevorn fun di kinder, hot er nokh fun onfang gevoynt in kamenits, makhmes der hoyf iz geven noent. in a sho hot men shoyn gekent zayn in pruske ahin un tsurik. ober in a kurtser tsayt hot ot der royshiker mentsh zikh farbenkt nokh emese ru, nokh shtilkayt, azoy, az es zol im gornisht shteren in zayn fargenign. azoy farkisheft iz er geven fun zayn nayes vayb. di kinder hobn zikh yederer gevoynt in zayn hoyf eynzam. der familye-farband iz zikh bislekhvayz in gantsn opgeshvakht gevorn. un ven nisht yokheved, dem feter yosls vayb, vos hot zikh shtark tsum hartsn genumen dem goyrl fun der mishpokhe un hot zikh gestaret tsunoyf tsubindn di opgerisene opgeshvakhte letste fedemlekh, volt mistame funem familye-akhdes gevorn a tel. ot di yokheved iz geven a groyse makhnes-oyrekhte un zeyer an ibergegebene froy. gevoynt hot zi in babitsh, a hoyf -- akht vyorst fun kamenits, un di familye flegt oft kumen tsu ir in gest mit geshpan un ferd. shtendik flegn zikh bay ir gefinen a tsen fuftsn perzon, di -- avekgeforn, yene -- gekumen, [z. 11] un men hot gegesn mlintshikes un zikh gebodn in milkhiks. der tuml fun dem zeydns hoyz, hagam shoyn shvakher un klener, hot bislekhvayz emigrirt tsu ir. bay ir flegt men zikh freyen, tantsn, lakhn un reydn fun der breyter "bobn" mit ire tekhter. di tsveyte makhnes-oyrekhte iz geven dem tatns shvester leye, oykh zeyer a kluge un a gute froy. men hot oyf ir gezogt in der familye, az dos iz di muter beyle-rashe. es farshteyt zikh, az dos iz geven a guzme. ir man elyezer goldberg iz geven a yunger man -- a lamdn, a maskl un a meshoyrer. az im hot zikh farglust, hot er gemakht a hebreishn shir oyf khanuke, oyf purim un iz derbay geven a leb-yingl. er hot gehat zeyer a breytn kharakter; in der familye hot men gezogt, az er hot shitere finger... gelt iz bay im geven a kole. gevoynt hot er in a hoyf starsheve, nebn zastavye. dos iz geven der zelber hoyf, vos der zeyde hot zikh geshemt tsu nemen, beys a porets hot es im gevolt opshraybn bematone. iz starsheve geven der tsveyter hakhnoses-orkhim far der familye, nor shoyn an ergerer fun yokheveds hakhnoses-orkhim. beheymes hot zi keyn sakh nisht gehat, un az es iz ongeforn di familye hot ir nisht gestayet keyn milkh un keyn puter. esn fleysh iz demolt gor in mode nisht geven, oyser shabes; un oykh oyf shabes iz es shver ongekumen. agev hobn dem oylem shtark getsoygn tsu yokheveds mlintshikes. yokheved hot zikh oysgelernt zey tsu makhn bay ir shviger beyle-rashe, vos iz shoyn geven mit dem mefursem. dos zenen geven vunderlekhe mlintshikes, vos haynt zet men shoyn nisht mer azelkhe. mayn liber foter, vos iz geven der eltster in der familye, hot gants veynik bazukht di dozike hakhnoses-orkhims. er hot gehat zayne rayones. vider iz er geven far di yunge tsu frum, tsu gelasn, hagam zey hobn im zeyer lib gehat; un az er hot zikh a mol bavizn bay yokhevedn in shtub, iz dos geven bay alemen a min yontev, vi a rebe kumt tsu forn in gest tsu zayne khsidim. in zayn gezelshaft hobn ale koketirt mit ruikayt un gelasnkayt, keyn geshreyen, keyn gelekhter, keyn shtifn. ale flegn im arumringlen un er flegt zey vos dertseyln oder zogn a kluger vits, vi zayn shteyger iz shtendik geven, un alemens oygn flegn oyfshtraln. [z. 12] vinter hot yokheved gezetst gendz tsu draysik oyf a mol un gepreglt shmalts un gribenes; hot zikh ongehoybn a sedre mit yokheveds gribenes. di gendz hot zi ayngezaltsn in a fesele, un a khoydesh tsayt hot men gegesn gendzns un gribenes. dertsu hot zi nokh yedern mitgegebn a portsye aheym. es hot zikh geton a velt mit yokhes gribenes. zi hot oykh gepashet indikes un yedn fun der familye hot zi geteylt oyf peysekh indikes. a berye iz zi geven a groyse, say in shtub un say in hoyf. zi hot fun alts gevust, umetum geven, hot gehit di beheymes, kelblekh, ferd un destglaykhn. a gantsn tog iz zi geven farnumen. flegt oyfshteyn zeks a zeyger in der fri. say zumer, say vinter, hot zi zikh a gantsn tog geporet, nor mayse-khvat, laykht, vi di emese berye. zi hot zikh umetum gemisht, hot alts bavorent, un vinter flegt zi oft shteyn a gantsn tog in shayer baym dreshn di tvue... der bakvemlekhkayt fun di gest hot es ober gornisht geshadt. bald in der fri hobn ale gest gehat heysn tey fun samovar mit di gute slivkes un gebeksn. geven bay ir ober a shvakhkayt, -- fort a ishe! -- vos flegt teyl mol gants shver virkn oyf di gest: zi hot zikh lib gehat tsu barimen far alemen, az zi iz a groyse berye... un barimen zikh nisht kurts, nor lang, mit nayn mos reyd. hot zi dertseylt fun ire arbetn, fun ir kokhn, bakn, fun bekies in gesheftn, fun konen oyfnemen a gast, fun konen fartsireven a gvald-ris u. az. v., un hot ofter alemen fardreyt dem kop mit di dozike vaybershe barimerayen. in di dozike nayn mos reyd iz ober tsu mol gelegn a shtokh, getsilt in ir man, vos iz kloymersht a gantser porets, makhmes zi tut far im. er iz a porets, zi iz shtendik farton in arbet. er kumt tsu alem fartikn, zi darf dreyen mitn kop. ober a berye iz zi fort geven a groyse, un di shvakhkayt ire hot men ir gekent moykhl zayn. in di yomim-neroim-teg, ven ale yishuvnikes kumen in shtot arayn oyf rosheshone, yonkiper, iz zikh undzer familye tsunoyfgekumen. tsum zeydn ober iz men nisht farforn, hagam in kamenits iz bay im geshtanen leydik a groyse voynung. yederer hot zikh gedungen oyf rosheshone un yonkiper a dire. der zeyde flegt oykh kumen mit zayn vayb un tsvey "tekhter." [z. 13] zayn in gantsn dervaytert fun zeydn hot dokh nisht gepast, un az men iz gekumen fun davnen, flegn di gresere kinder geyn opgebn gut-yontev dem zeydn un bald aheym gegangen. farn gantsn tog iz men shoyn mer tsum zeydn nisht gegangen, un di shtub hot oysgezen dem ershtn rosheshone, nokh der bobes toyt, vi a khorev-gevorene shtot. nor oyb es hot zikh dokh etvos gerudert in dem zeydns shtub rosheshone-tsayt -- zenen dos geven di gest, vos flegn kumen tsu zayne shtif-tekhter. mayn tate iz geven rosheshone baym rebn in slonim. dem feter mortkhe-leybn hot zeyer fardrosn zayn bruders khasene, hot er zikh oykh dervaytert fun im. er hot im afile gornisht gezogt vegn dem, nor bay zikh hot er es gehaltn far a groys farbrekhn un far a miese grobkayt, un azoy arum hot er zikh bislekhvayz opgerukt fun zayn bruder. der zeyde flegt shoyn kumen tsu mortkhe-leybn, nisht vi a mol, mit yener breytkayt un fraykayt. der kluger zeyde hot groysartik farshtanen dem bruders shtumen broygez un hot zikh gestaret tseraybn es vi es iz. azoy, lemoshl, hot er ongehoybn kumen oft tsum bruder, onshtot dem, vos frier flegt yener kumen tsu im. di nakht tsu erev yonkiper, vos hot gehat aza kheyn baym zeydn in shtub, iz itst avek zeyer shtil un umetik. der shoykhet iz take gekumen koydem tsu arn-leyzern, ober di balebatim hobn nisht arayngeshikt zeyere kapores tsum zeydn in shtub. ale kinder, vider, hobn zikh opgeshlogn di kapores bay zikh un arayngeshikt tsum zeydn di kapores fartike, "opgeshlogene," nisht vi far a yorn. nor di nakht fun erev yonkiper zenen di gresere kinder avek tsum zeydn. es iz geven derzelber groyser raykher tish mit di farsheydene ayngemakhts un tortn un pireshkes, un lekekher un nis un zise bronfns, ober vu iz di simkhe? vu iz di frayndshaft, di bridershaft, di groyse libe? alts vokhedik kalt, moreshkhoyredik, farshlofn, nishto dos royshn fun di fil kleynitshke un gresere eyniklekh. nishto di shtralndike blikn. ale hobn zikh bislekhvayz tserukt, tsevorfn, farborgn. un dos bentshn erev yonkiper iz shoyn oykh nisht dos, vi far-a-yorn, beys ale hobn gevart eyne oyf di andere, keyner iz nisht avekgegangen aleyn. ale hobn tsuzamen geveynt un di geveyneray mit der yomeray say fun di groyse un say fun di kleyne zenen dergangen bizn zibnter himl. [z. 14] der feter berl-bendet, vos flegt shtendik farforn mit zayn gantser familye kinder un eyniklekh tsum zeydn oyf rosheshone un yonkiper, iz haynt farforn tsu zayn foter zelig andarkes... nor eyn zakh iz efsher geven mer vi far-a-yorn: shtile, dershtikte trern... nokh yonkiper zenen ale tseforn in di hoyfn un alts iz avekgeshvumen. es iz geven klor, az di groyse shif iz tsebrokhn gevorn, un yeder shvimt avek bazunder oyf eyntsike heltslekh un bretlekh, vos zenen geblibn funem groysn shif... ======================================================================= End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.002 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. 04.003 17 March 2000 1) Yiddish Matters: from the editor (Leonard Prager) a. Yekheskl Kotik's introductions to his first and second volumes b. Yekheskl Kotik writes of his father, a hasid who yearned for his rebbe with all his soul c. Reprints Received 2) Yekheskl Kotik's introductions to his first and second volumes a. bimkem hakdome, ershter teyl, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) b. hakdome, tsveyter teyl, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) 3 Chapter 2, pp. 15-26, Volume Two _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) (the chapter will be concluded in _The Mendele Review_ vol. 4.004) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 March 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a) Kotik's introductions. In Kotik's memoirs there are three distinct introductions. In the first, the author claims that he has objectively reported what he has personally experienced : "ikh dertseyl, vos ikh hob gezen" ['I tell what I have seen']. The rest of the introduction is a lament for a "gray" yet somehow lovely world that has expired. The gray of Kotik's realism absorbs a roseate tinge from the pleasure-pain of nostalgia. In the second volume, Kotik sees himself as a city creature and regards the first volume almost as a rustic idyll. Thus, the second introduction is by an ironist who acknowledges his own subjectivity, who is capable of seeing himself as a "menakhem-mendl, vos varft zikh ahin un aher un kon tsu a takhles nisht kumen" ['as a "Menakkhem Mendl" adrift with no practical end in sight'], and who can also grasp the paradox that relates his failure to earn a livelihood to his immensely productive curiosity which impelled him to notice so much of what was milling about him. The third introduction (which will appear in the next volume of _The Mendele Review_), is printed in the second edition of Kotik's first volume. In a letter from Lausanne, Switzerland, dated 10 January 1913, Sholem-Aleykhem praises Kotik generously for the first volume of his memoirs. Kotik reprints this letter (which will be reproduced in _TMR_ 4.004). Not, he protests, for mere self-advertisement, but rather as a tribute to the great Yiddish humorist, who in poor health and far from home can find the time to write a long letter to a virtually unknown writer, one in which he reveals his deep humanity and humility in his identification with members of Kotik's family described in the memoirs. Whether self-advertisement or not, one is happy to have this letter from Sholem-Aleykhem. b) In the first half of the second chapter of volume 2 of his memoirs, Yekheskl Kotik focuses largely on his hasidic father's yearning for his rebbe. Father, the manager of a large farming estate, pines away when separated from his rebbe and from his hasidic companions. He resignedly accepts the many difficulties as well as financial losses caused by his absence from work at a crucial period in order to spend the High Holidays at his beloved rebbe's court. The son expostulates with his father: "tate! -- hob ikh mikh ayngeshtelt -- tsu vos hostu es badarft? vil men forn, klaybt men oys a besere tsayt." ['Father, I insisted, what did you need it for? If one wishes to go, one picks a better time.'] "der tate hot mit a modner triber farbenktkayt a kuk geton oyf mir." ['Father looked at me with a strange weary look, one weighted with longing' ] "du bist keyn mol keyn khosid nisht geven, veystu nisht vos heyst forn tsum rebn. nishto keyn gresere tayneg. der rebe git koykhes tsu lebn...." ['You were never a hasid and so you don't understand what a journey to the rebbe means. There is no greater pleasure. The rebbe gives one the strength to live....'] c) Reprints Received David Mazower, "Loves labours lost" [sic], _Jewish Socialist_ {London], no. 40 (Autumn 1999), 19-21. [The author gives a brief sketch of the Arbeter Ring (Workers Circle) in the United Kingdom, observing that "the story of the Arbeter Ring confirms both the vitality of the immigrants' secular Yiddish culture, and the failure to pass on that culture in Britain (unlike the United States, where immigrant institutions like the Arbeter Ring and the _Forwards_ newspaper have adapted and survived)." (p. 21)] David Mazower, "A.L. Cohen's 'The Memorable Sunday'," _Jewish Culture and History_ [London], 1:2 (Winter 1998), 195-202. [This article details the background to a richly expressive document in the history of the British Jewish labor movement and the Arbeter Ring (Workers Circle) in particular, the report by a Circle activist of the Battle of Cable Street against the Mosley Blackshirts on Sunday, October 4th, 1936. Mazower, who has been studying the history of the British Arbeter Ring closely, paints the background for the despatch and identifies its author. He concludes:"'The Memorable Sunday' reminds us that, to those caught up in the struggle against Mosley, the threat seemed all too real, and the future far from certain."(p. 198)] The journal volume has now been issued in book form as _Remembering Cable Street : Fascism in British Society_, eds. Tony Kushner and Nadia Valman. London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2000. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 March 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: hakdome, vol. 1; hakdome, vol. 2, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) bimkem hakdome [band l] [z. (7)] ikh dertseyl, vos ikh hob gezen. ikh veys ober nisht, vi ikh dertseyl. nor dos alte, zogt men, iz vikhtik farn nayem, az kedey tsu boyen dos naye, muz men visn dos alte. oyb dos iz azoy -- vet mir der lezer moykhl zayn dem "vi" tsulib dem "vos," un ikh vel mikh filn bafridikt: ikh hob oyfgerukt a vinkele fun dem groyen, vaytn, nor libn altn ... mayn yugnt hob ikh farbrakht in a kleyn kharakteristish shtetl, vu yidn hobn gelebt orem, ober "ruhik" un -- oyb men kon azoy zogn -- mit taam ... haynt iz shoyn dos nishto, un es iz oykh nishto di poezye fun di amolike shtetlekh. amerike hot zey shiter gemakht, un dos shvere lebn far yidn in rusland, vos iz ongegosn mitn shvartse blay fun antisemitizm, hot zey ingantsn ayngebrokhn. zey, di kheynevdike yidishe shtetlekh, vos zaynen shvakher far di yidishe shtet, zaynen di ershte geblibn toyt ... hakdome [band 2] [z. 5] oyb in mayn ershtn teyl zikhroynes bin ikh geven a fray foygele, a kind on zorg, un hob mikh gebomblt in dem kleynem libn kamenits tsvishn freylekhe khsidim un farklerte misnagdim, arum dem farshmayetn zeydn un der hartsiker bobn, tsvishn farsheydene rabeim, magidim, gute yidn, opshprekher un prushim, un hob gemeynt, az kamenits iz di gantse velt un got zitst oybn, oyfn himl, un kukt nor tsu undz in shtetele arayn -- oyb dos iz azoy in dem ershtn teyl, bin ikh do, in dem tsveytn, an ekhter goles-yid, a navenadnik, a vanderer, a yid mit a groys pekl, a parnose-zukher, a melamed, an arendar, a posesor, a kremer, a vayner, a menakhem-mendl, vos varft zikh ahin un aher un kon tsu a takhles nisht kumen. ober varfndik zikh vi a fish in vaser, hob ikh dokh gehaltn ofn di oygn. tsulib di ofene oygn bin ikh efsher tsu a takhles nisht gekumen... derfar ober hob ikh epes gezen. epes gezen un gehert. un dos gib ikh iber in mayn tsveytn band. meglekh, az ikh farnem zikh tsufil mit zikh. meglekh, az in dem alem, vos ikh bashrayb, bin ikh tsufil ayngeflokhtn, tsufil ort zikh genumen. ober vi kon zayn andersh? dos zaynen dokh mayne zikhroynes, mayne iberlebungen, mayn zikorn... un glat azoy vi kon men a gesheenish, a fakt, an epizod, vos hot farkhapt a shtik fun mayn neshome, opteyln fun zikh? y.k. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 March 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Volume 2, Chapter II, pp. 15-26, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) yekheskl kotik "mayne zikhroynes," berlin 1922 (tsveyte oyfgabe) tsveyter teyl, kapitl II (zz. 15-26) --------------------------------------------------------------------- [z. 15] [mayn tatns umet] mayn tatns umet. -- zayn benkshaft. -- di noyt tsu davnen mit misnagdim. -- zikh farbenkt nokhn rebn. -- der hezek -- amolike khsidishe simkhes -- r' avremele. -- zayn onfor keyn kamenits. -- der parad. -- khsidim kokhn, bakn, afn amerikaner shteyger. -- di bod. -- dem rebns lekhu-neroneno. -- di moltsaytn. -- dem rebns ziftsn. -- shiraim. -- r' yisroel vil nisht zingen. -- dem rebns makht. -- r' yekheskl get zikh mit zayn froy. -- khsidishe shpilekhlekh -- men shmayst mayn tatn. -- ikh veyn -- es iz freylekh. der tate hot, zayendik in dorf, on di khsidim un on r' yisroeln, farlorn zayn shtil-freylekhe mine, vos iz shtendik geblibn bay im oyfn ponem. im hot, kentik, inenveynik, in hartsn, getsoygn un gerisn tsu zayne khsidim, un do iz er geven "aleyn vi a shteyn". iberhoypt hot oyf im bang geton in di shabosim, a rakhmones geven tsu kukn. er hot zikh afile fraytik-tsu-nakht mesameyekh geven mit zayne kleyne kinder, men hot ongetsundn efsher a draysik likht in shtub, er hot gezungen un hot tsugegebn alemen mut, ober dos iz geven az-okh-un-vey. ikh hob afile im geholfn zingen, ikh hob gekent, gedenk ikh, a sakh khsidishe nigunim (men hot mikh dermit zogar farloybt bay mayne mekhutonim, ven ikh bin a khosn geven. tsvishn mayne shvokhim hot men ongegebn oykh dos, az ikh ken efsher tsvey hundert nigunim zingen), ober nisht ale mol hob ikh gekent zayn bay im un nokh der khasene, verndik oys khosid, hobn mir shoyn di ale khsidishe nigunimlekh nisht geshmekt, oyser r' yisroels, vos hobn shtendik oyfgevekt ale strunes fun mayn hartsn. ikh hob dem tatn geholfn zingen di khsidishe nigunim on kheyshek, un kedey ikh zol zingen mit mer tam, flegt er umishne zingen r' yisroels nigunim, ober di simkhe zayne, vi gezogt, iz geven a gemakhte, [z.16] vi der erlikher yid est di morer baym seyder. azoy hot men zikh "mesameyekh geven" biz a zeyger tsvelf baynakht. gedavnt hot der tate shabes oykh in der heym, khotsh ale yishuvim fun a vyorst, tsi fun tsvey vyorst arum, kloybn zikh oyf, loyt der traditsye, tsu eyn yishuvnik davnen shabes mit a minyen. in aza minyen leyent men oykh di toyre, vi es firt zikh umetum: tsvey yishuvnikes, gaboim, rufn oyf tsu der toyre. es iz oykh do sine, kine far alies. yederer vil di fetere aliye, un di gaboim kenen keyn mol nisht yoytse zayn. teylmol kumen derfun aroys groyse makhloykesn biz masrn oder biz oysdingen bay yenem zayn kretshme, tsi zayn pakt. der tate hot keyn mol nisht gevolt davnen mit di yishuvnikes misnagdim, nor az es hot gefelt tsum minyen, flegt er muzn kumen. ober er flegt bay zikh nisht kenen poyeln tsu davnen mit zey betsiber. er flegt shoyn demolt hobn ongegreyt bay dem yishuvnik a medresh oder a zoyer un flegt beysn davnen kukn in di sforim. gedavnt hot er in derheym far zikh. shtil hot er shtendik gedavnt un in zayn farkneytshtn shtern un di fartonene oygn hot zikh aroysgezen zayn kavone. nokhn davnen, gekumen in shtub arayn, gezogt dem groysn "gut-shabes", arayngegangen tsu der mamen in tsimer, vos iz gezesn oder baym sider oder baym tsenerene un opgegebn ir bazunder gut-shabes. dernokh kumt der kidesh, dernokh lekekh un kikhl mit hering, un brust-fleysh, kalte fun nekhtikn tsimes. dos hot gemuzt zayn. dernokh iz men gegangen esn. es hot gemuzt zayn fish, tsibele mit eyer un shmalts. in mayne yinglishe yorn hot er mir eyn mol dertseylt, az der lekhvitsher hot gezogt, az es iz faran a bazunder eyver bay a yidn, vos hot nor hanoe fun tsibele um shabes... nokh dem alem flegt men derlangen tsholent, kartofl, kashe, tsvey sortn kuglen, fleysh u. az. v. dos esn hot gedoyert a sho tsvey, dray, men hot gezungen zmires un gegesn, gezungen un gegesn, ober oyfn tatns ponem iz gelegn a bazundere moreshkhoyre, vos er iz farshtoysn gevorn fun shtot, fun zayn khsidim-shtibl, vu es iz geven beemes freylekh un hartsik, vos er iz farshtoysn gevorn fun zayne sudes un fun zayn r' yisroeln un fun dem gantsn koylel khsidim un er hot virklekh oysgezen vi a feygele, vos iz fartribn gevorn fun zayn nest... [z. 17] nokhn esn iz er gegangen shlofn, vi der shteyger iz. nokhn shlofn -- gelernt khumesh, midresh, zoyer un zikh mit ale koykhes gestaret tsu dershtikn dem umet. ober ikh hob im shoyn gut gekent un aroysgelezn dem umet fun zayn yeder bavegung. volt ikh khotsh geven a khosid, volt er dokh fargenign gehat, volt geven mit vemen tsu farbrengen in khsidishe toyres un nigunem. ober dos iz nisht bashert geven, un zayn zun iz geven vayt fun im kirkhoyk mizrekh lemayrev. - oyserdem hot im nokh geekbert in moyekh, tomer, kholile, ver ikh nokh an apikoyres oykh, a kashye oyf a maise, a shem far a khakren hob ikh say-vi-say, un ver veys vos es ken aroyskumen fun di groyse khkires - un dos harts hot im shtark geshrokn.ikh hob oyf im groyse rakhmones gehat. mir hot es mamesh dernumen dos lebn, un ikh hob gezukht plener vi im tsu baruikn. ikh vel zayn a misnaged, ober a heyser yid, a heyser yid vel ikh zayn. ober vos ikh hob mikh nisht gestaret, hot es alts nisht geholfn. bay im iz oysgekumen, az vibald ikh hob gekent durkh di vikukhim aropgeyn fun di glaykhe khsidishe vegn, to ver veys tsu vos ikh ken nokh dergeyn mit di dozike vikukhim un khkires! efsher leykenen in gantsn in boyre yisborekh. avade hot er megazem geven mayn koyekh in vikukhim. voynendik in paseki, hot zikh der tate eyn mol, arum rosheshone, farbenkt nokhn rebn. opraysn zikh fun der heym in ot der tsayt iz kimat ummeglekh far a posesor: di gantse feld-arbet vert kontsentrirt arum rosheshone, men darf grobn kartofl un bahaltn in griber; men darf dreshn korn, men darf farakern un farbroneven di felder; men darf tsugreytn tvues tsu farzeyen oyfn kumendikn yor, men darf dem tsveytn mol shnaydn hey u. az. v., u. az. v. dem tatn hot zikh ober farbenkt nokhn rebn -- zol got hitn. a gants yor hot er gehorevet, getakhlest, geeysekt mit goyim, fun vos es hot im mamesh geiblt. a kleynikayt, hobn a gants kaylekhdik yor an eysek mit poyerim, mit goyim. nisht onzen a gants kaylekhdik yor a khsidishe kehile. im hot poshet farklemt dos harts, vi bay a kind, ven di muter iz avekgegangen. un nisht kukndik deroyf, vos es brent di arbet, vos eyn arbet yogt di tsveyte on, nisht kukndik deroyf, vos di tsayt iz [z. 18] a gedrikte un a hunderter iz poshet an oylem-umloyoy, iz er dokh avekgeforn keyn slonim, iberlozndik di gantse arbet oyf a poyer. in slonim hot er farbrakht gantse akht teg. gekumen iz er aheym far yonkiper un hot gefunen bay zikh in hoyf zeyer a sheyne ordenung. dem hober (es iz geven a shpetiker zumer) hot men geshnitn nisht in der tsayt, hot er zikh tseshotn in feld; di kartofl hot men nisht arayngelegt in di griber, iz mer vi a helft tsefoylt gevorn; dos korn hobn di dresher gedroshn nisht fun tok, nor fun shok, hobn zey tandetevet in der arbet, ibergelozn in yedn zang nisht veyniker fun a fir kerner un destglaykhn. azoy hot der tate gehat hezek fun zayn slonimer rebe bay a finf - zeks hundert rubl, oyser rayze-kostn. visndik dem tatns gedrikte lage, hob ikh mikh nisht gekent farshteln, az der tate zol zikh bashlisn oyf aza shodn tsulib zayn slonim. - iz dos emes tate, -- hob ikh im eyn mol a freg geton. -- finf hundert rubl hizek hostu gehat? - hezek hob ikh gehat arum zibn hundert rubl, -- hot der tate shtil geentfert. zibn hundert rubl! - tate! -- hob ikh mikh ayngeshtelt -- tsu vos hostu es badarft? vil men forn, klaybt men oys a besere tsayt. der tate hot mit a modner triber farbenktkayt a kuk geton oyf mir. - du bist keyn mol keyn khosid nisht geven, veystu nisht vos heyst forn tsum rebn. nishto keyn gresere tayneg. der rebe git koykhes tsu lebn... un der tate iz shtil geblibn un oyf zayn ponem hot zikh bavizn a mine, punkt vi emetser volt im a shtokh geton baym hartsn. ikh bin oykh antshvign gevorn. vi kumt mayn tate tsu lebn oyf a dorf, tsvishn goyim! der yid, vos hot azoy lib gehat yidishn frumen tuml, yidishe simkhe, yidishe tararam un afile dem reyekh fun a yidn... teyl mol flegt der tate farzunken vern in zayne zikhroynes -- der eyntsiker tayneg in eynzamkayt. es iz oykh geven vos tsu gedenkn. der tate hot geshpilt nisht keyn kleyne role tsvishn khsidim, un er [z. 19] flegt zikh farginen oyfnemen oyf etlekhe teg a rebe mit zayn gantser knufye, vos dos hot a hipsh bisl gelt gekost. ikh gedenk nokh, vi itst, dem parad, vos di kamenitser khsidim hobn gemakht zeyer groysn gast -- dem slonimer rebe. der slonimer rebe, r' avrom, iz gekumen keyn kamenits donershtik fri, in a boyd mit dray ferd. tsuzamen mit im zenen gezesn dray meshamshim, eyner an elterer un tsvey gehilfn. nokh zayn boyd zenen nokhgeforn fir balegoleshe furn mit etlekhe un tsvantsik khsidim. di kamenitser khsidim, vider, arum dray minyonim yidn, zenen aroysgegangen antkegn in brisker gas, mekabl-ponem zayn dem rebn, un az der furman fun rebns boyd hot derzen fun vaytn di khsidim geyn, hot er ongehoybn tsu forn pamelekh. di kamenitser khsidim, vider, az zey hobn fun vaytn derzen dem rebns boyd, hobn zey ongehoybn tsu zingen zeyer khsidish nigundl, vos der slonimer rebe hot bazunders lib gehat. ikh bin demolt oykh mitgegangen mit di khsidim. der tate hot mir gevolt onton a nakhes-ruekh un ot, vi itst, her ikh dos zise nigundl un, vi itst, ze ikh di makhne khsidim, vos geyt fun shtot bagegnen dem rebn. akh, vi freylekh es iz geven. az di khsidim zenen tsugekumen tsum rebns boyd, hobn zey di boyd arumgeringlt un men hot oysgezungen a freylekhn sholem-aleykhem, vos undzer tayerer r' yisroel hot farfast, loyt mayn tatns bakoshe. di ershte hobn derlangt dem rebn sholem-aleykhem mayn foter mit r' arelen, velkhe der rebe hot arayngenumen tsu zikh in boyd arayn. az di gantse tseremonye fun sholem-aleykhem-opgebn hot zikh geendikt, un gedoyert hot es nisht veynik, hot der furman a shmits geton di ferdlekh. di khsidimlekh hobn genumen farkhapn erter oyf di furlekh. men hot gekhapt vu ver es hot gekent. far di beste erter zenen gehaltn gevorn di hinter-breter fun dem rebns furl. bikhlal hot men zikh oysgezetst a khosid oyf khosid, punkt vi a vogn gendz, un es iz gegebn gevorn a komande: - geforn zol vern!... - vyo! -- hobn di balegoles a knal geton mit di baytshn. mir hot der tate arayngenumen in boyd arayn tsum rebn. - dos iz mayn zun...! hot mikh der tate pamelekh forgeshtelt. [z. 20] - dayn zun -- hot der rebe fun der zayt a kuk geton oyf mir - vet zayn a varemer khosid... der tate hot zikh gefreyt. men hot getribn di ferd un di khsidim hobn gezungen hoykh oyfn kol. un a zaytiker, a krist, lemoshl, volt zikher gekont meynen, az dos forn di same gliklekhste mentshn in der velt. nisht mer, di malbushim zenen nisht zeyer raykh... az men iz gekumen in shtetl arayn, hot men shoyn hoferdik untergebrumt unter der noz, un di hispayles iz geven groys, punkt vi men volt ayngenumen a festung. azoy iz men gekumen tsu undzer shtub. der tate hot tsugegreyt farn rebn a groys tsimer un geshikt tsu dovid-yitskhokn layen dem groys-fotel farn rebn. khsidim hobn dem rebn aroysgenumen fun boyd, arayngefirt im in zayn bashtimtn tsimer, vu men hot im ibergelozn tsuzamen mitn eltstn meshamesh. di iberike tsvey meshamshim hobn zikh tseshtelt bay di tirn, vi a shtrenge vakh fun soldatn. di khsidim hobn zikh tseshotn in di iberike khadorim. bald iz der eltster meshamesh aroys fun rebns kheyder un ongezogt, az er, zol lebn, hot zikh tsugeleygt oyf der kanape, zol zayn shtil... zenen ale khsidim, vi eyn mentsh, gevorn azoy shtil, az men hot gekont hern a flig oyfn vant. men hot moyre gehat a vort oystsuredn. dernokh hobn zikh di kamenitser khsidim genumen tsu der arbet. men hot tsugegreyt a shabes far a por hundert man. ale hobn gearbet, un di fremde khsidim, di orkhim, hobn zikh tseleygt oyf di benk. di groyse stodole undzere hot men yontevdik tsugeroymt, oysgeshotn mit zamd un arum di vent hot men hoykh oysgelegt mit hey far di khsidim oyf tsu shlofn. di furn mit di ferd, mit dem rebns boyd hot men avekgeshikt tsu zelig andarkes in stodole. mit a vokh frier hot der tate mit di khsidim gemakht a kheshbm, vos men darf tsugreytn oyf shabes far azoy fil orkhim. der kheshbnm hot lang gedoyert. men hot badarft tsugreytn fish un fleysh, vayn un bronfn, puter, eyer, shmalts, tsimering, faygn, mandlen khales, bulkes, broyt un nokh un nokh. dos iz an arbet keyn kleyne. r' yisroel, vider, iz geshtanen un nokhanand gelernt mit zayne talmidim-zinger di nigunim, vos er hot tsugegreyt. tsvishn di zinger bin ikh oykh geven. r' yisroel iz geven farshvitst, hot gefokht mit [z. 21] di hent, getupet mit di fis, komandevet, gedreyt mitn finger un gematert undzere zikorndlekh, mir zoln farnemen di naye nigunim. kalt un varem hot er, nebekh, fun undz gehat. der oylem hot zikh nisht zeyer oysgetseykhent mit a guter geher, un r' yisroel hot zikh mamesh gebodn in shveys. r' yisroel hot do gehat eyn oyfgabe: oyslernen undz zingen. zingen aleyn un mit undz tsuzamen farn rebn, hot er nisht gevolt. dos iz geven a fremder rebe... vi a guter khosid, hot er zikh nor mitkhayev geven tsu shafn nigunim far dem fremdn rebn! zingen nokh aleyn - dos iz shoyn geven iber zayne koykhes, un bay der gantser simkhe hot er zikh gefilt, vi an oremer un shtoltser yid, vos vil avekgeyn un muz dokh farblaybn... der tate hot komandevet mit di esn-greyter, er hot di arbet tseteylt oyfn amerikaner shteyger: di grupe hot gemakht fish. yene grupe iz geven farton mitn gebrotns, andere hobn tsugerikht dem shnaps, mankhe hobn zikh glat gebomblt vi oyf a gvirisher khasene un es iz geven layehudim! tsu der sude hot men gekoylet a beheyme, kelber, gendz un hinder. fraytik hobn di khsidim gebetn di melamdim, zey zoln bafrayen di khsidishe yinglekh fun kheyder tsulib dem rebn. ikh ober, vi a polkovniks a zun, bin bafrayt gevorn nokh donershtik, un az di yinglekh zenen gekumen fun di khadorim, hot men zey oykh mekhabed geven mit arbet. es iz geven genug vos tsu ton. khsidim hobn lib in alts arayntsutrogn freylekhkayt, un beshas men hot gemakht di fish, flegt a shteyger, a khsid nemen a hekht in hant un dermit a patsh ton dem tsveytn khsid same in ponem arayn. iz gevorn a gelekhter. eygntlekh hot men mer geshtift vi gearbet. dem hot men untergegosn a kendl kalt vaser untern kolder. a tsveytn hot men gegebn tsu haltn a groysn palumesik fish. halt er mit beyde hent dem palumesik un yeder tsit im dervayle farn bord, far der peye, farn oyer, farn noz... un er halt nebekh, dem palumesik un ken zikh keyn eytse nisht gebn. lakht er oykh mit alemen. vos zol er ton? mikh hot der tate oykh tsugenitst. un shtil, oyfn oyer, hot er mir eyn mol ongezogt:- far a rebn darf men derekh-erets hobn, punkt vi farn meylekh... [z. 22] donershtik hot der tate geshikt rufn dem beder un im ongezogt, az di bod zol er oyf morgn tsugreytn mit a por sho frier; az es vet zayn tsugegreyt, zol er glaykh shikn onzogn, der rebe darf geyn in bod arayn. di mikve zol oykh zayn tsugegreyt. zol der beder haltn greyt a kesl heys vaser, veln kumen morgn in der-fri di khsidim un aribergisn dos heyse vaser in mikve arayn farn rebns vegn. far dem alem vet der beder krign a fayne matbeye. af morgn zenen avekgegangen fir khsidim in bod un ibergegosn dos heyse vaser in mikve arayn. arum elf a zeyger iz shoyn geven greyt di bod. men hot gebrakht di boyd un es hot zikh arayngezetst der rebe mitn meshamesh un der tate mit r' arelen, mit nokh etlekhe fun di bekovedere khsidim - a minyen darf zayn, un men iz avekgeforn in bod arayn. der tate hot mikh oykh genumen: loyt zayn meynung, darf ikh mikh gefinen vos neenter tsu khsidim un nokhmer tsum rebn. a minyen khsidim zenen arayn mitn rebn in bod. der oylem hot zikh mit groys yire oysgeton un zikh oysgezetst in shvits-bod arum rebn mit di shefelekh vaser. men hot zikh, vi ikh gedenk, gornisht gevashn. men hot nor gekukt oyfn rebn, oyf zayn nakete layb, gekukt mit pakhed un naygerikayt tsuzamen, punkt vi kinder kukn oyf a groyse vunderlekhe tsatske. der rebe hot zikh pamelekh gevashn un gekrekhtst beys-mayse mit farglotste oygn. in der tunkeler luft fun bod hot modne gebleykht dem rebns layb. un mir, a kleyn yingele, hot zikh gedakht, az zayn naketer kerper vakst vaylevayz in der breyt un in der leng. dervayle hobn zikh arayngeganvet nokh a tsendlik khsidim, azes-penimer, vos voltn zikh durkhgerisn tsum rebn afilu durkh ayzn. zey hobn zikh oysgezetst nebn mir mit shefelekh un oykh gekukt oyfn rebn. bay zey iz geven a kern khotsh fun vaytn zen a shtikele nakete layb dem rebns... az der rebe hot zikh arumgevashn, iz er gegangen in mikve mit mayn tatn un r' arelen. ikh hob mikh oykh nokhgeshlept nokh zey. der rebe hot zikh geshtelt bizn haldz in vaser, un di bord zayne hot zikh ongefilt mit likhtike blishtshendike tropn. es iz geven meshune: der rebe, a yid mit a groyser bord, shtet in a mikve vaser. [z. 23] fun mikve iz der rebe aroys mit zayn geveyntlekhn krekhts un iz avek onton zikh. di khsidim nokh im. dos alts iz tsugegangen zeyer langzam. es farshteyt zikh, az di khsidim hobn fun der bod gufe keyn hanoe nisht gehat. ale mol, geveyntlekh, hot men zikh gevashn un geporet. dos mol ober iz men nor geven ongefilt mitn heylikn pakhed farn rebn. dem rebns ponem hot oysgedrikt a tsufridnkayt, vos er hot zikh makdesh umetaer geven tsu avoydes-haboyre, un di khsidim hot yene tnue zayne bagaystert. der oylem hot gikh aroyfgekhapt oyf zikh dos hemd mit di hoyzn un alts nisht opgerisn di oygn fun rebn, un lang hot gedoyert zayn onton zikh. pamelekh un ruik hot er alts geton. a zeyger eyns iz men, got tsu danken, aroys fun bod, un az men iz gekumen aheym, hot men im bald derlangt a bisele zisn bronfn, an eyer-kikhl mit a shtikele fish... fraytik iz gekumen der gantser brisker koylel khsidim, un di shtub iz geven ful gepakt mit yidn, kop oyf kop.tsu kaboles-shabes hot der rebe gedavnt farn omed. eyder er iz tsugegangen tsum omed, iz gevorn a shtil-shvaygenish, un di khsidim hobn mit groys yire gevart. bald hot der rebe aroysgezogt lekhu-neroneno mit aza hoykhn kohl, az oyf ale khsidim iz gefaln a groyse eyme. nor teykef hobn fun ale vinkelekh di davner vi eyn mentsh opgeentfert mit gezang dem rebn, un es hot zikh gedakht, az di vent davnen oykh. khotsh ikh bin a yingl fun tsen yor un farshtey veynik, fundestvegn hot zikh mir oykh ibergegebn der heyliker pakhed fun di khsidim. az es iz gekumen tsu dem ort fun zoyer: "kguna dainun", hot er gegebn aza geshrey, punkt vi a makhne khail volt mit a mol in shtetl arayn, un ale hobn zikh a tsapl geton. nokh itst shteyt mir der kol far di oyern, un punkt vi eyn mentsh hobn ale aroysgeshosn fun di heldzer mit meuyemdike koyles:- "kguna dainun..." - gut shabes! gut shabes! hot genumen royshn in ale vinkelekh, az men hotgeendikt davnen.bald nokhdem iz men ibergegangen in der groyser es-shtub. der rebe hot ongehoybn zogn sholem-aleykhem un ale khsidim hobn tsugebrumt, un ibern shtub, vos iz haynt geven shtark baloykhtn, hot zikh tsegosn a ziser gezang, a ziser, nisht keyn shrayendiker, un a hartsiker, [z. 24] un es hot zikh gefilt, az di shabesdike menukhe hot alemen farkhapt un di neshome treyselt arop fun zikh dem indervokhedikn yokh. dernokh hot der rebe gemakht kidesh. oyg un oyer zenen oysgeshtelt. yeder khsid farzukht fun rebns kos. nisht ale khsidim ober hobn gekont farzukhn funem vayn, un di dozike shlimazls hobn gehat, nebekh, groys tsar derfun. dem tatn hot er shoyn gerufn balebos un nisht moyshe, vi ale mol, un dem tatns oygn hobn geloykhtn. der oylem iz mer geshtanen oyf di benk, vi gezesn. es zenen geven mer vi dray hundert khsidim. azoy fil erter iz nisht geven. vider, hobn khsidim liber tsu shteyn oyfn benk: men kon beser zen dem reb. di ordenung baym esn iz geven aza: di khsidim, vos zenen gezesn, hot men derlangt eyn teler far tsveyen un di, vos zenen geshtanen, hot men gegebn eyn teler far drayen. es farshteyt zikh, az der rebe aleyn hot bakumen meuyemdike portsyes fun yedern maykhl, kedey konen iberlozn derfun shiraim far di khsidim. ikh hob ayngezen, az der rebe hot lib bay yeder gelegnhayt tsu krekhtsn mit farglotste oygn. hot er gegesn fish, hot er gekrekhtst, hot er gegesn fleysh - vider gekrekhtst mit farglotste oygn, punkt vi er volt nisht konen aropshlingen dem bisn. un eyn mol hot er aroysgelozt aza "oy, reboyne-sheloylem", az mir hot zikh gedakht, der sufit hot geplatst. ikh hob ober oykh ayngezen, az di dozike krekhtsenishn un oykenishn hobn tsugegebn mer apetit di khsidim. az er hot opgegesn, hot er a ruk geton dem teler fun zikh, hot men shoyn gevust, az dos zenen shiraim. iz gevorn a shreklekhe khaperay. di, vos zenen geshtanen vayt, hobn gebetn bay di gliklekhe, men zol zey khotsh gebn a brekl tsu farzukhn. nor der oylem iz geven muoyredik tsehitst un farshmayet, un egoistish. di beter hobn veynik gepoyelt. tsvishn di gerikhtn hot men gezungen. mit nigunim hot men eygntlekh konkurirt. yeder hot oysgezungen a nign, un oyb der doziker nign iz gefeln gevorn, iz er ongenumen gevorn oyf a geviser tsayt, biz er iz deresn gevorn. gedoyert hot dos esn a sho finf. [z. 25] nokhn esn iz men gegangen shlofn in stodole. der rebe iz mit groys parad opgefirt gevorn tsu zikh in kheyder. af morgn hot men zikh geshtelt davnen tsen a tseyger in der fri un tsvelf iz shoyn geven opgedavnt. men iz gegangen esn, un der rebe hot vayter opgekrekhtst mit groyse farglotste oygn. es hot zikh ibergekhazrt doszelbe vos nekhtn, nor mit mer frishkayt. es zenen geven finf sortn kuglen, a lokshener, a trukener, an ayngemakhts-kugl, a rayz-kugl un nokh epes a kugl. dernokh hot men dem rebn derlangt a groys shtik indik, bay velkhn der rebe hot shtark gekrekhtst. vayn un bronfn iz geven lerov. a zeyger fir nokhn esn hot men gekhapt a tentsl, vos hot zikh avekgetsoygn biz minkhe un bald vider gezungen. nor der bester zinger, r' yisroel, hot nisht gezungen. er iz geven a kotsker khosid, un der rebe hot geshikt a khosid betn im tsum tish. r' yisroel iz gekumen, ober dem gantsn shabes iz er gezesn a shtumer. dos iz geven nisht zayn yontev, nisht zayn rebe un es iz geven a rakhmones oyf im. tsu shaleshudes hot zikh der rebe gevendt tsu im: "yisroel zing epes". yisroel hot aropgenumen di hent fun hartsn, hot zikh arumgekukt un ongehoybn... nokh keyn mol hot er azoy nisht gezungen... a ponim, az in im hot demolt gezungen di benkshaft nokh zayn rebn... un di khsidim zenen geblibn fargaft. nokh shabes iz gevorn shiterer. a sakh zenen zikh tseforn, un dinstik hot der rebe gegesn dem letstn mitog in kamenits. es zenen shoyn geven nisht fil mentshn baym tish, un di kamenitser khsidim zenen geven zeyer tsufridn, vos zey hobn itst fraye erter arum rebn. itst veln zey kenen zen di shkhinhe, vos rut oyfn rebns shenem ponem un veln hern dem rebns toyres, vos malokhim un shrofim tsitern derfar. un der rebe iz epes geven zeyer freylekh un geredt baym esn mit ale khsidim. avek ale fremde khsidim, zenen di kamenitser geven oyfn zibnter himl. dos iz geven, vi gezogt, der letster mitog in kamenits. nokh mitog iz der rebe avekgeforn tsu eynem a yishuvnik un bay undz in [z. 26] shtub un in shtetl iz gevorn shtil, punkt vi a royshiker yam volt opgefaln un di khvalyes voltn mit amol antrunen. dortn, in dorf, hot, nebekh, der rebe gehat a miesn psak. *) *) ze mayn ershter teyl. ======================================================================= End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.003 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: _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 04.004 31 March 2000 1) Yiddish Matters: from the editor (Leonard Prager) a. Sholem-Aleykhem's letter to Yekheskl Kotik b) ["dem rebns makht iber zayne khsidemlekh"] (Yekheskl Kotik) 2) Letter to Yekheskl Kotik (Sholem-Aleykhem) 3) ["dem rebns makht iber zayne khsidemlekh"] Volume 2, Chapter II, pp. 26-32, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) (continuation from _The Mendele Review_, vol. 4.003) for the Yiddish version:      Yiddish 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 March 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters a) sholem-aleykhems briv tsu yekheskl kotik The famous writer is delighted to discover an unknown talent. He is totally charmed by Kotik, to whom he admits -- "ikh gey oys leyenen ayere _zikhroynes_." ['I can't get enough of your _Memoirs_'.] He is especially drawn to Kotik's lifelike portraiture. b) Yekheskl Kotik In this section of his memoirs Kotik describes the power of the rebe over his followers, citing a particular instance enacted in his own family before his own eyes. Here again we have a story of a dissolution of a marriage, again in the mold of "January and May," yet not a breakup due to uxoriousness or lust; blind faith in a heavenly mediator powers this familial crisis. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 March 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: (zz. 9-12) _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) [kotiks hakdome tsu sholem-aleykhems briv] ikh gefin nit far iberik tsu farefntlikhn do, in dem dozikn teyl fun mayne "zikhroynes", sholem-aleykhems a briv tsu mir, vos er hot mir tsugeshikt nokh zayn derhaltn mayn ershtn band "zikhroynes." ikh tu es nit kholile, kedey tsu bavayzn zikh farn lezer mit di shvokhim vos der groyser sholem-aleykhem hot mikh bashonken, azh biz untershraybn zikh mit hispayles "ayer lezer, ayer talmid, ayer khaver." ikh breng do dem brif, nor kedey tsu kharakterizirn durkh im take -- im aleyn, sholem-aleykhemen, dem dozikn hartsikn oyslakher un oplakher fun alts, vos hot ober derbay farmogt azoy fil emese anives. un zayendik in der shvayts krank un opgerisn funem lebn, interesirt er zikh azoy varem mit yedn nay-ershinenem yidishn bukh dort in der heym, un antsikt zikh, vi a kind, mit yene bilder fun an umbakantn shrayber, vos lebn im tsurik oyf in zikorn "zayn yugnt, zayn mishpokhe, zayn kheyder, zayne yontoyvim un zayne khaloymes" ... y.k. sholem aleykhems briv tsu yekheskl kotik lozan (shvayts) 10.1.13 zeyer geerter un layder umbakanter kolege yekheskl kotik! (z. 9) beys kh'hob geshribn tsu aykh, hob ikh shoyn in eyn klap geshribn oykh tsu nigern, az mir zoln zikh opbaytn mit di bikher, lozt zikh oys, az tsu nigern hot ir arayngeshikt dem ekz., velkher iz gevidmet dem dikhter avrom reyzn -- un reyzn iz itst nisht mer un nisht veyniker vi in nyu-york, in amerike! volt dos geven mit etlekhe yor frier, ven sholem-aleykhem iz nokh geven gring oyf di fis, iz es a gelekhter, hoyb ikh mikh oyf un for zikh durkh keyn amerike, itst ober iz es a bisl shverlekh, vos zhe tut men, az ikh gey oys leyenen ayere "zikhroynes"? hob ikh aroyfgelegt di gantse aveyre oyf aykh un hob tseshnitn tsekardashet nigers bukh un kh'hob keyn kharote nisht, ikh hob genumen leyenen ayere "zikhroynes," un vos zol ikh zogn? ikh gedenk shoyn nisht dos yor, vos ikh zol azoy fil hanoe hobn, azoy fil tayneg, emeser tayneg rukhni -- dos iz nisht keyn bukh -- dos iz an oytser, a gortn, a gan-eydn ful mit blumen un mit foyglgezang. es hot mir dermont mayn yugnt, mayn mishpokhe, mayn kheyder, mayne yomim-toyvim, mayne khaloymes, mayne tipn, neyn! ikh mit mayn bintl tipn un bilder, vos kh'hob a sakh fun zey gekent un a sakh oysgetrakht, bin ikh, zog ikh on shum khnife oder falshe anives -- akegn aykh an orem yingl, a kapstn! mit ayere iberlebungen un ayer mishpokhe volt ikh biz itst di velt farfleytst! gvald, vu zent ir geven biz aher? (z. 10) a mentsh farmogt azoy fil brilyantn, dimentn un perln un gornisht! a yid geyt arum un "klaybt rendlekh" (vi zogn dort ayere frumakes) un zol es afile dermonen emetsn, az gefint zikh bay im aza n'oytser! ikh hob genumen leyenen un nisht gekont shoyn opraysn zikh, shier nisht meshuge gevorn! ver iz der kotik? ikh hob gehert fun eynem, heyst er gor, dakht zikh, a. kotik, un iz gor a yungerman, un ir zent dokh gor a yid mit a groyer bord. vos mikh hot farkisheft in ayer bukh -- iz der heyliker posheter emes, nisht gekintselte prostkayt. haynt di shprakh! neyn, ir zent nisht nor a guter erlekher, getrayer shoymer fun a raykhn, ungehoyer raykhn oytser -- ir zent a talant fun got gebentsht mit a neshome fun a kinstler, vos ken zikh nisht, nisht vintsik yidn zenen geven in ayer kamenits un in der zastavye, nisht vintsik kroyvim in ayer royshndiker vi ir ruft zi mishpokhe -- farvos hot keyner fun zey nisht gezamlt azelkhe zikhroynes vi ir? farvos hot zikh keyner fun zey nisht bavizn mit epes aza min vi ir, vos zol gebn a bren? epes molt zikh mir oys, hert ir, az ayer mishpokhe -- dos iz mayn mishpokhe (un dos filt mistame yeder lezer). ikh ken ayer zeydn arn-leyzer, un ayer bobe beyle-rashe, un ayer tatn dem khosid moyshe, un ale ayere feters mit di mumes un afile dem ispavnik mitn aseser mit ale pritsim, di gute un di shlekhte, un di melamdim, un di khsidim, un di misnagdim, un di royfim, un dem rov, un yenem apikoyres dem shrayber fun brisk, vos a kerbl iz a mamzer, un beyde yisroels, un arn-leybele, un khatskl, un moshke, un berl-benrat dem upravlyayushtshi, un ale un ale! ale lebn zey, ale ken ikh, mit ale frey ikh zikh, mit ale troyer ikh. me darf dokh hobn a koyekh me zol mikh nisht nor makhn lakhn (faran bay aykh erter, vu kh'hob mikh gehaltn bay di zaytn lakhndik), nor oykh tsien bay mir trern, ikh shver aykh behen sheli az ikh hob geveynt glaykh mit aykh ale, beys ayer zeyde hot aykh alemen gebentsht erev yonkiper un beys ayer bobe di tsedeykes iz gelegn oyf der erd, un der zeyde hot 100 mol gekhalesht. zoln mir azoy freyen zikh in gikher oyf yeshues yisroel, vi ikh hob gegosn mit trern, un nisht vayl a mentsh iz geshtorbn - rbsh"e [raboyne-sheloylem]! vifl mentshn shtarbn bekhol yom uvikhol eys uvikhol sho! nor vayl ayer bobe un ayer zeyde -- dos zenen mayne. (z.11) mayne, mayne! un vayl dos zenen lebedike un tayere goldene mentshn, un vayl ir hot zey oysgevaremt ale in ayer neshome un hot arayngelegt ayer gantsn fayeriker emes, ikh bin beemes geduldik bay zikh, vos mir farmogn aza mentshn, aza yidn vi ir, vos a dank aykh veln nisht farlorn geyen yene "rendlekh", vos hobn zikh gevalgert (nokh mayn meynung valgern zikh nokh itst) in undzer folk. ikh bin beemes groys bay zikh, vos undzer nokh yunge yidishe folks-literatur iz baraykht gevorn mit aza bukh vi ayere "zikhroynes", vet ir ayere "zikhroynes" shraybn vayter? veln zey zayn oykh azoy fet un gerotn, vi dos ershte bukh? gerotn -- bin ikh zikher, fet -- veys ikh nisht, ikh hob moyre, az dos vet shoyn zayn mogerer, shiterer. nito yene yidn! dos heyst, do zenen zey, ober me zet zey nisht azoy boylet, zey vern botl-beshishim, ubifrat in der groyser shtot. 11. 1. 13. haynt hob ikh mikh tsufelik begegent mit eynem a shrayber izbitski (mikhalevitsh) oyf a barg 1500 meter hoykh oyf lozane (es heyst "lezen"), hob ikh im dertseylt, vos far a hispayles es hot aroysgerufn bay mir a bukh fun epes a yidn a balebos, vos heyst y. kotik, un vos hot mikh gebrakht dertsu, az ikh zol veynen mit trern -- lozt zikh oys a mayse, az der izbitski ken aykh zeyer gut un az ir zent dos der foter fun a. kotik, un az ir zent der bal-hakaviarnye oyf di nalevskes un az ale veysn shoyn lang, az ir hot epes "zikhroynes." fregt zikh: vu zenen zey geven, di beheymes? vos hobn zey geshvign, az zey hobn gevust? un vu bin ikh, beheyme, geven? ikh bin dokh oykh geven oyf di nalevkes un dakht mir, mit spektorn getrunkn kave. farvos hob ikh nisht gevust, vu ikh bin geven un bay vemen ikh hob getrunken kave? farvos vert farfleytst undzer bikher-mark mit shmates shebeshmates, in der tsayt, ven "oytsres" azelkhe vi ayere valgern zikh ergets in a kastn, oder in a shiflod, oder unter a matrats? es zidt in mir di retsikhe oyf undzere kritiker in der minut, az ikh dermon zikh, vi zey hoybn oyf drukes yedn smarkatsh, vos draket on a paskurstvo gelakkhent bay di goyim, vos (z.12) se shlogt di gal, az me leyent dos gekayte un oysgeshpigene, un oysgemeyklte nibl-pe fun artsibashev un kedoyme azelkhe paskurstvo, vos makhn dem gutn humorist, vi zey rufn mikh, beyz un nemen bay mir op dem apetit tsum shraybn, un ikh ver a gazlen -- molt aykh nisht oyf lang, vi der "yidisher gazlen". haklal ikh hob mikh farplapelt nor fun zikh. entfert mir, ikh bet aykh, oyb ir hot tsayt, vos ikh freg aykh, tsi shraybt ir nokh vayter ayere "zikhroynes" un velkhe epokhe, velkhe krayzn barirt ir, un tsi es geyt azoy glat, vi biz aher, un tsi barirt ir oykh di mishpokhe? faran dort parshoynen, tipen, vos ir muzt oykh vayter vegn zey dertseyln un dertseyln. lebt, zayt gezunt un munter un shraybt! ayer dankbarer lezer, khaver un talmid ... sholem aleykhem 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 March 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Volume 2, Chapter II, pp. 26-32, _mayne zikhroynes_ (yekheskl kotik) yekheskl kotik ["dem rebns makht iber zayne khsidemlekh"] [z. 26] az ikh reyd shoyn vegn dem slonimer rebe, r' avrom, kumt mir aroyf oyfn zikorn a fakt, vos hot demolt oyfgerudert di gantse mishpokhe undzere, un vos kharakterizirt oysgetseykhnt dem rebns makht iber zayne khsidimlekh. der oylem hot im gefolgt in fayer un in vaser. geshen iz es mit mayn shvoger yekheskl, dem kamenitser rovs zun. bay dem dozikn yekheskln hobn zikh nisht gehaltn keyn kinder un dvoyre, zayn tokhter, dos vaybl, vos der mekhutn iz avekgeshtorbn in der nakht fun ir khasene, hot oykh veynik gelebt. un r' yekheskl mit zayn vayb hodes zenen oyf di eltere yorn geblibn on kinder. r' yekheskl flegt akht-nayn monatn in yor umforn fun slonimer koylel nokh erets-yisroel-gelt un di iberike tsayt iz er gezesn baym rebn. er iz geven di ershte hant fun rebn. eyn mol purim, zitst er azoy nebn rebn, bay der sude. gist der rebe aleyn tsvey koyses vayn: far zikh un far r' yekheskl. trinken beyde lekhaim. derbayike khsidem kukn mit kine, vi zey trinken. nor nokh dem, vi der rebe git a zup, zogt er:--- lekhaim, yekheskl, im-yirtse-hashem iber-a-yor mit a benzokher... khsidem hobn oysgeshtelt moyl un oyern un nisht gekont farshteyen dem rebns remez. vorem yekheskl mit zayn vayb konen shoyn keyn kinder nisht hobn. r' yekheskl iz ober geven a kluger khosid un bald farshtanen dem rebns brokhe. nor poshet: opgetn dos vayb un nemen an andere, yingere... mit hodesn hot r' yekheskl iberlebt etlekhe un fertsik yor, gelebt vi toybn. er iz geven a freylekher mentsh un a groyser balmide. dos zelbe iz geven zayn froy. beyde zenen geven vunderlekh gute mentshn. dertsu iz zi geven zeyer a tsikhtike, un a groyse berye, a groyse baleboste, un a libe heymlekhkayt hot geveyet bay zey in shtub. un beyde, zekhtsik-yorike, hobn zikh shtendik ongekukt, vi yunge ersht-farlibte kinder. der rebe hot ober meramez geven... [z. 27] farvirklekhn dem rebns remez iz an inyen zeyer a shverer. ober a khosid iz vi a guter soldat. heyst der rebe, darf men folgn. un yekheskl hot lang getrakht un hot hodesn ongeshribn a briv. in briv hot er geshribn, az zey muzn zikh... getn. azoy meynt der rebe. un koym meynt azoy der rebe, iz dos mistame nigzer gevorn min-hashomaim un men darf es onnemen far libe. un zi zol nisht meynen, kholile, az zi ken dos ibermakhn; neyn. vorem azoy vi der himl ken kumen tsu der erd, azoy ken zi shoyn zayn fun haynt on zayn vayb! un er git ir toyznt rubl ksube-gelt, un dos gelt git der rebe, vorem aleyn hot er keyn gelt nisht. un zi kon nokh im-yirtse-hashem krign a shenern yidn far im. zi kon nokh khasene hobn, un bekheyn... u. az. v. dos vayb hot ibergeleyent dem briv un... gekhalesht. iz ongelofn di gantse familye un men hot oyfgehoybn a vaytsaku. - - staytsh, vos vil er, der gazlen! opkoylenen dikh mit a meser vil er! a yid hot opgelebt mit a vayb bald fuftsik yor, gehat mit ir zeks kinder un itst vil er zi getn. vos meynt er zikh, vos? un men hot zi oysgerikht keyn slonim tsum rebn un tsum man. zol zi zey dort makhn shvarts vi di erd. ober r' yekheskl iz shoyn geven avekgeforn nokh erets-yisroel-gelt, un hot ibergelozn baym rebn a formeln get. hot zi ongehoybn shtark tsu veynen un tsu taynen khotsh farn rebn, ober der rebe hot zi ibergeshlogn: - ishe, keyn kinder kenstu shoyn nisht hobn, farvos (37) zolstu shtern dayn man derin? vos vilstu, dayn man zol keyn tkume nisht hobn oyf yener velt? er kon nokh nemen a bas-bonim... gedenk, vestu mikh folgn, vestu mayrekh-yomim zayn un iber hundert mit tsvantsik yor arum vestu hobn a likhtikn ganeydn... derherendik azoyne reyd, hot hodes vider gekhalesht. ober mitn khaleshn hot zi dokh nisht gekont ophaltn dem get. der rebe hot zikh hartnekik gehaltn bay dos zaynike. un zi hot nisht-vilndik genumen dem tsugegreytn get...dernokh hot ir r' yekheskl gegebn gelt un zi iz a dershlogene avek keyn kiev. shpeter hot yeder eyner fun dem dozikn porl, vos hobn zikh azoy lib gehat, bazunder khasene gehat... [z. 28] in kiev, vuhin zi iz avekgeforn, hot zikh ir gemakht zeyer a gerotener shidekh mit a sheynem yidn, mit gelt, mit koved u. az. v. hot zi khasene gehat un tsu dem nayem man iz zi oykh geven veykh, tray un ibergegebn, un zaytike hobn gezogt oyf zey, az zey lebn, vi taybelekh. avade iz es nisht geven keyn guzme. r' yekheskl vider, hot genumen a meydl fun tsvey-un-tsvantsik yor... far der doziker kale zayner iz er oyf aza oyfn elter geven sakh-hakl mit a fertsik yor... mit dem nayem vayb hot er gehat tsvey meydlekh... der rebe hot nisht getrofn. mit parnose iz er geven bazorgt. der slonimer rebe hot im tsugezogt shikn genug tsum lebn, un r' yekheskl iz aroysgeforn keyn yerushelayem. un a modner tsufal: hodes mitn man zenen oykh aroysgeforn keyn yerushelayem, un ir iz geven bashert dort tsu voynen in eyn gas mit ir amolikn man. es flegt zi zeyer klemen, vos er hot a yung vayb mit tsvey kinder. fun tsar iz zi afile eyn mol krank gevorn. r' yekheskl hot zikh dort gefirt khsidish, vi bay zikh in der heym, un hot gehat zeyer a sheynem nomen. mankhe flegn kumen tsu im nokh a brokhe. ober er flegt aroystsutraybn fun shtub mit der hartsiker "klole": -- got zol aykh bentshn... a sof hot r' yekheskl gehat a shlekhtn. eyn mol, fraytik tsu-nakht, beys er iz geshtanen baym tish un gemakht kidesh, iz aropgefaln a shtik sufit un getrofn im in kop arayn. er iz oyfn ort derharget gevorn. az hodes hot derhert, vos mit ir gevezener man hot getrofn, hot zi geton dos irike: zi hot gekhalesht un gekhalesht... ot azoy hot der rebe tsesheydn tsvey neshomes, nokh dem vi zey hobn opgelebt tsuzamen karge fuftsik yor. hot er es gehat a makht, der rebe! mit der doziker yekheskln zenen glat forgekumen modne zakhn. vi gezogt, hot er gehat zeks kinder un ale zenen zeyer yung geshtorbn. geblibn iz im eyn tokhter dvoyre. tsiterndik far ir lebn, hot men zi khasene gemakht tsu fuftsn yor. di khasene iz geven in kamenits. der mekhutn iz geven, gedenk ikh, zeyer a diker un a sheyner yid, an "osobe", blut hot im geshpritst fun [z. 29] ponem. er iz in gantsn etlekhe un draysik yor alt geven. nokh der khupe hot er gezogt, az er filt zikh nisht gut un iz avek tsu zikh oyfn stantsye --- tsuleygn zikh etvos. - ikh bin mid fun veg un fun der gantser khasene-tseremonye -- hot er gezogt. di khasene iz geven baym rov in shtub. men hot geshpilt un getantst un gehulyet oyf vos di velt shteyt. di gantse shtot iz gekumen mesameyekh zayn dem khosn mit der kale. bay undz iz geven a mode tsu shteln a khupe farnakht. far der khupe tantsn meydlekh, vayblekh; nokh der khupe tantsn mantsbiln un men iz zikh mesameyekh biz elf-tsvelf baynakht. dernokh iz a vetshere. nokh der vetshere tantst men vayter biz zibn-akht in der-fri. (39)der oylem hot zikh shtark funandergetantst un men hot fargesn, az der mekhutn felt. a tsvey sho nokh der khupe hot men zikh dermont on mekhutn. iz men avek nokh im. ober vi tsetumlt, dershrokn iz men gevorn, az men hot gefunen dem mekhutn a toytn. er iz gelegn on otem oyfn bet. hot men oyfgehoybn a gvald, iz men gekumen tsuloyfn fun shtetl un fun der khasene. kentik, az der mekhutn iz nor-vos geshtorbn vorem er iz nokh geven a varemer. der oylem iz geshtanen a tsemishter, a tsetumlter un hot nisht gevust, vos tsu ton: tsi veynen nokhn geshtorbenem, tsi freyen zikh mit der khasene. der rov hot ober gezogt, az khosn-kale torn nisht veynen in dem tog fun khasene. hot men gekhapt shnel dem toytn mekhutn un avekgelofn mit im oyfn besoylem. bald hot men fartik gemakht a keyver un men hot im bagrobn. tsendliker yidn hobn zikh misasek geven mit der mitsve, kedey es zol nisht oyskumen khosn-kale tsu veynen. es hot nisht gedoyert keyn tsvey sho, un er iz shoyn geven a bagrobener... okersht hot gelebt a mentsh --- un ot ligt er shoyn in der erd. khosn-kale zenen geven a vayle oyfn besoylem. bald hot men zey gebrakht tsurik un es hot zikh ongehoybn di vetshere. keyner hot nisht getort veynen. dernokh hot der oylem getantst... di kep aropgelozt, dershlogn, in di oygn --- nisht oysgeveynte trern, nor di fis hot men mit gvald gehoybn: men tor dem khosn nisht lozn veynen nokh zayn tatn... dos iz epes geven shreklekh. [z. 30] az der groyl un der tsar funem okershtiker toyt hot dokh menatseyekh geven di gemakhte freylekhkayt un di fis zenen geblibn shteyn in mitn tantsn, hot der rov geheysn tantsn kleyne kinder. men muz mesameyekh zayn khosn-kale. hot men genumen zeks-akht-yorike yinglekh mit meydlekh un geheysn zey tantsn.(40)di klezmer hobn geshpilt. ikh bin demolt alt geven zeks yor un men hot mikh oykh ayngeladn tantsn, ober ikh bin nisht gegangen. - narele, gey tantsn -- hobn mir alte vayber tsugeredt. ikh hob nisht gefolgt... dos khsidishe hulyen un shtifn hot nor keyn shier un keyn grenets nisht gehat. un tomer hobn zikh oysgenumen di alte shpitslekh, hot men oysgetrakht naye. eynmol iz gekumen tsu undz yosele der khosid un gerufn dem tatn in shtibl arayn. men darf im dort noytik hobn. az men iz gekumen rufn, darf men geyn. vi kon zikh dos a khosid opzogn? der tate hot mikh oykh genumen. in shtibl hobn zikh gefunen ale khsidem, un az mir zenen arayngekumen, hot der oylem gelakht mit farflamte penimer. ikh bin demolt in gantsn alt geven dray-fir yor un hob nisht farshtanen, vos der oylem lakht, vos er tsaplt zikh fun gelekhter. dos iz ober bald klor gevorn. nor a poshete zakh: der oylem khsidem hot bashlosn optsushmaysn di same faynste un yakhsonishe khsidem, kedey zey zoln gedenkn oyf shtendik, az a mentsh darf zikh nisht haltn groys bay zikh, darf nisht hobn keyn simen fun gayve in zikh. emes take, itst firn zikh oyf di yakhsonishe khsidem orntlekh, fayn, on gayve. ober az men vert gerekhnt far a faynem khosid, iz dos shoyn oykh a trit tsu dem khesorn, un deriber darf men farkhapn frier un araynkateven, kedey es zol nor keynmol tsu dem khesorn nisht kumen. der art shmaysn darf oykh tsugeyn poshet: avekgeleygt oyfn tish mitn ponem arop, farkatshet di kapote un - shit! tsuersht hot men gevorfn goyrl, ver zol zikh leygn der ershter. der goyrl iz geven oyf aza oyfn: men hot oyfgeefnt a sider un az der ershter os fun blat hot ongevizn dem ershtn os fun a nomen, iz yener mekhile, zikh gegangen leygn... [z. 31] az ikh hob derzen, vi a berdiker yid hot zikh avekgeleygt oyfn tish un khsidim hobn mit ale koykhes genumen patshn in a bashtimtn ort, iz mikh bafaln a gvaldike simkhe. - ot iz a gut shpil! hob ikh ongekvoln. der berdiker yid hot gelakht un geoyket tsuzamen. ober az es iz gekumen tsu mayn oremen tatn, az men hot im aroyfgelegt afn tish mitn ponem arop, un a makhne khsidim hobn oyfgehoybn di hent mit farflamte gezikhter, hot zikh mir epes opgerisn in hartsn un ikh hob genumen veynen mit azoyne koyles, punkt vi men volt mikh veln koylen. ikh hob geveynt mit ale koykhes. di khsidim zenen ophentik gevorn, di hant hot zikh zey aropgelozt, un oyf aza oyfn hob ikh "opgeratevet" mayn oremen tatn. shver heyst-es, tsu shmaysn far a veynendik kind in di oygn. - ay, moyshe, -- hot a khosid fardrosik geshoklt mitn kop un tsugeleygt a finger tsum noz, -- tsi hostu amol nisht gebrakht umishne dem yingl?.. dos vet veynen un mir veln dir nisht konen shmaysn... nor mayn tate hot gelakht. er hot gemegt lakhn, vorem er hot nokh demolt keyn bord nisht gehat un iz avade alt geven a yor zibetsn-akhtsn... in zayne yorn iz nisht azoy shreklekh geven geshmisn tsu vern, bifrat nokh az er kon shmaysn oykh andere. er hot ober shoyn gehat a kind un dos kind hot geshtert...opgegoltn hot nor mayn tatn aleyn. vayter hot men gekatevet oyf vos di velt shteyt. az es iz gekumen tsu leyb kruheler, a groyser shtifer un zeyer a gezunter yung, hot er zikh nisht gelozt nemen. im hobn, a ponem, nisht azoy geshrokn di shmits, vi es iz im geven ayngenem dos ranglenish, avekshtoysn fun zikh, nisht lozn zikh khapn. iz er umgeshprungen oyf benk un oyf tishn, do halt men im fest un do rayst er zikh aroys un shteyt shoyn mit a fuln moyl gelekhter oyf a vayter bank, oyf a tish. un er hot shtark farmatert dem oylem. es hot alemen opgegosn mit a shveys. ober a klal iz fort shtarker un men hot im gepakt. es farshteyt zikh, az ver es hot gehat got in hartsn, der hot itst geshotn moyredike petsh. mit dem dozikn leyb kruheler hot zikh geendikt dos shpil. er iz geven der letster. [z. 32] bald zenen anidergeshtelt gevorn oyfn tish etlekhe fleshn shnaps. es hot zikh bavizn a groyse khale mit hering un der mider oylem hot getrunkn dem freylekhn lekhaim. nokhn trinken iz men avek a tentsl. aksl tsu aksl, hant tsu hant, penemer farshvitst, royt, bagaystert un tsu dem groysn rash fun di trit iz baheftn gevorn a lebediker, a khvatisher nign. ot azoy hobn zikh gefreyt khsidem. di simkhe fun shmaysn fremde hot bald farloshn in mir dem tsar fun dem, vos men hot gevolt shmaysn mayn tatn, un fun dem dozikn khsidishn shpil bin ikh a lange tsayt arumgegangen a bagaysterter. un shpeter hob ikh mikh barimt far mayne kheyder-khaveyrem: - hot men dos geshmisn groyse tates... ikh hob aleyn gezen... ay, hot men geshmisn... ikh hob aleyn gezen... - vu? -- hobn zey mit kine gefregt. in shtibl... hob ikh mit gayve a treysl geton mitn hant. un mayne kheyder-khaveyrem hobn mir nisht farginen dem glik... a kleynikayt, zen vi men shmayst groyse tates. ======================================================================= End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.004 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. 04.005 13 April 2000 1) Yiddish Matters: From the Editor -- Aaron Zeitlin's letters (Leonard Prager) 2) "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [first of four installments] for the Yiddish version: 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 April 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Yiddish Matters: Aaron Zeitlin's Annotated Letters*** The collected letters of literary figures, especially when competently edited and annotated, are a boon to scholars; when the literary figures are great letter writers -- in English D.H. Lawrence comes to mind -- their correspondence becomes an integral part of their art as a whole. In Yiddish literature we have few collections of well-edited literary correspondence; the classic triumvirate (Mendele, Perets, Sholem-Aleykhem) are a partial exception. This unfortunate penury has in some measure now been diminished by Yechiel Szeintuch's magisterial annotated edition of the letters of Aaron Zeitlin [Arn Tseytlin], a deeply meditative writer who could also be combatively polemical, a polarity encased in the Hebrew and Yiddish short title of this work: _Birshut-harabim uvirshut hayakhid_ ('In the public and in the private domain'). Aaron Zeitlin's own archive containing letters from major Yiddish writers -- as well as five volumes of verse ready for publication, several plays, and a novel (co-authored with Isaac Bashevis-Singer) on Otto Weininger -- were all destroyed in the Shoah period. The Zeitlin letters we have were preserved in archives in America and Israel. They carry us into the heart of Polish-Jewish literary politics, and in one section illuminate the struggle of Zeitlin and Bashevis Singer in their high-level, short-lived (1932-4) journal _Globus_ against the Bundist _Folkstsaytung_ and the Communist _Di literarishe tribune_, two camps which loathed the notion of a disinterested art. Szeintuch paints the complex background of Zeitlin's correspondence in a 60-page monographic introduction in Hebrew. This is followed by 127 mainly Yiddish letters from Warsaw in the 1930s to writers and editors in New York, Vilna and Israel, principal among them Sh. Niger, Joseph Opatoshu, H. Leivick and Abraham Liesin. The detailed annotation of the letters is in Hebrew. Two compendious indices, one of subjects (in Hebrew) and another, twenty-six pages long (in Hebrew and Yiddish), of names and titles, increase the usefulness of the volume immensely. Hardly a single significant actor in the drama of Yiddish culture both in and outside of Poland during the 1930s is absent from this exemplary index, which doubles as an index to the writings of Zeitlin and his major contemporaries. Zeitlin was one of the last great carriers of the Hebrew-Yiddish symbiosis and Szeintuch has produced a bilingual work in the spirit of his subject's linguistic breadth. In so doing he follows in the footsteps of his teachers, the late Dov Sadan and Khone Shmeruk, for whom Hebrew and Yiddish literatures were two sides of a single Jewish coin. This is an important work for students of Yiddish at every level. It can be ordered directly from the publisher: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, POB 39099, Jerusalem 91390, Israel. email: magnes@vms.huji.ac.il; tel.: 972-2-6586656; fax: 972-2-563-3370. Price in Israel: 68 shekels; abroad $17.00. ----------------- *[Hebrew title page]: Yekhiel Sheyntukh, _Birshut-harabim uvirshut hayakhid; aharon tseytlin vesifrut yidish; pirkey mavo veigrot muarot belivui teudot letoldot tarbut yidish befolin beyn shtey milkhamot haolam_, arkha Keri Fridman-Kohen, Yerushalaim: Hotsaat sefarim al-shem Y"L Magnes, 2000, 374 + 7 amudim. [ISBN 965-493-023-3]. [Yiddish title page]: Yekhiel Sheyntukh, _Birshus-horabim uvirshus hayokhid; arn tseytlin un di yidishe literatur; araynfir-kapitlen un briv mit heores bagleyt fun dokumentn tsu der yidisher kultur-geshikhte in poyln tsvishn beyde velt-milkhomes_, redagirt Keri Fridman-Koyen, Yerushalaim: Hoytsoes sforim al-shem y.-l. magnes, 2000, 374 + 7 zz'. [English title page: Yechiel Szeintuch, _Aaron Zeitlin and Yiddish Literature in Interwar Poland; An Analysis of Letters and Documents of Jewish Cultural History_, edited by Carrie Friedman-Cohen. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2000, 374 + 7 pp. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 April 2000 From: Leye Krikun Subject: "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) oylem habe fun sholem-aleykhem [213] az ir vilt, vel ikh aykh dertseyln a sheyne mayse, vi azoy ikh hob oyf zikh gehat amol a pekl, vos ikh hob es aleyn genumen oyf zikh, un bin shier-shier nit umgliklekh gevorn! un ir meynt, iber vos? nor iber dem, vos ikh bin geven a yungerman nit keyn geniter, nit keyn ibergeshpitster, dos heyst, es kon zayn, ikh bin nokh haynt oykh vayt fun a khokhim, vorum ikh zol zayn a kluger, volt ikh dokh, vi zogt ir, gehat gelt; az me hot gelt, iz men dokh i klug, i sheyn, i me kon zingen. bin ikh, heyst dos, geven a yungerman, gezesn oyf kest bay shver un shviger, gezesn un gelernt, a bisl arayngekukt in di bikhlekh besod, di shver un shviger zoln nit visn, nit azoy der shver, vi di shviger. ikh hob, darft ir visn, a shviger a mansbil, dos heyst: a yidene, vos geyt in spodek. firt aleyn ale gesheftn, aleyn geton shidukhim, aleyn geklibn khasonim far di tekhter. un oykh mikh hot zi aleyn oysgeklibn, aleyn farhert, aleyn gebrakht tsu firn keyn zvohil fun radomishli -- ikh bin aleyn a radomishler bin ikh, mistame hot ir gehorkht radomishli, me hot dos nit lang bashribn oyfn blat.... bin ikh, heyst dos, gezesn in zvohil oyf kest, gekvetsht dem _moyre-nivukhim_, nisht aroysgetrotn mipesekh beysi, [214] biz s'iz gekumen di tsayt, me darf zikh farshraybn tsum priziv, muz men zikh matriekh zayn durkhforn aheym keyn radamishli tsu-rekht makhn di papirn, zikh oystarn di ligote, aroysnemen a pas, vi geveyntlekh. dos iz geven, kon men zogn, mayn ershter aroysfor oyf der velt. hob ikh mikh gelozt in mark arayn dingen an agole eyner aleyn, tsu bavayzn, az ikh bin shoyn aleyn a mentsh. un got hot mir tsugeshikt a metsie, ikh hob dertapt an orl fun radamishli mit a shlitn, -- vinter is dos geven -- mit a breyter pleytse, a gefarbte, un mit tsvey fliglen bay di zaytn, vi an odler; nor dos ferdl hob ikh gor aroysgelozt funem kop, az s'iz a vays, un a vays ferdl, zogt di shviger, iz an umglik. "halevay, zogt zi, ikh zol lign zogn, di dosike nesiye vet zayn, hob ikh moyre, mit shlim-shlim-mazl..." -- "bays dir op di tsung!" -- khapt zikh aroys der shver mit a vort un hot bald kharote, vorum er bakumt zayn psak oyfn ort; nor tsu mir zogt er shtilerheyt: "vayberishe zabubones!," un ikh hoyb mikh on greytn tsu der nesiye; dem tales ve|tfiln, putergebeks, etlekhe kerblekh oyf der hetsoe un kishns dray: a kishn oyf tsu zitsn, a kishn oyf ontsushparn zikh un a kishn oyf di fis, -- un davay gezegenen zikh. gekumen tsum gezegenen zikh -- nito keyn verter! fun tomed on iz bay mir a teve, az se kumt tsum gezegenen zikh, blayb ikh on loshn! ikh veys nit, vos zogt men? epes kumt dos oys bay mir groblekh, vi azoy dreyt men zikh oys tsu itlekhn, mekhile, mitn hintn un me lozt zey iber glat azoy? ikh veys nit, vi azoy ir, nor bay mir iz dos gezegenen zikh adayem al api veal khamosi! nor sha! mir dakht, ikh hoyb shoyn on farkrikhn keyn boyberik.... hob ikh mikh, heyst dos, gants fayn opgezegnt un pashol [215] in veg arayn keyn radamishli. geven iz dos tkhiles vinter, der shney hot zikh geleygt far-fri. a shlits-veg gor an antik. dos ferdl, khotsh s'iz a vays, nor geyn geyt es vi a mizmer, un an orl hob ikh dertapt a shvaygndikn, fun di areylim, vos oyf altsding vet er aykh entfern oder "ehe," dos heyst yo, oder "ba-ni," dos heyst neyn, -- un vayter khotsh geb im a krenk! aroysgeforn fun der heym nokhn esn gants oyfgeleygt, a kishn fun untn, a kishn in di pleytses un a kishn oyf di fis; dos ferdl shpringt, der orl smotshket, der shlitn shlitlt, der vint blozt, un a shneyele rayst zikh fun oybn, kayklt zikh un falt, leygt zikh, vi federn, oyfn breytn groysn trakt, un oyfn hartsn mir iz gut, meshune gut, breyt un fray un likhtik oyf der neshome, fort dos ershte mol aroys oyf got|s veltl, eyner aleyn, a balebos, heyst es, far zikh! un ikh shpar mikh on un tseleyg mikh in shlitn gor mayse porets.... nor vinter, vi varm ir zolt nit geyn ongeton, nor az der frost nemt gut durkh, glust zikh opshteln zikh onvaremen, iberkhapn dos otem un forn vayter. un es shtelt zikh mir for, in dimyen geveyntlekh, a kretshme a vareme, a samovar a zudiker un a roselfleyshl a frishinkes mit a hoykher yoykh.... fun azelkhe makhshoves hoybt mir on klemen dos harts, poshet es vilt zikh epes nemen in moyl arayn. ikh hoyb on araynshmusn mit mayn orl mikoyekh a kretshme, ikh vil gevor vern, tsi s'iz nokh vayt? entfert er mir: ba-ni, neyn heyst dos. freg ikh im: shoyn noent? entfert er mir: ehe, yo heyst dos. vifil noent -- dos iz shver bay im aroystsutsien funem moyl, khotsh tu zikh on a mayse! un ikh shtel mir for, vos volt geven, lemoshl, ven oyfn orls ort zol zayn a [216] yid, lehavdl, volt er dokh mir klor gemakht nit nor vu di kretshme iz, nor afile ver es halt di kretshme, vi azoy me ruft im, un vifl kinder er hot, un vos er tsolt far der kretshme, un vos er hot fun ir, un vifil yor zitst er do, un ver iz gezesn frier -- gantse pek volt er mir dertseylt. a modne folk dos iz! ikh meyn take undzere yidelekh zoln gezunt zayn. s'iz gor an ander blut, khlebn!.... hob ikh mir, heyst dos, getroymt vegn a kretshme a vareme, gefantazirt mikoyekh a samovar a heysn, ukhedoyme azelkhe gute zakhn, biz got hot rakhmones gehat, mayn orl hot a shmotske geton tsum ferdl, farkerevet dem shlitn abisl oyf a zayt, un es hot zikh bavizn a kleyn groy shtibl, gashotn mit vaysn fun oybn biz arop, a feld kretshme, vos inem vaysn shneyendikn feld zet zi oys eyne aleyn epes meshune elnt, vi a farvorfene, a farnasene matseyve.... tsugeforn tsu der kretshme gants breytlekh, hot zikh mayn orl genumen mitn ferd un shlitele in shtal arayn, un ikh hob mikh gelozt glaykh in kretshme arayn, gegebn an efn di tir un... geblibn shteyn oyf der shvel, nit aher, nit ahin! vos iz di mayse? di mayse iz a sheyne mayse, nor a kurtse: in mitn der kretshme oyf der erd ligt a mes, ibergedekt mit shvartsn, tsukopns shteyen a por meshene laykhter mit kleyne likhtlekh, arum un arum zitsn kleyne kinder, opgerisn-opgeshlisn, shlogn zikh mit di hentelekh in kop, klogn, veynen, yamern, shrayn: "ma-me! mame!" un epes a hoykher mit lange peyes, mit a zumerdiker tserisener nakidke, epes gor nisht nokhn sezon, shpant arum hin un tsurik mit di lange fis un brekht di hent un redt tsu zikh aleyn: "vos tut men? vos tut men? un vos hoybt men on tsu ton?".... [217] avade hob ikh farshtanen oyf vos far a khasene ikh bin do ongekumen! der ershter gedank mayner iz afile geven: noyekh, antloyfn! un ikh hob zikh a nem geton tsurik un gevolt makhn fis. nor es hot zikh tsugemakht hinter mir di tir un es hot mikh epes vi tsugekavet tsu der shvel, un kh'hob nisht gekont rirn fun ort. derzen far zikh a frishn parshoyn, hot der hoykher yid mit di lange peyes zikh a loz geton tsu mir, oysgetsoygn tsu mir beyde hent, vi a mentsh vos bet ratunek: "vos zogt ir oyf mayn umglik?" -- makht er tsu mir un bavayzt mir oyf der khevre, vos zitsn un veynen. -- "geshtorbn bay zey di mame nebekh! vos tut men? vos tut men? un vos hoybt men on tsu ton?" "borekh dayen emes!" zog ikh tsu im un vil im onhoybn treystn mit gute verter, vi geveyntlekh, shlogt er mir iber in mitn di red un makht tsu mir azoy: "farshteyt ir mikh, oykh di eygene mayse. zi iz geven a geshtorbene, mayn vayb heyst dos, nokh fun forayorn, gehat di gute krenk, di emese tshakhotke; zi hot nebekh aleyn gebetn oyf zikh dem toyt. nor vos den? ot dos, vos mir zitsn do in a hek, in mitn feld. vos tut men? vos tut men? un vos hoybt men on tsu ton? zol ikh geyn ergets in a dorf krign a furl un opfirn zi in shtetl arayn, -- vi azoy lozt men iber do di kinder aleyn in mitn feld? un do geyt tsu nakht. gvald, vos tut men? vos tut men? un vos hoybt men on tsu ton?" bay di dozike verter hot zikh mayn yid epes modne tseveynt, on trern, glaykh vi tselakht zikh, un hot aroysgelozt a meshune kol funem haldz, glaykh vi gehust: "hu-hu-hu!" -- a [218] shtik gezunt hot bay mir tsugenumen der doziker yid! vos mir hunger? ver mir kelt? ikh hob fargesn altsding mit ale mit eynander un ruf zikh on tsu im: "ikh for fun zvahil for ikh keyn radamishli, un a fur hob ikh zeyer a voyle. iz oyb dos shtetl, vos ir zogt, iz nit vayt fun danen, kon ikh aykh tsulib ton gebn di fur, un aleyn vel ikh tsuvartn do, oyb es darf nit gedoyrn." "oy, lang lebn zolt ir far der mitsve! oylem habe vet ir zikh koyfn, vi ikh bin a yid, oylem habe!" makht er tsu mir un khapt mikh shier arum kushn. "dos shtetl iz nit vayt fun danen, sakhakl a verst fir oder finf. gedoyrn vet dos opfirn nit mer vi a sho tsayt, un ikh shik aykh bald op dos furl tsurik. oylem habe vet ir zikh koyfn, vi ikh bin a yid, oylem habe! kinder! shteyt oyf fun der erd un dankt, kusht dem dozikn yungnman in di hent arayn, in di fis arayn, er git undz zayn fur git er undz, vel ikh opfirn di mame oyfn heylikn ort! oylem habe, vi ikh bin a yid, oylem habe!" dos vort "simkhe" iz nit shaykh aher, vorum di kinder hobn derhert "opfirn di mame," zenen zey tsugefaln tsu ir un ersht ongehoybn veynen iberanays nokh mit mer frishkayt. nor a psure iz dos bay zey geven avade a groyse, vos se hot zikh gefunen a mentsh, vos tut mit zey a khesed; nor got aleyn hot im aher gebrakht! me hot oyf mir gekukt, vi oyf an oysleyzer, epes a min elye hanove, un ikh muz aykh zogn dem reynem emes, ikh aleyn hob oyf zikh gekukt beshas mayse vi oyf nit keyn geveynlekhn mentshn un bin oysgevaksn mitamol bay zikh in di oygn, gevorn [219] ot dos, vos me ruft on "held." in der minut bin ikh greyt geven ibertrogn berg, iberkern veltn; nishto, dakht zikh, di zakh, vos zol zayn far mir shver. un es hot zikh aroysgerisn bay mir funem moyl: "veyst ir vos? ikh vel zi take aleyn avekfirn mit mayn orl heyst dos, farshporn aykh matriekh zayn, opraysn fun di kinder." un vos vayter ikh hob geredt, hot dos dozike gezindl als mer geveynt, geveynt un gekukt oyf mir, vi oyf a malekh funem himl, un ikh bin bay zikh in di oygn gevaksn alts hekher un greser, kimat bizn himl, fargesn beshas mayse, az be|sakhakl hob ikh gor moyre zikh tsutsurirn tsu a mes, un hob aleyn mit mayne hent geholfn im aroystrogn un aroyfleygn oyfn shlitn, tsugezogt mayn orl nokh a khotse foygl mit nokh a mezumenim trunk bronfn. tkhiles hot zikh mayn orl afile abisl gekratst in der potilitse, untergevortshet unter der noz, nor nokhn dritn kelishek iz er gevorn veykher, un mir zenen avek in veg arayn ale dray, dos heyst, ikh un, lehavdl, der orl un de geshtorbene kretshmerke khave-nekhome, azoy hot men zi gerufn, khave-nekhome bas refoyl-mikhl, ikh gedenk dos azoy vi haynt, vorum a gants veg hob ikh mir gekhazert dem nomen, vos der man irer hot mir ongezogt etlekhe mol, vorum beshas me vet zi darfn mekaver zayn, ton ir rekht un betn zi mekhile vet men muzn visn ir emesn nomen. hob ikh a gants veg gekhazert oyf oysvenik: khave-nekhome bas refoyl-mikhl! khave-nekhome bas refoyl-mikhl! khave-nekhome bas refoyl mikhl! un makhmes khazern hob ikh fargesn ir mans nomen, khotsh nemt mir arop dem kop! er hot mir ibergegebn zayn nomen oykh un tsugezogt, az ikh vel [220] kumen in shtetl arayn un vel nor onrufn zayn nomen, azoy vet men bald tsunemen bay mir dem mes, un ikh vel mir konen forn vayter, makhmes er iz dortn, in yenem shtetl, zogt er, kame vekame yorn a yontef|nik, dos heyst, ale yomem-neroim fort er ahin oyf yontef un es kost im gelt in shul tsu der shisl un, lehavdl, in mirkhets un umetum, zogt er, git er zey tsu leyzn guzme-guzmes! un nokh epes hot mir ongezogt der kretshmer, ongeturket a fuln kop, vuhin ikh zol tsuforn, un vos ikh zol zogn, nor s'iz altsding mitamol aroysgefloygn bay mir funem moyekh, ir zolt zogn, s'zol iberblaybn khotsh a halb vort -- gole gornit! mayne ale gedanken hobn zikh gedreyt nor arum eyn zakh: ikh fir a toytn -- un dos aleyn iz shoyn geven genug, es zoln mebulbl vern bay mir ale mayne makhshoves un ikh zol fargesn afile, vi azoy me ruft mikh, vorum fun kindvays on hob ikh moyre far a toytn eymes-moves! blaybn eyner aleyn mit a toytn nokh adayem -- ir zolt mikh opgiltn! es dakht zikh mir oys, az di halb-tsugemakhte kloymersht-farglotste oygn kukn oyf mir un zeen mikh, un di tsugeshlosene toyte lipn veln zikh ot bald oyfefenen un es vet zikh lozn hern a meshune kol, vi fun unter der erd, vos funem koyekh hadimyen aleyn kon men faln khaloshes! nit umzist dertseylt men zikh on bay undz mayses vegn meysim, vi azoy mentshn zenen fun shrek aleyn gefaln khaloshes, arop fun zinen oder gor geblibn oyfen ort.... zenen mir, heyst dos, geforn in drayen mitn mes. dem mes hob ikh opgetrotn eyne fun mayne kishns un anidergeleygt in shlitn in der breyt bay mir tsufusns, un bikhdey es zoln mir nit plonten zikh keyn umetike makhshoves, hob ikh genumen kukn aroyf in himl arayn un shtilerheyt gekhazert [221] zikh: khave-nekhome bas refoel-mikhl! khave-nekhome bas refoel-mikhl! azoy lang, biz es hobn zikh di nemen ongehoybn plonten bay mir in zikorn un s'iz shoyn oysgekumen: khave-refoel bas nekhome-mikhl, un refoel-mikhl bas khave-nekhome, un hob gor nit bamerkt, az es hoybt epes on vi tsu vern alts tunkeler un tunkeler, der vint blozt alts shtarker un shtarker, un der shney hert nit oyf tsu shitn un tsu shitn un farshitn dem veg azoy, az der shlitn geyt oyf got|s barat, in der velt arayn, un mayn orl epes her ikh vortshet, frier shtilerheyt, nokhdem hekher un shtarker, un ikh volt gemegt shvern, az er bentsht mikh mit a dreygorendiker brokhe....freg ikh im: "goy, vos iz mit dir?" entfert er mir mit a shpay un mit a retsikhe, zol got shoymer vematsil zayn, un es efent zikh bay im dos moyl un er farshit mikh mit verter: staytsh, zogt er, ikh hob im gor umgliklekh gemakht mit zayn ferdl! iber dem, vos mir hobn genumen a toytn oyfn shlitn, is dos ferdl arop fun'm veg, un mir blondzhen, un got veyst biz vanen mir veln nokh azoy blondzhen, vorum ot vert nakht, zenen mir gor farfalene!....avade hot er mir ongezogt a sheyne bsure, un ikh bin greyt geven forn tsurik in kretshme arayn, opfirn tsurik du mitzve, an ek, oys oylem-haba! zogt mir ober der orl, as itster iz shoyn farfaln, nishto nit keyn ahin nit keyn tsurik, vorum mir dreyn zikh ergets in mitn feld, der shvarts-yor veyst vu!....der veg is farshotn, der himl is finster, s'iz shoyn shtok-naht, dos ferdl iz oysgemutshet tsum toyt. a mise meshune zol kumen, zogt er, oyf dem kretshmer un oyf ale kretshmers fun der gantser velt! nekhay volt er zikh, zogt er, frier oysgebrokhn a fus, eyder er hot zikh opgeshtelt nebn der doziker kretshme! nekhai-bi volt zikh, [222] zogt er, im geshtelt poperik dos ershte glezl bronfn, eyder er hot zikh gelozt tsuredn ton aza narishkayt -- nemen tsu zikh an umglik in shlitn arayn, un iber a halbn shmardovinets farfaln vern do in mitn feld, tsu aldi rukhes, mit'n ferdl ineynem! meyle er, zogt er, iz nokh vi es iz, efsher iz im bashert ot do a mise meshune aynemen, ober dos ferdl nebekh? vos hot er gehat tsu dem dozikn ferdl? an umshuldike beheyme, a skotine, vos veyst zi?.... [hemshekh kumt in 04.006] ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.005 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 _The Mendele Review_: Yiddish Literature and Language (A Companion to _MENDELE_) ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 04.006 30 April 2000 1) "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" (Leonard Prager) 2) "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh] [2nd of 4 installments] For Yiddish version: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 April 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" There are two possible translations for the above phrase in Yekhezkl Kotik's _Mayne zikhroynes_, selections of which have been appearing in _The Mendele Review_. The problematic phrase occurs in the sentence "dos korn hobn di dresher gedroshn nisht fun tog, nor fun shok" (_mayne zikhroynes_, band tsvey, kapitl 2, z' 18), which I translate, "The threshers did not thresh the corn on the threshing floor but straight from the sheaves." Lucas Bruin, Hugh Denman and Meyer Wolf all refer to the word _tok_ ('threshing floor') in Stutshkov and support this reading. (Wolf suggests there may have been a special farm building used for threshing.) On the other hand, David Assaf, translator and editor of the first volume of Kotik's memoirs in Hebrew (see _TMR_ vol. 3, no. 007) -- soon to appear in English as well -- reads the sentence differently. He takes Kotik's spelling "tog" to precisely mean _tog_ ('day') and his rendition is logical in all respects: "The threshers were not day-laborers but were paid by weight [of the kernels stripped from the ears of corn]." Bruin informs us that he has actually seen husked cobs of corn struck against wood to break off the kernels: "If you take up a sheave at the side were it has been cut of, swing it through the air and smash the top part with the ears on a fence or other piece of wood, the grains will come out. I have seen this done." It seems to me that this procedure would necessarily leave kernels on the cob, just as Kotik complains: "hobn zey tandetevet in der arbet, ibergelozn in yedn zang nisht veyniker fun a fir kerner un destglaykhn" ('they bungled the job, leaving at least four kernels in every ear of corn'). But this bungling is equally well covered by Assaf's explanation "If you work in agriculture 'by the weight' you tend to fill up the bags quickly; if 'on daily wages' you work more carefully." Work in many parts of the world is divided into work by the hour/day/week/month as opposed to piece work; the reasoning behind 'not on daily wages but on weight' is sound. Is it possible that by a kind of "homonymic chance" we have two coherent readings? The author, however, could only have intended one of them. Which? As I point out above, Kotik writes _tog_ and not _tok_; _tok_ (understood as meaning 'threshing floor') is one of many spelling corrections made on _TMR_ texts to conform to the Standard Yiddish Orthography. Prior to the mid-1930s and even afterwards, many writers followed the practice of imitating Modern German and writing gimel where today we write kuf. But I did ask myself:, "Could Kotik have intended _tog_ 'day'?" On orthographic grounds Bruin is reluctant to see _tog_ as an old-fashioned spelling for _tok_: "The person responsible for our text does not make many mistakes. He often uses 'khes' for 'khof' in 'loshn-koydesh' words, but he only uses 'g' for 'k' if it is 'g' in the German equivalent, in the way Harkavi gives them. I just came across Kotik describing himself as a 'hek-yeshuvnik', not as a 'heg-yeshuvnig'. If 'tog' = 'tok' it would be a straightforward printing mistake." On the other hand, Denman writes: "_tok_ does indeed have the meaning of 'threshing floor' in Yiddish (cf. Stutshkov, 213, left-hand column, half-way down). I don't think the gimel is a serious impediment." _tok_ is not found in any Yiddish lexicon other than Stutshkov as far as I have been able to determine, but it appears to be a borrowing from Polish, where it is a regional term for 'threshing-floor' (see Jan Stanislawski's _The Great Polish-English Dictionary_ [Warsaw 1982, vol. 2, p. 456]). The second key term in the phrase, _shok_, also raises a number of questions. It appears in a number of places in Kotik's memoirs (e.g. in the phrase "fir shok snopes." Assaf (in his Hebrew edition, p. 99) glosses _shok_ in the above phrase "a measurement of sixty units (especially a Lithuanian coin of 60 grush [? Polish groszy 'farthings'], equal to two and a half gold coins [Polish zloty])." Understanding _shok_ as a term of measurement, Assaf's reading makes sense. Bruin further clarifies _shok_ 'weight': "_shok_ is certainly not a 'weight', but the produce of land is measured in _shok_: so many shocks per acre; just like you might measure the produce of a peach tree in bushels." The word _shok_ appears to be distinctly Germanic; it has two senses and the numerical meaning -- which differs with locality -- is closely tied to that of 'bundle','stack', 'heap' and finally 'sheaves' [of corn]. Bruin gives us two distinct semantic slots: _shock_ or _shook_: [1] a unit of quantity equal to 5 dozen, 3 score, or 60. The unit is more common in German, where the word is spelled schock, than it is in English. In cooperage (the making of barrels), a bundle of 60 barrel staves is traditionally called a shock. [2] a traditional measure of grain or straw. A shock of grain is usually 12 sheaves (see above), sometimes 10. _Matthias Lexers Mittelhochdeutsches Taschenwoerterbuch_ (37th ed.) defines _schoc_/_schoch_/_schock_/_schok_ as 'haufe' [heap, pile, stack]; 'bueschel' [bunch; bundle], and 'anzahl von 60 stuecken','schock' [sixty pieces, heap of corn]. That the numerical value of the term differs from region to region, we see in Dutch _schok_: half of a 'groot-honderd' = [104 or] 120 > 60 pieces, used by wood merchants; 20 eggs. Bruin further reports from Holland: "My Frisian neighbor informs me that the sheaves are put in a 'stuke' (with accent circonflex on the u). He says that they used to place 6 sheaves on each side of the 'stuke', making 12 in total. > Dutch: Stuik: 8 to 10 sheaves put together. Comp. Du. hok: a number of 4 to 12 sheaves put together." Denman writes with proper circumspection: "I can't find any Yiddish evidence of 'shok' to mean 'shock/ stook', but the Middle High German is probably sufficient to justify the assumption that it could have that meaning in some Yiddish dialect." We are here reminded that Yiddish lexical resources are not as fully developed as we would like. Closer to home, the _Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_ defines _shock_ as "A group of sheaves of corn placed upright and supporting each other in order to permit the drying and ripening of the grain before carrying." The _SOES_ also tells us that the word corresponds to the Middle Dutch _schok_ 'shock of corn, sixty'. Modern German _Schock_ means 'sixty' as does Yiddish _shok_; but neither in Modern German nor in Yiddish dictionaries have I found a specific semantic slot with the meaning 'group of sheaves'. Yet it seems to me from the context that Kotik in this instance means 'sheaves of corn' -- as opposed to a term of measurement. Assaf, we are reminded, argues for the latter. To take another tack, let us try looking at the syntax of the phrase. In the reading "fun tok", _fun_ does mean 'from', but "fun tog" is elliptical, explicable as an idiom, but who knows the idiom? The translator of volume two of Kotik's _Memoirs_ will have a long pause at this point in the text. Perhaps other readers would like to comment on "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok." ------ Many thanks to David Assaf, Lucas Bruin, Hugh Denman, and Meyer Wolf for their helpful comments. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 April 2000 From: Leye Krikun Subject: "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh] oylem habe fun sholem-aleykhem [hemshekh] ikh volt gemegt shvern, az trern hern zikh bay im in kol....ikh vil im oysredn dos harts, zog im tsu nokh a khotse foygl mit nokh tsvey gute trunk bronfn, vert er mole kas un zogt mir gants ofn, az tomer vel ikh nit onshvign vern, nemt er un varft mir gor aroys di metsie fun'm shlitn! un ikh trakht mir: vos tu ikh, ashteyger, az er nemt take kholile un varft mir aroys dem mes fun'm shlitn mit mir ineynem? a kashe oyf an orl, az er vert in kas?....un ikh muz shoyn shtumen, zitsn in shlitn ayngenaret in di kishns un hitn zikh, ikh zol khotsh nit antshlofn vern, vorum, reyshis, vi azoy shloft men, az se ligt a mes far di oygn? vehasheynis, hob ikh gehert, az vinter oyfn frost tor men nit shlofn; me kon azoy pavolinke onshlofn vern oyf eybik....nor, vi oyftsulokhes, klepn zikh mir di oygn davke tsu khapn a driml. ikh volt in der minut, dakht mir, avekgebn far eyn driml mi yoydeye vifil!....un ikh rays mir di oygn, un di oygn folgn nit, un zey shlisn zikh pavolinke, un efenen zikh oyf, un shlisn zikh vider a mol, un der shlitn shlitlt zikh iber'n vaysn, tifn, veykhn shney, un epes a modne ziskeyt tsegist zikh in ale mayne eyvrim, un ikh fil epes a meshune gutskeyt, un es [223] glust zikh mir, az di ziskeyt mit der gutseyt zol gedoyrn nokh un nokh, a sakh zol es gedoyrn, lang zol es gedoyrn....nor a zaytiker koyekh, ikh veys nit fun vanen, shteyt un toret mikh: "shlof nit, noyekh, shlof nit". un ikh rays oyf mit gvald di oygn, un fun yener ziskeyt lozt zikh oys a min kelt ineveynik in ale eyvrim, un fun yener gutskeyt -- a min moyre-shkhoyre mit a moyre, mit a pakhad, mit an umet, zol zikh der oybershter mrakhim zayn! es vayst zikh mir oys, az mayn mes rudert zikh, dekt zikh op un kukt oyf mir mit half-tsugemakhte oygn, vi eyner ret: "vos host du gehat tsu mir, yungerman, umbrengen a toyte yidine, a mame fun kleyne kinder, nisht brengn zi tsu keyver yisroel?....un der vint blozt, fayft mit a kol fun a mentshn, fayft mir glaykh in oyer arayn, roymt mir ayn a shreklekhn soyd....un shreklekhe makhshoves, moyredike gedanken, dimyoynes krikhn mir in kop arayn, un es shtelt zikh mir for, az mir ale zenen do unter'n shney, ale: ikh un, lehavdl, der orl un dos ferdl zayns un der mes....mir ale zenen toyt, nor der mes -- merkvirdik! -- nor der mes aleyn, dem kretshmers vayb, iz lebedik.... un plutsem derher ikh, mayn orl smotsket dem ferdl epes zeyr freylekh, dankt got un tseylemt zikh in der finster un ziftst, un a naye neshome zetst er arayn in mir, un ikh derze fun dervaytn blishtshet aroys a fayerl. dos fayerl bavayzt zikh, vert bald farshvundn un bavayzt zikh nokhamol "a yishuv," trakht ikh mir, un dank un loyb got mitn gantsn hartsn, un ruf mikh on tsu mayn orl: "aponem, mir zenen shoyn, zok ikh, oyf a shtikl derekh? es vayzt oys, zog ikh, az mir zenen bald in shtetl?"-- -ehe!"-- makht tsu mir der orl mit'n friherikn kurtsn, shtiln ton, shoyn on a shum kas, un es vilt zikh mir arumnemen im fun hintn [224] un im gebn a kush in pleytse far der guter bsure, far zayn gutn kurtsn shtiln "ehe," vos iz tayerer bay mir itster fun der shenster kluger droshe. "vi azoy ruft men dikh?"-- freg ikh im, un es vundert mikh, farvos hob ikh im biz aher nit gefregt zayn nomen. "mikita"-- entfert er mir kurts mit eyn vort vi zayn shteyger. "mikita?"-- khazer ikh iber nokh amol, un der nomen "mikita" bakumt bay mir a modnem khen. "ehe!"-- entfert er mir deroyf, vi geveyntlekh, un es glust zikh mir zeyer, az mikita zol mir nokh epes zogn, khotsh tsvey-dray verter vilt zikh mir fun im horkhn, un mikita vert mitamol tayer bay mir in di oygn. oykh dos ferdl zayns vert bay mir tayer, mole khen. un ikh makh mit im a shmues vegn zayn ferdl; ikh zog im, az bay im iz a voyl ferdl. zeyr a voyl ferdl! entfert mir mikita: "ehe". "un a shlitn iz bay dir, mikita, zog ikh, oykh a voyler!"entfert er mir: "ehe". un mer vil mayn mikita keyn vort nisht zogn, khotsh brok im oyf tsen shtiklekh! "host faynt, zog ikh tsu im, redn, mikita-serdtse?"-- entfert er mir: "ehe". un ikh tselakh mikh, s'iz mir freylekh, gut un freylekh, glaykh vi ikh hob do ayngenumen otshakov, oder gefunem an oytser, oder antdekt a nayes, vos keyner hot derfun nit gevust, -- mit eynem vort, ikh bin gliklekh-ibergliklekh! tomer veyst ir vos? es hot zikh mir gevolt oyfhoybn dos kol un onhoybn zingen, vi ir zet mikh lebn! s'iz bay mir fun tomid on aza teve, az es makht zikh amol, s'iz mir gut oyfn hartsn, zing ikh. mayne zol lebn veyst shoyn mayn kharakter, fregt zi mikh: "vos iz shoyn, noyekh? vifil host du fardint, vos du host zikh azoy tsezungen?" bay di vayber kumt oys, nokh zeyer vaybershn seykhl, az freylekh iz a mentsh nor [225] demolt, ven er fardint; andersh kon nor a mentsh nit zayn oyfgeleygt. fun vanen nemt zikh dos, ashteyger, vos undzere vayber zenen a sakh mer loet nokh gelt, vi mir, mansparshoynen? dakht zikh, ver horevet oyfn gelt? mir, tsi zey? nor sha! mir dakht, ikh bin shoyn vider farkrokhn keyn boyberik. zenen mir, heyst dos, gekumen mit got|s hilf in shtetl arayn nokh farfri. dos shtetl hot gehaltn nokh in rekhtn shlof, s'iz nokh geven vayt tsu tog, keyn fayerl zet men nit in ergets. koym derzen a shtibl mit a groysn toyer un mit a bezeml oyfn toyer -- a simen fun an akhsanye, hobn mir zikh opgeshtelt, aropgekrokhn un genumen beyde, ikh mit mikitan, klapn mit di kulakes in toyer arayn. geklapt-geklapt, koym mit tsores, got hot geholfn, mir hobn derzen a fayerl in fenster; nokh dem hobn mir derhert, emitser shliapet mit di fis un es lozt zikh hern a kol fun yener zayt toyer: ver iz? "efnt, zog ikh, feter, vet ir fardinen oylem habe!" "oylem habe? ver zayt ir? "makht dos kol fun yener zayt un hoybt on efenen dem shlos. "efnt oyf, zok ikh, ikh hob gebrakht tsu firn aher a mes." "a vos?" "a mes!" "vos heyst a mes?" "a mes heyst a geshtorbener. a geshtorbene yidene hob ikh aher gebrakht tsu firn fun a dorf, fun a kretshme. un fun yener zayt toyer iz gevorn shtil. me hot nor gehert, vi es hot zikh tsugemakht tsurik der shlos un [226] di fis hobn avekgeshlyapet vayter, un oykh dos likht iz farloshn gevorn -- un gey shray khay vekayem! hot dos mikh shoyn fardrosn, un ikh ruf mikh on tsu mayn orl, er zol mir helfn klapn mit di kulakes in fenster arayn. un mir hobn zikh genumen beyde klapn azoy geshmak, az dos fayerl hot zikh vider ongetsundn un dos kol hot zikh vider gelozt hern fun yener zayt toyer: "vos vilt ir hobn fun mayn lebn? vos far a pritshepe?" "in gots viln," bet ikh zikh bay im vi bay a gazlen, "hot rakhmones, ikh bin do mit a mes!" "mit voser a mes?" "dem kretshmer's vayb". "voser kretshmer?" "ikh hob fargesn vi er heyst, nor zi ruft men khave-mikhl bas khane refoyl, meyn ikh khane-refoyl bas khave-mikhl. khane-khave-khane, meyn ikh..." "ir vet nit avekgeyn fun danen, shlimazl! ot gis ikh aykh op mit an emer vaser!" azoy makht tsu mir der balebosnye un shliapket avek fun'm fenster un farlesht dos fayerl -- un gey tu im epes!....ersht het-het, in a sho arum, az es hot ongehoybn sharyen oyf tog, hot zikh oyfgeefnt a shtikl toyer un es hot zikh aroysgeshtekt a shvartser kop mit vayse federn un ruft zikh on tsu mir: "dos hot ir getarebanet in di fenster arayn?" "ikh, ver den?" "vos hot ir gevolt?" [227] "ikh hob gebrakht a mes." "a mes? firt im tsu tsum shames fun khevre-kdishe." "vu zitst do der shames ayerer? vi azoy ruft men im?" "yekhiel ruft men im, dem shames, un zitsn zitst er barg-arop, take nit vayt fun bod." "vu iz do bay aykh ergets di bod?" "di bod veyst ir nit? ir zent, aponem, nisht keyn higer? fun vanen iz a yungerman?" "fun vanen ikh bin? fun radamishli, a radamishlier bin ikh, nor forn for ikh fun zvohil, un dem mes fir ikh fun a kretshme do nit vayt, take dem kretshmer's vayb, zi iz geshtorbn fun der tshakhatke. "nit do gedakht! vos zhe ger zikh es on mit aykh?" "mit mir? gornit. ikh bin durkhgeforn farbay, hot er mikh gebetn, der kretshmer heyst dos, er zitst in mitn feld mit pitzlekh kinder, nito zi vu tsu bahaltn, hob ikh mikh miyashev geven, yener bet fardinen oylem habe, far vos nit? "di mayse iz epes nit glat."makht er tsu mir. "ir vet zikh muzn zen frier mit di gaboem." "ver zenen bay aykh, ashteyger, di gaboim? vu, zog ikh, zitsn zey?" "di gaboim veyst ir nit? reb shepsl a gabe, zitst oyf yener zayt mark. reb elyezer-moyshe a gabe, zitst same in mitn mark. un reb yoysi, oykh a gabe, zitst nebn altn beys-hamidresh. der iker vet ir darfn zen zikh mit reb [228] shepslen, er iz der gantser tuer bay undz. a harter yid, zog ikh aykh prier, ir vet im azoy gikh nit aynbaysn. "a sheynim dank aykh, zog ikh, ir zolt derlebn onzogn besere bsures! ven vel ikh konen zikh mit zey zen?" "vos heyst ven? im irtse hashem, in derfri nokhn davnen." "mazltov aykh! vos zhe zol ikh ton dervayl? lozt mikh khotsh arayn a bisl onvaremen zikh. s'iz bay aykh a min sdom. aponim?" derhert di dozike verter, hot mayn balabosnie gants fayn farshlosn tsurik dem tir -- un sha, shtil, vi oyf a beys hakvores. vos tut men vayter? mir shteyn mit'n shlitn in mitn gas, mikita fayert, vortshet, kratst zikh in der potilitse, shpayt un shit mit draygorndike brokhes: "a miese meshune zol kumen, zogt er, oyfn kretshmer un oyf ale kretshmers fun der gantser velt. meyle er aleyn, zogt er, khapt im der roykh! ober zayn ferdl! vos hot men, zogt er, tsu zayn ferdl, vos me moret dos fun hunger un fun kelt? an umshuldike beheyme, a skotine, vos veyst zi?....s'iz mir a kharpe, a bushe far dem orl, un ikh trakht mir beshas mayse: vos klert, ashteyger, zayn kop vegn undz, yidn? vos far a ponem hobn mir, yidn, rakhmonim bney rakhmonim, kenen zey, areylim, grobe leyt, az eyn yid dem andern vil di tir nisht efenen, lozt nisht arayn zikh onvaremen afile, zenen mir dokh take vert dray mol azoy fil, vos mir hobn!....un ot azoy bin ikh matsdik es hadin, dos heyst, ikh gefin far rekht altsding, vos mir hobn, un makh shuldik dem gantsn klal, vi geveyntlekh a yid beshas [229] der anderer yid vil im nisht ton keyn toyve. keyn ume ve|loshn ret nit oyf undz azoy fil shlekhts, vi mir aleyn. toyzend mol a tog kont ir horkhn fun voser a yidn ir vilt azelkhe minim verter: "a yid iz dir keyn katoves nit!" "mit a yidn vilt ir epes makhn?" "mit a yidn iz gut kugl esn!" "dos kon nor a yid!" "herst du, deroyf iz dokh em a yidon!" "oy, a yid, a yid!" ukhedoyme azelkhe sheyne atestatsyes, komplimentn. ikh volt a baln geven visn, vi azoy iz bay 'zey', az es makht zikh, eyner dem andern vil nit helfn, -- falt men oykh on oyfn klal un me zogt, az dos gantse folk iz nit vert vos di erd trogt dos? nor sha! ikh bin shoyn, dakht mir, vider avek keyn boyberik.... [hemshekh kumt] ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.006 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. 04.007 14 May 2000 1) more on "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" (Leonard Prager) 2) Table of Contents of _Khulyot_ ('Links') vol. 6 3) "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh] [3rd of 4 installments] For Yiddish version: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 May 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: more on "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" more on "nisht fun tog [= _tok_?], nor fun shok" The _tog_ vs. _tok_ tug-of-war has continued since the last issue of _The Mendele Review_ (vol. 5.006) appeared on April 28. Seth Wolitz was on the right path when he wrote me that we should be consulting Polish farmers as well as Yiddish linguists. Meyer Wolf leads us deeper into this discussion by directing us to halachic sources -- the Mishna is full of agricultural information and a Yiddish translation of the Mishna such as Simkhe Pyetrushke's _Mishnayes mit iberzetsungen un peyresh in yidish_ (Montreal, 1945, ershter band, seyder zroim) is a logical place to look for answers to some of our questions. A number of agricultural issues need to be resolved. First we ask what grain is Kotik referring to. What he calls _korn_ ('corn') is surely not the American corn-on-the-cob but rather a cereal grain such as rye. Kotik uses the word _zang_ which MEYYED defines as 'stalk; ear (of corn)'. The SOED, defines _ear_ as 'A spike or head of corn; the fruit of a cereal plant which contains its flowers or seeds'. The cereal could be rye, barley, etc. In Kotik's usage, the definition 'ear' fits best. On the word _zang_ we have received many interesting comments.(1) Here is Meyer Wolf's valuable Mishnaic insight: "You might want to have a look at the halakhic literature on _peye_(2), _mayser_, etc. For instance, Pyetrushke writes in masekhes peye alef, mishne vov: 'di mishne lernt do, az khotsh peye darf men gebn "bemekhubar", dos heyst fun di zangen, velkhe zenen nokh baheft tsum feld...' (p. 42) And further on, he writes: 'ober dos is nor ven men git di peye fun der opgeshnitene tvue, oder afile nokh dem vi men hot di tvue shoyn oysgedroshn un gemakht fun derfun kupes veyts (oder andere tvue)...' (p.42) Note, too: 'zogt do R' Akive, az tvue, vos me hot genumen fun der kupe...' (p. 43) The phrase 'genumen fun der kupe' corresponds to 'venotel min hagoren'. Throughout the Yiddish commentary on _peye_, Pyetrushke refers to _zangen_ and _shayer_, apparently Northeastern terms for what, at least regionally in Southern Yiddish, are called _shokn_ and _tok/toyk_. I suspect that Kotik's phrase derives from 'min hamekhubar' and 'min hagoren', though I have not found an exact Hebrew correspondent." In Stutshkov we find _toyk_, _tok_, _dreshtok_ (p. 213); Meyer Wolf reports _toyk_ in Sholem-Aleykhem's _Funem yarid_. Jan Jonk (from Utrecht) informs us: Russian-English Dictionary 'Daglish', Moscow 1987: p. 556 _tok_ (II) = 'threshing-floor'; _tok_ (III) 'courting place'. (In Holland the threshing floor is also used for dances by the villagers.) The question has arisen as to whether the threshing floor was in a building or in the open air. Meyer Wolf wrote: "It seems to me what is meant is that the work was not done properly, i.e. in the building for threshing, but rather directly from the _bundles_ or _piles_ of harvested grain that should have been brought to the _tok_ for threshing. In other words, sheaves, perhaps, but maybe just piles or even bundles of 60 sheaves (you may recall pictures of a harvest with groups of sheaves standing upright in groups in a harvested field)." Hugh Denman claims that "A threshing floor cannot be a building (only for convenience does Stutshkov list it under 'virtshaft-binyonim'), since the presence of wind is essential to the process." I would imagine that there were both indoor and outdoor threshing floors depending on geography, climate and the specific grain being threshed. ------------------------ Notes 1) Jan Jok, diresting us to M.Lexers _Mhd. Taschenwoerterbuch_, is of the opinion that _zang_ comes from _sange_ = swf. mhd.: bueschel von aehren u. dgl. _sangen_ swv. das getreide schneiden und in garben binden. Consulting Kluge, _Etym. Woerterbuch d.dt.Sprache_, 1910, p. 385.: he finds _ Sange_ = ein durch Deutschland weitverbreitetes Dialektwort (auch Zwiebelsang wird gebraucht z.B. auf dem westerwald; vereinzelt Sange tirol. 'Handvoll Mohnkspfe': aus mhd. mndd. _sange_ 'Bueschel von aehren u. dgl. ahd. _sanga_ 'manipulus'; entsprechend engl. dial. _sangle_ 'aehrenbueschel'. Jan Dijkstra, from Nes, told Lucas Bruyn that a large stack of sheaves is called a 'skune' (with a roof over the u) in Frisian. 2) _peye_ [Hebrew _peyo_ 'end'] is the title of a tractate and is also a technical term for the edge or corner of a field whose grain must be left for the poor. Conceivably, were the farm a Jewish one and were gleaning leftover grain a local practice, the Jewish arendar or posesor might regard the lost kernels as tsdoke rather than as lost income.] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 May 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: Table of Contents of _Khulyot_ ('Links') vol. 6 (2000) NOTE: _Khulyot_ abstracts from vol. 1 on may be viewed at http://research.haifa.ac.il/~yiddish TABLE OF CONTENTS "The tongs were made with tongs" (Avot 5,6): A word from the editors Shalom Luria. Reb Elye Bakhur and his Poem on Bovo the Knight Shmuel Werses. From Change of Words to Change of Meaning: The Play _Saul's Kingdom_ in Yiddish Alyssa Quint. Abraham Goldfaden's Play _Bar-Kokhba_ Mendele Moykher-Sforim. "Purim-Shpil" [Selection from the play _Der priziv_ ('Military Conscription')] Zev (Velvl) Tshernin. Simon Samuel Frug -- Between Russian and Yiddish Micah Joseph Berdichevski. "From Military Service" [Original and translation] Avner Holzman. On M.J. Berdichevsky's Story "Fun der sluzshbe" ('From Military Service') Miriam Trin. Anticipation of the Shoah in the Poetic Works of Aaron Zeitlin Bilha Rubinstein. Poetic Duality: "Gimpel Tam" and "Mayse Tishevits": Two Sides of I. Bashevis-Singer's Narration. Yosef Bar-El. On the Tempesuous Character and Fate of Moyshe Nadir Tamar Wolf-Monson. Uri Zvi Grinberg's Prologue to _Eyma Gedola Veyareach_ ('Great Fear and the Moon'): Manifest and Concealed _ars poetica_ as a Response to Hostile Criticism Ziva Shamir. "Heaven, however, like a white goat, has climbed up to graze our thatched roofs": On the Creative Use of Yiddish Idioms in Alterman's Poetry Yechiel Szeintuch. The Czernowitz Conference and Yiddish Culture Dov Sadan. Chaim Grade ----- Shalom Luria: Pearls of Yiddish Poetry (David Hofstein's "Shneyen" and Abraham Sutzkever's "Ikh leyg aleyn zikh verter". FOLKLORE Y.-L. Cahan. The Yiddish Folksong. Yitskhak Ganoz. "Ten Daughters": A Yiddish Folksong Sung Among Kolobyeler Hasidim DOCUMENTS Samuel Berger. The Beginnings of Yiddish Journalism P. Klein [pseudonym of Zelik Kalmanovitsh]. A Theory Of Yiddish Nathan Susskind. How Yiddish Originated Yechiel Szeintuch. In the Reflection of _Der Ashmodai_ (Berlin/Warsaw 1912-1913) REVIEWS Shalom Luria. _Ma sheraiti: zikhronotav shel yekhezkl kotik_ (David Assaf) [English t.p.: _What I Have Seen: The Memoirs of Yechezkel Kotik_] Vera Solomon. _Moyshe Broderzon, un ecrivain yiddish d'avant-garde_ (Gilles Rozier) Vera Solomon. _Birshut harabim uvirshut hayakhid : aharon tseytlin vesifrut yidish_ (Yechiel Szeintuch) [English t.p.: _Aaron Zeitlin and Yiddish Literature in Interwar Poland_] Yiddish Abstracts English Abstracts 3)------------------------------------------------------ Date: 14 May 2000 From: Leye Krikun Subject: "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh][3rd of 4 installments] "oylem habe" (Sholem-aleykhem) (continued from TMR vol. 4.006) [229, l. 14] shteyen mir, heyst dos, mitn shlitn in mitn mark un vartn biz es vet vern rekht tog un di shtot vet onhoybn aroysvayzn simonim, az zi lebt. un kakh-have. es hot zikh gelozt hern ergets a ruk fun a tir, a krekhts fun an emer, fun a tsvey-dray koymens hot zikh bavizn a roykh, un a kreyen fun hiner hot zikh gelozt hern ale mol shtarker un lebediker; es hobn zikh geefnt ale tirn un es hobn zikh ongehoybn bavayzn gots bashefenishn in geshtaltn fun beheymes, kelblekh, tsign un, lehavdl, yidn, vayber un meydlekh, farbundn mit vareme shaln un farviklt vi di lyalkes, ayngehoykert in drayen un ibergefroyrn vi di kislitses -- hakitser, mayn shtetl hot oyfgelebt, vi a lebediker mentsh, a shteyger. es hot zikh oyfgekhapt, opgegosn negl-vaser, gekhapt oyf zikh dos malbesh un genumen zikh tsu der arbet: di mansbiln tsu avoydes-haboyre, davnen, lernen, zogn tilim, un di vayber tsu di oyvns, tsu di bak dayshes, tsu di kelblekh mit di tsign, un ikh hob [230] mikh genumen tsu nokhfregn zikh oyf di gaboim: vu zitst do ergets reb shepsl, reb Elyezer-Moyshe, reb yoysi? nemt men mikh tsum ekzamen: voser shepsl, voser Elyezer-Moyshe un voser yoysi! faran, zogn zey, do in shtetl itlekhe shepslen, itlekhe Elyezer-Moyshes un itlekhe yoysim. un az ikh hob zey gezogt, az ikh darf tsu di gaboim fun khevre-kdishe, hobn zey zikh vi dershrokn un genumen oystapn bay mir, vos badarf es a yungerman azoy fri tsu di gaboim fun khevre-kdishe? hob ikh mikh nisht gelozt lang tapn un hob zey antplekt mayn harts, oysgezogt dem gantsn sod mit der bombe, vos ikh hob oyf zikh genumen. hot ir badarft zen vos es hot zikh geton! ir meynt, me hot zikh gekhapt mikh bafrayen funem umglik? khas vesholem! me iz nor gelofn itlekher bazunder in droysn a kuk ton oyfn shlitn, tsi es ligt take dortn a mes, tsi s'iz an oysgetrakhte mayse? un dervayl iz gevorn arum undz a redl fun mentshn, vos hobn zikh gebitn, dos heyst, makhmes kelt zenen di mentshn avek un oyf zeyer ort hobn zikh tsunoyfgekumen andere mentshn, gekukt in shlitn arayn, geshoklt mit di kep, gekneytsht mit di pleytses, zikh tsefregt, ver is der barminan, un fun vanen, un ver bin ikh, un vi kumt er tsu mir, un nisht gegebn mir keyn hilf fun danen ahin. koym-koym hob ikh gepoylt, me zol mir onvayzn, vu zitst do ergets reb shepsl der gabe. hob ikh im getrofn shteyn mitn ponim tsu der vant, ayngeviklt in tales vetfiln un davnen azoy geshmak, mit aza zisn nign un mit azoy fil hispayles, az mamesh di vent hobn gezungen. er hot geknakt mit di finger, gebomket un gedevket zikh, gemakht meshune-modne hevayes. ikh hob mikh, hert ir, nor mekhaye geven, vorum. ershtns, hob ikh lib glat hern aza min [231] davnen, vehasheynis, hob ikh gekont dervayl onvaremen abisl di ibergefroyrene beyner. un az der reb shepsl hot oysgedreyt tsu mir dos ponim, zenen in di oygn bay im nokh geshtanen trern, un oysgezen hot er bay mir in di oygn vi a getlekher mentsh, a koydesh, vos di neshome zayne iz azoy vayt fun der erd, vi der groyser feter guf zayner iz vayt funem himl. un makhmes er hot nokh gehaltn in mitn davnen un hot nisht gevolt mafsik zayn, hot er zikh oysgeshmuest mit mir oyf "loshn-koydesh", dos heyst, oyf aza min shprakh, vos bashteyt fun makhn mit di hent, vinkn mit di oygn, kneytshn mit di pleytses, dreyn abisl mitn kop un abisl mit der noz un a por loshn-koydesh verter varft zikh oyk durkh besoykhom. oyb ir vilt, kon ikh aykh ibergebn dem dozikn shmues vort bay vort; mistame vet ir shoyn aleyn farshteyn velkhes hot gekert tsu mir un velkhes tsu im. "a sheynim dank aykh, zog ikh, ir zolt derlebn onzogn besere psures! ven vel ikh konen zikh mit zey zen?" "vos heyst ven? im-yirtse-hashem, in der fri nokhn davnen." "mazeltov aykh! vos zhe zol ikh ton dervayl? lozt mikh khotsh arayn a bisl onvaremen zikh. s'iz bay aykh a min sodom. aponim?" derhert di dozike verter, hot mayn balabosnye gants fayn farshlosn tsurik dem tir -- un sha, shtil, vi oyf a beys hakvores. vos tut men vayter? mir shteyn mitn shlitn in mitn gas, mikita fayert, vortshet, kratst zikh in der potilitse, shpayt un shit mit draygorndike brokhes: "a miese meshune zol kumen, zogt er, oyfn kretshmer un oyf ale kretshmers fun der gantser velt. meyle er aleyn, zogt er, khapt im der ruekh! ober zayn ferdl! vos hot men, zogt er, tsu zayn ferdl, vos me moret dos fun hunger un fun kelt? an umshuldike beheyme, a skotine, vos veyst zi?....s'iz mir a kharpe, a bushe far dem orl, un ikh trakht mir beshas mayse: vos klert, a shteyger, zayn kop vegn undz, yidn? vos far a ponim hobn mir, yidn, rakhmonim bney rakhmonim, kenen zey, areylim, grobe layt, az eyn yid dem andern vil di tir nisht efenen, lozt nisht arayn zikh onvaremen afile, zenen mir dokh take vert dray mol azoy fil, vos mir hobn!....un ot azoy bin ikh matsdik es hadin, dos heyst, ikh gefin far rekht altsding, vos mir hobn, un makh shuldik dem gantsn klal, vi geveyntlekh a yid beshas der anderer yid vil im nisht ton keyn toyve. keyn ume veloshn ret nit oyf undz azoy fil shlekhts, vi mir aleyn. toyzend mol a tog kont ir horkhn fun voser a yidn ir vilt azelkhe minim verter: "a yid iz dir keyn katoves nit!" "mit a yidn vilt ir epes makhn?" "mit a yidn iz gut kugl esn!" "dos kon nor a yid!" "herst du, deroyf iz dokh em a yidene!" "oy, a yid, a yid!" vekedoyme azelkhe sheyne atestatsyes, komplimentn. ikh volt a baln geven visn, vi azoy iz bay 'zey', az es makht zikh, eyner dem andern vil nit helfn, -- falt men oykh on oyfn klal un me zogt, az dos gantse folk iz nit vert vos di erd trogt dos? nor sha! ikh bin shoyn, dakht mir, vider avek keyn boyberik.... shteyen mir, heyst dos, mit'n shlitn in mitn mark un vartn biz es vet vern rekht tog un di shtot vet onhoybn aroysvayzn simonim, az zi lebt. un kakh hava. es hot zikh gelozt hern ergets a ruk fun a tir, a krekhts fun an emer, fun a tsvey-dray koymens hot zikh bavizn a roykh, un a kreyen fun hiner hot zikh gelozt hern ale mol shtarker un lebediker; es hobn zikh geefnt ale tirn un es hobn zikh ongehoybn bavayzn gots bashefenishn in geshtaltn fun beheymes, kelblekh, tsign un, lehavdl, yidn, vayber un meydlekh, farbundn mit vareme shaln un farviklt vi di lyalkes, ayngehoykert in drayen un ibergefroyrn vi di kislitses -- hakitser, mayn shtetl hot oyfgelebt, vi a lebediker mentsh, ashteyger. es hot zikh oyfgekhapt, opgegosn negl-vaser, gekhapt oyf zikh dos malbush un genumen zikh tsu der arbet: di mansbiln tsu avoydes-haboyre, davnen, lernen, zogn tilim, un di vayber tsu di oyvns, tsu di bakdayshes, tsu di kelblekh mit di tsign, un ikh hob [230] mikh genumen tsu nokhfregn zikh oyf di gaboim: vu zitst do ergets reb shepsl, reb elyezer-moyshe, reb yoysi? nemt men mikh tsum ekzamen: voser shepsl, voser elyezer-moyshe un voser yoysi! faran, zogn zey, do in shtetl itlikhe shepslen, itlekhe elyezer-moyshes un itlekhe yoysim. un az ikh hob zey gezogt, az ikh darf tsu di gaboim fun khevre-kdishe, hobn zey zikh vi dershrokn un genumen oystapn bay mir, vos badarf es a yungerman azoy fri tsu di gaboim fun khevre-kdishe? hob ikh mikh nisht gelozt lang tapn un hob zey antplekt mayn harts, oysgezogt dem gantsn soyd mit der bombe, vos ikh hob oyf zikh genumen. hot ir badarft zen vos es hot zikh geton! ir meynt, me hot zikh gekhapt mikh bafrayen fun'm umglik? khas vesholem! me iz nor gelofn itlekher bazunder in droysn a kuk ton oyfn shlitn, tsi es ligt take dortn a mes, tsi s'iz an oysgetrakhte mayse? un dervayl iz gevorn arum undz a redl fun mentshn, vos hobn zikh gebitn, dos heyst, makhmes kelt zenen di mentshn avek un oyf zeyer ort hobn zikh tsunoyfgekumen andere mentshn, gekukt in shlitn arayn, geshoklt mit di kep, gekneytsht mit di pleytses, zikh tsefregt, ver is der bar minan, un fun vanen, un ver bin ikh, un vi kumt er tsu mir, un nisht gegebn mir keyn hilf fun danen ahin. koym-koym hob ikh gepoylt, me zol mir onvayzn, vu zitst do ergets reb shepsl der gabe. hob ikh im getrofn shteyn mit'n ponim tsu der vant, ayngeviklt in tales vetfiln un davnen azoy geshmak, mit aza zisn nign un mit azoy fil hispales, az mamesh di vent hobn gezungen. er hot geknakt mit di finger, gebomket un gedevket zikh, gemakht meshune-modne hevyes. ikh hob mikh, hert ir, nor mekhaye geven, vorum. ershtns, hob ikh lib glat hern aza min [231] davnen, vehasheynis, hob ikh gekont dervayl onvaremen abisl di ibergefroyrene beyner. un az der reb shepsl hot oysgedreyt tsu mir dos ponim, zenen in di oygn bay im nokh geshtanen trern, un oysgezen hot er bay mir in di oygn vi a getlekher mentsh, a koydesh, vos di neshome zayne iz azoy vayt fun der erd, vi der groyser feter guf zayner iz vayt fun'm himl. un makhmes er hot nokh gehaltn in mitn davnen un hot nisht gevolt mafsik zayn, hot er zikh oygeshmuest mit mir oyf "loshn-koydesh", dos heyst, oyf aza min shprakh, vos bashteyt fun makhn mit di hent, vinkn mit di oygn, kneytshn mit di pleytses, dreyn abisl mit'n kop un abisl mit der noz un a por loshn-koydesh-verter varft zikh oyk durkh betoykham. oyb ir vilt, kon ikh aykh ibergebn dem dosign shmues vort bay vort; mistame vet ir shoyn aleyn farshteyn velkhes hot gekert tsu mir un velkhes tsu im. "sholem-aleykhem aykh, reb shepsl." "aleykhem-sholem. ye-o....al hasafsal...." "a dank, ikh bin shoyn genug gezesn." "nu-o?....ma? ma?" "ikh hob tsu aykh a bakoshe, reb shepsl. ir vet fardinen oylem habe." "oylem habe? tov....ela ma? ma?" "ih hob aykh gebrakht a mes." "mes? mi mes (met?)" "ot do nit vayt is faran a kretshme, zitst dort a yid an oreman nebekh, iz bay im, nit do gedakht, geshtorbn dos vayb fun der tshakhatke, gelozt kinder kleyne. [232] a gots rakhmones. ven ikh derbarem zikh nit oyf zey, veys ikh nit vos es volt nebekh geton der kretshmer in mitn feld mit a barminan." "borekh dayen emes...ele nu?....moes? khevre-kedishe?".... "voser moes? ver mir moes? yener iz an oreman, an oni veevyen, a metupl mit kinder! ir vet fardinen oylem habe, reb shepsl." "oylem habe? tov, tov meod! ele ma? ma? hekdesh? yehudim! nu? gam ken kabtsonim! ye-o! nu-fe!" un makhmes ikh hob nit farshtanen, vos er meynt dermit, hot er zikh mit kas oysgedreyt vider a mol mitn ponim tsu der vant un hot shoyn genumen davenen nisht mit aza hits vi frier, shoyn abisl shtiler, nideriker mit a ton, kemat oyf a kvitsh, un geshoklt zikh gikh-gikh, mitn kuryer-tsug, aropgevorfn fun zikh dem talis vetfiln un ongefaln oyf mir nokh dem mit a min kas, glaykh vi ikh volt im kalye gemakht a yarid, gekoylet di kapote. staytsh, zogt er, dos shtetl iz an orem shtetl, hot oyf zikh genug eygene kabtsonim, vos az zey shtarbn, muz men zey nokh makhn oyf takhrikhim, kumt men aher nokh fun fremde erter, fun der gantser velt aher! ale aher!.... hob ikh mikh farentfert vi vayt meglekh, az ikh bin gor do avade got di neshome shuldik, az dos iz nisht mer vi a mes-mitsve. elihey, me hot gefunen, zokh ikh, in gas a toytn un me darf im ton zayn rekht, brengen tsu keyver yisroel! ir zent dokh, zog ikh, an erlekher yid, a frumer, me kon dokh dermit fardinen oylem habe! iz er nokh mer ongefaln oyf mir, kemat, kon men zogn, er hot mikh durkhgetribn. dos heyst, nisht getribn mamesh, nor dergangen di yorn mit verter: [233] "azoy? ir zent a yungerman fun oylem habe? geyt zhe zikh durkh abisl bay undz in shtetl, tut epes dertsu, me zol azoy gikh nit shtarbn fun hunger un frirn fun kelt, vet ir zikh koyfn oylem habe! an oylem-habe-yid! a yungerman, vos handlt mit oylem habe! geyt aykh gezunterheyt mit ayer skhoyre tsu di hultays, efsher veln zey bay aykh handlen oylem habe? mir hobn undzere eygene mitsves un maysem toyvim, un az es vet zikh undz farglustn a kheylek loylem habe, veln mir zikh gefinen an eytse on aykh! azoy zogt tsu mir der gabe reb shepsl un bagleyt mikh aroys mit kas un mit a rekhtn knak mit der tir, un ikh shver aykh binemones, -- mir zen zikh dokh mit aykh dos ershte mol un efsher dos letste mol, -- fun yenem frimorgn on hob ikh bakumen epes a bazundere min sine tsu erlekhe alt-frenkishe yidn, faynt gekrign di, vos davnen hoykh un dveyken zikh un bomken un makhn haveyes, faynt gekrign frumakes un ale minem yidn, vos redn mit got, vos dinen got un vos tuen altsding nokh lesheym shomayim, kloymersht fun gots vegn. emes, ir vet mir zogn, az bay di hayntike, bay di oyfgeklerte, iz faran nisht mer, un efsher nokh vintsiker, yoysher vi bay di amolike, bay di frumakes? es kon zayn, az gerekht zent ir, nor vos den? der fardros iz khotsh nit azoy groys, me ret khotsh nit mit got. ay, vet ir fregn, lemay shlogn zikh di hayntike azoy far'n emes, lenen-ayn di velt, glaykh vi der roykh khapt zey avek, un kumt tsu epes -- lozt zikh oys, az se hoybt zikh gor nit on? nor sha? ikh bin shoyn, dakht zikh, vider in boyberik?.... hot mikh, heyst dos, der gabe rishon (rishn?) reb shepsl, mekhile, durkhgetribn. vos tut men vayter? darf men geyn vayter, [234] tsu di iberike, heyst dos, gaboim. hot zikh ober do getrofn a nes, a nes min hashomayim; ikh hob farshport geyn tsu di gaboim, vorum di gaboim zenen gegangen tsu mir, zikh bagegnt mit mir a noz kegn a noz bay der tir, un a makh geton tsu mir: "dos zent ir efsher der yungerman fun der tsig?" "fun voser tsig?" freg ikh. "der yungerman, heyst es, vos hot gebrakht tsu firn aher a mes -- zent dos ir?" "yo, s'iz ikh; vos iz den?" "kumt tsurik, tsu reb shepslen, veln mir zikh ale ineynim haltn an eytse." "haltn an eytse?" zog ikh. "vos iz shoyn do an eytse? nemt tsu bay mir dem mes un lozt mikh op, vet ir zikh koyfn oylem habe." "emitser halt aykh den?" makhn zey tsu mir." fort aykh mit'n mes vuhin ir vilt, afile kayn radamishli, mir veln aykh nokh zogn a dank." "a dank aykh far der eytse." zog ikh tsu zey. "nito far vos." makhn zey tsu mir, un mir khapn zikh arayn ale dray tsurik tsu reb shepslen, un ale dray gaboim tshvisn zikh hoybn on redn, shparn zikh, krign zikh, kemat me zidlt zikh. yene tsvey zogn oyf reb shepslen, az er iz tomid a makhmir, a harter yid, vos im iz shver ayntsubaysn; un reb shepsl varft zikh, shmitst zikh, dringt zey oys mit psukim: "eyni irkhe koydmin" -- az di shtot-oremlayt zenen bilkher. faln az oyf im yene tsvey: [235] "im ken, is vos? vilt ir, heyst dos, der yungerman zol forn mit'n mes tsurik?" "khas vesholim!""zog ikh. --vos heyst, ikh vel forn mit'n mes tsurik? ikh bin gekumen aher koym a lebediker, shier nit umgekumen in feld. der orl hot mikh, lang lebn zol er, gevolt aroysvarfn in mit'n veg fun'm shlitn. ikh bet aykh, hot rakhmones, bafrayt mikh fun'm mes, ir vet aykh koyfn oylem habe. "oylem habe is avade a guter bisn." entfert mir eyner fun yene tsvey, a hoykher yid a darer mit dine finger, der vos me ruft im elyezer-moyshe. "dem bar minan veln mir bay aykh tsunemen un ton zayn rekht, nor itlekhe kerblekh vet dos aykh kostn. "vos heyst?" zog ikh. "loy-day ikh hob genumen oyf zikh aza mitsve, shier nit umgekumen in feld, der orl hot mikh, lang lebn zol er, gevolt aroysvarfn fun shlitn, zogt ir gor gelt?" "hot ir derfar oylem habe!" makht tsu mir reb shepsl mit aza paskudne shmeykhele, az se glust zikh mir im opbodn, vi se geher tsu zayn, nor ikh halt mikh ayn mit ale koykhes, vorum ikh bin dokh bay zey in di hent! ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.007 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. 04.008 30 May 2000 1. Books Received: Pinye Plotkin's poems (Leonard Prager) 2. _The Music of the Mountain Jews_: A Review (Leonard Prager) 3. Strasbourg Conference Notice (Daniel Galay) 4. "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [4th of 4 installments] For Yiddish version: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmrarc.htm 1)-------------------------------------- Date: 30 May 2000 Subject: Pinye Plotkin's poems From: Leonard Prager pinye plotkin (1915-) _mit an ofn harts; oysgeveylte lider_ redagirt fun shmuel bat, vest-holivud, kalifornye: yidish kultur klub, 1997. 140 + 6 zz'. vegn der tsayt un vegn zikh; lider-zamlung redagirt fun shmuel bat, vest-holivud, kalifornye: yidish kultur klub, 1999. 128 + 3 zz'. These two volumes appear to be the only book-length collections of the verse of a poet whose work can be found in many periodicals, especially _sovetish heymland_. A veteran of four years of military service in the Red Army, Plotkin writes of his lost comrades, of his destroyed shtetl; elegiac, memorial, nostalgic themes are major strains in his work. He laments, as in "biz vanen ikh leb," the suffering of gentiles as well as of Jews. His short vignette-like lyrics, such as those I give below, often paint striking images. Perhaps one of our readers can identify the placenames mentioned in "biz vanen ikh leb." ------ dermonung dos shtalekhl, dray klafter in der erd, hot zikh farhit nokh fun di alte tsaytn. amol iz do a balegoles ferd geshtanen far a nayem veg a vaytn. baginen fleg dos ferdl trinken geyn, dernokh mit shverer arbet zikh farnemen. biz itst gefint men dortn shtroy un hey, a baytsh, a shtekl un a pustn amer. from _mit an ofn harts_, p. 22, first published _Sovetish heymland_ 8:102 (1987). ------ kindhayt di kindhayt mayne kholemt zikh mir oft -- a legendare, vayte, nit keyn zate. ikh ze zi boylet, neyn -- nit nor in shlof, nit nor a borvese, in lekher un in lates. un yedes mol, ven shnel tsu mir zi kumt un glaykh farshvindt un lozt mikh shoyn nit ruen -- far mayne oygn shteyt der trayer hunt, di ku di broyne, un der alter brunem. from _mit an ofn harts_, p. 78, first published _Sovetish heymland_ 8:102 (1987). ------ biz vanen ikh leb di erter, vu ikh bin geven, atsinder iz shver tsu derkenen. Velikye, Luki un Rzhev, un dortn -- fil heylike nemen. biz vanen ikh otem un leb, ikh vel mayn zikorn getroyen. kh'gedenk: in a yishev lem veg hot opgeshtelt mir a poyer. ikh hob bam altn bamerkt a trer in di oygn un veytik, vayl ver s'zol nit durkhgeyn, hot er gemeynt, az a zun zayner geyt es. from _mit an ofn harts_, p. 107, first published _sovetish heymland_ 11:143 (1987). 2)------------------------------ Date: 30 May 2000 Subject: _The Music of the Mountain Jews_: A Review From: Leonard Prager Piris Eliyahu. _The Music of the Mountain Jews; Transcriptions and Commentaries_. Jerusalem: The Jewish Music Research Centre, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1999. [ISBN: 0792-3740]. The phenomenon of Yiddish can only be understood fully in the context of Jewish linguistic history, which encompasses the chronicles of a score of "Jewish languages." In its longevity, geographical range, literary monuments, socio-cultural and political importance, no Jewish language -- Hebrew excepted -- can quite compare with Yiddish. But all Jewish languages share certain common features such as the use -- at least originally -- of the Hebrew alphabet and a lexicon including many loshn-koydesh- (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin terms. Less happily, all Jewish languages (Modern Hebrew not excepted) share a common vulnerability -- gradual extinction through assimilation or acculturation of one kind or another. One of the most fragile linguistic treasures of the Jewish people is Juhuri (also known as Judeo-Tat), an Iranian language of Azerbaijan which has fused elements from Azeri, Turkish and Hebrew, and which until 1929 used the Hebrew alphabet. Nine years later the Latin alphabet was adopted, soon to be succeeded by a Cyrillic-based alphabet. Piris Eliyahu, an Israeli musicologist of Juhuri origin, has now given us a splendid study of Juhuri music. He tells us that "During the last decades of the nineteenth century, following the Russian conquest of Daghestan, Jewish and non-Jewish researchers began to express interest in the folklore and language of the Mountain Jews. Songs, folk tales and linguistic studies were published during this period in Russian .... Periodicals and journals in Juhuri which began to appear in the twentieth century included folkloric materials. During the first decades of the Soviet period, the scholarly interest in the Mountain Jews slowly declined. The journal _Vatan Sovetimu_, edited by, among others, the writer Hizghil Avshalumov and published since 1960, is the only modern publication in Juhuri."(p. 18) A single extant publication! Yiddish, fortunately, is in a considerably more favorable position. (Digitalization and the internet will preserve and make available more and more Yiddish texts.) Publication of the attractively produced and scholarly _The Music of the Mountain Jews_ could give Juhuri music a boost -- the book includes numerous scores. Will it in some way strengthen Juhuri language maintenance? I do not believe that the marvelous-in-itself klezmer craze has substantially strengthened Yiddish-language interest per se, but interest from any corner is, of course, to be welcomed. The song texts in the anthology fall into two main groups: anonymous folk songs and contemporary songs by twentieth-century Juhuri poets. A radio program in Juhuri (c. 1960) encouraged composition of new songs which became very popular. The interaction of Jewish and Muslim performers forged links to non-Jewish music: "The singers among the Mountain Jews wrote down the texts of their songs in booklets called _talmud_. This term was also adopted by the Muslim population for their song collections. This influence stems from the contacts between Jews and Muslims, often occurring at joint performances of Jewish and non-Jewish musicians.... The close relations between Jews and Muslims throughout eastern and northern Caucasus during the past 500 years are reflected in their musical culture. Jews and Muslims share repertoires, musical instruments, musical genres and even musical performances. In mixed villages it was customary for Muslims and Jews to invite each other to their festivities, and, from Baku to Nalchik, for Muslims to engage Jewish musicians at their celebrations. Indeed, instrumental performance was a typical Jewish profession in the eastern Caucasus. This phenomenon is common in other Islamic countries, such as Persia and Morocco. Any separation between Jewish and Muslim repertoires was due to two factors: the language and social context of the performance (i.e. Jewish events, such as weddings, bar-mitzvahs etc.)." (p. 19) The editor develops further this theme of a common musical culture shared by Jews and Muslims: "Numerous musical genres represented in this anthology are shared by Jews and non-Jews: sections of the Mugham repertoire (the improvised Mugham, the Rdng and the Tasni]), the Tdrdkamd dance in Azerbaijan and southern Daghestan, and the Qafa, Lezginka and Lyr from northern Daghestan and other areas of northern Caucasus .... In the twentieth century Jewish musicians adopted Armenian popular songs and dances from commercial records.... The central role which Jews played in the musical life of this area is also reflected in the writings of Muslim writers such as A.M. Umakhanova (1991:44). This close relationship which developed between Jewish and non-Jewish cultures in the Caucasus is due to their shared geopolitical and socio-economic heritage...." A simple explanation such as "because they lived and worked together" would have sufficed. 3)-------------------------------------- Date: 30 May 2000 Subject: Strasbourg Conference Notice From: Daniel Galay YIDISH-BAGEGENISH 2000 fun 5tn bizn 9tn november in Strasbourg In farloyf fun der YIDISH-BAGEGENISH 2000 vet di sesye fun 9tn November in binyen fun Europeyshn Rat zayn gevidmet der teme: YIDISH-ORGANIZATSYES FARBINDUNGEN UN MITARBET Yidish-organizatsyes un aktivistn fun yedn land vern gebetn tsutsushikn a forshlag mit a hoypt kontsept un praktishe gedanken vi azoy tsu antviklen ot di dozike teme. Der forshlag darf zayn formulirt folgndes: 1. Oyf Yiddish, meglekh oyf a tsveyter Europeysher shprakh 2. Biz dray zaytn leng 3. Ongebn oyb m'planirt zikh bateylikn perzenlekh oyf ot der-o sesye 4 Di forshlagn muzn onkumen bizn 31stn oygust, 2000, oyfn adres: HEMSHEKH DOR P.O.B. 29786, Tel-Aviv 61297, ISRAEL Phone: 00972 3 6413273 Fax: 00972 3 6429339 E-mail:asafgl@netvision.net.il Bite, ongebn ale protim (adres, telefon, faks, blitspost) fun der perzon/amt/organizatsye Ale tsugeshikte forshlagn veln bahandlt vern mit der grester oyfmerkzamkayt. Ayer baytrog tsum derfolg fun der sesye vet helfn koordinirn di yidish-tetikayt in der noenter tsukunft. Bite, farefntlekhn in der prese un locale krayzn. A dank fun foroys far ayer mitarbet. * * * * * YIDDISH SUMMIT 2000 STRASBOURG 5-9 NOVEMBER During the YIDDISH SUMMIT 2000 the session on November the 9th at the residence of the European Council will be devoted to the issue: YIDDISH ORGANIZATIONS: LINKS AND COOPERATION Yiddish organizations and activists from every country are invited to send proposals with a main concept and practical ideas on how to develop this issue. The proposition should be formulated in keeping with the following: 1. It should be in Yiddish, and possibly in another European language. 2. Up to 3 pages long. 3. Indicate if you are planning to attend the session. 4. The deadline for proposals is 31 August 2000. 5. Send proposals to: HEMSHEKH DOR P.O.B. 29786, Tel-Aviv 61297, Israel Phone: 00972 3 6413273 Fax: 00972 3 6429339 E-mail: asafgl@netvision.net.il Please give name, position, organization, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. All proposals will be carefully considered. By helping to make this session a fruitful one, you will assure better planning and coordination of Yiddish activities in the future. Please circulate this announcement in the media and among your local associations. Thank you for your cooperation. 4)-------------------------------------- Date: 30 April 2000 Subject: "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh fun 4.007) From: leah krikun "oylem habe" (sholem-aleykhem) [hemshekh fun 4.007) "lost zikh dinen!" zogt tsu mir eyner fun di andere tsvey gaboim, der vos me ruft im reb yoysi, a yidl a kleyns mit a halb berdl an oysgefliktes. "ir darft visn, yungerman, az ir hot oyf zikh nokh a bombe: ir hot nisht keyn papirn, keyn papirn hot ir nit. "vosere papirn?" freg ikh im. "fun vanen veysn mir, ver der bar-minan iz? efsher [236] iz dos gor nit der, vos ir zogt?" makht tsu mir der hoykher mit di dine finger, elyezer-moyshe heyst dos. ikh shtey un kuk fun eynem oyfn andern, un yener, der langer mit di dine finger, vos me ruft im elyezer-moyshe, shokelt tsu mit'n kop un tayt mit di dine finger un zogt tsu mir: "yo, yo, yo. efsher hot ir aleyn ergets gekoylet a yidine, un efsher take ayer eygn vayb, un gebrakht tsu firn aher un dertseylt a mayse: a feld-kretshme, dem krethshmer's vayb, tsakhatka, kleyne kinder, oylem habe?".... aponim, az ikh bin gevorn rekht toyt fun di dozike dvorim, makhmes yener, der kleyner, vos me ruft im reb yoysi, hot mir genumen oysredn dos harts, az, eygentlekh, zey aleyn voltn nit gehat kegn dem gornisht, vorum vos hobn zey tsu mir? zey zenen mikh, kholile, nit khoyshed, zey farshteyn gants gut, az dokh bin ikh nit keyn gazlen un nit keyn koyler. nor ikh bin dokh fort, zogt er, a fremder, un a bar-minan iz nit keyn zekl kartofles, me hot tsu ton mit a toytn menthsn, mit a mes....s'iz, zogt er, bay undz faran a rabiner un, lehavdl, an uryadnik, a protokol muz men makhn.... "yo, yo, yo! a protokol! a protokol! shtelt arayn der langer, vos me ruft im elyezer-moyshe, un tayt mit'n finger un kukt oyf mir fun oybn arop mit azelkhe oygn, glaykh vi ikh volt do beemes opgeton epes azelkhes, vos me kumt mir kriminal....ikh hob shoyn mer keyn verter nit; ikh fil nor, vi a shveys iz mir aroysgetrotn oyfn shtern, un s'iz mir gevorn, nit far aykh gedakht, nisht gut oyf tsu khaleshn. ikh hob gut farshtanen di viste-finstere [237] lage mayne, vi mies ikh hob mikh do arayngekhapt; s'iz mir geven a bizoyn mit a fardros mit a hartsveytik ineynem. hob ikh mikh meyashev geven: vos vel ikh do makhn mit zey lange makhzokes? gey ikh un nem aroys dos taysterl un ruf mikh on tsu di dray gaboem fun khevre-kdishe: "hert-zhe oys, yidn, di mayse derfun iz azoy: ikh ze shoyn, az kh'hob mikh do gut arayngekhapt, der guter yor hot mikh getrogn, ikh zol zikh opshteln in a feld-kretshme onvaremen zikh un trefn akurat demolt, van dem kretshmer's vayb farglust zikh makhn a shtarb, un hern vi a yid an oreman, a metupl mit kinder, bet zikh, redt mikh tsu, ikh zol zikh koyfn oylem habe-- badarf es mikh kostn rebe gelt. ot hot ir aykh mayn tayster mit gelt, ikh farmog arum un arum besakh hakl a kerblek itlekhe un zibetsik; nemt aykh un tut aykh, vi ir farshteyt; mir lozt nor iber oyf der hatsoe biz radamishli, un nemt tsu bay mir dem bar-minan un lozt mikh aroys fun danan mit'n lebn. aponim, az mayne verter zenen gezogt gevorn mit harts, vorum ale dray gaboem hobn zikh ibergekukt tsvishn zikh, nisht gevolt zikh tsurirn tsu mayn taysterl, mit gelt, un hobn mir gezogt, az s'iz bay zey, kholile, nit sodom; emes, dos shtetl iz take an orem shtetl, un kabtsonim zenen bay zey faran a sakh mer fun ngidem, nor nemen onfaln oyf a fremdn mentshn un zogn im: "zshid, davay roshe" -- dos fe! mahaktiti, vifil ikh vel gebn mit mayn gutn viln, iz gut; poter beloy klum -- dos geyt nit, s'iz an orem shtetl. haynt epes shamoshim, khevre noysa-hametekh, takhrikhim, bronfn, karke-geld, geveyntlekh, tsu bislekh, shitn darf men nit, vorum shitn hot keyn shier nit! [238] meyle, vos zol ikh aykh nokh dertseyln vayter? der kretshmer zol farmogn di ri"sh alafim, volt zayn vayb nit gekont hobn aza levaye, vi zi hot gehat! dos gantse shtetl iz zikh tsunoyfgelofn onkukn dem yungenman, vos hot gebrakht a bar-minan. eyner dem andern hot ibergegebn di mayse mit a yungenman un mit a bar-minan zeyer a raykhn, a raykhe shviger (fun vanen hobn zey genumen, az s'iz mayn shviger?), iz men gekumen mkabl ponem zayn dem raykhn yungenman, vos hot gebrakht di raykhe shviger un shit mit gelt....me hot mamesh getayt oyf mir mit di finger. un oreme layt? kekhoyl hayom! zint ikh leb, zint ikh shtey oyf mayne fis, hob ikh azoy fil oreme layt nit gezen! erev yom kiper far der shul iz gor keyn dimyon nit! me hot mikh geshlept far di poles, gerisn oyf shtiklekh. a kleynikayt, a yungerman, vos shit mit gelt? a glik, vos di gaboim hobn zikh ongenumen mayn krivde, nisht derlozt mikh, ikh zol avekgebn dos gantse gelt, un iberhoypt yener hoykher, vos mit di dine finger, elyezer-moyshe heyst dos, iz nit opgetrotn fun mir oyf keyn rega un hot nit oyfgehert tsu taynen mit mir un taytn mit di finger: "yungerman! shit nor nisht mit keyn gelt! shitn hot keyn shier nit!" nor vos mer yener hot getaynet ikh zol nit "shitn", hobn zikh alts mer gekloybn arum mir shlepers un gerisn fun mir shtiker fleish: "nishkoshe!" hobn geshrien di oreme layt. "nishkoshe, az me bagrobt aza raykhe shviger, meg men zikh lozn kostn nokh a por groshns! di shviger hot im gelozt genug gelt! khutz zayn shodn oyf undz gezogt gevorn!" "yungerman!" shrayt eyner a shleper un shlept mikh bay der pole. "yungerman! git undz oyf tsveyen eyn [239] halb kerbl! khotsh a fertsiker git undz. mir zenen tsvey geboyrene kalikes, eyner a blinder, der anderer a krumer. git undz khotsh a gildn, a gildn oyf tsvey kalikes, tsvay kalikes eyn gildn zenen tomed vert!.... "vos hert ir, vos er vet aykh dertseyln kalikes?" shrayt nokh a shleper un shtupt-op yenim shleper mit di fis. "ot dos heyst bay im kalikes? a kalike iz mayn vayb, on hent, on fis, on layb un lebn, un mit kleyne kinder oykh kranke. git mir khotsh, yungerman, nokh a pitakl vel ikh zogn kadish nokh ayer shviger, zi zol hobn a likhtikn ganeyden! itzter lakh ikh; damolt bin ikh geven vayt fun gelekhter, vorum di khevre oremelayt zenen gevaksn vi oyf heyvn. me hot in eyn halbe sho farfleytst dem gantsn mark; s'iz umeglekh geven zikh rirn mit der mita. di khevre shamoshim hobn mit shtekns gemuzt nemen zikh tsetraybn dem oylem; iz derfun aroys a geshleg; hobn zikh shoyn ongehoybn klaybn arum undz goyim oykh un goyes un shkotsimlekh un shikses laroyv, biz es hot dergreykht in de hoykhe fenster, farshteyt ir, un es hot zikh bavizn der adoyn der uradnik, raytndik oyf a ferd, mit a baytshl in hant, un hot mit eyn kuk un mit itlekhe gute baytshlekh tsetribn dem gantsn oylem, vi di foygelekh, un aleyn iz er arop fun'm ferd un tsugegangen tsu der mita khoyker vedoyresh zayn, vos do tut zikh, ver iz dos geshtorbn, fun vos iz men geshtorbn, un vos iz azoy farfleytst der mark? tsum ershtn iz im gefeln a freg ton mikh, ver bin ikh, fun vanen un vuhin for ikh dos? iz mir gevorn "pirkhe neshomti", un bin geblibn on loshn. ikh veys nit, vos dos [240] iz? derze ikh an uradnik, loz ikh op hent un fis, khotsh ikh hob oyf mayn lebn nisht ongerirt, ve me zogt, keyn flig oyf der vant, un ikh veys gants gut, az an uradnik iz a mentsh, a boser-vedom glaykh mit ale mentshn. aderabe, ikh ken a yidn, vos lebt mit'n uradnik, vi andere tsvey, geyn ayns tsum andern tsu-gast, kumt yontef est der uradnik baym yidn fish un dem yidn iz der uradnik mikoved mit eyer, kon zikh gor nit oploybn, vos far a goy dos iz! un fun destvegn, az ikh derze an uradnik, antloyf ikh. aponem, az s'iz a yerushe-zakh, vorum ikh aleyn, darft ir visn, kum aroys fun "geshmisene", fun di slaviter heyst dos, take fun di emese slaviter vos bimey vosiltshikov, vos vegn dem hob ikh aykh tsu dertseyln un tsu dertseyln gantse pek! nor sha! ikh bin shoyn, dakht mir, oyf yener zayt boyberik?.... hot mikh, heyst dos, der adoyn der uradnik genumen oyfn tsimbl: ver bin ikh un vos bin ikh un fun vanen un vuhin for ikh? gey dertseyl im a mayse, az ikh zits baym shver in zvahil oyf kest un dos for ikh keyn radamishli nokh a pas! lang lebn zoln take di gaboim, vos zey hobn mikh oysgeleyzt fun a tsore: eyner fun yene tsvey gaboim, der kleyner vos mit'n oysgefliktn berdl, hot avekgerufn dem adoyn oyf a zayt, mit im epes gesoydet zikh dortn, un der hoykher vos mit di dine finger hot mikh dervayle gelernt un ayngetayt mit di finger, vos ikh zol zogn: "yehudi beloy! ir dabert im, az ir zent a higer, nor ir zitst nit vayt samukh leir, un dos iz ayer khamuti, heyst dos di shviger ayere iz nifter gevorn, zent ir [241] gekumen aher zi mekaver zayn, un beshas ir vet im nasnen in yad arayn, zolt ir oysklern epes a nomen fun der hagode, un dem orl ayern veln mir avekrufn in beys arayn un mikoved zayn mit a tsintsenet yash, loz er zikh nit dreyen do far di eynayim, vet zayn toyv meoyd! un der adoyn der uradnik iz arayn mit mir in a shtub un hot mikh genumen tsum protokol. es zol mikh azoy visn bayz mit aykh ineynim, vi ikh veys, vos ikh hob em dortn ongebebet. ikh gedenk nor, az ikh hob epes gebelebetshet mit der tsung, vos s'iz mir gekumen oyfn zinen, dos hob ikh gezogt, un er hot farshribn oyf papir. -- vi azoy ruft men dikh? -- movshe. -- dem tatn? -- itsko. -- vifil bist du alt? -- nayntsn yor. -- a bavaybter? -- a bavaybter. -- kinder faran? -- faran. -- vos iz dayn tuekhts? -- a soykher. -- ver iz dos geshtorbn? -- mayn shviger. -- vi azoy hot zi geheysn? -- yente. [242] -- ir foter? -- gershn. -- vifil alt iz zi geven? -- fertsik yor. -- fun vos iz zi geshtorbn? -- fun a dershrek. -- fun a dershrek? -- fun a dershrek. -- vos heyst fun a dershrek? -- makht tsu mir un leygt avek di pen, faroykhert a papiros un batrakht mikh fun kop biz fis, un ikh fil, az ot-ot klept zikh mir tsu di tsung tsum gumen. hob ikh mikh meyashev geven, ikh halt shoyn bemeyle in bakn shkorim, darf men bakn vayter! un ikh hob im dertseylt a gantse mayse, vi azoy mayn shviger iz gezesn eyne aleyn iber an arbet, gearbet a zok, un hot zikh fargesn, az in shtub zitst irs a yingl, Efroyim heyst er, shoyn a bokherl fun a yor draytsn, nokh an opgerisener nar, a lekish, shpilt zikh nokh mitn shotn. iz er zikh meyashev un leygt tsunoyf unter der shvigers pleytses beyde hent un makht a tsigele oyf der vant fun'm shotn un efnt oyf dos moyl un tut a geshrey "meeee!" iz zi aropgefaln funem benkl, di shviger heyst dos, un iz geshtorbn. azoy veb ikh im a lang-modnem lign, un er kukt, lozt nit arop keyn oyg fun mir di gantse tzayt, un ikh red, shit, belebetshe mit der tsung, ikh veys aleyn nit vos.... oysgehert mikh biz'n sof, shpayt er oys, visht zikh oys [243]di royte vontses, geyt aroys mit mir in droysn aroys tsu der mita. dekt oyf di shvartse dek, tut a kuk der geshtorbener in ponim, tut a makh mit'n kop, vi eyner redt: "s'iz epes nit glat!"....ikh kuk oyf im, er oyf mir, nokhdem ruft er zikh on tsu di gaboem: "nu, di geshtorbene kont ir bahaltn, un im, dem dozikn khevreman, muz ikh do farhaltn, biz ikh vel oysforshn di zakh, tsi s'iz emes, az dos iz zayn shviger un az zi iz geshtorbn fun a dershrek." ir kont zikh forshteln, vi biter un finster mir iz gevorn fun der doziker bsure! far tsores hob ikh zikh opgekerevet on a zayt un hob zikh tseveynt -- vi azoy, meynt ir, tseveynt? vi a kleyn kind. "yungerman! vos veynt ir?" -- makht tsu mir yener, der kleynitshker, vos me ruft im reb yoysi, un er treyst mikh, redt mir oys dos harts, az s'vet mir gornit shodn, vorum mima nafshekho: bin ikh do reyn -- vos zhe hob ikh moyre? _"az me est nit keyn knobl, hert zikh nit fun'm moyl" -- leygt-tsu reb shepsl der gabe mit aza shmeykhele, az es glust zikh mir oyfvarfn im tsvey flomfayerike petsh in beyde grobe bakn.... gvald! vos hot mir genutst oystrakhtn aza miesn grobn lign, araynmishn aher di shviger mayne? es geyt mir take mer nit op tsu mayne zaydene kleyder, es zol dergeyn tsu ir di dosike mayse, vi azoy ikh hob zi lebedikerheyt bagrobn durkh a dershrek!.... "yehudi beloy, shrekt zikh nor nit azoy, got iz mit aykh! der adoyn iz gornit aza beyzer adoyn, vi ir meynt. ir natnet im nor in yad arayn....un dabert im, er [244] zol mit'n protokol makhn beloy....der adoyn iz a kluger adoyn, a durkhgetribener; er veyst gants gut, as altsding,vos ir hot do gedabert, iz mekhile sheker vekazav." azoy makht tsu mir reb elyezer-moyshe un taytlt mir mit di dine finger. ikh zol konen, volt ikh im tserisn oyf tsveyen, vi me tserayst, ashteyger, a hering. ingantsn hot er dokh mikh aroyfgefirt oyf dem dozikn glitsh, yemakh shmoy vezikhroy!.... ikh kon mer nisht dertseyln. ikh kon afile nit dermonen mikh vos ikh hob damolt gehat! ir farshteyt dokh shoyn aleyn, az di itlekhe gildn hot men bay mir tsugenumen, in kotshument arayn hot men mikh ayngezetst un a mishpet hob ikh oyf zikh gehat -- nor dos iz nokh alts blote kegn dem, vos kh'hob gehat nokhdem, az s'iz dergangen tsu mayn shver un shviger, az zeyer eydem zitst far a mes, vos er hot gebrakht tsu firn fun ergets....se farshteyt zikh, az zey zenen glaykh gekumen tsuforn un hobn zikh gemeldet, az zey zenen mayne shver un shviger -- ot do hot zikh ersht farkokht di rekhte khasene: fun eyn zayt politsie nemt mikh oyfn tsimbl: "sheyner bokher vos du bizt! vi bald az di shviger dayne, yente bas gershn, lebt, haynt ver iz geven di geshtorbene?"....dos iz numer eyns. vehasheynis, hot zikh genumen tsu mir di shviger zol lebn: "ikh freg dikh nor eyn zakh: zog mir nor, vos host du gehat tsu mir nemen un bagrobn mikh a lebedike?!" zelbstfarshtendlikh, az oyfn mishpet hot zikh aroysgevizn, az ikh bin reyn, vi gingold; es hot gekost gelt, me hot aropgebrakht eydes, dem kretshmer mit di kinder, un me hot mikh fun gefengenish bafrayt. nor vos [245] ikh bin demolt oysgeshtanen, un iberhoypt fun der shviger -- dos vintsh ikh nit dem grestn, dem ernstn soyne! -- fun demolt on antloyf ikh fun oylem habe.... ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.008 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. 04.009 8 June 2000 shvues numer [Shavuot Issue] 1) On Original and Translated Texts (ed.) 2) Velikie Luki and Rzhev [correction of error in TMR 04.008] 3) Pinye Plotkin 4) Uncle Pinya and Auntie Raissa (Sholem-Aleichem) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 8 June 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: On Original and Translated Texts (ed.) The first priority of _The Mendele Review_ is to foster the reading and study of Yiddish-language texts. My eye was caught recently by the title of a talk at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum): "The Limits and Possibilities of Writing in English about the Holocaust." There is, of course, a vast body of writing in Yiddish directly or indirectly connected to the Shoa, and for some the Yiddish language itself is _yidish koydesh_, a memorial to the millions who lived in Yiddish and who have perished. The scheduled speaker, Alan Rosen(1), was interested in examining "the ways in which inherent characteristics of different languages affect writings about the Holocaust." While the Shoa is a special case, we might ask ourselves: What are the "inherent characteristics" of Yiddish in general and how do they affect texts written in Yiddish, both Shoa and non-Shoa texts? Why do we prefer to read Yiddish texts in the original rather than, say, in skilled translations in languages we may actually know better than Yiddish? Our advocacy of the original Yiddish-language text implies a belief in the uniqueness and irreplaceability of the pristine work. It implies that there are qualities inherent in the Yiddish language which color the reader's experience of Yiddish works. Precisely what these inherent qualities are is not easy to say, but we all feel them to be real. The kind of probing suggested by the title of Rosen's talk could perhaps help us articulate our intuitions, analyze our impressions, understand better our brief for Yiddish. Just this week I learned of a case in which the donors of an English translation of a yisker-bukh ['memorial book'] for the compendious and ever-growing JewishGen website insisted that the Yiddish original be given alongside the translation. In this instance, the request honored the wishes of the author of the yisker-bukh, but generally the monumental JewishGen yisker-bukh enterprise consists solely of translating texts into English. It is assumed that few North American Jews command enough Yiddish to read an entire book in that language and that original Yiddish works will be available to a progressively smaller number of readers and, ultimately, to specialists only. We would like to prevent this happening as far as it is possible to do so. We also learned this past week (see _Mendele_ vol. 10.003) of Russian colleagues who wish to create a kind of Onkelos Project of their own. They aim to translate Yiddish texts into Russian (by all means a valid objective) as distinct from our notion (see _Mendele_ 9.071) of providing Yiddish originals for texts already translated (for the most part quite well) into English. A surprizing part of the Russian plan is the speed with which it proposes to train Yiddish translators -- a course or two, a half-year or so of study. I would have thought that years, perhaps even a lifetime, of living in Yiddish would be a basic -- though hardly the sole -- requirement for the successful translator from Yiddish. Only unreconstructed snobs oppose translation. Some degree of translation is a necessary complement to Yiddish-language materials in Yiddish publications of every kind. Translation has many uses; translation from and translation into a particlar language is a splendid exercise for students. When done well, translation communicates something at least of the flavor of the original. Alongside its emphasis on Yiddish-language texts, _The Mendele Review_ will encourage high-level translations from Yiddish into English, especially -- as in this holiday issue -- of works hitherto untranslated into English. We thank Louis Fridhandler, a Sholem-Aleichem scholar well known to the Mendele community, for his skilful translation of the little-known political satire "Der Feter Pinye mit der Mume Reyze" and promise a similar treat in the next issue of _TMR_. The primary focus of _The Mendele Review_ will continue to be the Yiddish text, but translations of a high order are welcome. 1) A visiting scholar at Baltimore Hebrew University and a lecturer in English and Holocaust literature at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel. Editor of _Celebrating Elie Wiesel: Stories, Essays, Reflections_ (1998) and author of _Dislocating the End: Catastrophe and the Invention of Genre_, due to be published this year. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 8 June 2000 From: Hugh Denman and Vulf Plotkin Subject: Velikie Luki and Rzhev [correction of error in TMR 04.008] Hugh Denman writes: 'Velikie Luki & Rzhev are fairly major towns in Russia 458 km and 216 km west of Moscow respectively and staging posts on the road to the Latvian frontier and to Riga. If there is a comma between Velikie and Luki it is a misprint, which is fairly evident if you think of the literal meaning "Great (River-) Bends"'. Vulf Plotkin writes: 'Di erter in "Biz vanen ikh leb" zaynen tsvey (nit dray!) shtet: Rzhev un Velikiye Luki (di kome tsvishn di tsvey khalokim fun eyn nomen iz poshet a feler). Beyde lign afn ayznban fun Moskve tsu Rige. [The misprint is not in the original Plotkin text but in the copied text in TMR 04.008 -- L.P.] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 8 June 2000 From: ed. Subject: Pinye Plotkin Readers who have asked about Pinye Plotkin (see _TMR_ 04.008) should see Iosif Vaisman's notice in _Mendele_ 9.071. 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 8 June 2000 From: Louis Fridhandler Subject: Uncle Pinya and Auntie Raissa (Sholem-Aleichem) Uncle Pinya and Auntie Raissa by Sholem Aleichem Published in Yiddish [Der Feter Pinye mit der Mume Reyze] as a separate booklet, No. 2 in the series, _Bikher Far Ale_ ['Books for Everyone'], Warsaw, 1905. Translated from Yiddish by Louis Fridhandler Translator's introduction: A few items of historical information may be useful. The Russian censor in Warsaw approved this story on March 11, 1905 [Old Style] not noticing(1), apparently, that Uncle Pinya and Auntie Raissa(2) represented Japan and Russia respectively. It was a political satire in the form of an allegory mocking the witless, blundering arrogance of Russia's military, especially its naval arm, during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905. When they finally realized what it meant, government officials confiscated available copies [according to a note in _Fargesene Bletlekh_, ed. Y. Mitlman and Kh. Nadel, Kiev, Melukhe Farlag, 1939, p. 336]. The character of Yankl-Dovid (clearly alluding to Yankee Doodle), a well-to-do, ingratiating upstart, reflects the part that President Theodore Roosevelt played as peacemaker.(3) Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for arranging the eventual peace treaty. At yet another level, Yankl-Dovid may also refer to Jacob (Yankl) Schiff, an American Jewish financier who arranged a loan to aid Japan's war effort. (4) Yankl-Dovid is the standard romanization of the name, but if pronounced Yankl-Dovid the sound is closer to Yankee Doodle and is probably closer to Sholem-Aleichem's own pronunciation. Auntie Reyze's great-great granny, the guzzler, may be an allusion to the hedonistic Catherine the Great. It may jar current perceptions to note that, in 1904-05, the United States sided with Japan. However, at that time, Russia's expansionist ambitions in the Far East raised deep American anxieties. Japan was, therefore, a potential ally. Russian officialdom, though arrogantly confident of their great power, were nevertheless aware of their crimes, and so feared retaliation. Simon Dubnow in his _History of the Jews in Russia and Poland_, KTAV, 1975, Volume III, p. 95 (English translation) notes that the Russian regime expected Jews to seek revenge for the Kishinev pogrom of April, 1903. Furthermore, Jews were accused by Russians of helping Japan because they were said to be "kinsmen by race" of the Japanese. Sholem Aleichem begins the satirical allegory by denying this kinship. INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY: Come and I'll tell you a story of my uncle and my auntie. My auntie (not my uncle) is my real blood relative; but an auntie is an auntie so my uncle has to be an uncle. The main thing is this. I want you to learn a lesson: how rotten it is when people fight; how nasty when a man beats up a wife, or a wife a husband; but O, how pleasant, how seemly it is when people dwell nobly in harmony, as God has commanded. THE STORY ITSELF: Strong and tall with chubby face. Big, thick, clumsy hands with dirty fingernails. Mannish voice. A Tartar's heart. A stingy, lazy piece of goods. Not so cruel as angry at the world. A common creature. There you have her: Auntie Raissa. Another noble quality: she loved to stuff herself with food, and worshiped (may she forgive me, and this will go no further than between us, probably).... I'd come right out with it, but this.... This does not befit a woman. In short, she adored her dr inks, and really often; and always plain, old booze; and only from a tea glass. Some said it was a sickness. Others figured it came down to her from her great-great granny who (may her paradise be bright) was a virtuous woman, but what a guzzler! And yet, Auntie Raissa feared God. She was pious. She believed in witchery, ghosts and werewolves, gnomes and dreams. At every yawn she spit three times. With every sneeze she yanked her left ear. She hobnobbed with all the devout ladies in town. Aro und her neck she dangled charms and amulets from the rabbi for protection: a person truly holier than thou. Quite the opposite was Uncle Pinya: Small, dark, nimble, spirited and charming, with little, oddly interesting eyes and sturdy legs; a foxy fellow, fired up, and stubbornly determined. And that little uncle of mine had a marvelous head on his shoulders, clever hands. And a mouth like a flame-thrower! Now see if you can picture this: this wise, crafty little uncle was frightened to death of that fat and foolish auntie, suffered hellish torments in her presence, feared to part his lips lest he voice a thoughtless word. Why? Why was he so afraid? Was it only a sign of proper respect? Or was it because, on the quiet, she flung a swat now and then, and he caught it? Who can know what happens between man and wife when no one else is looking? Everyone knew that he held her in awe. Whenever she sent one stern glance in his direction, he quickly went feeble, quiet as a kitten. Was it, perhaps, because their match was arranged for the sake of her money, or in pursuit of vanity? Was it only because of her size? Even while writing the nuptial agreement, it was rumored that the match was not between equals. Then, when he finally stood beside her under the wedding canopy, his friends lamented and commiserated: "Shlim-mazl! He's hardly bigger than a puppy-dog by half a head, and still he hitches on to such a hefty chunk! If she ever lays a hand on him, good-bye Pinya!" Her husky voice would call to him, "Pincus!" On top of that she'd stamp her foot. And he was paralyzed. But then, when she would step out for a while, he chattered away, let himself go like a coloratura. He frisked about like a colt, hop-hop-hop; and (may he pardon me for pointing out his faults) he strutted and boasted, telling tall stories, carving out lies. To tell the truth, Auntie Raissa could claim no perfection either in such matters; and, I think (maybe), she was caught red-handed now and then . The only difference was that whenever she invented a story, out came a clumsy whopper; but when he crafted a lie, it came out nicely shaped, bright and cheery. He was affable and friendly (concerned for everyone's health and comfort, knew just how to get along), but she was just the opposite: rough with people, jerked around the servants by their braids, rained blows without pity for any creature, human, dog, or cat. To her it made no difference. This, my Uncle Pinya couldn't bear, but he had to keep his mouth shut. What else could he do? You must understand that being afraid is a very serious matter, especially being afraid of wives, and especially of a wif e like Auntie Raissa. Everything in this world must end sooner or later. That time came for Uncle Pinya and Auntie Raissa. The story unfolded like this: Uncle Pinya had a dear, old friend; Yankl-Dovid by name. This Yankl-Dovid was a very important man of business, cunning and crafty, a rascal boasting great new wealth, and (may he forgive me) a sassy smart-aleck. Everybody's darling! One fine day our Y ankl-Dovid met with Uncle Pinya, talking this and that. "How's business? How's your health? How are you and Auntie Raissa getting along?" "Oh Oh Oh!" burst out from Uncle Pinya. "What Oh Oh Oh?" asked Yankl-Dovid. "What's that mean, this 'Oh Oh Oh'?" Uncle Pinya looked embarrassed, casting eyes in all directions. Yankl-Dovid pressed on, "Why do you spin like a Chanuka dreydl?" "Sh- Sh-!..." said Uncle Pinya, still looking around. "What's all that shushing for?" demanded Yankl-Dovid. "Are you afraid of your wife? Is that it? Come on, admit it!" "Sh-, Sh-! Not so loud!" said the stricken Uncle Pinya. "You ox with a man's face!" shouted Yankl-Dovid. "If you're that frightened of that clod of clay, you deserve to be ground under foot!" "Sh-Sh-Sh, what are you talking about? Just look at the size of her. Have you seen that hand, that foot? Have you heard that woman's voice?" "Half-wit! Blithering son of a blockhead! After all, aren't you a man? Show your strength, you fool! If you beat her good and proper, I guarantee she'll turn as soft as dough, sweet as honey." "B-b-beating?" Uncle Pinya almost shuddered in terror, shivering like a puny lamb. "Smite her, you scraggly simpleton. Whacks from swinging logs! And right in the face! And don't miss a day! All kinds of thumps, and fat ones!" In short, Yankl-Dovid kept fanning the flames of evil passion until my Uncle Pinya owned up to the bitter pill stuck in his gullet, and poured his heart out as though to someone near and dear, and almost burst out crying. "Yankl-Dovid, brother, it's no good. You hear? I can't stand that frump any more." "Smack 'er, you ox! You donkey!" "Whacks?" "Like with blocks of wood!" * * * When a fiend is fashioned by human design, he is far, far worse (they say) than one that's born of nature. Without any warning (it happened one night in a flash), Pinya grew bigger. Seething with anger, steeled with new courage, he fell upon Auntie, pinching, punching, thumping her from every side. At first, she couldn't understand, and figured Uncle Pinya had taken leave of his senses. "Pincus! May God be with you! What are you doing?" "You can see exactly what! I'm hitting!" "You? Me?" "I! I!" Auntie Raissa was stunned by those first hefty blows, and staggered for days as though groggy from smoke. She couldn't believe it. She went off to her folks, sought friendly advice, then came home. She fixed her eye on my uncle, and ordered up an explan ation. "Just tell me this, y' puny chipmunk, you so and so! How dare you lift a hand to me, and why! Just tell me why!" At the sound of her mannish voice, Uncle Pinya went limp and lost the use of hands and feet. Then he started to wriggle like a fish on a hook. Lucky for him, Yankl-Dovid showed up at that moment. Auntie Raissa complained to Yankl-Dovid, charging Uncle Pinya with insulting a virtuous woman, beating her black and blue. "Mr. Yankl-Dovid is like one of the family," she said. "I'm not embarrassed to tell him everything. You hear, Yankl-Dovid? This so and so tore me apart, broke my thickest bones...!" And Auntie Raissa rolled up her sleeve to show her black-and-blue arm, as swollen as a pillow. That elegant fellow, Yankl-Dovid, nodded his head (or so it appeared), thoughtfully smacked his lips, all the while seeming to hum through his nose: "Bravo, Pinya, Bravo!" "No!" protested Auntie Raissa, tears a-flowing. "How dare he raise his hand to me? And for what? No! No! Let him tell me. For what? For what? FOR WHAT?" And so while repeating it (each time higher and louder: For what? For what?), she drew nearer, ever closer to Uncle Pinya. She hoisted her arm, about to deal out Pinya's proper share of blows..., when a miracle happened. Uncle Pinya sprung at her face like a cat. Slaps and punches rained on poor Auntie Raissa. It was pitiful! "There! Now, do you know for what?" That (along with a faint smile) was Uncle Pinya's hot reply. That worthy fellow, Yankl-Dovid, stood by with a face showing tender compassion. Then he seemed to nod his head as he smacked his lips, and hummed through his nose: "Bravo, Pinya, bravo!" Auntie Raissa flew into an awful rage. She staked out a spot in the middle of the house, and with a blue-flecked, ruddy face she announced: "Hear this well, you fatherless whelp! When you beat me and mocked me in private and nobody saw, I didn't utter a peep; but now that even strangers know everything, I dare you! Hit me. Come on! Try!" Auntie Raissa rolled up her sleeves, and moved very close to Uncle Pinya. Then she began to catch his blows: top and bottom, this side, that side until the windows shook and rang. Pummeled and torn limb from limb, dripping blood, Auntie Raissa kept crawli ng back to him saying, "I'd like to see you try that again. Come on, again!" And he obliged her again and again. And that worthy gentleman, Yankl-Dovid, stood by, pretending astonishment, nodding his head, smacking his lips, and softly chanting through his nose: "That's the way, Pinya, bravo!" * * * Surely, you all remember that little ditty: Kitty-katty, pretty kitten, See the pony prancing. When a daddy beats a mommy, Children run a-dancing. * * * May we all be kept safe from that which befell that household. Everyone did whatever they wanted. My uncle himself egged on the children: the older to disobey mama, the younger to thumb their noses at her. The servants fought like cats; they looted and snatched whatever they saw as though the fate of the world depended on it. "Aw, the hell with all of this!" So said Auntie Raissa, and took to her bottle. In short, it was ugly, becoming so ghastly that the couple nearly divorced to save them both from utter ruin. Then Yankl-Dovid, Uncle Pinya's friend, butted in to offer himself as peacemaker. He said, "Now, my fine friends, is the right time for you to make up, become comrades, and build a new life." Long did Yankl-Dovid labor and argue; first with one and then the other. "Haven't you had enough? Enough brawling!" he said, "Enough being snickered at by decent folks! The whole family could be wrecked!" But that, he discovered, did as much good as t he snows of yesteryear. The family would not allow outside help, even though Auntie Raissa was battered and torn and bloody and walked around with puffy eyes and swollen cheeks. On top of that (as though that wasn't enough), she added to her troubles by hanging on to her swollen pride like a stubborn bulldog. Unbelievable! People tried to give her advice. "Think of what may be? Is there no limit? You'll get buried alive!" "O, yeah? Just wait and see!" she answered. "Stay a while, and see who buries whom!" "At least get a divorce, and let that be the end of it!" "Divorces? Get one from him? Plagues and boils, a miserable death is all he can give! But you'll see. He'll hit me and hit me until he gets tired. Wait and see!" Her family encouraged her to be firm, so she stopped listening to friends, and defied all advice. All the while she kept taking it: hefty punches, heavy swats, high and low, fore and aft. To make a long story short, people could no longer bear to look a t this pitiful sight. They stepped into the fray and brought them to a referee. Both were made to sign a paper promising that: 1) No more beatings by either one; no more quarrels, no malicious whispering. 2) She may no longer tipple whiskey save on the Sabbath or on holidays. 3) She must, like other wives, be neat and clean with no loud talking; no more meddling in the children's affairs. 4) She may no longer batter servants nor torment the cat. 5) And he must treat her with honor, with kindness and courtesy. No insults, no finger-pointing. 6) He must ensure that she learn Hebrew, pray and read a Yiddish holy book, seek out every obligation of the pure in heart, ponder the moral path; learn to be respectful, to get along. 7) Then will the children surely honor her, and the servants defer to her respectfully. After the paper was properly signed and filed, the couple reached home safely in peace and serenity. They dwelt together as doves of peace (that's what people say), as tranquil as sheep, like a just-married bride and groom, in riches and honor. * * * All's well that ends well. O, may the One above grant that all be as well, now and forever, for us and the House of Israel, and for all peoples of this earth. AMEN. Notes 1. The Israeli historian Aharon Ariel adds this comment: "Another possibility is that the censor who allowed publication of the story understood its political message but chose to assume the guise of one who did not. Government censors of Hebrew and Yiddish were generally converts who were fully conversant with strategems for sending political and social messages in purportedly literary works. They sometimes found it possible to allow a work to pass if its subject was in some way disguised -- as in the case of Bialik's poem on the Kishinev pogrom, "Ir hariga" ['City of Slaughter'], which was passed by the censor under the dissembling title, "Masa Nemirov" ['The Nemirov March'], a fairly transparent title pointing to a massacre by Chmelnitsky two and a half centuries earlier. 2. The name _Pinye_ is first of all a shortened form of the Yiddish/Hebrew name _Pinkhes_/_Pinkhos. The author gives the hero of the story a "friendly" name. _Pinye_ is also a rearrangement of the consonants in the Yiddish name for Japan -- _yapan_. _Pinye_ sugggests the register of familiarity - the diminution points, too, to the real or attributed shortness of Japanese men as compared to most Westerners. The female name _Reyze_ ('Rosa', a dialectal variant of _Royze_) echoes the Russian name for Russia -- _Rossia_, which is pronounced /rosiya/. _Reyze_ is not diminutized to _Reyzl_, _Reyzele_, or _Reyzke_ as it so often is. Part of the allegorical intent of the author may be to preserve the sense of a large and imposing woman who becomes ridiculous when battered by a small man. Louis Fridhandler has reminded me that in one of his Menakhem-Mendl letters, Sholem-Aleichem punningly refers to Russia as _roshe_ ('evil one'). This particular pun may not work with _Reyze_, but it is an additional instance of Sholem-Aleichem's word-play on the name of the country of his birth. [L.P.] 3. Aharon Ariel writes: "President Theodore Roosevelt wished to curb Russian expansion in the East. He understood that Russian resources far outweighed those of Japan, whose success in the Russo-Japanese War was based largely on the element of surpise. He intervened before the befuddled Russian general staff could redeploy fresh troops to the East to reverse the situation. Russia nursed a grudge against Roosevelt, whose intervention led to a peace treaty reflecting Japanese success at its peak. 4. SCHIFF, JACOB HENRY (1847-1920), U.S. financier and philanthropist. Born in Frankfort, Germany, he was the descendant of a distinguished rabbinical family (see Schiff, Meir b. Jacob). He received a thorough secular and religious education at the local school of the Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft, then followed his father, Moses, who was associated with the Rothschild banking firm, into that occupation. At the age of 18 Schiff emigrated to the United States, entered a brokerage firm in New York, and became a partner in Budge, Schiff and Co. In 1875 he married the daughter of Solomon Loeb, head of the banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb and Co., and entered that firm. Schiff's remarkable financial abilities were recognized when he was named head of Kuhn, Loeb in 1885. Schiff's firm soon became one of the two most powerful private investment banking houses in the United States, participating actively in fostering the rapid industrialization of the U.S. economy during the late 19th and early 20th century. "Schiff was prominently involved in floating loans to the government at home and to foreign nations, the most spectacular being a bond issue of $200,000,000 for Japan at the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. Deeply angered by the anti-Semitic policies of the czarist regime in Russia, he was delighted to support the Japanese war effort. He consistently refused to participate in loans on behalf of Russia, and used his influence to prevent other firms from underwriting Russian loans, while providing financial support for Russian Jewish self-defense groups." [from the _Encyclopaedia Judaica_ (Jerusalem, 1971, vol. 14, cols. 960-1)] Aharon Ariel adds: "Jacob Henry Schiff not only hated anti-Semitic Russia but headed a group of Jewish bankers in the United States, Great Britain and Germany, who guaranteed war loans to Japan in unprecedented amounts. He received a high medal of honor from the Japanese emperor, the first westerner to be granted such a distinction; his name became a household word in Japan. The Japanese came to believe antisemitic propaganda, including _The Protocols of the Elders of Zion_ which claimed the Jews controlled the United States and Britain and caused the downfall of the czar. However, the Japanese concluded that if the Jews were indeed so powerful it was politic to assure their support. This helps to explain the policy of giving asylum in Japan and in lands conquered by Japan to Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany." ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.009 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. 04.010 30 June 2000 1) The Curious Publication History of the Text of the Russian Constitution of 1905 (Aharon Ariel) 2) THE NEWBORN, OR RASL (Sholem Aleichem) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 June 2000 From: Aharon Ariel Subject: The Curious Publication History of the Text of the Russian Constitution of 1905 Louis Fridhandler's lively translation of Sholem Aleichem's little-known satire on the Russian constitution of 1905 gains in interest when we look at its publishing history. The feuilleton mocks the element of secrecy in the Russian government's handling of the public announcement of the constitution. There was, of course, no reason for the secrecy -- the tzarist regime was simply not used to sharing its business with its subjects. Astounding as it may seem, the text of the constitution was first publicized in Hebrew in the Hebrew journal _Hazman_, edited by the writer and journalist Ben-Zion Katz (1875-1958). In his autobiographical _Al itonim vaanashim_ ('On Periodicals and People') [Tel-Aviv: Tcherikover, 1983, pp. 56-58], Katz tells us that the London _Times_ and other major newspapers announced the news of the constitution on the basis of its publication in the Vilna Hebrew daily _Hazman_! The fact that a Hebrew translation preceded the Russian original was keenly felt in several quarters. The Russian antisemitic journal _Novoye Vremia_ expressed its amazement that "the paper of the zhids" knew about the constitution and they did not. Having been doubly "scooped", the Russian government finally printed the original Russian text. The constitution itself, and not merely the secrecy surrounding it, invited the scorn of Sholem Aleichem, as well as of all Jews. They knew that the constitution would do nothing to alleviate the oppressive laws and edicts under which Russian Jewry lived, and that it was never intended to do so. Katz writes about the censor, Yehoyshue Shteynberg, who approved the publication of the text of the constitution. He generally cooperated with editors and publishers: "hatsenzur lo garam lanu tsarot" -- 'The censor caused us no problems'. He was, however, pedantic regarding Hebrew grammatical correctness. For example, he disapproved strongly of the use by one writer of the word _arelit_, recognizing only the masculine form _arel_ 'uncircumcized person; gentile (pejorative)'. The feminine form, however, was good enough for Sh.-Y. Agnon, who used it a few years later. [Yiddish _areylis_, of course, is an alternative form of Yiddish _orlte_/_erlte_]. _TMR_ readers will be interested in Katz's statistics of the Hebrew and Yiddish press in Russia in 1905 -- almost a century ago. The three Hebrew dailies together -- _Hatsefira_, _Hatsofe_ and _Hazman_ -- had a little more than 20,000 subscribers, mainly intelligentsia, Zionists and Hebrew-language lovers [khovevey sfat-ever]. Each issue, Katz notes, had many readers. The sole Yiddish daily _Fraynd_ had many more subscribers than all three Hebrew papers combined. The total Jewish population in Russia then numbered over five million and Katz claims that more than 200,000 of them "knew Hebrew well," implying "well enough to read a Hebrew newspaper." Women did not know Hebrew and read either Yiddish or Russian. _Fraynd_ had the advantage of being a paper that both husband and wife could read. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 June 2000 From: Louis Fridhandler Subject: THE NEWBORN, OR RASL (Sholem Aleichem) THE NEWBORN, OR RASL by Sholem Aleichem Translated by Louis Fridhandler >From the Yiddish "Dos Naygeborene oder Rasl" by Sholem Aleichem, in _Felyetonen_, Tel Aviv: Bet Shalom Aleichem, I.L.Peretz Publishing House, 1976, pp. 94-101. Translator's introduction: This satirical allegory focuses on the difficult "birth pangs" that the tsar apparently suffered until "delivering" a promised constitution. The piece contains no reference to the tsar, but there may be a hidden pun here. In Yiddish, _tsar_ means 'sorrow', 'anxiety'. "Der tsar fun trogn" refers to the anguish and distress of carrying (a pregnancy). The piece (bearing the title _Rasl; maasiya khadasha_ 'Rasl; a new tale') first appeared in a Hebrew version (available in Sholem Aleichem: _Katavim ivriim_ ['Hebrew Writings'], selected and edited by Khone Shmeruk, Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1976, pp. 322-330). Under the title, Sholem Aleichem added a note: "This story may be read by whoever wants to, except little boys and big girls." Khone Shmeruk adds (p. 322): The story appeared in _Hazman_, no. 94, 16 May 1905. No other publication of the Hebrew text has as yet been located. Seven months later, the Yiddish version (under the title _Dos naygeborene, a siper hamayse_) was printed in the Warsaw paper, _Der Veg_, 15 Dec. 1905, p. 74. The staff added the following note (in Yiddish): This feuilleton was sent to us three months ago, but the censor drew certain implications: that Rasl(1) meant Russia, Anzi and Franzi stood for England and France, Rive-Leyetshe (the midwife) represented revolution [in Yiddish, revolutsye], the newborn child meant the constitution, etc. Consequently, we were not able to print it until now. If we rely on the notations by the staff of _Der Veg_, it seems that the Hebrew text was passed by the censor due to the good connections with the authorities enjoyed by Ben-Zion Katz and his paper. After the October revolution, the 1905 constitution was granted. Only then was publication of the Yiddish text permitted when Sholem Aleichem was already out of the country. It is therefore quite possible that Sholem Aleichem was unaware of the publication in _Der Veg_. The story appeared in an unidentified Am erican Yiddish paper with a note given by I.D. Berkowitz in _Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh_, p. 365. The information there is incomplete and erroneous. (Translated from Khone Shmeruk's Hebrew text by the late Harry Gonda, M.D. who survived the Holocaust with the help of Raoul Wallenberg.) [Translator's comments resumed] Sholem Aleichem and his family left Russia at the end of 1905 shortly after the widespread pogroms in the wake of the newly granted constitution. Besides his disgust with the state of affairs in Russia in general, he may have perceived a directly personal threat to his safety. His brother, Vevik Rabinovitch, wrote a biography of Sholem Aleichem [_Mayn Bruder, Sholem-Aleykhem_, fun Vevik Rabinovitsh, Kiev: Melukhe Farlag far di Natsyonale Minderhaytn in USSR, 1939]. On page 137, Vevik shows a photograph of a document from the files of the Russian secret police, social division, dated October 14-15, 1903. Orders were issued to maintain surveillance and to file systematic reports on the acquaintances, relatives, meetings, and occupation of Solomon Naumovitch (as Sholem Aleichem was known, Russian style to Russian authorities). On page 135, Vevik quotes Sholem Aleichem, "Who knows? Maybe a shadowy stranger now follows me" indicating his apprehension of being closely watched by police. Thus, in the face of the 1905 pogroms, Sholem Aleichem was not only fed up with chaotic Russia, but fearful that something in his background might single him and his family out for special "treatment." Sholem Aleichem could not have expected that the publication of this satire (as well as his satire on the Russo-Japanese war) would endear him to the Russian regime. For several reasons, it was time to leave. In addition to the political allusions quoted in Shmeruk's introduction (above), we may draw allusions probably obvious to Sholem Aleichem's contemporary readers: the "big family" meant Russia; "papa and mama" were the authoritarian rulers; the annoying " children" ever underfoot were the Russian populace; the "cheeky rhymester" was Sholem Aleichem himself. Now to the story. 1. Our family is a big family, great and famous. You want to know what makes it famous? "Its drunken skunks and thieving punks; haughty clods, and pious frauds; moneyed frumps and highborn lumps; brawling toughs with filthy scruffs; and...." That's what some relative said of our family. But then, he's a writer, a cheeky rhymester, a sly mischief-maker. Who can tell what a versifier might think of next! So who cares? Actually, the way I remember it, our house was pious, observant and honor able. We skipped no prayers and blessings. We washed before meals. God forbid that anyone speak loud at the table, or burst out laughing, or go where they're not supposed to, or speak of matters not allowed. Only at the risk of life could you stick yo ur nose into house affairs, or question management, or try sniffing out what the cooks were up to. In a word, respect was sternly enforced through fear: "If you know what's good for you, you will do what God commands, what papa and mama demand, what all good, pious people demand." Now can you imagine this disgrace? Our Rasl, our sister Rasl, a grown girl, modest, devout, fell suddenly ill. Nobody knows why or how (may we be guarded and protected from that). She remained strong and healthy in body, but a sort of melancholy came over her, and she could find no place of rest for herself. Couldn't sit, lie down, walk, or stand. "What's the matter, Rasl?" "I don't know." "Where does it hurt?" "Nowhere." Papa and mama took her to a well-known wonder-worker, laid cash on the table, and told the story. "She won't eat, can't sleep, can't rest. She's just not her old self at all any more!" The man of miracles gave her an amulet, and suggested remedies to guarantee complete and perfect recovery. Nothing helped. Day by day, poor Rasl got worse. Not the way she used to be! As she didn't eat or sleep, and had no rest, she should have shrunk, become thin. The only miracle, however, was that poor Rasl beca me fatter and wider, instead. In desperation they sent for the sorceress and paid her to try exorcism. She conjured spells by moonlight, and advised that Rasl be rolled about wrapped in cold sheets, and bound with ropes. Did it help? Like the snows of yesteryear. Rasl, alas, worsened every day. Didn't eat or drink or sleep or rest. Not the Rasl we knew! 2. Our family, as I already told you, is a big one, but dependable. For example, if one of us suffers ruination the others come to pay a sick call. When Rasl took to bed, along came all the uncles and aunts, the cousins and second cousins, asking about Ras l (not out of pity but simply to find out). "What's with Rasl? How come we don't see Rasl around these days?" More eager to know than everybody else were Auntie Anzi and Auntie Franzi. It occurs to me that I ought to introduce you to those two aunties. Auntie Anzi is tall and skinny as a palm twig. She's a rich aristocrat, but (may she forgive me) a cunning hypocrite. My mama says, "May half of what she wishes us happen to her!" Auntie Anzi is vain and proud. We don't expect her to visit except maybe on a holiday; but when Rasl began ailing, she turned into a devoted auntie, coming over every day asking, "What's up with Rasl? Why don't we ever see Rasl these days?" So different from Auntie Anzi is Auntie Franzi: petite, full of cheer (in fact, a bit too jolly); paints and powders herself; pirouettes this way and that. She wears a large, fine-feathered hat, and claims to be our only tried and true friend. "My heart aches so," she said, "For your Rasl, poor thing." That's what she said, slyly casting glance after glance at Rasl, all the while nodding her head and smiling strangely. "If you'd take my advice," said she, "You'd pay a visit to the doctor. I myself once had the same disease." "Really? Just what kind of disease was that?" asked mama. "Whatever it was, that's what it was, as long as I'm done with it." So said Auntie Franzi as she peeked at Rasl, nodding her head while smiling strangely. Auntie Franzi badgered us with "doctor, doctor" and tried our patience until mama took Rasl to the doctor who asked where it hurt. "No place," answered mama. "But she won't eat or drink, sleep or rest. She's not the same Rasl any more!" After he examined her, the doctor told Rasl to leave the office, and asked mama to stay. He had something to tell mama that no one else should hear. What he told her, nobody knows, but when she came home, mama's face was fiery red. She called papa aside, locked herself up with him in their room, and they whispered secrets for a long, long time. Both were flushed with anger when they came out. In a burning rage they favored us, the youngsters, with a few fine smacks, shoves and jabs, twisting our ears, yelling, "Why are you children always underfoot, tangling our legs?" That evening, they summoned the religious teacher and the tutor (in our house we had both) to settle accounts. Then those two were sent packing, and politely told to go away, the farther the better, the sooner the better; and they were asked to forget they were ever here. It broke our hearts to see this pair go. Sadly, we youngsters ushered them out. On the way out, we caught a few jabs from our parents, as usual. "Children shouldn't always be underfoot, tripping us." 3. After that, Rasl could not leave the house. They didn't let her see the light of day, kept every living soul away from her, except some old woman, dark as a gypsy, with blazing, black, beady eyes. Looked like a witch. Nobody knows what the witch was doing there. All we heard were shouts, weird groans and crying. We had to watch our step as things got very strict at our house. Everybody sulked, walked about seething with anger. Papa and mama snapped at each other, and both were exasperated with the whole world. They took out their bitterness on us, the children , as usual. For just one unbidden word, we were ripped apart, beaten up and scolded. "Children shouldn't always be underfoot, tripping us up." Later, they didn't even call poor Rasl to the table at mealtime. They didn't let her out of her room, or let us get near her. Her name was no longer mentioned as though Rasl had never existed. How strange! The more they hid Rasl, the more we wanted to see her. We were drawn to her like a magnet. An idea popped into our heads, and we wrote her a letter. Our relative, that luckless ne'er-do-well, that writer we told you about, wrote it for us (in rhyme, of course). We held on to the letter for a few days, not knowing how to deliver it. Then we turned to the witch (that was our only name for her), and told her she could do us a big favor. The witch listened to us attentively with a very amiable smile, and promised to help. "O, with the greatest of pleasure! Children ask? Sure! Why not?" She took the letter and promised to fulfill our plot in utmost secrecy. That very night, papa invited us into a separate room, made us lie down, and (begging our pardon) rendered judgment and punishment in the old-fashioned way. He assured us that should we ever dare to write such letters to Rasl again, we'd get much more of the same, in double portions. Of course, we soon conveyed news of this to our penniless relative, that hapless writer. He burned with indignation, gripped pen in hand, and dashed off a few verses about our family. The poem, I recall, began like this: A noble family did fall, Its high repute dismissed by all: One evening with no chaperone Their pious daughter walked alone, But as she walked without a light Distracted from her path that night, She trod with care as though through jelly, And then developed quite a .... I don't remember what came after that, but we copied and memorized those verses, howling with laughter as we rehearsed them. Our parents noticed the bits of paper stuck all around us and heard the hearty laughter we enjoyed. They began to search us, and shook the fine little poem out of our pockets. Before any other ceremony, they delivered as many blows as we could stand. Then they locked us in the calf's stall for the night with a warning that death would be the least we'd suffer if we ever met with that poor relative again. That sorry good-for-nothing! They sent a message to the poet that should he ever set foot on our terrain, he'd learn what it meant to have arms and legs broken. 4. The family kept coming to call. As usual, Aunties Anzi and Franzi came more often than any other relative. They asked, "What's with Rasl? Why don't we see Rasl anywhere these days?" Auntie Anzi all at once became attached to us with great warmth and compassion. Each day she sent someone to ask if we needed a piece of ice or a bit of jam, or this or that. Once she condescended to come herself, and proposed something, whispering into mama's ear. Mama flew into a rage. "Who asked you?" she yelled. "Don't offer us any of your favors! Go, in the best of health. We know plenty about you and your kind favors!" Auntie Anzi left in a huff, but later sent diapers, swaddling clothes, and children's leggings. We didn't understand at all why anyone should be so irritated by a gift of leggings. Anyhow, we got our fill of smacks that night. "Why must children always be underfoot?" Auntie Franzi (whom we all considered our only friend, tried and true) came over once wearing her fine hat and a pretty veil. She sat for a while, and kept on sitting with us, as she glanced slyly and peeked coyly, until she finally said to mama with a friendly smile, "If you like, I'll send over Rive-Leyetshe. She is a wonderful jewel! Her hands have such a light touch. If not for Rive-Leyetshe," said Auntie Franzi with a syrupy smile, "I don't know what would have happened to me that time, when I was... (God forbid it should ever happen again)." Mama somehow didn't like that syrupy smile, and answered with a dig, "For your kindness, may the One above repay you double, but there is an old saying: God, please defend me from good friends; I can protect myself from enemies." Auntie Franzi figured out which way the wind blew, got up, and went off smiling her same old sugary smile. 5. A frightful tumult, an uproar awakened us one night: doors banged, feet stomped up and down stairs, many, many people jabbered noisily. Wild, unearthly yells came from Rasl's chamber, as though somebody was being murdered. It was dark in the house, and bedlam ruled the street. We youngsters were afraid to get out of bed. Our teeth chattered as we dug our faces into the pillows. Then a strange hush fell over the house. We heard an occasional groan, and finally, an odd shriek. Open-mouthed, we strain ed our ears. What was it all about? Then we heard a familiar voice, papa's, say, "Well?" Mama's voice answered, "It's over." * * * It was a bright and lovely summer day. The sun gently warmed every nook and cranny. Faces, too, were summery, warm, bright and cheerful. Even the servants in the house walked about with heads held high. Everything had been turned upside down in our ho use. Mama and papa were not angry with each other, nor with us youngsters. No more were we carried by our hair. They didn't twist our ears, or jab us in the belly so that "children shouldn't always hang around underfoot." In our house, everything had turned around. What brought about this transformation? Apparently from whatever happened in Rasl's room; because every time mama came out, her face shone, and her moist eyes seemed lightly covered by a thin, transparent veil. In that room lay Rasl, softly groaning and moaning, "Oy." The turnaround had come from a newborn little creature whose voice was also heard. It was a little girl named.... Can you guess what name she was given? ____________ Notes 1) The name _Rasl_ is clearly Litvish _sabesdik losn_ (= _shabesdik loshn_) for _Rashl_, a diminutive of _Rokhl_ 'Rachel'. [There is a character named Beyle-Rashe in Yekheskl Kotik's _Mayne zikhroynes_ (Vol. 2, chapter 1 and passim)]. _Rashe_ is either a back-formation from Rashl or Rashl is a diminutive of Rashe. [_roshe_ 'evil person' has /o/ and not /a/; Louis Fridhandler has mentioned to me seeing a pun on _roshe_ in one of Sholem Aleichem's letters.] The alliterated initial consonant /r/ itself is probably enough to alert the reader to the allegorical sense, given the total context of the feuilleton. _Rive-Leyetshe_ is a transparent and cleverly comical play on _revolutsye_, whose two initial unstressed syllables many Yiddish speakers would indeed pronounce /rive/. The diminutive _tshe_ mocks the high-sounding but too often insidious "revolutsye." A midwife called Rive-Leyetshe sounds real; the party of revolution often employed the midwife metaphor. [L.P.] __________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.010 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. 04.011 30 July 2000 1a) See the Yiddish text of "A tate mit bonim" http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/tate.pdf 1b) On "A tate mit bonim" by Itshe-Meyer Vaysnberg (Leonard Prager) The editor comments on a story now added to the Onkelos Project. Readers can now compare the Yiddish text with the English translation by Isaac Rosenfeld in Howe and Greenberg's _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_. 2) "The Treasure" by Sholem Aleichem (translated by Louis Fridhandler) Louis Fridhandler gives us another of his skilful translations of a Sholem Aleichem story -- this time a translation of a translation -- and finds a parallel for the plot in the notes of the famous seventeenth-century English diarist, Samuel Pepys. Ever alert to events around him, Pepys recorded a striking financial anecdote associated with the Sabbatian tremor among his Israelite contemporaries. It would be interesting to know what literary sources, contemporary criminal accounts, or personal life experiences may have actually served Sholem Aleichem in constructing this satire of credulity and greed. Sholem Aleichem went bankrupt -- largely due to losses on the the stock exchange -- a year after this story was published. Credulity in money matters characterizes the exasperating but sympathetic and indestructible "luftmentsh" Menakhem Mendl, created several years after "The Treasure" was written. In 1889 in "The Treasure" Sholem Aleichen focussed sharply on the devastating notion of earning money quasi-magically. [L.P.] 1a)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 July 2000 From: Noyekh Miller and Leonard Prager Subject: "A tate mit bonim" fun Itshe-Meyer Vaysnberg Yiddish text at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/tate.pdf 1b)--------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 July 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: On "A tate mit bonim" fun Itshe-Meyer Vaysnberg On "A tate mit bonim" by I.M. Weissenberg Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg were fortunate to enlist Isaac Rosenfeld as translator of Itshe-Meyer Vaysnberg's somewhat repelling but also compelling short story "A tate mit bonim" [see _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_, pp. 297-307], the latest addition to Project Onkelos [see _TMR_ 4.002 for a project description]. Rosenfeld was a writer of distinction (old-timers may recall his somewhat sensational 1949 _Commentary_ essay "Adam and Eve on Delancey Street) and his fine novel _Passage from Home_. His translation of "A tate mit bonim" must receive high grades, yet as keen readers of the Yiddish text [now available at http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/tate.pdf] we might wish to question some of his renditions, beginning with the very title of the story. Rosenfeld's title, "Father and the Boys," links the descriptive term _father_ (which often carries dignified overtones) to the jocular collocation "the boys," a highly allusive term which when applied to adult males evokes the senses of convivial confraternity and playfully protracted adolescence. The father, Shloyme, and his two sons, Pinkhes and Moyshe Brutan, sitting at table gorging themselves and singing sabbath hymns to the tune of a carousel march are nothing but "the boys." The author specifically called his story "A tate mit bonim," introducing irony with the word _bonim_, which means 'sons' in Hebrew but in Yiddish frequently differs from _zin_ 'sons' in its subtly contemptuous or humorous coloring. Try as hard as I might I could not come up with a more apt English title than Rosenfeld's, much as the filial connection so vital to the story and expressed in _his sons_ is missing there. The characters of the sons and the nature of their relationship to Shloyme, the father, are central to this story of intergenerational conflict and social change. Howe and Greenberg are right in refusing to classify Vaysnberg as a "naturalist," which many critics understandably do. In employing a "slice of life" technique, choosing as subject a coarse family, depicting the gross motives and behavior of its members, attending to detail, acknowledging the material forces that shape human actions, Vaysnberg goes far in the naturalist mode. However, as Howe and Greenberg point out, there is a romantic tinge in his writings, so evident in the nature descriptions in "A tate mit bonim." And, in addition to the irony emphasized in the title, there is both bizarre, macabre tragedy and raucous comedy in our story. Prepositions in Yiddish, as in English, can be highly expressive. Vaysnberg writes "A tate _mit_ bonim" rather than, say, "A tate fun bonim." The central plot event in the story is the mother's suffocating of her newborn son during a strange dream. Khane-Leye charges the Queen of Sheba, a Lilith figure here, with coming through the window at night and crushing the infant with her large breasts (normally a means of nurture not murder). Shloyme, the husband, standing before the rabbi and demanding a divorce, accuses his wife of having "killed" two sons, an earlier birth having also miscarried. We recall Khane-Leye's confession to her neighbor before giving birth that "zi hot nisht keyn nakhes fun kinder" ['she has no gratification from her children']; being modern readers, we begin to suspect that nocturnal infant-crushing may be Khane-Leye's unconscious weapon against domestic servitude -- is she not little more than the kitchen-slave of three ravenous males? The father had plans for those dead sons -- with (i.e. _mit_) four sturdy sons "volt er gekont a velt mit a medine aynnemen" ['he could have conquered the world']. In peasant economies children, especially male children, are capital, life insurance. _With_ four sons, Shloyme could have become prosperous. What a material loss he has endured! Vaysnberg gives us a realistic picture of a particular working-class shtetl family. The mother can liken her sleeping elder son to a steam engine, but power in this home -- in several senses -- is manual. The father is an itinerant tailor who spends his weekdays in surrounding villages sewing by hand for the gentiles and rural Jews. His two sons, Pinkhes and Moyshe Brutan, are his helpers, though the older son, Pinkhes, has become delinquent and challenges the father's authority (at the same time that he desires his approbation) with his fists. Khane-Leye has given her husband a nickname "Shloyme der grober kop" ['Shloyme the fathead'] because of the way he and his sons devour food (including her own Sabbath morning breakfast) on Friday evening when other Jews are on their way to synagogue. In her eyes, they do not simply eat, but feed their _piskes_, their 'animal mouths'. Food is a central motif in the story. Moyshe Brutan is obsessed with the subject. A principle fantasy of his shows him running off to work as a journeyman tailor -- i.e. replacing his father -- without his mother knowing his whereabouts and consequently worrying about him; with his triumphant return home for the Sabbath, all the women gazing at this vigorous young man striding home with his pockets full; and his turning over his earnings to his mother who serves him with numerous of his favorite dishes, though he feigns being a delicate eater. The flashback carousel episode in "A tate mit bonim" is crucial to the story. The revolving, loudly decorated mechanical contraption with its blaring march tune and its painted wooden horses and coaches conjures up the outside gentile world of encroaching technology and tawdry recreation. The simple-minded Shloyme and his madcap son Pinkhes are fascinated by the carousel. Pinkhes instinctively helps to set up the equipment and is offererd a place in the troupe. Significantly he does not accept; he will make adventurous sorties into the gentile world but will not desert his _gemeinschaft_. He offers his father a free ride on the carousel, proud that he can do so and his father glows at his son's prowess. But Pinkhes' generous act has a comic denouement when the father finds himself on a horse "chasing" a shikse and the son aloft at the controls grows dizzy and vomits down on his father as well as falling from his perch and stopping the show. They run home in disgrace. Vomiting on one's own father is a rather extreme image of filial rebellion, but Vaysnberg does not shy away from disgusting scenes. He is, however, not merely describing an event. The revolving carousel embodies the notion of encroaching change, and the inverted positions of parent and child suggests the breakdown of traditional authority. In the concluding section of the story, it is the son Pinkhes who tells his father to go home and forget about divorcing his mother; he gives her money for food and tells her to go home and cook. The concluding scene of the story is a modulated "happy ending," a convincing one. Khane-Leye, who can now drop a sentimental tear for her prodigal son and protector, has cooked the Sabbath eve dinner and the men are sate. Now, led by the father -- not all of whose seniority has been usurped -- the males sing zmires [Sabbath song'] to the tune of a carousel march, an element of the "other" having been safely incorporated into traditional patterns. The delinquent son has restored the family to that degree of harmony it is capable of achieving. The author appears to identify with the raw energy of his characters, primitive though they may be. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 July 2000 From: Louis Fridlander Subject: "The Treasury" by Sholem ALeichem The Treasure by Sholem Aleichem Translated from an unsigned Yiddish translation of the Hebrew original by Louis Fridhandler [Translator's Introduction] Sholem Aleichem wrote this piece in Hebrew with the original title, "Ha-Otsar". It was published in _Ha-Melits_, 1889, Nos. 272, 275. A Yiddish translation (unnamed translator) was published as "Der Oytser", in _Fargesene Bletlekh_ [Forgotten Pages], ed. Y. Mitlman and Kh. Nadel, Melukhe Farlag far Di Natsyonale Minderhaytn in USSR, Kiev, 1939, pp. 62-78. In his edition of Sholem Aleichem's Hebrew writings (_Ktavim ivriim_, Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1976), Chone Shmeruk makes clear that "No Yiddish version of the story is known. A Yiddish translation of the story appeared in _Fargesene Bletlekh_..." My translation is from the unsigned Yiddish translation in _Fargesene Bletlekh_ -- i.e. it is a translation of a translation. The words _bitter_ and _sardonic_ come to mind in characterizing this tale of poor, gullible Jews fleeced by swindlers. Still, Sholem Aleichem manages to entertain while reminding readers of a terrifying and shameful history. Shabtai the innkeeper recalls Shabtai Tsvi, the false messiah of 1665. Yankl Squealer represents Jewish informers who cooperated with the anti-Semitic regime. Yankl Snatcher reminded readers of the cantonist system of military recruitment of Jews, 1827-1856. A fearful degradation gripped Jewish communities under pressures of high numbers of recruits demanded by tsarist military authorities from each shtetl. Bands of Jewish men, the snatchers (khapers), kidnapped Jewish children, some as young as eight, and delivered them to the Russian military authorities. The children were sent to camps (cantons) far from home where the Russian captors attempted forcible conversion to Christianity through beatings, torture and starvation. The children were not permitted to speak Yiddish or observe familiar Jewish religious or secular customs. It was often a death sentence. Of those who survived, few remained Jews. The cantonist system was established by Nicholas I in 1827 and abolished by Alexander II in 1856. Another interesting sidelight: Samuel Pepys refers in his diary to a rumor about a London Jew. Sholem Aleichem's story mirrors elements of the rumor recorded by Samuel Pepys on February 19, 1666: "Here [at his bookseller's] I am told for certain, what I have heard once or twice already, of a Jew in town, that in the name of the rest doth offer to give any man 10 pounds, to be paid 100 pounds if a certain person, now at Smirna, be within these two years owned by all the princes of the East, and perticularly the Grand Segnor, as the King of the World, in the same manner as we do the King of England here, and that this man is the true Messiah. One named a friend of his that had received ten pieces in gold upon this score, and says that the Jew hath disposed of 1100 pounds in this manner -- which is very strange; and certainly this year of 1666 will be a year of great action, but what the consequences of it will be, God knows." [_The Diary of Samuel Pepys_, A new and complete transcription, ed. Robert Latham and William Matthews. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, vol. 7, 1972, p. 47.] The "certain person, now at Smirna" is an obvious reference to Shabtai Tsvi. Sholem Aleichem's story also revolves about Jews lured by false hopes into giving away money in expectation of high returns: each ruble to be returned a hundredfold. In Samuel Pepys' record, the return is only tenfold. Pepys and Sholem Aleichem, diverse in culture and background, found interest in the same far-fetched legend. * * * 1. Mazepevkites are like no others on earth. They scatter money as though strewing ashes, to right and to left. In _their_ eyes, rubles are like ants. It's all for charity. Their generous souls care for the well-being of all in their midst, the pauper or stranger. A Mazepevkite prays: "Look here, merciful Father. Money and silver are Yours, are they not? You don't mind then, do You, if I, being among the needy, am chosen to become one of the rich? Am I not worthy? Merciful God! Show me Your wondrous deeds: let me win the lottery. Just this once. And You will profit. I will do in fear that which is dear to You: unstinting donations. For the synagogue that much, and for the bathhouse (pardon for mentioning both in the same breath) this much; a fine gift for the Talmud Torah; twice as much for the sick-house; alms for the poor and for benevolent societies such as 'Heal the Sick', 'Support the Fallen', 'Free the Captive', and so on and on." Mazepevkites sprinkle money about, but still the poor go hungry, and the boys of the Talmud Torah wear tattered clothes, bare bottoms showing, and the synagogue is a fright with teetering walls about to collapse, and the bathhouse.... But nobody's surprised. No Mazepevkite has ever won the lottery. Still they spread money around in full faith that "Good Fortune" himself (though he tarries) will soon be at their side on their "Great Day." Even in sleep, they speak only of riches that await them. Wealth will come, not from business and trade, or slowly and surely from labor, but all at once. It will be cast down to them from heaven. O, Sing Psalms of Joy! Thousands, tens of thousands, a hundred thousand.... Do you think that's impossible for God? How did this boundless money hunger grow in such a place? Moneyed moguls do not sprout like mushrooms in Mazepevke. On the contrary, poverty rules and struts proudly about town; the numbers of destitute swell day by day; all doors to a living are barred . Jews bemoan their fate, roam about like ghosts, not knowing how to feed their families. But Mazepevkites are unequaled in faith and belief. In this dark valley, they hope all year for miracles. Roast fowl will fly straight to their mouths. Berko, the collector, supports their faith. He sells lottery tickets by the hundreds and thousands. No house in Mazepevke is without its ticket. As yet they've won nothing, but still they hope. They patiently wait for the day, their day of destiny, but that day is dragging its feet. Legends tell of such prospects. "Once there was a pious man, with no food nor means of support...." Remember that story? Remember how he went to sleep poor, and arose rich? Now I'll tell you a story not of one pious man but of a town full of faithful folks without food or support; and of a Jewish woman, virtuous and wise. And honest! She had a treasure of two hundred million rubles, gold beyond measure. 2. It happened in the 5649th year since creation, or 1889 as Europe and other civilized lands count. On the eleventh day of the month of Iyar, the Jewish streets of Mazepevke buzzed and rocked with a rumor that the woman with the key to the locked treasure had arrived. Everyone heard how this woman had been going from town to town near and far shedding abundance upon the poor wherever she went. How fortunate, they! "You lucky people! Come! Reach out and grab your share. Fill your knapsacks and your boxes. You think 200,000,000 pieces of gold is nothing?" Nobody knows where that treasure is now, nor how the woman acquired custody, but at last she was in Mazepevke for only a few days. In two or three weeks, she would divulge the secret, unearth the riches. The treasure's first sacred burial place was in the village of Khrudovka near Mazepevke between two hills where a gentile nobleman fell dead as he dug for the treasure before its time. Some say: Many long years ago, the commander of all the Cossack armies, the hetman Mazepa,(1) buried it several yards deep in the earth. It held two hundred million gold rubles as well as many pieces of silver and gold, with pearls and diamonds in iron and copper pitchers and pots. The treasure was covered by a copper door secured by a golden lock which could be opened only by a key fashioned of fine spun gold. That key was now held by the Jewish woman. But how did the key reach her hands? Some say that Mazepa lost it and a Jew, Moyshe Groys, found it and bequeathed it to his children bidding them to pass it from generation to generation. It finally reached the woman who now resides among us. Moyshe's will decreed that the treasure be unearthed on the day before Shvues, 5649. _This year!_ The will warned that whoever touched it before its time would die. That fate befell the gentile nobleman who had tried to snatch the legacy meant for Jewish heirs. But others say: It was not Mazepa who buried the treasure but Gonta(2), may his name be erased(3); and it was not buried in Mazepevke but in Uman.(4) Here's what happened. There once was a Jew called Anshl of Uman, simple and God-fearing. He had a scraggly mare hitched to his wagon upon which he toted goods to the courts of Polish noblemen. When Gonta set out to bury the treasure, Anshl happened to be at the edge of a nearby forest standing to recite the Eighteen Blessings beside his loaded wagon. At the words, "And our eyes will see," he caught sight of Gonta and a pack of his Cossacks digging a hole. Into it they lowered many sacks of gold and silver coins, precious stones and diamonds whose radiance almost blinded Anshl. The Cossacks dashed off in haste without noticing him. Anshl stepped out of the woods, hauled out the treasure, and hefted it onto his wagon. He dumped his own meager wares into the hole, covered them up with earth, and dashed off. Others said: No, that's not how it was! They claimed that the treasure was in the woman's home locked in a silver casket. It held gold coins, priceless jewelry and paper drawn on an English bank worth two hundred million rubles. It was to be guarded until the moment ordained for its distribution, the day before Shvues, 5649. Soon! This very year! At last, here she was in Mazepevke, and all could see the treasure with their very own eyes. That raised a mighty lust in each heart. Each racing mind silently counted, "Two hundred million! Oh, my! What couldn't I do with that!?" The woman had two aides, two treasurers, obviously fine people with honest faces. Mazepevkites crowded around them asking how to claim a share of the treasure. An aide explained, "Whoever folds one ruble into a treasurer's palm will later dip his own hand into the pile of gold, and carry off his share of one hundred rubles. Give one hundred, take ten thousand!" A truly fine business! What mortal soul would spurn this chance to insure his future? "PAWN YOUR SHIRT AND GET RICH QUICK!" >From all over town, Mazepevkites brought money to the woman. He who had no ready cash pawned household linen, clothes and his wife's jewelry (begging her pardon). And there opened a font of measureless profit for moneylenders who were besieged with people imploring, "Here, take these clothes. Charge me plenty of interest as long as you hand over money!" The rush grew fiercer when everyone learned that the woman would stop accepting money after the 33rd day in Omer. She didn't need this business. What for? It was nothing compared to the fortune she would own! No one doubted there was money in her treasure. First, consider that many treasures must have been buried in bygone days. And second, everybody saw the old copper pitcher near the woman brimming with rubles and other sparkling coins. How can anyone not believe? And yet the mischievous wiseacres of Mazepevke jeered and sneered at those who ran to give their money to the woman. "See how they ask the wind to blow their money away." "He'll see that money again when he can see his ears." "All he'll get for his money is a fistful of rags." But two or three days later these cynics learned their lesson and dropped their waggish ways. One by one, they, just like the others, began to sneak in the dark, out of sight, into the woman's room at the inn. They hurried to give her their last ruble because soon it would be too late to claim their share. The gates would shut, and pawning goods would help no longer. True, the woman shrank from taking money. Her aides, the treasurers, also firmly resisted, but everyone ardently begged, "Take, take! Why should it bother you to take?" The treasurers relented, and took. And they took and took from early morning to the middle of the night. The door kept swinging back and forth on its hinges, not resting a moment. As one left another entered. Men and women, old and young, boys and girls, brides and grooms shoved and bumped each other in the sides and backs, pushing to be first, as people often do. The upright woman with the treasure wore a silken shawl across her shoulders, a clean bonnet on her head, a golden necklace studded with diamonds, topazes on her forehead, earrings, and many rings on her fingers. She lodged at the inn of our well-known innkeeper, Shabtai, and spoke hardly at all to her visitors. She relied for that on her two kinsmen, the treasurers, who bustled about the room, whispering in each other's ear. Mostly, they ignored the townspeople milling about with their little clumps of money, but now and then one caught the eye of a kind treasurer who agreed to take the money. Another claim for a share in the treasure was thus duly recorded. How sweet it was! To Shabtai fell the task of discreet and modest spokesman. Anyone who came to see the woman had to enlist Shabtai as mouthpiece, mediator and advocate. That's how it has always been done in Mazepevke: somebody to take your side for every purpose; or, as they call him, a "side-taker". At the landlord's, a "side-taker"; when pleading with the well-to-do, or at the police station, or with the doctor, or the rabbi. Anywhere, a "side-taker". They stir neither hand nor foot without first arranging for a person to be on their side. Shabtai represented those wishing for an introduction to a treasurer. Shabtai might say, "Here is Mr. so and so, one of our good citizens, prays in the old shul." Or, "This is Mrs. so and so, a fine woman, sells milk and butter." Shabtai paved the way for a grateful Mazepevke. For his trouble, Shabtai secured for himself a due reward. His motto was, "It pays to walk slowly behind an overloaded wagon." First, he arranged fitting dowries for his four daughters. That is, he gave the woman a hundred rubles (twenty-five for each daughter duly recorded) to stake a later claim for two thousand five hundred rubles each. Shabtai was no fool, and pleaded his case. To the treasurers he argued that as he was the innkeeper, he was worthier than anyone off the street, and so deserved a supplement beyond those ten thousand rubles to defray those heavy wedding expenses. "Listen, gentlemen. Four weddings! That's no joke. My wife, Dvoyre (may she live and be well), will want a silk dress and a fur coat. And what about cash for the rabbi and the sexton and the cantor? And the musicians? And..., and more!" The worthy treasurers answered that if Shabtai would give them free room and board, they would later dip into the treasure and give him pearls and diamonds. Shabtai could then sell them for ready cash. "You will _not_ sell those pearls and diamonds," shrieked Dvoyre. "No! Never! Not for all the money in the world will I let you do such a thing, Shabtai, because they'll be mine! You hear?" "Anything you like," answered Shabtai in good humor. "I won't bicker with you now. O, may Shvues come quickly." 3. As Shvues approached, the growing crowds at the inn shoved harder, until Shabtai proclaimed, "An end to this! The gates have shut. The woman can't share her treasure with just anybody." Still, people pawned house and home, left businesses and jobs, and thrust money at the woman. She took, but not eagerly. Contracts, betrothals were canceled, and marriages were fractured, all for the sake of the treasure, the only thing on their minds. A week before the "Great Day" was to arrive, a great misfortune struck from out of the blue. Before I tell you what happened, I must tell you this: In these awful times, Mazepevkites do many things for a living. Among those trades is an easy one. It is dirty and disgusting: betrayal of neighbors to tsarist oppressors. A betrayer is spawned by hate and envy, and every town has its own betrayer (to our shame and pain) who has a big tongue and puts it to work. Mazepevke's honored master in this trade is "Yankl Squealer" who reminds us of "Yankl Snatcher"(6) of old. May these evil pursuers be expelled from God's congregation. Only then will the Jews know release from affliction. That scabby livelihood gripped us in its clutches in those dark days of choking horror and oppression. Yankl is a distinguished family man in Mazepevke, and all show him due respect. After all, he is an informer! Every storekeeper in town (whether or not he deals in contraband), every merchant (whether he has a business permit or not), every Hebrew teacher (whether or not he has a license to teach) knows his duty: to bring a "gift" to Yankl, a few rubles. Whatever happens in town, Yankl gets his tribute (to keep the dog from barking). And this leech supports two voracious daughters with deep pockets wider than the ocean, and as insatiable as the gaping maw of hell. Yankl's most important sense is smell. His long nose sniffs out anything, even underground! It pokes and digs. Go to Mazepevke, and the nose that gives the town its special character will be first in line to greet you. Yankl's nose sniffed out the woman and her treasure. Shabtai the innkeeper, on advice from the aides, took Yankl aside for a chat, and slipped him a little something on the sly. But this time the yearnings of Yankl's nose were not sated. Yankl came poking and sniffing again and again, robbing Shabtai of peace. Perhaps Shabtai could have settled Yankl's nerves with a few more rubles, but Shabtai the hothead is easily vexed, and slow to beg pardon. He poured his bitter gall and boundless fury on Yankl, screaming, "Is there no limit, you leech? Will you suck your brothers' blood to the last drop? Go, go in the best of health; and keep your face hidden forever from my sight!" Yankl turned his lengthy nose toward the door and silently departed, aflame with rage. "Why do you argue with everybody?" asked Dvoyre, Shabtai's wife. "Don't forget. That's Yankl!" "I'm not afraid," said Shabtai, smugly. I have enough for dowries, the weddings, your pearls and diamonds, so why should I tremble? Will he squeal on me that I run an inn? To blazes with it! After Shvues, God willing, I'll marry off my daughters, and I'll say goodbye and good riddance to the inn and the whole town. Let them burn! Nice people like me are appalled by Mazepevke's tumult and its shady business. There's a great big world out there to see." Soon after, on the eve of Shvues, there was a great commotion, pandemonium, at Shabtai's inn. People came running from all over town shouting, "POLICE! SOLDIERS WITH GUNS!" In the confusion, the woman and her treasurers fled to parts unknown, leaving only a pair of ripped trousers, a prayer shawl, a few rags, and the gold key. Shabtai spent that night in jail with other honored townspeople, in a cold, cramped room (no charge for the lodging). In the morning, they were found innocent of any crime, and released. After much investigation, the magistrate noted in his book, that: A) No one knew the names or occupations of the woman and her assistants, whence they came, nor where they went. B) The gold key was made in Mazepevke before Passover by the red-headed locksmith, who was told it was for a holy ark in the Land of Israel. C) Those rascals gypped the Jews, drained their money, left behind a town full of embittered, penniless imbeciles who believe everything, and are held in contempt by decent types. The magistrate wrote further: Behold this people, rascals all, sons of scoundrels, without peers in shrewdness and cunning. The remaining notes of the magistrate were tied with string, and stored among the archives of Mazepevke. They now await study by future scholars of antiquities. References (1) In late 17th century, Mazepa, successor to Khmelnitski, was hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. In Yiddish, _mazepa_ means 'slovenly person'. (2) Cossack hetman in the 18th century. (3) This curse, _yemakh shemo_, is present in the Hebrew version, but omitted from the Yiddish version in _Fargesene Bletlekh_. (4) Uman was the site of a massacre of Jews in 1768. Gonta was a leader. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.011 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. 04.012 18 August 2000 1) Herzl's _Judenstaat_ in Yiddish -- the section on language (ed.) 2) Reflections on a Widespread View of Kotik's _My Memoirs_ (Lucas Bruyn) 3) Books Received: (a) _Antologye fun yidishe folkslider_ [band 5] / _der Mortkhe Gebirtig band_, [redagirt fun] Sini Laykhter, Yerushalaim: HaUniversita HaIvrit, 2000. (b) _Catalog of Out-of-Print Yiddish Books_, Amherst: National Yiddish Book Center, n.d. [ed.] 1---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 August 2000 From: ed. Subject: Herzl's _Judenstaat_ in Yiddish -- the section on language Theodor Herzl is rightly credited with having prophesied the creation of a Jewish state and of having played an important part in the formation of the political Zionism which helped bring it about. Not all his prophesies, however, have come to fulfillment. In the brief section on language in his _Der Judenstaat. Versuch einer Modernen Loesung der Judenfrage_ (Vienna: M. Breitenstein, 1896)_ [The Jewish State], a work which has been translated into scores of languages and of which there must be hundreds of editions, he is considerably off the mark. Like many of his Jewish contemporaries, both East and West, he is contemptuous of Yiddish -- the native language of the vast majority of his supporters -- and, indeed, scornful of all Jewish languages. These are corrupt forms of speech ("tsudrehte un farkripelte zhargons"), ghetto lingos. The notion of communicating in Hebrew is absurd, he says -- who even knows how to buy a tram ticket in Hebrew? In the Jewish state that Herzl envisions, Jews will continue to speak their mother-tongues -- "yeder blaybt bay zayn shprakh" (just like the Russians in Israel, many Israelis would complain.) And this will raise no problems. Herzl was hardly unique in his inability to foresee a scene in which Hebrew-speaking hoodlums in the Jewish state would kill a Russian new immigrant, a soldier, for speaking Russian in public. I give this passage on language from a Yiddish translation which is heavily daytshmerish, though more in its orthography than its vocabulary and syntax. (The lines are numbered to facilitate discussion.) The kind of Yiddish we see here was common in the Yiddish radical movement of the period. The year of publication of the pamphlet must have been around 1918. It is likely that the anonymous translator worked from a German edition, but I have not checked this. In the 1920s and 1930s Newark had an active Yiddish cultural life of its own despite its proximity to New York City. This 94-page pamphlet was published by Max Mindlin and Co., whose address -- 71 Montgomery Street -- was also that of the Arbeter Ring Socialist Institute. The pamphlet sold for thirty cents, which was not cheap. _der idenshtat_ fun theodor hertsl. aroysgegeben fun maks mindlin un ko., nuark, n. dzh. [Newark, N.J.], on a date [?1918], 94 zz'. shprakh [z. 83] 1. filaykht denkt ver, az es vet zayn a shverigkayt derfar, vayl mir 2. hoben nit keyn gemaynzame shprakh. mir kenen dokh nit reden eyner 3. mit andern hebreyish. ver fun unz ken genug hebreyish um er zol in 4. diezer shprakhe ferlangen a bahn-bilet? dos iz nito. fun destvegen 5. iz di ongelegenhayt zehr aynfakh. yeder blaybt bay zayn shprakh, 6. velkhe iz di liebe haymath fun zayne gedanken. far di meglikhkayt 7. fun der shprakhen-feraynigung iz di shvayts a guter bayshpil. mir 8. velen oykh blayben in nayem land, vos mir zenen yetst, grade vi mir 9. hoben kaynmol nit oyfgehert tsu lieben mit veymuth unzer 10. foter-lender fun vanen men fertraybt unz. 11. fun di tsudrehte un farkripelte zhargons, mit velkhe mir bedinen 12. zikh yetst, fun ot-di geto-shprakhen, velen mir zikh obgevehnen. 13. dos zaynen geven di gehayme shprakhen fun gefangene. unzere 14. folks-lehrer velen zikh shoyn dermit besheftigen. di shprakh vos 15. vet nitslikher zayn far dem algemaynem ferkehr vet zikh aleyn 16. gefinen a plats als hoyptshprakh. unzer folks-gemaynshaft iz dokh 17. an aygentimlikhe, an ayntsige. mir derkenen unz bloyz in der emune 18. fun unzere eltern als kroyvim. 2)--------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 August 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Reflections on a Widespread View of Kotik's _My Memoirs_ Reflections on a Widespread View of Kotik's _My Memoirs_ by Lucas Bruyn The view that the second volume of Kotik's memoirs is inferior to the first was strongly implanted by Zalmen Reyzn, who also claimed that a third volume (which remained in ms.) was equally inferior: "a bazundern interes hot aroysgerufn der 1 t', vu der mekhaber hot gegebn a breyt bild fun dem yidishn lebn in rusland in der ershter helft fun dem forikn y[or] h[undert], shilderndik di sotsyale, ekonomishe un kulturele tsushtandn fun yener tkufe un ire mentshn, dem kamf tsvishn khsidim un misnagdim un azoy vayter. ober akhuts dem zeyer groysn kultur-historishn vert fun dem bukh, hot es oykh a reyn literarishn; di perzonen, vos figurirn in di zikhroynes, zaynen boylet un zeyer lebedik geshildert un dertsu iz dos gantse verk geshribn in aza hartsikn oyfrikhtikn ton, in a guter shprakh, az es gehert tsu di shenste bikher fun der yidisher memuarn literatur. di iberike 2 t' fun di _zikhroynes_ (fun velkhe der 3ter t' iz geblibn in ksav-yad) laydn shoyn fun tsetsoygnkayt un oykh der materyal iz veyniker interesant." [Especially interesting is the first volume, in which the author presents a broad picture of Jewish life in Russia during the first half of the 19th century. In this volume he sketches the social, economic and cultural situation of that era, its people, the struggle between Hasidim and Misnagdim etc. But apart from the extremely great cultural-historic value of the work, it also has a purely literary value. The characters in the memoirs are depicted in a clear and lively fashion. Besides, the whole work is written in a candid voice coming straight from the heart, in good language, thus making it one of the finest examples of Yiddish memoir literature. The other two volumes of the 'memoirs' (the third volume remained in manuscript), suffer from prolixity and their subject matter is less interesting.] (Zalmen Reyzn, _Leksikon_ band 3 [1929], zz. 425-426). A half-century later, the Yivo archivist Yekheskl Lifshits repeated the Reyzn argument in almost the same words: "k's ort in der yidisher literatur kumt ober nor fun zayn bukh _mayne zikhroynes_ ... band 3 iz geblibn in manuskript. bazunders vertik iz der ershter band, vos hot gegebn a breyt bild funem yidishn lebn in rusland in der ershter helft fun 19tn yorhundert. es is eyns fun di shenste bikher in der yidisher memuarn-literatur... dos verk hot oykh a reyn literarishn vert tsulib zayne lebedike shilderungen un dem sheynem loshn." [Kotik only deserves his place in Yiddish literature because of his book 'mayne zikhroynes'. Volume 3 remained in manuscript. Especially valuable is the first volume, which gives a broad picture of Jewish life in Russia during the first half of the 19th century. It's one of the finest examples of Yiddish memoir-literature. The book also has a pure literary value because of its lively descriptions and its good Yiddish.] Y[ekheskl] L[ifshits]. _leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur_, band 8 [1981], omed 44.) Both Reyzn and Lifshits speak of the first half of the 19th century, when surely they meant the second; and much of the memoirs deals with Poland, though then under Russian rule -- these writers, like all of us, are capable of erring. Though I accept Reyzn's statement that Kotik wrote more than two volumes, I am reluctant to believe that Kotik planned his memoirs as a trilogy in which the third volume formed an integral part.(1) Internal evidence bolsters this conclusion. Kotik clearly states that his grandfather will be the central figure of his work. His grandfather dies at the age of seventy at the end of the second volume. The first volume ends with the death of the grandfather's wife; the second volume begins with the grandfather's remarriage shortly after her death. One of the main themes of the work, the author's departure from his father's house, is structurally central in the two volumes as a whole, occupying as it does the last chapters of the first volume and the first chapters of the second. The 29th and last chapters of the first volume are reflected in the 25th and last chapters of the second volume; the same hasidic morning- prayers scene is described in both volumes. Many of the stories in the first volume are referred to or expanded upon in the second volume. The two volumes mirror each other to a remarkable extent. The main leitmotif, the red thread going through both volumes, is Kotik's obsession with and frustration over 'learning'. His education is described in detail in the first volume; throughout the second volume we hear about the author's disappointment for not having studied more seriously. This theme is developed. The main scope of the work is the sense of an era, of the 'breathing space' for Jews during the reign of Alexander II. The period ends with the murder of the czar and the pogroms of 1881. The author himself plays no important role in the memoirs. At the end of two volumes we know that he was a 'shlimazl' with 'yikhes' and some 'khutspe'. We know that he read many haskole books (though he gives no titles). We know he was married and had five children. We don't know his wife's first name or the names of his children -- reticence in regard to close retatives is found in other autobiographies of the period. Kotik directs our eyes to a well-defined section of the past. It is hard to see how a third volume could add to the two that we have. Kotik might have written a third volume describing his life in Warsaw, but the design of the work points to a two-volume structure. Is there any evidence besides Reyzn's and Lifshits' of a third volume in ms.? Kotik may have written such a volume, and either he or his publisher might have realized it added little to his two-volume design. With regard to the supposed inferior quality of the second volume, Reyzn's opinion might be dated. Read as a series of anecdotes and descriptions of characters, the second volume is much like the first. Sholem Aleichem, writing his famous letter to Kotik after reading the first volume only, praised the work for its 'lively characters'. He seems to have read the work as a collection of 'vignettes'. He had doubts about a second volume -- he didn't think Kotik could keep it up, creating character after character. The importance of the period described in the two volumes might not have been as clear to Reyzn as to a post-World War II reader. If seen as a cinemascopic description of a significant era in history, the second volume gives depth to the first. Moreover, the second volume makes better reading than the first in some respects: It is only in the second volume that we meet the author and come to know his opinions and feelings. Here he seems to become more at ease with his own character; his personal feeling for humor becomes more pronounced; his style of writing improves to the point that his personal voice becomes almost audible. What the memoirs are about In the first chapter of the first volume, the longest chapter in both volumes, the author introduces the reader to his native town, its institutions and inhabitants. Kotik calls Kamenits: 'a shtot fun lomdim' and 'di eydlste shtot in grodner gubernye' ['A town of Talmud scholars; the finest city in the Grodno Province']. Introducing the important families of the town, he says: 'di drite familye iz geven mayn zeyde r' arn leyzer un zayn bruder mortkhe-leyb kotik' (2nd ed, 1922, vol. 1, p. 41) ['The third important family was my grandfather Arn-Leyzer and his brother Mortkhe-Leyb Kotik']. In the second chapter the reader is introduced to Kotik's grandfather, Arn-Leyzer Kotik, born in or around 1800. Arn-Leyzer's father, Velvl Kotik, had been a 'parnes-khoydesh', a leader of the Jewish community of Kamenits, not just for a month, as the title indicates, or for a year, as was the custom at the time, but for 'dos gantse lebn' (69) ['his whole life']. In this chapter the author states: 'der elterer zun, arn-leyzer, mayn zeyde, vos iz eygentlekh di tsentrale figur fun mayne zikhroynes, hot zikh aroysgevisn far a zeyer gerotn yingl.'(72). ['The elder son, Arn-Leyzer, my grandfather, who actually is the central figure of my memoirs, turned out to be a very clever boy.'] This is the case. Though the grandfather is not the main subject of the memoirs, he certainly is the central character. The last page of the second volume ends with Arn-Leyzer's death in 1880 or thereabouts. However, a figure almost as important in the memoirs as Arn-Leyzer is his wife, Beyle Rashe, who is also introduced in the second chapter. Grandfather married her when he was eleven and she was twelve. Her death in 1865 or 1866, about fifteen years before her husband's, is described towards the end of the first volume. Her grandson, Yekheskl-Zeyv (Khaskl-Velvl) Kotik married at age 18 (in 1865) after receiving her grandmotherly advice. In the fourth chapter, another important character is introduced, the author's father Moyshe Kotik. Born in 1832 or 1833, at the age of thirteen he married Sore Haleyvi, then eighteen or nineteen years old. She was of a very good, misnagdic family. Her husband Moyshe, an ardent hasid, died at the age of forty-six in 1878 or 1879. The author's mother is almost absent in the memoirs. Though we learn little about her, she is important in the author's life if only for having provided him with 'yikhes', pedigree. Not only was she the daughter of a _rov_ ['misnagdic rabbi'], she was also related to the greatest scholars of the time, including the Gaon of Vilna. The second volume ends with a description of the Kiev Pogrom of 1881. Kotik's memoirs therefore only cover the first thirty-four years of his life -- he died in 1921. The period covered in the memoirs coincides with the period of the reign of Alexander II (1855-81), with some flashbacks to the previous period. The earliest year mentioned is 1842 and the first childhood memory is the author's entering a 'kheyder' at the age of two and a half. The author we meet is not a successful person. On the contrary, the Yekheskl Kotik of the memoirs fails at whatever he undertakes. Though he talks a lot about himself, his main theme is the period he lives in, one during which the Jews in the Pale of Settlement and Russia fared reasonably well. This is also the period of competition between misnagdim and hasidim, and the period of haskole. Raised as a hasid, Kotik turns misnagdic around the time he gets married. Though his father finds him a hasidic wife, he renounces hasidism and becomes interested in the Enlightenment ['haskole']. The struggle to get away from the influence of his father is described in the last chapters of the first and the first chapters of the second volume. In the first volume especially we find many anecdotes about colorful characters. Kotik describes members of his family, his teachers, citizens of Kamenits, Polish noblemen, rebbes, rovs, preachers etc. The historical context is restricted to two major events: the abolition of serfdom (1861) and the Polish uprising of 1863. Kotik describes how the latter results in a change of the Jews' position. Though we find similar anecdotes and descriptions of characters in the second volume, there they are more illustrative of the changes in the economic position of the Jews. Sholem Aleichem, as we have noted, was thrilled by the diversity of 'characters' he met in Kotik's first volume. Not having read the second volume, he could not grasp the scope of the work. In the second volume the author himself plays a more prominent role. He leaves his father's house and after a one-day career as a teacher in Warsaw becomes an innkeeper in Makarovtsi, near Krinik. After living for several years in this village, he becomes leaseholder of a farm in Kushelyeve in the Prushany District, a village without any Jews. Here the author suffers several disasters -- a huge forest fire and typhoid fever. His loneliness and the animosity of the locals are well portrayed. In the last part of the second volume, Kotik moves to Kiev. He describes his life in the city in some detail. After living for five years in Kiev, the pogrom of 1881 strikes the city. His description of this event is gripping. The memoirs are not just a chronicle. Kotik sketches himself as a protagonist in the drama of his age. Basically a man with old-fashioned values, he is open to the more enlightened ideas of his time while remaining strongly opposed to total assimilation. He shows a great interest in society, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and in the course of his memoirs reveals the inevitability of his becoming a communal worker and a Bundist.(2) **** Notes 1) Dr. David Assaf discusses the question of the lost sections of Kotik's memoirs in the introduction to his Hebrew annotated edition of the first volume (_Ma sheraiti -- zikhronotav shel yekhezkel kotik_ Tel-Aviv: HaMakhon leKheyker hatfutsot, 1999, pp. 56-58.) He gives a facsimile of a 1919 Kiev publisher's announcement of new works which specifically mentions Kotik's memoirs as a three-volume work and adds in parantheses that the third volume is appearing for the first time. A third volume might well have decribed Kotik's life in Warsaw, but by that time Kotik must have been another man than the one described in the first two volumes. Dr. Assaf recently drew attention to the fact that the memoirs of Falek Zolf [1896-1961] "were considered by Weinreich as 'a continuation of Kotik's memoir'." (See _Mendele: Yiddish literature and language_, Vol. 10.029, July 6, 2000). 2) A. Litvin (pseud. = Sh. Hurwitz [1862-1943]) paints a lively portrait of Kotik in his latter days. See "Y. Kotik un zayn kaviyarniye" [Y. Kotik and his coffee-house], _Yidishe neshomes_ (6 vols), New York: Farlag "Folksbildung," 1917, Vol. IV., pp. 1-11. 3---------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 August 2000 From: ed. Subject: Books Received (a) _Antologye fun yidishe folkslider_ [band 5] / _der Mortkhe Gebirtig band_, [redagirt fun] Sini Laykhter, Yerushalaim: HaUniversita HaIvrit, 2000. [_Anthology of Yiddish folksongs_, vol. 5, The Mordechai Gebirtig Volume, [ed.] Sinai Leichter, Jerusalem: The Hebrew University, 2000] [ISBN 965-223-447-8] This book is distributed by the Magnes Press, P.O.B. Box 39099, Jerusalem 91390, Israel. Tel. [972] 02-6586656. Fax: [972] 02-5633370. Email: magnes@vms.huji.ac.il. Price: $30 [thirty USA dollars]. The four-volume _Anthology of Yiddish Folksongs_, edited by Aharon Vinkovetzky [who emigrated to Israel from Leningrad in 1979}, the poet Abba Kovner, and Sinai Leichter, began to appear in 1983. It was based largely on the private collection of Vinkovetzky and its advisors included Dov and Meir Noy. An editorial board chose the 340 songs in the four volumes. The fifth and last volume of this ambitious two-decade long publishing project is devoted to the work of the much-loved folk-poet and composer, Mortkhe Gebirtig, famous for such songs as "Undzer shtetl brent" and "Reyzele." Gathered here are 87 of his lyrics, for many of which he himself wrote the music. An appendix of four very well known songs (e.g. "Mayn shtetele Belz") fills gaps in the first four volumes. A popular rather than an academic publication, the volume consists mainly of scores with lyrics (Yiddish and Latin-letter Yivo transcription) and melody. The complete lyrics in Yiddish and, in opposite columns, in Yivo romanization, follow the score. There are also Hebrew and English translations to all the songs. This salute to Mortkhe Gebirtig, who perished in the Holocaust, will be especially useful for individual and group performers. [ed.] (b) _Catalog of Out-of-Print Yiddish Books_, Amherst: National Yiddish Book Center, n.d. The latest NYBC catalog is worth looking at. Folio-size, 15 pages long, its over one-hundred items include some real nuggets. Noyekh Prilutski's scarce _Dos gevet_ [no. 101264] is offered for $25 -- well worth the price. _TMR_ readers will recall our featuring the first dialogue of this work, "Loksbn," one we strained over because of the small print and numerous footnotes [see Special Lokshn Issue, Part One and Part Two in _TMR_ vol. 1, nos. 16-17]. Serious students of Yiddish will want to own this work -- and indeed almost everything Prilutski wrote about Yidish. The _TMR_ Yivo transcription of the first dialog ["Lokshn"], may assist some students of the not-always-easy-to-read Yiddish text. Another scarce language item listed in this catalogue is Aleksander Harkavi's _Verterbikhl fun noente verter in yidish un english_ (New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1939) -- a lexicon of cognates. The Medresh translations by Shimshen Dunski (p. 11) can also be recommended, as can Y.-Kh. Ravnitski's well known collection of Yiddish jokes, _Yidishe vitsn_ (p. 12). A Los Angeles 1925 imprint by Sholem-Aleykhem ["Taytsh-vertlekh"] (p. 14) can only arouse curiosity. L.S. Kreditor (see p. 9), a veteran Yiddish journalist in London, was the father-in-law of former leader of the British Labour Party and Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Gaitskell. There are good pickings in this (unnumbered, undated) catalog. [ed.] ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.012 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. 04.013 31 August 2000 1) Reading Kotik (ed.) 2) _My Memoirs_, Vol. 2, Chapter 1 (Yekheskl Kotik) 3) Expanded Table of Contents of Vol. 1 of _My Memoirs_ (Yekheskl Kotik) 1---------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 August 2000 From: ed. Subject: Reading Kotik Chapter One of Volume Two of Kotik's memoirs in the Yiddish original is archived in both romanized and Yiddish-letter form. Readers are welcome to comment on Lucas Bruyn's new English translation. His rendering of the lengthy Chapter Two of Volume Two will appear in two installments during the month of September. In this edition of _The Mendele Review_ the reader will find the author's own expanded table of contents of Volume One of his memoirs [in romanized Yiddish] (see 3 below). This can provide useful background before beginning the second volume. Romanized Yiddish text of Vol. 2, Chaper 1 at: _The Mendele Review_ vol.4.,no. 2(29.2.2000) Yiddish-letter text at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/kotik1.pdf 2)--------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 August 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Mayne zikhroynes, vol. 2. ch. 1 (Yekheskl Kotik) Yekheskl Kotik, _My Memoirs_, vol. 2, chapter 1 Chapter the First. After grandma's death. -- Grandfather goes to the matchmakers. -- He suddenly turns up with a wife. -- The impression it makes on the family. -- "Grandma". -- Grandfather's delight. -- His new daughters. -- Widely scattered. -- Estates. -- Where we are well-received. -- Yokheved. -- Leye. We become estranged from grandfather. -- No longer the Days of Awe of yore. Grandma died(1), but grandfather's situation got even better. Now he was the only remaining saviour and redeemer(2) to advise and guide the land-owners. They were bewildered by the revolt, the persecutions and the misery that had been meted out to them unsparingly by the iron hand of Muravyov(3). Now many of them found solace with the old but clever Arn-Leyzer and he assisted them with all their affairs. Thanks to his advice they gave up their estates, giving them in lease to Jews and so got enough money(4) to keep living on the same footing as before. In those days they were in dire need of money. But grandfather began to make a lot of money himself as well and he lived it up on a grander scale than before. His carriage and span of horses, which used to look typically Jewish, now was of lordly appearance. Horses and carriage were presented to him by a landowner; he would drive around in it in his full glory. Grandfather, who had always been an impulsive and impatient man, had of course needed to shed a flood of tears when grandma died, but the moment the wells of tears began to dry up he started thinking about a second wife . Matchmakers soon got wind of it and started beleaguering grandfather around the clock, proposing all kinds of matches, with young women, rich and even pretty ones, women of good lineage and so on. But since their activities would be unacceptable to the family, the matchmakers pretended they were talking about a match for Arn Leyzer's son Yisroel, who was the same age as me. It hadn't occured to any of the children -- as though they didn't know him at all -- that grandfather would want to remarry. Hadn't he had a dearly beloved wife? Wasn't he elderly? Wasn't he surrounded by all his children and seventy grand- and great-grand-children? The thought of a second wife had excited grandfather so much that he forgot all about a match for his son, a matter that had been much on his mind before. As they found out later, he had instructed the matchmakers to get him a woman who was good looking, mature and of good family, all in one. So, after about three months grandfather suddenly came home from somewhere in good spirits and gave orders to have a room kept ready. An important guest was to be expected. Shortly after that he casually said to the children, "I have married. She's a lady of very good family, Yitskhok, the Rov of Karline's daughter, a very pious Jewess." A bit later he told about her in more detail, how she had divorced her husband because he had become a heretic, despite the fact that he was a Jew, quite a handsome, well educated man, and that she had grown up children from him. She, the pious one, had ignored all these blessings and had not wanted to live with an unbeliever. The household was flabbergasted, their spirits fell [alemen iz finster gevorn in di oygn] and they hurried away into the other rooms to have a good cry. They were faced with an irreversible fact, a 'fait accompli', as they say. Grandfather ignored his childrens' anguish and soon left to collect his new wife. After he left, the great wailing broke loose. The crying and screaming were nearly as bad as during the days following grandma's death. They all looked at each other with tears in their eyes, dumbfounded, as if they had to survive an unavoidable disaster. No one could believe that grandfather, having loved grandma so dearly and after acting like the world had come to an end at her death, would forget things so soon and that he at his age, sixty years old, having a house full of children and grandchildren, would bring home a stepmother. But their tears were just tears and achieved nothing. A few days later she arrived, a substantial well dressed Jewish beauty of about forty-five years old, and grandfather ordered the maid to put up the samovar. The children closed themselves off; they did not show their anguish and sorrow to the plump Jewish beauty and they gave her a lukewarm reception. Grandfather felt very uncomfortable about that. He had been eager for his second wife to be warmly received, but he had not been able to demand it. And so the same house that had always been full of life, full of the noise of children and grandchildren, where they had played pranks, laughed, danced and sung, now became silent and somber, as if there were nobody there. No talking was heard, no laughter, no cries, no noise, every sound was kept in check, suppressed, silence reigned. People from the town stopped their visits to the children and even to Arn Leyzer himself. They figured that he was busy with his new wife and took it for granted that he only had to sit with her in the same room to find his pleasure. Meanwhile grandma 'Nemi', as the grandchildren referred to her in public, acted properly towards the children and grandchildren. Obviously she realised that she was dealing with quite a decent household and that she'd better make an effort to accommodate its members in order to prevent the undesirable situation that they would come to dislike her. So her relations with the family were formal and correct and she took on the role of both a mother and a grandmother. After a couple of weeks a guest arrived at grandfather's. It was one of the younger daughters of his wife, a young lady about fourteen years old. Another guest came about two weeks later. Again a daughter, a young lady, aged about seventeen. These daughters remained with their mother. A few months later, a son of the new wife married a daughter of a Kamenits resident. And so grandfather acquired within a short period, not even half a year, a new family. The two daughters grew up at grandfather's and he bestowed a lot of fatherly love on them. The son and daughter-in-law and her parents with their whole family became regular visitors at grandfather's and got the place of honor at his table, so that there was no place left for Beyle Rashe's children and grandchildren, the ones who used to fill the house with happiness and laughter. The bitterness of the children and their feeling of dejection also affected the unity ampng them. They were still close, there was still love among them, but its flame was burning low and in time it cooled down more and more. Grandfather, whose favorite expression used to be, "He who lets down a child never will find rest in his grave,"(5) started taking steps to ensure the future of all his children, one by one. Possibly he saw it as the way to free himself the sooner from their embittered looks which were spoiling his joy with his new wife. He arranged an estate on lease for each of them and he also got one for himself, an estate named 'Pruske'(6), near Vilevinski, four verst from Kamenits; a farmhouse annex vodka distillery. Within half a year he succeeded in settling all of his children on separate estates. They drove off and dispersed and he delighted in his love and her daughters. The place became very quiet. Having gotten rid of the children, he at first remained in Kamenits, though the estate was quite near. It took only an hour to travel up and down to Pruske. However, shortly after, this restless man started hankering after true quiet, solitude, so nothing would disturb his happiness. This shows how much he was bewitched by his new wife.(7) The children all lived on their separate estates and the family ties began to loosen. If it had not been for Yokheved, uncle Yosl's wife , who took the fate of the family to heart and who endeavoured to bind together the torn and weakened last threads, the family unity would certainly have dissolved completely.(8) Now Yokheved knew the true sense of hospitality and was a very compassionate woman. She lived in Babitsh, on an estate eight verst from Kamenits, and the family used to drive down by horse cart to stay with her often. At all times you could find about fifteen people at her place and as one would leave, another would arrive, to be feasted on blintses and lots of dairy products. The hubbub of grandfather's house, though somewhat reduced in volume and size, eventually shifted to her place. People used to amuse themselves there, dance, laugh and joke about 'grand grandma' and her daughters. Another source of hospitality was father's sister Leye, also a clever and good woman. Both within the family and in town they used to say that she was her mother Beyle Rashe reincarnated. Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Her husband, Eliezer Goldberg, was a young man, a scholar, an adherent of the 'Haskole' or 'Enlightenment' movement and a Hebrew poet. If he felt like it, he would compose a song in Hebrew for the occasion of Khanuke or Purim and he also was a bon-vivant, very broadminded. The family used to say that he had a hole in his hand; money was not a serious matter to him. He lived on an estate named Starsheve, near Zostavye. (This, by the way, was the same estate that grandfather had been reluctant to accept when a landowner had offered to sign it over to him as a gift.(9) Although Starsheve was the family's second refuge, its hospitality was inferior to that offered by Yokheved. Leye did not keep any cattle and when the family came down she would not have any milk or butter in store. It must be said that eating meat was not the fashion in those days, except on the Sabbath and even then it was a rarity. But it cannot be denied that Yokheved's blintses formed a great attraction for our folks. She had learned the art to perfection from her mother-in-law, Beyle Rashe, who was famous for them. Those blintses were something; you don't get them that way nowadays. My dear father, who was the oldest child in the family, did not frequent these hospitable places for his own reasons. The young ones thought him over-pious, too sedate, although they loved him dearly and if he ventured to visit Yokheved's house it was a kind of special day to all, like Hasidim having a Rebbe visiting. In his presence they would all make a point of being quiet and calm, no shouting or laughter, no pranks. They would all surround him and he would tell them a story or a joke, in his own special way, which they would all thoroughly enjoy. In winter Yokheved would kill up to thirty geese at a time and make goose fat and cracklings. Then Yokheved would start her special crackling routine. The geese themselves she would have packed in salt in a barrel, and after one month she would serve pickled goose-meat with cracklings. She would also give a portion of cracklings to everyone to take home. Yokheved's cracklings were known far and wide. She also raised turkeys and at Passover all members of the family received a turkey from her.(10) She was a great expert, both in the house and on the farm. She was knowledgeable in all fields, at all places at once, taking care of the cows, calves, horses and the like. She was busy all day and always was up at six o'clock in the morning. Both during summer and winter she would always be toiling, but efficiently, in a casual way, like a true master. In wintertime she often would be at the threshing of the wheat all day, but the comfort of her guests never suffered in the least. Upon waking, all guests would get tea from the samovar with that good cream(11) [slivkes] and pastry. One weakness she had though -- after all, she was a woman -- and it would sometimes be quite a burden to her guests; she liked boasting to everyone about what an expert she was. And she would not hold back in her bragging, but go on and on about her achievements, her cooking, her baking, her skills in business, her knowing how to receive a guest, her cleverness at mending a torn piece of clothing and so on, driving everyone mad with her female boasts. But under the surface, this talk was sometimes meant as a stab at her husband who ostensibly played the lord, while she served him. He enjoyed the good life while she was always slaving away. His bed was made, his table set(12) and he expected her to bow to him. But a great expert she was for sure, and it was easy to forgive her this single shortcoming. During the Days of Awe, when all the villagers came to town for New Year's Day [Rosheshone] and the Day of Atonement [Yonkiper], our family gathered in Kamenits, but their journey was not to grandfather, although he had a big house standing empty there. Everyone rented his own place for Rosheshone and Yonkiper. Grandfather himself came down, too, with his wife and 'daughters'. To keep away from grandfather altogether would not have been in the spirit of the High Holy Days, so after saying prayers, the elder children would pay grandfather a visit to wish him a happy holiday ['gut-yontev'], returning home soon after. They did not come again to grandfather's all day. During the first Rosheshone after grandma had died, the house felt like a deserted city and if there was any movement in grandfather's house during the Rosheshone period, it would have been caused by guests visiting those 'stepdaughters'. My father would spend Rosheshone with the Rebbe of Slonim. Uncle Mortkhe-Leyb, who had been very saddened by his brother's marriage, became estranged from him. He had said nothing about it, but privately he considered it a misstep of the first order and a serious insult and he distanced himself from his brother more and more. Grandfather kept visiting Mortkhe-Leyb, albeit not like before, jovial and at ease. Grandfather was clever and broadminded enough to understand his brother's silent grievance and did his very best to make the best of the situation. For instance, he made it a habit to visit his brother often, while before it was his brother who used to come to him. Yonkiper Eve, which used to be very special at Grandfather's, now passed in silence and boredom. The butcher still came to pay grandfather his respects, but other families failed to deliver their 'kapores' at grandfather's house. All his children got into the habit of doing the kapore ceremony at their own place [hobn zikh opgeshlogn di kapores bay zikh] and sending the already killed kapores [di kapores fartike], the ones they had used themselves for the ceremony [obgeshlogene], off to grandfather -- not like in the old days. Only on Yonkiper Eve did the oldest children go to grandfather's. He would have the same richly decked great table, with all kinds of preserved fruits, tarts, snacks, cookies, nuts and liqueurs on it. But what about the joy, the friendship, brotherhood, true love? There was no real festive atmosphere, it was gloomy, tame; no longer the noise of all the little ones or of the bigger grandchildren, no happy faces. By now all had spread out, scattered, hidden away. Even the blessing on the Eve of Yonkiper was no longer what it used to be. They all used to wait for each other and no one would leave by himself. They would all join in the customary crying, and the crying and wailing of both grownups and children would go up to the seventh heaven... Uncle Berl Bendet(13), who always used to come with all his children and grandchildren to visit grandfather on Rosheshone and Yonkiper, now went to his father Zelig Andarkes instead. The only commodity that possibly was more bountiful than in the old days was tears, silent, suppressed tears. After the holidays everyone went back to his own estate and just drifted apart. It was clear that the great ship had gone down and that everyone floated off by himself on his own piece of wreckage, on a plank broken loose from the once mighty ship. --------------------- Endnotes 1. See Vol. 1, Chapter 28. 2. goyel-umoshie [Hebrew]: helper, assistant (see Isaiah 49: 26; 60: 16). 3. At the outbreak of the Polish uprising in 1863, the Russian Prince Nicholas Michael Muravyev/Muravyov (1796-1866), known as the "hangman," was appointed governor-general of the provinces of Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Vitebsk, Minsk and Moghilev. He established his headquarters in Vilna and cruelly suppressed the uprising through brutal terror and forced russification (David Assaf, ed. _What I Have Seen_... Tel-Aviv: Diaspora Research Institute, 1998, p. 187 and passim). 4. For a description of the impact the Polish Uprising had on the Kotik family and on the Polish Jews in general, see Vol. 1, Chapter 22. 5. Text: "der zeyde, vos hot shtendik gezogt dos vertl, az "dem zol di erd aroysvarfn di beyner, ver es git op a kind fun zikh." Compare Vol 1, Chapter 6, p. 127, ll. 1,2: "der zeyde hot lib gehat dos vertl: 'di erd zol di beyner aroysvarfn dem, vos git op a kind fun zikh'." 6. Compare Vol. 1, p. 23, ll. 22, 23: Pruske, eight verst [1 verst = 1.06 km] from Kamenits. [This must be a mistake.] See also Vol. 1, Chapter 20, p. 280, ll. 31-35: "far zikh hot er gedungen dem hoyf 'pruske' (faran tvey 'pruskes': eyne hot gehert tsu oserevskin un eyne tsu vilevinskin) ba vilevinskin, fir viarst fun kamenits." 7. See Vol. 1, Chapter 11, pp. 174-175. 8. For a description of the former 'akhdes' in the family, see Vol. 1, Chapter 6, p. 127, l. 7. 9. See Vol. 1, Chapter 10, p. 169, ll. 4-6: "hot er dos mayontikl starsheve gevolt avekshenkn dem zeydn. der zeyde hot zikh ober fun dem opgezogt." 10. Here we have additional evidence that in Eastern Europe in the past century Jews raised turkeys for Passover consumption. When _The Mendele Review_ published Sholem-Aleykhem's animal allegory "Dos porfolk" (see TMR Archive), it sparked a controversty regarding the zoological identity of the protagonists. 11. The cream is served with the tea and the pastry. Another possible reading for 'slivkes' is 'plums' [Pol. _slivka_], in which case confiture made of plums would be meant. 12. See for a description of the 'amolike yomim neroim' Vol. 1, Chapter 14. 13. See Vol. 1, Chapters 12, 13, 22. 3)------------------------------------------------ Date: 31 August 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Romanized Table of Contents of Volume One of Kotik's Memoirs Yekheskl Kotik, _mayne zikhroynes_, ershter teyl , Berlin: Klal-Verlag. 1922 [5682]. [Second Edition; first edition appeared in Warsaw end of 1912 / beginning of 1913]. [bild funem mekhaber] 3 [vidmung] 5 bimkem hakdome 7 [hakdome tsu sholem-aleykhems brif] 8 Sholem-Aleykhems brif tsu Yekheskl Kotik 9 [Sh.-A.'s letters are dated 10/11-1-13] kapitl I: 13 mayn shtetl. der slup. di amolike "skazke". Visoke. amolike miskhorim. yidn un pritsim. der rusisher un poylisher kloyster. der rusisher un poylisher galekh. Aserevski. Aserevskis yoyresh. der aseser. in vos flegt ba yidn avek der tog. di karge gvirim. di bekovede familyes fun shtetl. Shepsl der klezmer. Mortkhe-Leyb. r' Simkhe-Leyzer. shabes in shtetl. shetlshe intrigantn. amolike makhloykesn. Itshe Sheytes der moser. Zastavye. melamdim. amolik lernen. di goyim. der doktor. royfim. di talmetoyre. di bod. di mikve. der taykh. Kamenitser shvimer. der hegdesh. der rov. magidim. der besoylem. khevre-kedishe. kapitl II: 68 der elter-zeyde r' Velvl. mayn zeyde Arn-Leyzer. r' Yodl. Arn-Leyzers yugnt. der khasene. di bobe Beyle-Rashe. Arn-Leyzers farenderung. der elter-zeydns toyt. der ispravnik. zayne batsiungen tsum zeydn. der zeyde als parnes-khoydesh. der bobes eytses. der zeyde a isborshtshik. der shrayber. di makhloykes tsulib dem shrayber. dem zeydns hashpoe. der zeyde mit di pritsim. der revizor. a nayer isborshtshik. makhloykes in shtot. der nayer ispravnik. mayn zeyde vider isborshtshik. kapitl III: 88 di "behole". Ayzikl der katsev. kapitl IV: 97 mayn foter Moyshe. zayn naygung tsu khsides. der shidekh. r' Leyzer der Grodner rov. mayn muter. mayn foter als heyser khosid. zayn antloyfn tsum rebn. zayn kamf mitn zeydn. di arende. der revizor. Kamenitser khsidim. kapitl V: 116 r' Yisroel. zayn gezang. zayne kompozitsyes. zayn rol tsvishn khsidim. r' Yisroel als matematiker. dos gevet. zayn poylisher patryotizm. zayne marshn lekoved dem poylishn nitsokhn. der opmakh mit a khosid. der gevins. r' Yisroels toyt. kapitl VI: 127 undzer mishpokhe. di bobe. ir libe tsum man. ir shtil un frum bageyn zikh mit mentshn. r' Yodl. shtotishe inyonim. r' Lipe. der tkies-kaf. kapitl VII: 134 der aktsiz. der baron Gintsburg. der ben-yokhed. der skandal mitn aseser. der ispravnik halt dem zeydns tsad. r' Lipe tserisn der tkies-kaf. kapitl VIII: 138 mayn ershter melamed. mayne kashes. der tsveyter melamed. mayn feter Yisroel. der ile Yisroel. vi der ile Yisroel hot undz geshmisn in feld. bay Mote dem melamed. der gehenem. di vinter-ovntn. mayses mit kishef. mayn frumkayt. der dibek. r' Lipe Tsukerman. kapitl IX: 150 di "khapers". Arn-Leybele, Khatskl un Moshke. Yosele. amolike dinst. kapitl X: 160 Zastavye. di groyse makhloykes. di shvue. oysgenart. dem zeydns kamf. der sholem. di pritsim mit di poyerim. dos shmaysn poyerim. kapitl XI: 170 mayn muter. r' Leyzer. mayn muters laydn. der Kamenitser rov. der bobes eytse. kapitl XII: 178 di pritsim. Berl Bendet. Tshekhtshove. Sikhovski. Berl Bendets traykayt. der bilbl. der krig tsvishn dem porets mit der pritste. Bogoslovski. der sof fun bilbl. kapitl XIII: 194 Berl Bendets lebn. zayn tokhters khasene. der poylisher oyfshtand. gevolt shmaysn di pritste. Berl Bendet hot zi aroysgeratevet. Shmuel. kapitl XIV: 201 rosheshone un yonkiper. di eyme. malkes. dos bentshn di kinder. der pakhed in di shuln. bay di khsidim. sukes. simkhes-toyre. yontoyvim bikhlal. vi azoy ba unz flegt tsugeyn a yontev. kapitl XV: 214 mayn foter mit zayn khsides. mayne melamdim. der rebe geshtorbn!. di mesire. tverski. r' Leyb. dos kansenen. kapitl XVI: 230 mayn lernen. amolike mokhre-sforim. mayn ershte khevre. Yisroel Vishnyak. dos ekzaminiren Yisroeln. Yisroels karyere. bay vos er iz geblibn shteyn. kapitl XVII: 237 di vayterdike melamdim. r' Efroim der melamed. zayne 'naye' mayses. amolike malbushim. di aroysgetribene rabonim. undzer libe tsum rebn. kapitl XVIII: 242 mayn "rebe" r' Yitskhok Osher. undzer "lernen". mayn ershte revolutsye. es vakst mayn nomen in shtot. der final. kapitl XIX: 251 der Nishbitser khosid. _Mey Hashelakh_. mayn kashe. der entfer fun di khsidim. di bakantshaft mitn mageds zun. der _Hamagid_. der klots-zeger. undzere farzamlungen. der onhoyb fun mayne gezelshaftlekhe arbetn. kapitl XX: 257 men redt mir shoyn shidukhim. dos farhern mikh. r' Yekheskl dem rovs zun. der yikhes. mayn umbakante kale. der brif. di petsh. mayn feter. dos lebn mit im. dos greytn zikh tsum vikuekh. kapitl XXI: 267 dos manifest fun der poyerim-bafrayung. dos shmaysn di poyerim. der royshem fum manifest oyf di poyerim. di shvere tsayt far yidn. mayn zeyde mit di pritsim. der poylisher oyfshtand. "vzyenta rosya". di poylishe buntovshtshikes. di batsiungen fun di poylishe revolutsionern tsu yidn. Oginski. di unterdrikung fun dem oyfshtand. di nekome fun di poyerim. kapitl XXII: 277 mayn feter als bal-moyfes. Berl Bendet un Sikhovski. der klang vegn moyfes. zayn shem in der svive. dem zeydns plan. di lage fun yidn nokhn oyfshtand. kapitl XXIII: 285 erev mayn khasene. gezen di kale. dos shteln frier dem fus. "glaykh, glaykh!". an eysek mit khsidim un misnagdim bay mayn khasene. di droshe. kapitl XXIV: 289 rosheshone tsum rebn. der kaas fun tatn, vos ikh bin nisht geforn tsum rebn. mayne tsores tsulib khsides. der kamf mit khsides. der vikuekh. di royshem fun vikuekh oyf di hoyzike. kapitl XXV: 297 der vikuekh mit di khsidim. ikh vil forn keyn Volozhin. der foter iz gegn. dos unterhetsn dos vayb kegn mir. mayn vayb vert krank. mir zaynen broygez. undzer sholem. mayn ibergebn zikh tsu lernen. "klaybt, kinderlekh, rendlekh". der "palats". "Khatskls dor". kapitl XXVI: 306 di krom. mayn forn keyn Kobrin. r' Yoshes hoyz. di eydems: der maskl Leyzer un der ile Zalmen-Sender. tsvey hayzer. dos ershte mol baken ikh mikh tifer mitn tanakh. der royshem fun tanakh. di farenderung in mir. dos forn aheym. mayne hoykhe makhshoves. di krom geyt kapoyr. haskole sforim. vider mayn tate. kapitl XXVII: 314 di kholere. amolike zgules tsu kholere. dem rovs toyt. der klang, az er iz lebedik gevorn. ikh zukh a baln oyf der krom. Vakhnovitsh. ikh vil vern rabiner. petsh. kapitl XXVIII: 319 mayn bobes plutslekher toyt. der royshem funem toyt oyf der mishpokhe un oyf dem shtetl. ir levaye. dem zeydns yomer. dos zitsn shive. der bobes groyser nomen. ire sheyne maysim. undzer mishpoke tsefalt zikh nokh ir toyt. kapitl XXIX: 331 khsides un misnagdes. vos far a rayts ligt es in khsides vos hot oyfgerirt di gantse yidishe velt? misnagdes als shite. der _Shulkhn-Orekh_. di khesroynes fun misnagdes. khsides. der Bal-Shem. di tsugenglekhkayt fun khsides far ale shikhtn fun folk. r' Moyshe-Khayim Lutstatu. _Mesiles Yeshorim_. di demokratishe oyffirung fun khsidim. der rebe un di khsidishe simkhes. di khesroynes fun khsides. der sakhakl. Inhalt 345 - 347 ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.013 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. 04.014 20 September 2000 1) Reading Kotik: "der reyekh fun a yid" ['the smell of a Jew'] (ed.) 2)_Mayne zikhroynes_, band 2, kapitl 2 [_My Memoirs, Vol. 2. Chapter 2] by Yekheskl Kotik, translated into English by Lucas Bruyn Chapter Two of Volume Two of Kotik's memoirs in the Yiddish original is archived in both romanized and Yiddish-letter form. Romanized Yiddish text: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/tmr04002.htm Yiddish-letter text: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/kotik1.pdf 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 20 September 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "der reyekh fun a yid" ['the smell of a Jew'] (ed.) Subject: Reading Kotik: "der reyekh fun a yid" How should we understand Kotik's expression "der reyekh fun a yid" ['the smell of a Jew'] in this chapter of his memoirs? Is this a figure of speech, a kind of synaethesia (substition of one sense for another) or a hyperbolic expression -- e.g. I like Jews so much that I even like their most insignificant or, perhaps, their least likeable feature. Or is the expression to be understood literally as an objective olifactory response -- real or projected? Or, a final possibility, is it somehow several of these simultaneously? In this chapter, Yekheskl Kotik also tells us that his father once told him "that according to the Lekhvitsher Rebbe, Jews have a special sense that only can be satisfied on the Sabbath with onions." Kotik's father was thus amenable to the pre-scientific notion of a distinctly Jewish sensory endowment. In the realm of cleanliness, there is almost always a hierarchy based largely on wealth. In earlier years, being clean meant having servants (to draw water, heat water, wash clothes and bed linens, etc.) The poor everywhere have difficulty being clean, and everywhere at some time or other have been associated with dirtiness. Some ethnic groups are tagged as dirty regardless of how careful they may be in regard to cleanliness -- Romanies in particular are stigmatized in this respect. In the writings of Mendele Moykher-Sforim, where nineteenth-century Jewish life in Eastern Europe is by and large faithfully reflected, we learn that if one saw flowers neatly growing outside a house in a shtetl it was certainly the residence of a gentile; piles of trash were a customary sight in front of Jewish homes. In "Vi kum ikh," a quintessential poem of nascent modern Yiddish letters, Avrom Reyzn writes: Vi kum ikh tsu sheynkayt? Fun vanen, mayn kind? Der veg tsu di felder -- durkh goyim un hint... Di gas iz geven azoy orem un vist, Bay itlekher tir nor -- a bergele mist.* In Leonard Wolf's able English translation,** these lines read: What have I to do with beauty, child? I went past gentiles and dogs to the field, Through streets that were desolate and poor, And a foothill of dung stood at every door. Yekheskl Kotik himself touches on the issue of Jews and cleanliness in _mayne zikhroynes_ [Vol. II, Chap. 18, p. 201-2 (in second ed.]: in di zumerteg fleg ikh farfirn vikukhim mit di kristn, vi mayn shteyger, vegn yidn. eyn feler hobn zey demlt oysgezetst oyf yidn: yidn haltn nisht fun reynkayt. kiev iz a tsikhtike shtot, un yidn konen nisht zayn tsikhtik. zey hobn mir, als a bayshpil, ongevizn oyf a yidn fun a halbn milyon rubl. bay dem dozikn yidn in hoyf ligt a bergl mist. di trep zeynen farshmutst un di luft iz a shvere. nokh fun vaytn ken men derkenen, az do voynt a yid. dos rov fleg ikh take nisht hobn vos tsu entfern deroyf. ober az ikh bin gekumen keyn varshe, hob ikh mir etvos getreyst. vorem ikh hob mikh ibertsaygt, az di oreme varshever yidn firn zikh tsikhtiker far di oreme polakn. di letste veysn gornisht fun reynkayt. [On Cleanliness (Vol. II, Chapter 18, pp. 200-1)]. I knew the Russian bakery shops well and I was even on friendly terms with them. During the summer I would get into discussions with Christians, a habit I have, talking about Jews. In their opinion there was one thing wrong with Jews: they didn't care about cleanliness. Kiev is a tidy city and Jews don't know how to be tidy. As an example, they pointed out to me a Jew worth half a million. This Jew has a heap of dung laying in his courtyard, the stairs are filthy and the air is foul. You can tell from a distance that a Jew lives there. Generally speaking it was true, I couldn't gainsay that. But when I came to Warsaw I was relieved to see that the poor-class Jews there were tidier than the poor-class Poles. The latter have no idea about cleanliness.] (translated by Lucas Bruyn) Well-established Jews in countries of immigration often regarded the later streams of fellow Israelites as "dirty" -- such cognomens were never the prerogative of antisemites alone. A large monograph could be written on the subject of hygiene among Eastern European Jews; special organizations (e.g. OSE) arose to ameliorate sanitary as well as medical conditions. The Jews, thanks to the _bod_ ['bathhouse] and the _mikve_ ['ritualarium'] and the frequent ritual of washing the hands (among numerous other religio-ethical practices of hygienic significance) were far more fortunate than most of their non-Jewish neighbors. Kotik's father would literally have developed olifactory associations between the often non-bathing peasants he worked with and the Jewish men he sweated with in the local Jewish bathhouse. If it is true that Warsaw's Jewish poor were cleaner than its Polish poor, a possible explanation would be the pervasive Judaic codes of ritual cleanliness. Yet again I ask, is "der reyekh fun a yid" rhetoric or sociology? **** * In both German and Yiddish, _mist_ is both 'dung' and 'rubbish', and it is difficult to be sure how to translate this word here. Aside from prosodic considerations -- which can be crucial -- my own choice would lean towards _rubbish_ or _garbage_. (ed.) ** Abraham Reisen, "What Have I to Do With?" translated by Leonard Wolf, in _The Penguin Book of Modern Yiddish Verse_, ed. by Irving Howe, Ruth R. Wisse and Khone Shmeruk, New York: Penguin Books, 1987, pp. 88-89 [English opposite Yiddish! -- ed.]. 2)----------------------------------------- Date: 20 September 2000 From: Lucas Bruyn Subject: Mayne zikhroynes, vol. 2. ch. 2 (Yekheskl Kotik) Yekheskl Kotik, _My Memoirs, Vol. 2. Chapter 2 [first half] Chapter the Second My father's gloom. -- His longing. -- The necessity to pray with misnagdim. -- Longing for the Rebbe. -- The losses. -- Hasidic joys of those days. -- Rebbe Avremele. -- His coming to Kamenits. -- His grand arrival. -- Hasidim cook and bake American style. -- The bathhouse. -- The Rebbe's delivery of the 'lekhu---neroneno' prayer. -- The meals. -- The Rebbe sighs. -- 'shirayim' -- Reb Yisroel does not want to sing. -- The power of the Rebbe. -- Reb Yekheskl divorces his wife. -- Hasidic pastimes. -- They give my father a thrashing. -- I cry. -- Having fun. Living in the village without hasidim and without [his brother] Yisroel(1), father had lost the calm and happy expression that used to be his most characteristic feature. It was obvious that inside, in his heart, he hankered after his hasidim, that he felt lonely, lonely as a stone in a sand desert. Especially during the Sabbath [Shabes] he used to suffer and a sorry sight he was. He would of course make merry with his young children on Friday nights -- about thirty candles would be lit all over the house; he would sing and try to raise our spirits, but his heart was not in it. I even used to give him my support with the singing. I remember knowing lots of hasidic songs. (A fact that even contributed to winning over my future in-laws while getting engaged. A point was made of the fact that one of my accomplishments was knowing about two hundred songs.) But after I got married and gave up being a hasid myself I could no longer be there for him. Moreover, I had come to dislike those hasidic tunes, except for those composed by Reb Yisroel(2). His songs never failed to move me. So I sang along with father, but with little enthusiasm; in order to kindle my inspiration, he would sing songs by Reb Yisroel. But his jovial attitude was forced; he pretended, like a good Jew eating the 'bitter herbs' [morer] at a Passover seyder. In this manner we used to "make merry" [mesameyekh geven] until about twelve at night. On the Sabbath, father usually prayed at home, although all the villagers in a range of one to two verst would traditionally form a quorum [minyen] and gather at the house of one villager for the Sabbath prayers. In such a group of ten they would also read the weekly section of the Torah; two villagers, the 'gaboim' or caretakers, would call the others to the Torah. Even in this setting there would be jealousy about being called up. Everyone wanted to take one of the more important turns and the 'gaboim' never succeeded in giving each his due(3). Sometimes this would lead to big feuds, resulting in court cases claiming someone else's liquor license or contract. Father never felt like praying in the company of the misnagdic villagers. Only if they could not get a quorum together would he be obliged to go. But even then he could not bring himself to pray with them in a group. He used to keep a Midrash or _Zohar_ at hand and when the villagers were praying he would be looking in his books. Praying he did at home alone. He would always pray in silence; the folds on his forehead and the distant look in his eyes showed the depth of his absorption [kavone]. Having finished praying he would enter our quarters, pronounce a general "gut-shabes," then enter the living room where mother(4) would be sitting with a prayer book or her _Tsenerene_, to say "gut-shabes" to her in particular. Next the 'kidesh', the Sabbath blessing would follow and after that: the cake, the cookies, the herring and cold meat from yesterday's stew [tsimes]. That was the usual introduction. Then the real meal would begin with a starter of fish, eggs, onions and 'shmalts'. When I was a boy, my father told me once that according to the Lekhvitsher Rebbe, Jews have a special sense that only can be satisfied on the Sabbath with onions. After all this, 'tsholent' would be served, potatoes, porridge, two kinds of 'kugl', meat and so on. Dinner would last two, three hours. We would sing _zmires_ ['Sabbath songs'] and eat, sing again and go on eating. But father's face would be shrouded by a veil of melancholy. It was his sadness at having been banned from the city, from his hasidic prayer house [shtibl], were he had been truly happy and at ease; his sorrow at being banished from the communal meals, from his rebbe and from the whole community of hasidim. Really, he looked like a little bird pushed out of the nest. Having finished the meal father would take his customary nap and after that he would study _Khumesh_ [the Pentateuch], Medresh [Midrash] and _Zoyer_ [Zohar], trying as best as he could to dispel his gloom. But I knew him well and I could detect sadness in every single movement he made. If I only had been a hasid myself I might have given him the pleasure of sharing the hasidic doctrine and the songs with someone. But that was not destined to be; I, his son, was as distant from him as East from West. What made it worse for him was the thought lingering at the back of his mind that I might end up becoming an apostate. He thought anything might happen since I already had the reputation of being a philosopher, and who was to say what might come of my explorations? This thought truly upset him. I felt very sorry for him and my pity interfered to some degree with my own life. I would make plans in order to put his mind at ease. I planned to become a misnaged, a zealous one. But lacking the effort needed, this plan came to nothing. I failed to dispel his idea that since I had strayed from the straight hasidic path as a result of discussions, there was no way of knowing where these inquiries and debates might eventually lead me. I might very well end up denying the Blessed Lord altogether(5)! He obviously overestimated my debating skills. Living in Paseki, father once felt an acute longing for his rebbe around Rosheshone. For a lessee of an estate it was actually impossible to tear himself away from the farm at that time of the year. Around Jewish New Year all the work in the fields comes to a head. The potatoes have to be taken out and stored in ditches for the winter, the wheat has to be threshed, the fields have to be plowed and harrowed. The seeds which will be sown for next year's crop have to be selected; the grass has to be cut a second time, and much more. But father was longing for his rebbe. Nothing on earth could deter him from going. The whole year round he had toiled, spent his time on practical affairs, been involved with non-Jews ad nauseum. All year around he had dealt with farmers, goyim ['gentiles']. Not having had close contact with a hasidic community for a whole year had really been too much for him; he was frightened, like a child abandoned by its mother. Without thinking about the consequences, ignoring the fact that the work at hand was urgent and that they were pressed for time, ignoring the fact that they were going through hard times and that even a hundred rubles more or less could make a difference(6), he took off for Slonim leaving all the work to a farmer. He stayed for eight whole days in Slonim and when he returned home for Yonkiper [Day of Atonement] he found the place in complete disorder. The oats had been harvested too late (it had been a late summer), so the grains had already scattered over the field; the potatoes had not been covered up in the ditches, so more than half had rotted away; the threshers had not been paid by the day for threshing the rye, but by the measure(7), therefore bungling the job, leaving behind at least four grains in every ear -- and similar disasters. As a result, father's losses, not counting the expenditures for the trip, amounted to five, six hundred roubles. Knowing that my father had been hard pressed even before, I could not fathom why he willingly incurred such a loss for the sake of his Slonim. "Is it true, father," I asked him once, "did you have losses of five hundred roubles?" "I lost about seven hundred roubles," my father answered. Seven hundred roubles! "But father," I insisted, "to what end? If you had to go, you might have chosen a better time." Father looked at me in a strange way, sad, nostalgically, "You never were a hasid yourself and don't know what it means to visit your rebbe. There is no greater joy. Your rebbe gives you the strength to live." Father fell silent and his face took on an expression as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. I did not say anything more. How had my father ended up in a village, amidst gentiles! He, a Jew who so loved the hustle and bustle of Jewish religious life, Jewish gaiety, Jewish fuss, yes, even the smell of a Jew. At times father would retreat into his memories, finding his only solace in isolation. And he certainly had things to remember. My father had played quite a prominent role among hasidim. He sometimes would indulge himself by inviting a rebbe with his whole retinue to stay for several days at his house, which would cost him more than a few pennies. I clearly recollect the pomp with which the Kamenitser hasidim once received their prominent guest, the Slonim Rebbe. The Slonim Rebbe, Reb Avrom, arrived in Kamenits one Thursday morning, in a coach drawn by three horses. Traveling with him were his three attendants, one a senior and two assistants. Four transport wagons from Brisk with over twenty hasidim each followed in its trail. The hasidim of Kamenits, the size of about three 'minyonim', had gone out to the road to Brisk to welcome the rebbe. When the driver of the rebbe's carriage noticed them approaching from afar, he slowed down. As soon as they had detected the rebbe's carriage in the distance, the hasidim of Kamenits took up singing a song they knew the Slonim Rebbe particularly liked. On that occasion I was with the hasidim. Father had thought it to be an uplifting experience for me. I remember vividly that sweet tune and in my mind's eye I can clearly see that crowd of hasidim walking out of the city towards the rebbe. How festive it all was! When the hasidim finally reached the rebbe they encircled his carriage and happily sang a 'Sholem Aleykhem' song specially composed for the occasion by Reb Yisroel at my father's request. The first ones to welcome the rebbe personally were my father and Reb Arele both of whom the rebbe took into his carriage. When the welcoming ceremony had come to an end (and it took quite a while) the driver brought his horses to attention with a lash and the hasidim somehow found themselves a place on one of the wagons, favoring especially a seat on the running-boards of the rebbe's vehicle. The hasidim were packed like sardines in a tin on the wagons and at the commando "Go!" the coachmen shouted "giddy-up" and cracked their whips. Father had taken me with him into the Rebbe's carriage. "That's my boy...!", my father introduced me hesitantly. "Your boy, uh," said the rebbe while throwing a sidelong glance at me. "He will make an ardent hasid." Father was very pleased. The horses were kept at a steady pace and the hasidim sang at the top of their voices. An outsider, a Christian for instance, might well have had the impression that he was looking at the happiest crowd in the world passing by, though not the most well-to-do, for they were dressed quite shabbily. When we entered the little town, an enthusiastic murmur arose from the wagons. They were as excited as warriors taking a stronghold. Eventually we arrived at our place. Father had prepared the best room of the house for the rebbe; he had even sent some people to Dovid-Yitskhok to borrow his grand armchair on behalf of the rebbe. Hasidim helped the rebbe alight from his carriage and accompanied him to his special room, where they left him in the care of his senior attendant. The two other attendants took up their places at both sides of the door, like soldiers on guard. The hasidim dispersed into the other rooms. Shortly after the senior footman emerged from the Rebbe's room and announced that 'he', long may he live, had gone to rest on the sofa and that silence was required... All the hasidim fell silent as a man; it became so silent that you could hear a fly crawl on the wall. They were afraid to whisper even one word. Meanwhile the hasidim of Kamenits had set to work. They had to prepare a Sabbath for a hundred people. Everyone of them shared in the work, but the foreign hasidim, the guests, made themselves comfortable on the benches. The big barn had been decorated in a festive way, the floor strewn with sand, and along the walls hay was piled up high for the hasidim to sleep on. The horses and wagons, as well as the rebbe's carriage, had been put away in Zelig Andarkes barn. A week earlier my father had been in conference with the hasidim to make a reckoning of what would be needed to prepare a Sabbath for so many guests. The conference had taken a long time. They would have to get fish and meat, wine and liquor, butter, eggs, goose fat, cinnamon, figs, almonds, 'khales', rolls, breads and what not. They were facing quite a task. At the same time Reb Yisroel, standing in front of his aspirant-singers, had started practicing one song after the other, all composed by him. I was one of his pupils. Reb Yisroel stood there sweating away, waving his hands, stamping his feet, giving commands, threatening with his finger and tormenting our little brains by urging us to learn his new tunes. The poor man went through a lot with us. Few of us were gifted with a good ear for music and Reb Yisroel had to work himself up like a steaming kettle. His main task was to teach us how to sing, because he did not want to sing himself or even with us in front of the rebbe. It was not his own rebbe, but a stranger, you see... As a good hasid Reb Yisroel saw it as his duty to compose songs for the visiting rebbe, but to sing for him himself was beyond his powers. During the actual festivities he felt ill at ease, insecure, wanting to leave, but wanting to stay as well, like a pauper with too much pride. My father, who was in charge of the group preparing the food, had organized the work American style: one group was set to preparing fish, another roasted meat, a third was busy with beverages, but several just hung around, loafing as though they were at a millionaire's wedding. A lively party it was! They had butchered a cow, several calves, geese and chickens for the meals. On Friday the hasidim asked the teachers to give the hasidic children a day off from school, because of the rebbe's visit. I myself, like a colonel's son, had already been favored with a holiday on Thursday. When the pupils arrived from their kheyder [school], they were immediately honored with a job. There was plenty to do. Hasidim like to mix in fun with whatever else they do. While preparing the fish, one hasid would take up a pike and beat another hasid over the head with it, causing much hilarity. Actually there was more jesting going on than work done. Here they poured a dipper of cold water onto the collar of someone's coat.8 There they gave someone a large dish with fish to hold and while he stood with the platter in both hands, one would pull his beard, another his 'peye' [earlock], his ear, his nose. The poor sod would stand holding the platter and not be able to think of anything better than laughing along with the rest. What else could he do? Father had put me to work as well. Once he whispered in my ear, "One should respect a rebbe as if he were a king..." On Thursday, father sent someone to the bathhouse to fetch the caretaker. He instructed him to have the bath ready a few hours earlier than usual on the next day and to send a messenger to say that the Rebbe could take his bath as soon as he was ready. He also would have to get the 'mikve' [ritualarium] in readiness. He would have to keep two kettles with hot water on hand; hasidim would arrive early next morning to pour them out into the women's bath because of the rebbe. The bathhouse attendant would receive ample compensation for his trouble. The next morning four hasidim went to the bathhouse to pour the hot water into the 'mikve'. Around eleven o'clock word came that the bath was ready. The carriage drove up and the rebbe, accompanied by his attendants, my father, Reb Arele and some other more honored hasidim, enough to form the required minyen, sat down in it and left for the bath house. Father had sneaked me in as well, because he thought that proximity to hasidim, especially to the rebbe, would benefit me. The rebbe followed by the ten hasidim entered the bath house where the latter took off their clothes in religious awe before taking a seat in the steambath in a circle around the rebbe, holding their little basins with water [shefelekh]. I remember that no one indulged in washing himself. They just stared at the rebbe, at his naked body, at the same time awed and curious, just like little children gaze at some oversized strange toy. The rebbe began to wash himself, without hurrying, every now and then groaning while rolling his eyes. In the dense and dark atmosphere of the bath his body seemed to grow gradually whiter and to me, a little boy, his naked body seemed to be changing in size, fluctuating in length and width. Meanwhile another group of about ten hasidim had made their way in. These were really forward ones who would have stopped at nothing to get a look at the rebbe. They sat down next to the door, also with basins of water in their hands, and started staring at the rebbe too. They were satisfied to see a bit of the rebbe's naked frame, even if it was only from a distance. When the rebbe finally had fished his ablutions he went over to the 'mikve', accompanied by my father and Reb Arele. I followed them stealthily. The Rebbe stood up to his neck in the water, his beard filled with sparkling drops of water. It was quite a sight, the rebbe, a man with a heavy beard standing in mikve full of water. The rebbe stepped out of the women's bath, groaning, and started dressing. The hasidim put on their clothes too. The whole procedure had taken a long time and the hasidim did of course not derive any physical pleasure from their bath. Normally they would scrub themselves and sweat, but this time they were merely filled with holy fear of the Rebbe. The rebbe looked quite pleased with himself for having sanctified and blessed the place according to the rites and his hasidim were very enthusiastic about his performance. The crowd quickly put on their shirts and trousers without taking their eyes of the rebbe for a moment, but his dressing up took forever. Whatever he did he did slowly and quietly. At one o'clock, thank God, we finally emerged from the bath house. Soon af ter arriving home he was offered some sweet liquor and rusks with fish. On Friday the whole congregation of hasidim from Brisk came down and the house became packed to the rafters with people. To inaugurate the Shabes [kaboles-shabes] the Rebbe was to pray in front of the lectern. Before he approached the 'omed' the hasidim fell silent and waited in deep devotion. Soon he pronounced the 'lekhu-neroneno'9 in such a loud voice that all hasidim were awestruck, but all people present to pray, from wherever they stood, responded to the Rebbe's call singing with one voice. Even the walls seemed to participate in the praying. I was only a little boy of ten years old and understood little, but nevertheless the holy fear of the hasidim took a hold of me. When he reached the place in the Zoyer were it says: "ke-gavnah de-inun10" his shouting was like the roar of a hoard of soldiers on the point of storming the town and a shiver went through the crowd. That shout still rings in my ears like it was only yesterday. With one terrific voice the crowd echoed his words. "Happy Shabes!", "Good Shabes!" you heard all over the place after the praying had come to an end. Soon after, the hasidim entered the dining hall and the rebbe greeted them; he said "Sholem Aleykhem" and they murmured their acknowledgment. Then the brightly illuminated house was suddenly flooded with sweet singing, melodious, not loud, but coming straight from the heart. You had the feeling that the Sabbath peace had cast its spell on all, that the soul had shaken off the yoke it carried on an ordinary day of the week. The Rebbe continued saying "kidesh", all ears paying attention, all eyes fixed on him. Every hasid wanted a sip from the Rebbe's goblet, but not everyone had a chance to taste the wine; those with bad luck, alas, were deeply saddened at having missed out. He now addressed my father as "Sir" [balebos] and no longer simply as "Moyshe", as usual, about which my father was visibly very pleased. Most people did not sit, but stood on the benches. Over three hundred hasidim were present, far more than there were seats. But the main reason to stand on the benches was that the hasidim could see the Rebbe better that way. For the dinner arrangements were as follows: Those hasidim who were seated were given one plate for two and those that were standing received one plate between three men. Naturally the rebbe himself was served enormous portions of every dish, in order to enable him to have 'shirayim' or leftovers to hand out to the hasidim. I noticed that the rebbe loved groaning and rolling his eyes whatever the occasion. After eating some fish, he groaned; having tasted meat, he groaned and rolled his eyes. You got the impression that he had trouble swallowing his food. One time he let out such a loud "Oy, Rebone shel oylem!" that I thought the ceiling would crack. But I also perceived that his moaning and eye-rolling did increase the appetite of the hasidim. Having finished a dish he would push the plate away, thus indicating that what was left was meant as 'shirayim'11 for the hasidim. Immediately everyone around would start grabbing at the leftovers. The ones standing away too far would start begging the lu cky ones for a morsel, one bite. But the former would be so overexited, so preoccupied and self centered that the beggars received little or nothing from them. In between courses there was singing. It was actually a kind of singing contest. Someone would take up a song and if his song pleased the others, they would fall in and keep singing it until everyone got bored with the song. The dinner took about five hours altogether. After the meal they went to sleep in the barn. The rebbe himself was escorted with great pomp to his own quarters. The next morning they started prayers at ten o'clock and finished praying around noon. Lunch followed and the rebbe continued his groaning and rolling of the eyes. It was the same thing as the evening before, only more lively. They served five types of 'kugl': a noodle kugl, a dry one, a tutti-frutti one, a rice kugl and another I-forgot-what kugl. After these they handed the rebbe a big slice of turkey, which made him groan a lot. There was also a lot of wine and spirits. At four, having eaten, they took to the floor for a dance, until it became time for the afternoon prayer, which was followed by more singing. But the best singer of them all, Reb Yisroel, did not sing. He himself was a hasid from Kotsk. The Rebbe had sent someone over to him, inviting him at his table. Reb Yisroel had come, but during the whole Shabes he had not opened his mouth once. He did not feel it was his happy day, it was not his own rebbe, he felt sad. During the final meal that day the Rebbe addressed him: "Yisroel, sing something!" Reb Yisroel made a sign of reverence, touching his heart with his hands, looked around and started... Never before had he sung like this. It must have been his longing for his own rebbe that inspired him. The hasidim listened with their mouths open. After the Shabbes the crowd started thinning out. Many went home. It was on Tuesday that the rebbe had his last lunch in Kamenits. Only a few people remained to share the table and the hasidim of Kamenits were well contented that they were finally able to sit near the rebbe. Finally they could see the holy glow [shkhine] illuminating the rebbe's handsome face and listen to his doctrinal words of wisdom [toyres], which reportedly made angels of all ranks tremble. The rebbe was very jolly, talking during the meal with each hasid in turn. Now all the foreign hasidim had left, the Kamenitser hasidim felt as if they were in seventh heaven. As I said before, it was the very last meal in Kamenits and after lunch the rebbe departed on a visit to a villager, leaving our house and the town in a state of quietness, like a stormy sea turned smooth again, the waves suddenly having rolled away. In that village he went to visit, the rebbe would meet with an unpleasant punishment.* *See the first volume of my book(12). [This chapter will be concluded in the next issue of _The Mendele Review_.] Endnotes 1. See Vol. 1, Chapter 7, p. 140, 141. This brother of Kotik's father was of the same age as Kotik. 2. r' Yisroel: See Vol. 1, Chapter 5. 3. See Vol. 1, Chapter 29 for a description of the 'alies'. 4. For a description of the mother, see Vol. 1, Chapter 11. Here she is said to read the _khoyves-halvoves_ and the _menoyres-hamoed_. 5. _boyre yisborekh_ 'God will be blessed'. 6. _oylem umloye_ 'huge amount'. 7. Text: "nisht fun tog, nor fun shok." An alternative reading is: 'not (with a flail) on the thrashing floor [tok], but by shaking out the sheaves [shok]'. 8. The Yiddish is "untergegosn... unter dem kolner," but it does not seem to be possible to pour a dipper of water _into_ a collar in English and it would be ambiguous to pour the water _behind_ the collar. 9. _lekhu-neroneno_ 'let us sing'. 10. _ke-gavnah de-inun_ [from the 'askinu sudoso'] [Aram. 'such as those'; i.e. 'the angels']. Text taken from the _Zohar_ and recited during the evening prayer of Friday night in the Sefardic liturgy followed by the hasidim. 11. _shirayim_ 'leftovers'. 12. See Vol. 1, Chapter 15. The election of 'r' avrom slonimer', after the death of 'r' moyshele karbiner' is described on p. 218. In Kotik's words: "... un men hot oysgeklibn r' avrom slonimer, a gevezener melamed un a groyse lomdn, khotsh a shtikl shoyte, zol er mikh moykhl zayn." On pages 219-220 the visit described above is mentioned. The passage about the 'unpleasant punishment' starts on p. 221 and goes on till the end of the chapter, p. 229. _________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.014 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. 04.015 27 October 2000 1) a. On Sholem-Aleykhem's "Hodl" (ed.) b. Y.-Kh. Ravitski remembers Sholem-Aleykhem (ed.) 2) "The First Years of My Friendship with Sholem Aleichem" (Ravnitski) 3) "der reyekh fun a yidn" and other olifactory matters touched on in the last issue of TMR with comments by David Assaf (ed.) 1---------------------------------------------------- Date: 27 October 2000 From: ed. Subject: On Sholem-Aleykhem's "Hodl" a. "Hodl," integral to _Tevye der Milkhiker_ as a whole, is also a rich story in itself, or rather several stories, each one of archetypal force. There is the story of a romantic love, defined against the crumbling institution of arranged marriage; there is the story of the social idealism of youth, its romantic radicalism. Two young people follow their hearts in the face of conventional familial and societal demands and expectations, clearing untread paths, unmindful of pragmatic needs. Hodl and Feferl represent, too, all idealistic youth who would remake the world in a more attractive image (though whose chosen means may subvert their effort). Simultaneously, "Hodl" is the story of filial and parental grief and pain at parting. And yet, somehow, this is a comic -- that is, life-affirming, as well as a tragic story. Some readers may wish to read the Yiddish text alongside an English translation -- the basic aim of Project Onkelos is to make this possible. Project Onkelos, as has been announced earlier (see _TMR_ 4.002) proposes to provide the original Yiddish texts of all the stories in the well known anthology _A Treasury of Yiddish Stories_, edited by Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg. The translation of "Hodl" in the Howe and Greenberg collection is by Julius and Frances Butwin and first appeared in their _The Old Country_ (1946). A more recent translation by Hillel Hankin can be found in his _Sholem Aleichem; Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories_ (1987). All English translations of Sholem Aleichem are listed in Louis Fridhandler's compendious online "Guide to Sholem Aleichem Translations" at http://research.haifa.ac.il/~yiddish/reference/indexes.pdf. "Hodl" in Yiddish: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/onkelos/hodl.pdf. b. The Ravitski memoir in this issue of the _TMR_ gives us a glimpse into the soul of the author of "Hodl," a far more complex figure than we may have thought. The master of "laughter through tears" experienced many of life's common difficulties -- poor health, penury -- and a special order of problems stemming from an uncommon love for Yiddish. We are grateful to Louis Fridhandler for making this not very well known memoir available in a faithful English rendering. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 27 October 2000 From: Louis Fridhandler Subject: "The First Years of My Friendship with Sholem Aleichem" "The First Years of My Friendship with Sholem Aleichem" by Y.-Kh. Ravnitski(1) [written late summer or early fall, 1917] translated by Louis Fridhandler [Translator's introduction: Sholem Aleichem [Yiddish: Sholem-Aleykhem] died in New York on May 13, 1916. Shmuel Niger and Y. Tsinberg shortly thereafter organized a memorial publication which included this memoir. Anecdotes and letters bring vivid images of the young Sholem Aleichem. The role of the strange and destructive Yisroel Levi in Yiddish publication history is described by Ravnitski. At the end, Ravnitski quotes a letter that is probably the most pain-filled letter Sholem Aleichem ever wrote. Ravnitski did not quote the whole letter. I therefore resorted to a fuller version published by his son-in-law.] 1. When my close relationship with Sholem Aleichem began (almost thirty years ago), we had already been corresponding regularly for a couple of years. As everyone knows, Sholem Aleichem loved to write letters. I dare say no one has ever written so many letters with such tireless enthusiasm. He never put off a reply, never waited patiently for an answer, but prompted and prodded his correspondent, writing again and again. "And I, Sholem Aleichem," the young man wrote me, "am not like other people. I answer on the spot." In another letter: "You presume to complain about me? Come, come! I think you owe me about fourteen letters! Am I mistaken?" Another letter: "I send off three, four, five, six letters a day. That's how I've been, from way, way back." When he was ill, late in life, he wrote from [a sanitarium in] Nervi [Italy]: "You scold me? How charming of you! You claim I don't answer your letters? What a laugh! There's not a blockhead on earth who would believe that Ravnitski and Byalik write, but Sholem Aleichem (that idle good-for-nothing) is too shiftless to reply. His unique, beguiling comic style became famous through his publications, but every letter proved that the spirited humor was no artifice. A gift of nature, it gushed as though from a heaven-blest font, spontaneously, not forced by the sweat of his brow. No wonder, then, a letter from him would make the recipient laugh out loud, first while reading it to himself, then when reading it to close friends who laughed along. Collaborating with a good friend in 1886, I was preparing a collection of essays to be published as _Der Veker_ [The Awakener]. Our aim was to spark a love for Zion in Jewish hearts. As the title page announced, M. Lilyenblum was the nominal editor. However, Lilyenblum merely lent his name to a project dear to his heart. Until publication, he read not a line of any manuscript other than his own. I had to correspond about _Der Veker_ with all our well-known writers of that time, including Sholem Aleichem. He had been writing Yiddish for only three years after an earlier start in Hebrew. Still, he was already a celebrity, being one of those most fortunate of writers who become well known soon after they appear. _Di Ibergekhapte Briv_ [The Intercepted Letters] had already been published along with many other stories that delighted his readers. We wanted to gather many contributions, and Sholem Aleichem's was among those at the top of our list. In early 1886, I asked for "some kind of piece" for _Der Veker_. He immediately replied: On you I would lavish dramas, satiric vignettes, humorous novellas, piercing needles, biting gnats, etc., etc. However, you propose a journal according to your taste, and bid me write.... Working "to order" is no good.... I can't persuade others to believe that in which I have rather scant faith.... No less than you, I want your idea to be well received. But what can I do if I know my people, the children of Israel, very well, and I can't believe they will take it to heart. He ended his long letter with: I have no talent for serious novels, but see here: I can mock, laugh at, poke fun at people, crawl under their skins, and still give pleasure to the reader. I can make him like me even as I heap scorn. For all of that, you see, I have the knack. I'm a scamp, a past master at that. All you'd ever want. Is it my fault that in everything, in everyone, I immediately see the worst side? A few weeks later, he answered another letter of mine with a sizable one on the same topic. In his very own style, he wrote: My friend, you tell me that I can write any way I like, wherever my talent leads, but then you set conditions, steering my course for me. For example: that I should depict the truly foolish assimilationist and his ilk. You say the nose should be long, the eyes bulging, the face swollen. He should have a portly belly, short bow legs, etc. You dub him "assimilationist" and to that Sholem Aleichem retorts: I am neither assimilationist nor do I aspire to move to Palestine. I am a Jew who loves Jews because I am a person who loves people. People like us tend to latch on to an idea, no matter how sacred, then massage it until it looks crumpled, foolish and ludicrous. And then we can ridicule both the assimilationist and the one who longs for Palestine. Sholem Aleichem then reminded me that three years earlier, he himself was devoted to that noble aim, heart and soul. "Before the fog settled over us," he had been moved to write a complete novel in Russian, _Vpered_ (Onward), an idyll in a Palestine colony. Then he added: The novel lies well hidden among my manuscripts. I recently read the last chapter, and my eyes filled with tears. (In a P.S. he remarked that it seemed my letters, feeble things, crept rather slowly on their way from Odessa). Rather striking was the fact that in the very first letters I felt a warm, comfortable tone, as though he was writing to a close, intimate friend. There's no sign of the nose-in-the-air affectation so common among writers lucky enough to be recognized as soon as they begin to toot their horn. Some time later, I took the liberty of telling the newly famous Sholem Aleichem that his latest pieces seemed hastily written, too much like caricatures. He was not offended. On the contrary, he answered in a sober, open-minded tone: (In Yiddish) You do show me the weakness in my writing. (Continuing in Russian): O, God! Is there perfection anywhere? I agree with you. I often drift into caricature and chatter. Do you know why? Because of laziness, dear friend. He went on to blame the laziness on the colleagues with whom he happened to work closely, citing a list of sickening "sweet things" served to the readers by the _Yidishe Folks-blat_. At times the whole to-do made him so disgusted that weeks went by before he could again take pen in hand. 2. A consuming, natural love for our folk tongue and folk literature comes through in many of his letters to me during the early years of our friendship. His exclamation (in Russian), "Zhargon [the common name for Yiddish at the time]! That is my passionate obsession!" comes across as no idle declaration. In this connection, a letter written near the end of 1887 is of special interest. First he stresses how hard he is working for the _Folks-blat_ to which he devotes particular attention.(2) He writes further: On top of that come demands from other journals: _Hoyzfraynd_ (House Friend), _Familienfraynd_ (Family Friend), _My Dear Friend_, plus _The-Devil-Knows-What-Kind-Of Friend_ to whom I have promised contributions. I must keep my word. No one has bought me, nobody has the right to tell me what to do. However, my love for Zhargon is more powerful than any lord or master. When it comes to that, I am ready to cooperate with everyone. Whenever I hear two men or two women speaking Zhargon, I'm right there in the middle! Rabinovitsh [Sholem Aleichem's real name] is more Sholem Aleichem than Rabinovitsh. For four hours a day, Rabinovitsh is a big shot on the stock exchange, a wheeling and dealing crafty trader, a bit of an ace, thank God. From five o'clock to three or four in the morning I am Sholem Aleichem. I am now writing two novels, a short story, a feuilleton, a comedy, three editorials, a critical study, and something else. But, then, don't we need readers? It seems it was only for the sake of appearances, but he finally sent me a relatively short and unimpressive piece. After a long and difficult incubation, our collection appeared. To make it more kosher, His Highness the censor himself changed the title to _Der Yidisher Veker_. In a long letter, Sholem Aleichem expressed his lack of enthusiasm for the collection. He dealt critically with each and every piece, and did not spare his own. About his own feeble contribution, he wrote: That there idler, pampered by luck in all his endeavors, for whom good fortune enters through every portal, deserves to be forced to lie down and take lashes, one after the other. When he dealt with the story entitled "Aheym" [Going Home], the only fiction in the collection, he wrote: Your devoted servant also once fashioned such a story entitled "Natasha".(3) I would now give a thousand rubles to have it forgotten and erased from our young Zhargon literature. Needless to say, _Der Yidisher Veker_ failed to satisfy Sholem Aleichem. As discussion, it was too biased. As literature, it was too lightweight. Apparently, neither did Spector's _Hoyzfraynd_ (then beginning to appear) provide Sholem Aleichem with the outlet he was seeking. And so he began to prepare (1888) a purely literary collection entitled _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_. It was a labor of love for which he fervently toiled with boundless energy. He searched out every writer who enjoyed any kind of reputation in either Yiddish or Hebrew literature. An unending stream of letters flowed, and he did not rest until he finally obtained a piece for his _Biblyotek_. The honoraria offered were substantial. Jewish writers of that time could not even dream of such high pay. He never stinted. I was among those contacted, and he proposed that I take on the bibliographic section of the _Biblyotek_. "It's all right," he wrote me, "You are not above working right alongside all my colleagues of whom you have probably already heard." I eagerly accepted Sholem Aleichem's proposition, and we henceforth became even closer friends. As ever, he continued to write many letters, often announcing gleefully his receipt of a fine, new piece of "goods" for his _Biblyotek_, a project dearer to him than anything else, devoting his heart and soul to it. For example, he wrote excitedly: O, my! Rabbi Kotzin!(4) A poet greater than Frug(5) has appeared. His name is David Frischmann [Dovid Frishman]. Soon you will see a poem by this rascal which will drive you to distraction. A new Heine, a Jewish Heine! In a note, I suggested that the editor of the _Biblyotek_ seemed a little overexcited, tending toward overstatement. He immediately answered: I swear, you are absolutely right! It's true. I am a little (or perhaps much?) too impassioned, just like Ben-Ami.(6) A fault it is, but not too great a fault. But neither is it any good to be a cold thing, cold as ice! I don't like cold graves. After death, we shall be cold soon enough. As long as a person is alive, he should live! Still, Frishman's poem is written in the style of Heine, and I swear Frug possesses not half the poetic talent of Frishman. Sholem Aleichem devoted a great deal of time to corresponding with many types of writers, and editing others' works. In addition he contributed his own pieces. His writing changed, becoming more serious, more respectful of his own talent. The following is from a letter he wrote me toward the end of summer 1888: My wife is not well, my three(7) children are sick, and I myself now have a little brat on my hands who must make a good impression on my readers, and stir up my critics, who, sorry to say, can't tolerate my talent. Now I talk like Shomer.(8) Don't you agree? I know I have talent. That is my misfortune. Long ago I told our best Zhargonist,(9) whom I appreciate more every day that we upstart whelps need whipping. And what a whipping! Perhaps that will make something of us. Until now, I have never rewritten anything, as you know, and almost never reread that which I wrote. Wrote, sent off, printed, and that was that. With my latest work, not so. I polish, I hone, etc. A few days later, in another letter he suggested that criticism is my metier, and complained bitterly: Nobody ever told me what my assignment ought to be, so I went off and wrote a review of Shomer's rubbish. Then off I went and wanted to build a tower higher than the sky entitled _Blank_. I mean all three novels: _Reb Sender_, _Marcus Blank the Second_, and _The Last of the Blank Family_ which I'm still writing. Composing long novels is really not my trade. By "the little brat" Sholem Aleichem meant _Stempenyu_, a new "Jewish" novel. To it he devoted a great deal of love and the essence of his artistic aspirations. Ultimately the novel was included as a supplement to his _Biblyotek_. To save time, he sent it to me so that I might print it in Odessa as a separate project. When I picked up the manuscript at the post office, the postmaster wondered why such a little packet was valued at one thousand rubles, like an expensive jewel. How could I explain that it was far more precious to the author than the finest gold? Sholem Aleichem had sent me detailed instructions on how to print his novel. To my surprise, he granted me full authority to amend, delete and add words on condition that I first read the whole manuscript, and advise him of my appraisal right away. "If time permits," he added, I will revise it. However, if the whole work is not any good, then too bad, it's too late." In another letter: "Fighting about a word here and there is unwarranted. On the contrary, toss out any unnecessary word." After extensive discussion of the types and characters in the novel, he wrote in yet another letter, "Erase, add, mince, hack, as long as you let me see what's going on." 3. I first met Sholem Aleichem face to face while printing Stempenyu. A young fellow entered my printing shop and asked where he might find Ravnitski. The typesetter pointed to me. "I've just arrived from Kiev," said the man, "And I bring you warm regards from a close acquaintance." "Must be from Sholem Aleichem." "Right you are." I began to inquire about Sholem Aleichem. The gentleman answered some but not all questions explaining that he knew him only from casual encounters almost every day at the stock exchange. All the while he revealed no trace of a smile. The answer to one question exposed the prank, and I realized that this was Sholem Aleichem himself. I must admit that at first I was somewhat disappointed. I did not like the joke, and this was not at all how I had imagined Sholem Aleichem. So debonair? Was this Sholem Aleichem, the famous writer, this nattily dressed, flashy young chap with the round little hat off to one side, appearing to be half stock trader, half artist? Then he immediately took me to his wonderful hotel where we spent quite some time. Sholem Aleichem kept asking me about _Stempenyu_, and told me about all the fine pieces he was acquiring for the _Biblyotek_ with great effort, pieces to make us very proud of our still meager folk literature. He longed for two things: to see the Black Sea, and (even more) to meet the beloved Zeyde [grandpa] who drew Sholem Aleichem's heart and soul to Odessa. Nowadays, everyone knows whom we mean by "the Zeyde." At that time, however, that was a brand new name bestowed by Sholem Aleichem. It was he who had crowned our beloved Mendele Moykher-Sforim with that affable nickname which has persisted to this day. Sholem Aleichem spoke of the Zeyde Reb Mendele the way a zealous hasid talks of his rabbi. During our first long chat, he kept asking about him, wanting to know everything I might be able to tell him. I knew very little because I was not then well acquainted with the Zeyde. It struck Sholem Aleichem as very strange, considering that I lived in the same city. That evening Sholem Aleichem spent a good deal of time with Reb Mendele at his home near the local Talmud Torah. The Zeyde with his youthful temperament, keen and witty talk, rapid-fire ideas made a tremendous impression on his Kiev "grandson." Sholem Aleichem later frequently reminded me of how much he envied me because I had the honor to live in Odessa where I could often see and listen to the Zeyde! When he returned to Kiev, Sholem Aleichem placed a picture of the Zeyde on his writing desk. While writing, he would look at it often, asking himself, "Would the Zeyde like this or not?" The first volume of _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_ soon appeared, and caused a huge stir among readers all over. For the fine gift he had conferred on Yiddish literature, Sholem Aleichem received many letters of thanks and praise from other writers as well as ordinary readers. A number of people, however, resented Sholem Aleichem;s great achievement for Yiddish literature. Yisroel Levi, publisher (at that time) of _Di Yidishe Folks-blat_, led this group. He persistently agitated against Yiddish and its literature in his paper. Levi was a strange character with idiosyncratic notions, peculiar attitudes and erratic whims. It was only by mere chance that such a person had gained control of the only Yiddish weekly. Alexander Zederbaum [Aleksander Tsederboym] was forced to hand _Di Yidishe Folks-blat_ over to Levi in settlement of a debt. Levi took charge at the beginning of 1888. The paper's editor was officially Y-.L. Kantor, but it was Levi who ran it, and ran it ragged. He nurtured a deep hatred toward Yiddish (or Zhargon), as did many earnest maskilim in those days (1880s). As fate would have it, an enemy of Yiddish became the publisher of a Yiddish paper who then stumbled upon a shrewd idea: to remove as much Yiddish as possible from Zhargon, and substitute Hebrew words and expressions. For example, instead of simply writing _died_ [geshtorbn], he insisted on a Hebrew-Yiddish construction, meaning (roughly) "departed from life" [shavak khayim lekhol khay geven]. Everyone had to change _Yidish_ to _Yehudish_, and other such foolishness. On top of that, Levi's _Folks-blat_ loved to heap scorn, ridicule and shame on the hapless field of Zhargon. Sholem Aleichem, who so loved our folk tongue, took this deeply to heart and was severely aggravated. "For heaven's sake!" he wrote in a letter to me, "Zhargon! O, Zhargon! They are out to destroy Zhargon!" At the beginning of 1889 he sent me an interesting letter in answer, apparently, to my letter scolding him for again having his work published in Levi's _Folks-blat_: You've dealt me a blow, and you are entirely right, yes indeed, seven times in the right! The third feuilleton, "Funem Veg," was sent off when I was still in Yalta [Sept. 1888]. I wish I could forget that crazy Litvak [Levi] as completely as I had forgotten that my feuilleton was in his hands. But you don't know under what circumstances I wrote that feuilleton. My niece was then almost at death's door in Yalta. It was late at night but I was not sleepy. I am cursed with a kind of pestilence called "feuilletonomania," and from my mouth there comes an endless stream of material for feuilletons. May you be spared such a fate! The way my material flows reminds me of a magician pulling out endless lengths of colored ribbons. Wake me up in the middle of the night and tell me, "My dear Sholem Aleichem, write a feuilleton," and one will be created. That you are concerned for my honor is of no consequence, but the only paper available to Zhargon is being ruined, and that breaks my heart. God help us! Can the _Biblyotek_ all by itself rescue Zhargon from the rascals? 4. Sholem Aleichem continued to pursue his own interests. He labored mightily to compile the second volume of _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_. At the end of summer, 1889, he wrote: "O, my good friend, what a collection here! When you see this Biblyotek, you'll be crazy about it." For this volume, Sholem Aleichem undertook to write a second lengthy "Jewish" novel. At the same time he wrote feuilletons (pulling out ribbons, as he himself put it), in a great hurry as usual, on one foot so to speak. He was quite as devoted to this novel as he was to _Stempenyu_. Perhaps, even more so. He completely revised it several times. Then he wrote me: "The censor has just released my novel, but I have chewed it up and swallowed it. I now write it anew." Sholem Aleichem faithfully heeded the Zeyde's advice that a writer must toil and sweat over a work, and hone each word. When I wrote to warn him that too much revision may be harmful, he answered: In general, the second volume of the _Biblyotek_ will put the first to shame in all respects. That goes even for my _Stempenyu_. Don't worry that my revisions (six times) might spoil the work, because I'm not correcting anything. I write a completely new work. I finish these things rather quickly, but this piece of work is something special. Because of it, _Stempenyu_ may be shown the door, told to take his violin and go away. He soon sent me the new novel which was supposed to overshadow _Stempenyu_. It was _Yosele Solovey_ [Joey Nightingale]. He wanted me to print it in Odessa for inclusion in Volume Two of _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_. I wrote him that I found the novel occasionally imitated Reb Mendele. He answered: I swear, on my word of honor, I was not aware of that. If you really find the work echoes Mendele, then I beg of you, remove those parts or change them. In any case, let me know all about it without fail. As to my opinion that he did not succeed well in describing nature, he answered: I realize that I'm weak, alas, in that art. But what can I do? I must reveal one way or another that nighttime is not daytime, early morning is not late. Tell me what to do! Truth to tell, I wanted to describe nature well, but I was afraid it might look as though I was dancing to the Zeyde's tune. Levi, the eccentric publisher of the _Folks-blat_, did whatever suited him. He waged unending war against Sholem Aleichem and me. I once dared to criticize rather sharply his "ideas" in his own paper, the _Folks-blat_, and now he was insulted by a review of mine in the first volume of _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_. He used every section of his _Folks-blat_ to mount his attacks. Even in his "Political Section" he would occasionally stop in the midst of discussing the politics of this or that European diplomat, and suddenly, viciously and mercilessly assail us and our political opinions. Levy had plenty of help from some minor writers who did their bit for his war. He occasionally inserted his own text into some other author's article, or even into a story, heaping abuse upon his "opponents." This was a frequent ploy of his. No one dared to step out of line to offer their opinions. Levy was the big boss, and no one could afford be too scrupulous. War is war. What an aggravation for Sholem Aleichem! He longed to shed this affliction, and wrote to me in frustration: If you are real mentshn, men of the world, a group of you would get together (needless to say, without Levi's a..-lickers) to send a joint letter to Kantor. Make it clear to Kantor that he is letting those people besmirch his name. Some time later, Sholem Aleichem, thinking it over, decided it would be better to ignore the _Folks-blat_ and its peculiar publisher as though they shavak khayim lekhol khay geven [had died] and had left this world. He wrote me: "The best punishment for that lunatic Levi is to say not a word about him, not even half a word." Volume Two of _Di Yidishe Folks-biblyotek_ appeared and was received by the public at least as enthusiastically as the first. Sholem Aleichem immediately applied himself vigorously, as was his way, to preparing a third. But here Solomon Rabinowitz [Sholem Rabinovits] blocked the path of Sholem Aleichem. While Sholem Aleichem the writer was enjoying success after success, Solomon Rabinowitz the stock-trading businessman (who had always harbored some traits of Menakhem-Mendl) suffered financial blow after blow. His life turned upside-down, he lost all his money, and became a pauper. Forced to abandon his writing and publishing plans, he left Russia while his family moved from Kiev to Odessa. Sholem Aleichem wandered a few months in foreign parts. None of us heard from him, and we had no idea where he was. Unexpectedly, I received a letter from somewhere, not Russia, dated November 10, 1890.(10) It began in Hebrew, then continued in Yiddish, as did his first letters to me: My friend Ravnitski, Your friend Sholem Aleichem still lives, although his life is no life at all. If not for love of the one and only beloved of my heart on this earth, my wife, and for the love of my daughters and only son, if not for them, I would have long ago put an end to my life. This life has become disgusting! Still, I shall go on living. I am compelled to live, as my punishment. Then he switched to Yiddish: O, believe me, it is now so hard for me to write a Yiddish word. I am beaten. I feel butchered. But I am not annihilated. I feel in my soul that the hearts of my best friends are no longer near but have moved far, far from me. They must wonder if they ought to still consider me a friend. Right now, I am entitled to nothing more. From you I seek no letter, no favors. Take no pains on my account. Just have a quiet talk with Ben-Ami, two or three words. He and I are now equally rich. His fortune may be a little greater than mine. I cannot write to him myself; and to my own family, of course not. You tell him to send my family the few rubles that happen to be in his possession. He knows which rubles and how many. Believe me, they will come in very handy now. They may support my family for half a year! These few lines cost me blood, and I hope you will remember how I have always been ready to serve others. Please do this with care, and I expect to hear soon that a few more rubles have turned up. As for me, I repeat, I live. That's all! On one occasion, before I left, I recall sitting with the Zeyde complaining about my health. He said, "O, well, now you'll be all right." Can you appreciate the depth of that insight? Your old, old, Ahasuerus.(11) A short time later [Spring, 1891], Sholem Aleichem returned from his foreign travels, and rejoined his family in Odessa. He became a close neighbor of mine, and we spent some time together almost every day. Endnotes 1. From the Yiddish in _Tsum Ondenk Fun Sholem-Aleykhem_ [In Memory of Sholem Aleichem], ed. Sh. Niger & Y. Tsinberg, Petrograd: Y.-L. Perets Fund, 1917, pp. 43-56. 2. [Ravnitski's footnote] Here he [Sholem Aleichem] used _utshastiya_, Russian for "special notice." Early on, Russian words would occasionally slip into his writing. In time, he avoided that. A few years later, he lectured me in a letter: What's that all about? Using Russian to write, 'Talk over!' Have you already forgotten the zeyde's instruction, that in Zhargon there should be no trace or reminder of the language of _fonye_ [a pejorative term for a Russian]? 3. Later entitled "Taybele." 4. Ravnitski's pseudonym for his reviews in _Di Yudishe Folks-bibliotek_. _Kotzin_ means big shot or officer. 5. A contemporary Yiddish poet. 6. A Jewish writer of volatile temperament. 7. The original is numbered 8, apparently a typographical error. 8. A popular writer of Yiddish potboilers whom Sholem-Aleichem attacked savagely and not altogether justly. 9. Mendele Moykher Sforim. 10. I rely here on a version of the letter more complete than that given by Ravnitski. This is a translation from the memoirs of I.D. Berkowitz [Y.-D. Berkovits]: _Undzere Rishoynim_, Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1966, Volume 5, page 30. 11. Y.-.D. Berkovits in _Undzere Rishoynim_, Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1966, Volume 5, p. 31, explains that Ravnitski did not know why Sholem Aleichem signed this letter "Ahasuerus." Berkovits suggests it refers to an elaborate banquet once given by Sholem Aleichem for Jewish writers of Odessa when he still had his money. Presumably the allusion is to the extravagant banquets given by King Ahasuerus (Book of Esther). 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 27 October 2000 From: (ed.) Subject: "der reyekh fun a yidn" and other olifactory matters touched on in the last issue of TMR with comments by David Assaf David Assaf was kind enough to comment on the expression "der reyekh fun a yidn" and related matters. David Assaf is the translator and editor of Volume One of Kotik's memoirs in Hebrew. (See _The Mendel Review_ vol. 3. no. 7 [14 April 1999]). Assaf's edition is richly annotated -- its three thorough indices (of persons, places and subjects) make it a useful reference source for the many subjects discussed by Kotik. An English edition is soon to be published. Assaf writes as follows on our problematic expression, "the smell of a Jew": "I am sure that in the phrase 'reyekh fun a yidn' (note, in the original: _yidn_, not _yid_) Kotik means the smell of typical Jewish cooking, and not the typical smell of the Jewish body, a term which only anti-semites -- or extremist critics of the shtetl -- would use. Kotik was neither." I was puzzled by the expression, "reyekh fun a yidn," and would be happy to accept Assaf's explanation. But I have never encountered the metonymic equation Jew = Jewish cooking. A single citation at the least would be reassuring. Moreover, I wonder if "Jewish cooking" in eastern Europe a century ago smelled so differently from that of co-territorial non-Jewish cooking. Jewish cooking was certainly subtly different because of kashrut -- especially the non-use of pork and blood, the extensive use of dairy dishes, holiday associations, local traditions, etc. But was the "smell" of this food utterly distinctive? In the matter, for instance, of onions and garlic, their use was general. That one would have to be an antisemite to use the expression in question is contestable. Marcus Aurelius criticized Jews for the smell they gave off as a result of eating garlic -- Jews in Roman times were conspicuously self-identified as garlic-eaters --, was he necessarily being anti-semitic? After all, halitosis was even a cause for divorce in Jewish law (Ket. 75a) and women chewed ginger, cinnamon, and other substances to sweeten their breath (Shab. 65a). Moreover, what is plain bigotry when spoken by an outsider can be mere playfulness when uttered within a group. Regarding the Rebbe of Lakhovitsh's saying, Assaf points out that "Kotik wrote: 'az es iz faran a bazunder eyver [alef, bet, reysh] ba a idn, vos hot nor hano'e fun tsibele um shabbes' [p. 16]. Now, _eyver_ means 'penis', but this is not just a dirty joke! According to the sages, Ezra ha-Sofer made this rule of eating GARLIC on Fridays to improve sperm count (the Talmud recommends that scholars have intercourse on Friday night). So, Kotik has probably confused the onion with garlic, and made this mistake, or maybe he understood Hebrew _shum_ to mean 'onion'?" Assaf has a strong case regarding confusion of onion and garlic, since the onion's aphrodisiacal qualities were said to be second only to those of garlic. Also, the onion and garlic belong to the same genus Allium. Chapter Two of Volume Two of Kotik's memoirs in the Yiddish original is archived in both romanized and Yiddish-letter form. Yiddish-letter text at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/kotik1.pdf. Romanized Yiddish text of Vol. 2, Chapter 1 at: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/tmr/tmr04002.htm. For an indeterminate period, a draft of Lucas Bruyn's translation of the entire second volume of Kotik's memoirs can be viewed at: http://www.onforeignsoil.com/kotik.htm ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.015 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. 04.016 12 December 2000 ___________________________ | | |Yoysef Kerler (1918 - 2000)| |_______________________ ___| ___________________________ | | | Shmuel Bat (1919 - 2000) | |___________________________| 1) In Memoriam: Yoysef Kerler and Shmuel Bat 2) "Er lebt vi got in frankraykh" (ed.) 3) "Konkurentn" (Yoyne Roznfeld)[Jonah Rosenfeld] 1)------------------------------------------------------------ In Memoriam We mourn the passing of Yoysef Kerler, Yiddish poet, essayist and critic. The former Soviet-Yiddish writer was editor of the _Yerushalmer Almanakh_ and one of its founders. Among his volumes of verse and prose we find a collaborative book of poems, _Shpigl-ksav_ (1996) by himself and his son, the Oxford Yiddish scholar and poet, Dr. Dov-Ber Kerler. Here Yoysef Kerler wrote: "Mayn epitafye iz a vild geviks In kenigraykh fun troyer un badoyer -- A shmeykhl shlaykht farbay zikh vi a fuks Un vert farfaln tsvishn shteyner groye. Do shlogt zikh op dos mentshlekhe geveyn In shtumkayt, vos an eybikayt zikh tsit Un fun der zayt mayn shmeykhl blaybt aleyn Ven ale verter, ale verter vern mid." [p. 42] (Yoysef Kerler's poem "guter dokter vey-tsu-mir" appeared in _TMR_ 2.028.) * * * Shmuel Batt, a Yiddish writer with a rich past, died this month in California. His faith in the vitality of Yiddish never faltered. (Notices of his work can be found in _TMR_ 3.017 and 4.001.) * * * 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 12 December 2000 From: Leonard Prager Subject: "Er lebt vi got in frankraykh" In my experience it is rare to find a novel by an American Jewish writer which does not have some, albeit sparse, reference to Yiddish or which does not use an occasional Yiddish-origin expression. In Saul Bellow's most recent novel, _Ravelstein_, an explicit reference to what seemed to be a Yiddish saying caught my eye. The titular hero of _Ravelstein_, a confirmed francophile, plans a trip to Paris even though he is deathly ill. The narrator, his close friend, unwisely questions this course: "...there was nothing I couldn't tell Ravelstein. Partly this meant that there was scarcely anything he wouldn't have detected on his own. So he would have understood also that I looked down on Paris, rather. There is a Jewish freethinker's saying about Paris -- _wie Gott in Frankreich_. Meaning that even God took his holidays in France. Why? Because the French are atheists and among them God himself could be carefree, a _flaneur_, like any tourist." [Saul Bellow. _Ravelstein_, Viking, 2000. p. 171.] Bellow does not mention Yiddish; he speaks of the saying as characteristic of "Jewish freethinker[s]." Moreover, he writes the expression in German and not in Yiddish. There is certainly a Yiddish expression "Er lebt vi got in frankraykh." ['He lives like God in France.'] Ignaz Bernstein records it in his classic _Juedische Sprichwoerter und Redensarten_ (Warsaw 1908), where it is item no. 16 under _leben_ -- Bernstein gives it in Yiddish on the right-side page and on the opposite page in a germanized transcription of the Yiddish together with explanation in German: "Er lebt, wi Got in Frankreich" and "D[as] h[eist] sorglos." Harkavi's Yiddish-Hebrew-English Dictionary gives it and defines it as 'zorgloz; to live in clover'. Bellow gives only the simile, writing "wie Gott in Frankreich" --i.e. he employs German spelling, which would be identical to Bernstein's transcription if "wie" were altered to "wi" and "Gott" to "Got". After questioning a number of German Jews who knew no Yiddish and who all recognized "Er lebt wie Gott in Frankreich," I concluded that the saying was originally German and probably passed into Yiddish via Galicia. Bernstein points the reader to a comparable expression: "A lebn vi bay got hintern oyvn" ['like living at God's house behind the stove']. Bernstein's comment here is "Wen jemand ein sorgloses, behagliches Leben fuehrt." ['When someone lives a carefree life.'] Bernstein and Harkavi agree that "Er lebt vi got in frankraykh" means 'to live a carefree life'. In the Yiddish of many of us this idea would more likely have been expressed by the parallel saying "Er lebt vi got in odes" ['He lives like God in Odessa'] -- a calque of "vi got in frankraykh". Though not found in Bernstein, Harkavi gives it and defines it exactly as he defined the saying with _frankraykh_, namely _zorgloz_ 'carefree'. But why Odessa? Ignaz Bernstein has two expressions under "Odessa," both emphasizing the town's imputed immoral state: 1) "odeser sharlatanes" ('Odessa charlatans'); 2) "tsen mayl fun odes brent dos gehenem" ('Hell burns ten miles from Odessa'). Bernstein explains the latter: "Die Einwohner von Odessa gelten als irreligioese Leute un wer in ihre Naehe kommt, verfaellt der Hoelle." In Yiddish he explains that "Odessa residents are regarded as great heretics." They are, that is to say, libertines like the Parisians and the expressions are parallel. Krueger-Lorenzen uncovers the origin of "Er lebt wie Gott in Frankreich" precisely in a historical moment marked by irreligiosity. Here is his gloss: "Ihm geht es besonders gut, er geniesst zein Leben sorglos und in Freuden -- entstand in der grosser Franzoesischen Revolution von 1789, in der Gott abgesetzt wurde und der Kultus von der Vernunft an die Stelle der Christentum trat. Man stellte sich Gott gleichsam pensioniert vor, der nun in Frankreich so besonders sorglos und gluecklich leben kannte." ('He fares especially well. He enjoys a life without worry. Created during the French Revolution of 1789 when God was 'dismissed' and the cult of reason replaced Christianity. God was imagined as being retired and able to live in France, where he was particularly happy and content'.) [Kurt Krueger-Lorenzen, "Er lebt wie Gott in Frankreich," _Deutsche Redensarten und was dahinter steckt_, Muenchen: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 4th ed., 1986, p. 114.] The original expression, according to Krueger-Lorenzen, has God pensioned off by those who no longer require his services, but it is later understood as saying God is on vacation, presumably having on his own initiative chosen the most agreeable land for the purpose. Paris for the Western European and Odessa for the East-European Jews conjured up images of pleasure equally well. However, Jews from all walks of life used both "Er lebt vi got in frankraykh" and "Er lebt vi got in odes" in a humorous manner to express the idea of maximum freedom from restraint, maximum access to comfort and self-indulgence. Their origins notwithstanding, these sayings have long lost any possible anticlerical taint. The parents of Jewish children who said "Got krigt zikh mitn vayb" ['God is fighting with his wife'] when they heard lightning strike, also had wit and imagination. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 12 Date: 12 December 2000 From: Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Subject: "Konkurentn" fun Yoyne Roznfeld [We are pleased to present a romanized version of "Konkurentn." Romanized Yiddish is Yiddish, Latin-letter graphemes notwithstanding. We assume that there are people who would like to read a Yiddish text but have not yet mastered the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet. A romanized Yiddish text can be helpful in a number of ways even for those who read Yiddish well -- for aid in the pronunciation of words of Hebrew-Aramaic origin and, yes, in learning the Standard Yiddish Orthography. At the same time, we recommend that readers who are comfortable with the Yiddish alphabet read the story in Yiddish letters at the Onkelos site (http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/onkelos.htm). An English translation of the story can be found in the Howe and Greenberg _Treasury of Yiddish Stories_ anthology: Jonah Rosenfeld, 'Competitors'. There is no better way to distinguish the special qualities of Yiddish generally and the particular stylistic turns of an individual author than by comparing the original with a translation. Readers have requested that unfamiliar words and expressions be annotated. We hope to do so eventually. -- ed.] yoyne rozenfeld "konkurentn" tsvey ayzerne betlekh, an opgekrokhener shpigl on a ram, a limene-kestl far a shafkele, a por benklekh mit oysgedreyte fislekh un a tish vos hinkt oyf eyn fus, -- dos iz mayn mebl. a groys moyl, bloye lipn, a kvitshediker kol un nase, tomid trerndike, eygelekh -- dos iz mayn vayb. a meydele, a tsenyoriks, a piskele vi oyf shrayflekh, un eygelekh vi bay a fuksl, un dar iz dos vi a shpendele, un shvistke vi a hindele -- dos iz mayn tokhter. un a yingele -- klug vi der tog, dar un trukn vi a matseyve-shtekn -- dos iz mayn zunele, vos zen zet es oys vi a yor finf, ober alt iz dos zibn yor. dos drite kind iz alt tsvey yor. groys iz dos vi a vokhenik, ober veynen veynt es un shrayen shrayt es shoyn gornisht nokh der greys nokh. a kleyn mentshele, mit a kleyn, shiter berdele, mit kleyne, shvartse eygelekh -- dos bin ikh, ikh aleyn, ikh -- der man fun der vayb un der tate fun di dray kinder. vos ikh tu? ikh tu gornisht, ikh tu bloyz dos, vos mayn vayb darf ton. gants fri, vi ikh shtey nor oyf, tseleyg ikh a fayer un kokh oyf a tshaynik vaser. dernokh vek ikh oyf mayn vayb, gib ir oystrinken a gloz tey un provade zi aroys in mark arayn. dernokh nem ikh zikh ersht tsu der khevre, tu zey on, vash zey arum un hodeve zey on. ober nisht ale mol git zikh es mir azoy gring ayn. es treft, az dos pitsl tsegezget zikh: s'vil nor tsu der mamen, un der elterer nokh ir. khap ikh dos pitsl oyf di hent, loyf tsu tsum fentster un heyb on pikn in di shoybn, klapn in tish, kling in a gloz, knak mit der tsung, un azoy, haltndik dos pitsl oyf di hent, nem ikh ayn mayn yingele oykh: ikh shpil zikh mit im in ferdlekh, a mol iz er der ferd un ikh der kutsher, a mol farkert. a mol shpil ikh zikh mit im in soldatn. er komandevet mit mir, ikh mit im: "kru-om, na-lyevo marsh! az-dva, az-dva!" un az ikh shtil zey ayn, farbet ikh di betn, ker oys di shtub un shtel tsu varmes. un vi es vert nor fartik, khap ikh bald un gis arop in a kleyn tepele, makh reyn a shisl mit a lefl -- un poshol! ikh loyf on an otem (kayn zeyger iz dokh bay mir nishto, vayzt zikh mir tomed oys, az ikh hob farshpetikt). un dos harts klapt: ot ze ikh shoyn di budkelekh un di taptshanes tsvishn di budkelekh un arum di budkelekh. oyf di taptshanes lign ongeleygt gantse berg tsibeles mit retekh, burakes mit kroyt, petrushke mit merelekh, kartoflyes mit khreyn un nokh azelkhe minem kraytekhtser, bitere un zise, zoyere un vaynike. ot lebn aza taptshan mit azelkhe shar-yerokes derken ikh shoyn dos vayb mayns. un s'treft zeyer oft, az azoy loyfndik fargis ikh mir di kapote mit zup, un ven bamerk ikh es, ven zi git a startshe oys di kelbershe oygn ire oyf mir un bagegnt mikh mit a shtil ayngehaltenem "brokh". - vos iz? - ze nor!... do her ikh, vi men shtikt zikh shoyn mit gelekhter. eyne a grobe yidene mit a farbrent gezunt ponim, vos zitst antkegn mayn vayb, vaklt zikh azh fun eyn zayt in der tsveyter, halt zikh mit beyde hent bay ir boykh -- azoy geshmak lakht zi. mayne tsupt dort hintn fun di fis, fun mayne, shtiklekh. ober nisht ale mol kum ikh op mit ot der tsupenish. es treft nisht zeltn, az nokh dem vi zi hot mikh dortn hintn genug ongekneypt, khapt zi ersht a burek baym meydl un varft mir in kop arayn. un az s'endikt zikh mit dem, dank ikh nokh oykh got. a mol iz zi mir ersht mekayem-psak, ven zi kumt aheym fun mark, vayl zi dankt dokh got, az zi bakumt a gelegnhayt zikh tsu tshepen tsu mir. bin ikh, ober, oykh nisht keyn frumak un entfer ir op, un take keyfl keflayim, un s'dergeyt a mol tsu an emeser milkhome: zi mir a shtup, ikh ir a shtoys; zi mir a fayg in di tseyn arayn; makht zi a gvald un di khevre mit ir tsu glaykh; un ikh -- puts in droysn aroys oyf ale fis. nor tsu bislekh, nisht bamerkndik far zikh aleyn, heyb ikh on geyn pamelekher un pamelekher, blayb endlekh shteyn un kuk fartrakht oyf der erd, oyfn himl, oyf di hayzer, oyf di mentshn, vos geyen oyf un op. un azoy vi ikh bin shteyn geblibn aleyn, nisht bamerkndik, azoy fil ikh nisht, vi ikh loz zikh geyn tsurik, gey mit a shver-ongelodn harts, mit a fuln kop, gey pamelekh trit bay trit un, tsugekumen tsu mayn shtub, shtel ikh zikh avek hinter di fentster un kuk, un ze, vi zi, di kleyne mayne, s'heyst di groyse, di eltste, arbet azoy getray, helft der mamen irer oyston di kinder un baleygt eyns in bet arayn un dos tsveyte, un helft der muter aropshlepn di groyse, shvere, shikh fun di fis, un ikh trakht mir, az dos vakst a konkurentin mayne. un s'iz in ir tsu derkenen, az zi iz zeyer tsufridn, vos ikh bin in shtub nishto; un ikh ze, az zi staret zikh tsu bavayzn far der muter, az m'kon zikh bageyn on mir oykh. un ven dos fayer vert oysgeloshn, grob ikh ayn dos ponem in a shoyb un kuk. ikh ze gornisht un dokh ze ikh (in gedank), vi es ligt a froy, mit ir tsuzamen ligt a kleyn kind, tsufusns ligt a meydl fun a yor tsen, un in tsveytn bet ligt der man irer, a foyler hunt, epes a min toygenikhts, vos toyg nisht -- nisht tsu got un nisht tsu layt. un lebn im ligt zayns, un irs, zeyers a yingele, -- ale dare un kleyninke, khotsh knet zey tsunoyf un makh fun zey eyn mentsh a rekhtn. ikh ver mid tsu shteyn hintern fentster, drey oys dos ponem tsum droysn, bloz breyt op fun zikh un khap a kuk tsu di shtern. fartrakht zikh oyf zey un vil shtark epes derzen dort. der himl vert tsu mir nenter un nenter, un ot, dakht zikh mir, bin ikh shoyn lebn im, un ikh kuk shoyn nisht oyfn himl aroyf, nor oyf der erd arop. shoyn gor mayse groyser mentsh. ober vi ikh kum nor in shtub arayn, ver ikh mit a mol tsekrimt; mir dakht zikh, az ikh bakum a kleyn, shmol moyl, un vi a kleyn narish ganevl shar ikh zikh tsu tsum broyt un es mit groys apetit. az mayn vayb hot, ober, aza gringn shlof, -- zi derhert bald un heybt mikh on bashitn mit shvartse kloles. ikh gey tsu tsu ir un zog ir tsu, az mer vet es shoyn bay mir nisht trefn un az ikh vel zikh oyffirn gut un fayn. zi vert antshvign -- moykhl, heyst dos. tu ikh zikh shoyn oys un ganve zikh pamelekh arayn tsu ir in bet. zi makht zikh gepeygert, un ikh zikh -- keleyode: vos art dos mikh? -- zol zi meynen, az zi nart mikh... un ot azoy, shleferdikerheyt, hob ikh shoyn dray kinder mit ir. mir shteyen oyf broygeze, glaykh mir veysn beyde fun gornisht. eyn mol, donershtik in der fri, hob ikh tsugeshtelt a top vaser un gey, vi geveyntlekh, tsu mayn tokhter un vil ir onheybn tseflekhtn di hor, tsugreytn tsum tsvogn. plutsling git zi a shprung op vi a hoz un blaybt shteyn antkegn mir mit a royt-ongeblozn ponem. ikh freg zi: vos iz dos? entfert zi mir nisht. git oyf mir a beyzn kuk un blozt zikh nokh mer on. freg ikh zi vider: vos iz dos? entfert zi vider nisht. - vilst zikh nisht tsvogn? -- freg ikh. - ikh darf nisht, du zolst mikh tsvogn, -- entfert zi mir mit an aropgeloztn kop un shpilt zikh mit ire finger. - vos heyst? - ikh kon zikh shoyn aleyn tsvogn! - vilst nisht, ikh zol dir tsvogn? - neyn! - far vos? - ikh kon shoyn aleyn tsvogn. meyle, iz nisht getantst. nisht -- iz nisht. gey ikh shoyn tsu der plite un ze, es zol zikh gikher onvaremen dos vaser, ikh zol oystsvogn di tsvey klenere khevre. un az es hot zikh shoyn ongevaremt dos vaser, gey ikh tsu tsu mayn yingele un heyb im on oyston. nor zi shpringt vi fun der erd aroys, git im a khap bay a hentl un rayst im avek fun mir. - vos heyst dos? zi halt im baym hentl un entfert nisht. - vos heyst dos?! zi entfert nisht. gey ikh tsu un vil im nemen, halt zi im un zogt unter der noz: - ikh vel im aleyn tsvogn. - nays! vos heyst du, du vest im tsvogn? mir iz shoyn arayn epes in der noz. ikh shlep s'yingl un zi halt im. ikh batrakht zi a por minut un freg: - vos epes plutsling iz dir arayn in kop zikh aleyn tsvogn un im tsvogn? - s'a rakhmones oyf der mamen -- entfert zi mir. - vos a rakhmones oyf der mamen? - s'a rakhmones oyf der mamen. zi horevet un darf dir gebn esn. - nu? - un az ikh vel zikh aleyn tsvogn un onton yankelen mit mindelen, vestu konen geyn epes fardinen. - vos? zi entfert nisht. - du vest onton yankelen mit mindelen? zey gebn esn, tsuroymen di shtub? - a vazhne mitsotse! un du vest konen geyn fardinen! shoyn! es iz shoyn bay ir gor keyn metsie nisht! vos ikh mordeve zikh on a gantsn tog. vos ikh arbet! di kleyne rayst mir tsen mol a tog di bord oys. ikh ver heyzerik, eyder ikh farvig zi. zogt zi gor az es iz gor keyn metsie nisht. fardinen shikt zi mikh! heyst dos, do fardin ikh mir mayn esn nisht. an umzister eser bin ikh! un zi vil farnemen mayn shtele. un vos vel ikh ton, vuhin zol ikh geyn? far a nyanke saydn? far a nyanke! oyf vos den toyg ikh? ober neyn, ikh vel dos nisht derlozn! vos heyst, aza shnek zol mikh traybn fun shtub? zi vet gikher avekgeyn fun danen, eyder ikh. dortn, vu es geyt shoyn vegn parnose, vegn broyt, vel ikh mir shoyn nisht lozn shpayen in der kashe. oyf toyt un lebn vel ikh geyn! - kum nor aher! ver hot dos dir geheysn zogn? di mame? - neyn, aleyn! - aleyn? - ikh zog, aleyn. - vos heyst aleyn? aleyn zogstu dos? di mame hot dos dir nisht geheysn zogn? - neyn! - neyn?? - neyn! - heyst dos, zogstu dos aleyn? - aleyn! di mame hot dos mir nisht geheysn zogn! - heyst dos, vilstu mikh aroystraybn fun shtub? entfert zi nisht. ikh khap zi on baym tsop: - du veyst, zog ikh, az ikh bin dir a tate? zi pruvt zikh aroysraysn. - du veyst, zog ikh ir, az ikh bin dir a tate? un a tate -- vos er vil, kon er ton mit zayn kind, afile teytn dikh. du veyst, az a tate iz mekhuyev tsu shtrofn zayn kind, un oyb s'geyt nisht in rekhtn veg, meg er dos afile hargenen, veyst?! vayzt oys, az ikh hob shtark geshrien, vayl dos kind hot zikh oyfgekhapt. zi hot zikh gegebn a ris oys fun mayne hent, iz tsu tsum kind un es genumen farvign un tsuzingen mit dem lidl, vos ikh zing es. do bin ikh shoyn gor fun di keylem aroys. vos far a rekht hot zi tsu farvign dos kind mit mayns a lidl, a lidl vos ikh hob es aleyn oysgeklert? oyb azoy... ikh bin mit feste trit tsugegangen tsum vigl, zi gegebn a shtoys op un aleyn genumen farvign dos kind: oy lyu-lyu, meydele, di mame vet dikh makhn a kleydele, der tate vet dir vashn dos kepele, di mame vet dir brengen an epele, farmakh, farmakh di eygelekh, di mame vet dir brengen beygelekh, oy lyu-lyu, un lyu-lyu. nishkoshe, zi vet, dakht zikh mir, oyslebn ale ire yorn un zi vet azoy nisht farvign a kind, vi ikh. - megst geyn fun danen! -- shist zi plutsling oys -- ikh kon aleyn farvign dos kind! e-e-e, ot vu es halt shoyn! nu, oyb azoy, vel ikh zikh shoyn mit dir oprekhenen! ikh khap arop dem pasik fun di hoyzn un mit ale koykhes -- ibern kop, ibern ponem, iber der pleytse, na, na, na, vest visn, vi azoy tsu zayn an azes-ponem antkegn a tatn, vest visn! vest visn! vest mikh shoyn hobn tsu gedenken! vest mikh shoyn hobn tsu gedenken. di tsvey klenere khevre hobn zikh tsekvitshet, oyf ir kukndik, un dos hot shoyn mikh gor fun geduld aroysgebrakht: ikh bin geshprungen fun eynem tsum tsveytn un geharget, vifl es iz nor arayn. nokh dem hob ikh zikh aleyn ongehoybn tsupn bay der bord. ikh bin tsugegangen tsum fentster, zikh ongeshpart mit di elnboygns un hob zikh tseveynt. far nakht, ven di muter iz gekumen, zaynen zey zi bald bafaln un yederer bazunder hot oyf zayn loshn ongehoybn dertseyln, vi azoy ikh hob zey geshlogn, un hobn zikh fun dos nay tseveynt. dos oysherndik, hot zi zikh, dos vayb mayns, vi a klots a zets gegebn oyfn bet, avekgeshtelt di elnboygns oyf di kni un oyf di hent ongeshpart dem kop, un hot fun tsayt tsu tsayt oyf mir gevorfn a bitern kuk, fun velkhn es iz mir yedes mol farkilt gevorn dos blut. - vos vet zayn der sof? -- hot zi plutsling a freg geton, oyfheybndik dem kop mit di ful ongegosenen oygn, vi di kaluzhes. ikh hob geshvign. - vos vet zayn? freg ikh dikh... vos hob ikh ir gekont entfern? - du veyst, az m'darf dikh opshikn in meshugoim-hoyz? ikh hob ir davke gevolt fregn: far vos halt zi dos mikh far a meshugenem? eyn mol shlogt a tate kinder? - ikh bet dikh: ikh hob dikh aza tsayt oysgehaltn, gegebn esn un trinken, kleyder un shikh. shoyn elf yor nokh undzer khasene! di gantse tsayt hostu afile oyf keyn eyn varmes nisht fardint. ikh bin azoy shvakh, azoy tsebrokhn, koym vos di neshome halt zikh in mir. vos hostu zikh ongeleygt oyf mir? nisht genug, vos ikh darf hodeven di kinder, darf ikh nokh dir gebn esn? vu-zhe iz dos gehert gevorn? - mir hobn zikh azh trern in di oygn geshtelt. ikh hob zi nokh keyn mol azoy nisht gehert reydn! - mirele, -- hob ikh zikh bay ir gebetn: -- zi hot mikh azoy baleydikt, zi hot mikh getribn fun shtub. ikh bin dokh a tate, s'tut dokh mir vey dos harts! an eygn kind traybt dem tatn fun shtub. nu, vu iz dos gehert gevorn? nu, zog du aleyn! - vos-zhe far a mansbil zitst in der heym un kukt aroys, dos vayb zol im gebn esn? - dos hostu ir geheysn zogn? zi hot mikh ongekukt, kentik -- nisht farshtanen, vos ikh freg ir. - dos hostu ir geheysn mir traybn fun shtub? shvaygt zi mit shvaygenish, ziftst mit zifenish un kukt oyf mir mit aza kukn, az s'glivert in mir dos blut. - dos hostu ir geheysn aleyn tsvogn di kinder? zi kon den tsvogn di kinder? zi kon den afile a minut haltn dos kind in di hent? - ikh kon beser fun im! -- shrayt oys di kleyne. - o, vi lang krenkstu, du khatsufe du! du konst nor zayn a sheygets akegn tatn! - un er kon zi nor shlogn! - nu, yo, a? zitst? es art dikh nisht, dernokh vet zi dir reydn antkegn. lomir zen, du zolst tsugeyn ir gebn etlekhe petsh. - ikh bet dikh, zolst avekgeyn fun mir! herst? -- shrayt oys mayn vayb. un mit dem hot zikh geendikt. zi hot a por mol opgeziftst un zikh geleygt shlofn. un ikh bin vayter geblibn oyf mayn shtele. di kleyne loz ikh tsum kind nisht tsu. un in shtub loz ikh zi oykh gornisht ton. afile zikh aleyn tsvogn loz ikh zi nisht. un ven ikh kem zi, rays ikh ir oys ale hor fun kop. * * * danken got! ikh hob zikh shoyn oyf a shtik tsayt gevornt: mayn eyntsiker oyskuk iz geven, mayn vayb zol hobn a kleyns, demolt volt ikh shoyn gor keyn moyre nisht gehat far mayn konkurentke. ikh ze dokh shoyn, az zi vil mikh patren fun der shtub. zi hot zikh afile aroysgeredt, far vos: a tsaygn kleydl, vil zi, zol ir di muter makhn, hot ir muter mistame gezogt, az zi kon ir nisht makhn, farshteyt zi, aza kleyne, az dos iz iber mir. zi veyst: ven zi blaybt aleyn in shtub, muz ir shoyn di muter makhn a kleydl. nu-nu, vil zi dos mikh aroysshtupn. un ikh hob bay zikh take shtark moyre gehat, az dos vet zikh ir sof-kol-sof ayngebn. nor itst -- ver hert zi? mayn vayb trogt arum aza pitsl, vet zi shoyn nisht konen geyn, ikh hob zikh gefleyst dertsu.... mir iz dos genug shver ongekumen. zi hot mikh getribn fun zikh. "du shleper, du! nokh kinder vilstu onplodzen oyf mayn kop!" -- hot zi mir ale mol gezogt, tsunoyfdreyendik zikh in tsenen. nor vi azoy es zol nisht hobn forgekumen -- ikh bin itst takef. afile antkegn mayn vayb fil ikh zikh shoyn oykh groys. ikh greys zikh, ven zi shteyt antkegn mir mitn shpitsikn baykhl. ikh fil, az ikh bin a man un zi -- mayn vayb. fun groys fargenign gey ikh mir yedn oyf-der-nakht nokh vetshere shpatsirn. ikh farleyg mir di hent arunter, shtel aroys mayn boykh (mir dakht zikh, az ikh hob a groysn boykh) un gey pamelekh mit kurtsinke tritelekh, azoy: eyns, tsvey, eyns, tsvey. mikh art nisht: s'meg geyn a regn, a shney, s'meg zayn a levone-nakht. mir iz alts eyns. un khotsh es iz afile kalt, dokh nem ikh arop dos hitl un loz oyf mayn kop luft. ikh hob im nisht faynt, mayn kop: er iz nisht keyn nar, er farshteyt a gesheft. nokhn shpatsir gey ikh mir arayn in shtub. gey nisht oyf di shpits-finger, nor mit feste trit shpan ikh arayn, shtel zikh avek in mitn shtub un batrakht mayn bisl farmegn: eyns, tsvey, dray: ven nisht ikh, voltn di dray mentshelekh nisht geven. di dray mentshelekh, vos lign itst un shlofn, zaynen mayne, mayne eygene, mayn blut un fleysh. di dray mentshelekh zaynen ikh. ikh bin -- zey. un dos vayb mayns iz oykh mayn, zi gehert nisht tsu keynem, nor tsu mir. dortn, bay ir ineveynik in boykh, ligt a shtikl ikh. zaynen mir in eynem? eyns, tsvey, dray; dos vayb -- iz fir: bay ir dos kind -- iz finf: mit mir -- zeks. bin ikh zeks un di zeks bin ikh. ikh farnem ot di gantse shtub, ot ver ikh bin!!! hot-zhe mir a gute nakht! * * * ikh gey opgerisn, ikh klayb zikh shoyn a lengere tsayt tsu zogn mayn vayb, zi zol mir epes vos makhn: vayl itst iz di beste tsayt, un tomer loz ikh durkh ot di tsayt, iz farfaln. ober ikh leyg es op fun eyn mol oyfn andern un di tsayt loyft. ot-ot, a lyade tog falt zi arayn in bet un demolt vet shoyn zayn shpet. azoy lang un azoy breyt, biz ikh hob zikh in eynem a tog farshvorn, az haynt in ovnt muz ikh ir dos zogn. bald vi zi iz arayngekumen, hob ikh fun ir aropgekhapt dos laybl, dos opgetreyselt fun shney. ikh meg zogn, az der grester kavalir vet azoy nisht geyn arum zayn fraylin, vi ikh arum mayn vayb in dem ovnt. nor gezogt hob ikh nokh alts nisht, khotsh nem un shnayd di tsung. nor ven zi hot ongehoybn zikh oyston oyf leygn zikh shlofn, bin ikh tsugegangen tsu ir un zikh avekgeshtelt vi a soldat, un nokhn opshteyn a por minut hob ikh ir oyf shtum-loshn mit eyn mol gegebn a vayz mayn hoylekh fun kop biz di fis. zi hot oyf mir a tamevatn kuk geton. meyle, ze ikh shoyn, az zi farshteyt mikh nisht. shtey ikh nokh a por minut un gib ir vayter a vayz, gib ikh a beyg on tsu mayne fis un gey aruf mit di hent tsum kop. kukt zi vayter. heyb ikh ir shoyn on bislekhvayz tsu vayzn: ikh gib a heyb oyf eyn fus, vayz ikh ir eyn shukh, nokh dem -- dem tsveytn: nokh dem hob ikh ir gegebn a vayz di hoyzn fun fornt un bald gemakht boyu besholem un gevizn fun hintn: nokh dem hob ikh ir gegebn a vayz eyn elnboygn, a tsveytn, vi zey kukn fun di arbl aroys. - vos hostu zikh avekgeshtelt vi a glomp far di oygn? -- fregt mikh mit a mol mayn vayb. ikh shvayg. - du bist geleymt gevorn? ikh rir zikh nisht fun ort. dos kleyne kind tseveynt zikh plutsling fun shlof, ikh mit mayn konkurentke gibn zikh beyde a varf tsum vigl, nor zi hot es frier farkhapt un es ongehoybn tsu farvign. shtey ikh shoyn nisht aher un nisht ahin. ikh veys vos nisht frier tsu ton. un do ze ikh, vi zi farvigt dos kind oysgetseykhnt, vi zi volt shoyn fun tsen yor a mame geven. ikh loyf tsu tsum vigl, khap aroys dos kind, khotsh es darf nokh gor shlofn: nor zi, di kleyne, git dos a ris aroys un loyft tsu mit dem tsu der mamen. makh ikh a shvayg, glaykh es art mikh nisht, gey tsu oyf mayn frierdikn postn un shtel zikh avek. - vi azoy haltstu dos kind? -- hob ikh plutsling ongeshrien oyf mayn konkurentke, khotsh zi hot dos gehaltn beser fun mir. - s'iz nisht dayn eysek! -- entfert zi mir. a khutspe! - vos heyst, nisht mayn eysek? du dreyst oys dem kind di hentlekh. - zol dir nisht arn! - vos heyst, es zol mir nisht arn? ikh bin dokh a tate? - nu-nu?... -- entfert zi mir ongelodn. - vos, nu-nu? Mindele, tokhter, kum tsu mir. - vos vilstu? vos tshepestu zikh tsum meydl? -- fregt mir mayn vayb shtreng. - vos heyst, vos ikh vil? zi dreyt oys dem kind di hentlekh, ikh bin dokh a tate, s'tut mir vey dos harts! - ober zol dos dir nisht arn! - vos heyst? - du vest nisht avekgeyn?! - gib a kuk, vi azoy ikh gey! - du vest nisht avekgeyn fun mayne oygn? - nu, gib a kuk... - on mir volt shoyn merer mitsve! -- ruft zikh op mayn konkurentke -- ikh hob nisht keyn pitsl kleydl oyf zikh. aza min sotn! - far vos geystu nisht horeven? - gib a kuk, vi azoy ikh gey! - ikh bet dikh, du zolst avekgeyn fun mayne oygn! ikh shtey. zi makht keyn sakh taynes nisht, kayklt zikh tsu tsu der vant, khapt arop di katshelke un heybt zi oyf iber mayn kop. di kinder hobn gemakht a gevald, di konkurentke mayne hot zikh, vi es vayzt oys, dershrokn un aroysgelozt dos kind fun di hent. a-a, gut!... ikh hob fargesn on dem vayb mit der katshelke, ikh bin tsugeshprungen tsum meydl, zi ongekhapt bay di hor, geshlept vi a tsoyg iber der gantser podloge un zi gebukhet in di pleytses, vifl es iz nor in ir arayn, un derbay vi a getrayer foter geshrien: na, na, vest visn, vi tsu haltn a kind! vest visn! es iz gevorn a kvitsheray, azoy vi in a mark tsvishn khazeyrim. di kleyne mit der groyser zaynen gelegn oyf der podloge un gerisn zikh mit ale koykhes. dos yingele mayns hot ayngegrobn dos ponem in kleydl arayn un hot ahin-tsu arayngeshrien. un zi, dos vayb mayns iz geshtanen vi a leymener goylem un hot gornisht gevust vos tsu ton: tsi zol zi oyfheybn dos kleyne kind fun der podloge? tsi zol zi aynshtiln dos? tsi zol zi tsugeyn tsu yener? zi hot gekukt mit tsvey vilde oygn. plutsling hot zi zikh tseveynt un zikh ongehoybn raysn di hor fun kop, un ikh, meynendik, az zi iz fun di gedanken arop, hob gemakht a gvald, bin tsugelofn tsum fentster un mit ale finger ongehoybn poykn, men zol zikh tsunoyfloyfn. * * * mayn glik hot lang nisht ongehaltn: dos kind hot in dray khadoshem arum nokhn geboyrn vern farlozt di likhtike velt. yo, dos ershte mol, vos ikh hob ot di naye yetsire derzen, hot mir glaykh a tykhke geton dos harts, az mayn glik vet lang nisht onhaltn, vayl s'iz geboyrn gevorn a greyts tsu shtarbn. der bris iz geven in a khoydesh arum nokhn geboyrn. di konkurentke mayne hot zikh gemiest tsu dem tsutsurirn derfar, vos es iz nisht geven gemalet. di altitshke mayne hot zikh a por mol in tog arayngekhapt dos ontsuzeygn, khotsh ale kinder hobn fun keyn brust nisht gevust, khuts di akht teg in kimpet, un shpeter hob ikh zey ale oysgekhovet mit a soske. vi gliklekh bin ikh oyfn bris geven! ver iz demolt geven glaykh tsu mir. hent hobn zikh tsu mir geshtrekt fun ale zaytn: "lekhayim, bal bris! lekhayim, bal bris!" ikh hob gefilt az ikh leb, az ikh farnem epes oyf a shtikl ort in lebn. nor nisht oyf lang iz geven mayn glik. nokhn bris iz dem kind nokh erger gevorn. es kon zayn, az ven nisht zi, di konkurentke mayne, volt es efsher geven geklepet nokh a halb yor, hot zi, ober, dem kind mekatser geven di yorn. zi hot ale mol geripet mit der tir, tsi zi hot es badarft, tsi nisht, un zi iz gornisht iberrasht geven, ven ikh fleg ir ale mol zogn: "khatsufe, du vilst avekpatren dos kind." neyn, zi hot gornisht oysbahaltn un flegt mir opentfern: - nu, az yo, ver hot moyre far dir? di gantse tsayt bin ikh nor arum dem gegangen: keyner hot zikh afile tsu dem nisht tsugerirt. es hot take geeklt fun dem, a farzeenish iz es geven. dos peneml a langs, an ongetsoygns, -- hot es oysgezen vi a zoyere, tsekvetshte ugerke. keyn loyt fleysh hot dos oyf zikh nisht gehat, nor a hoyt iz es nokhgehangen, vi a baytl. az ikh hob es gehaltn, zaynen di finger mayne gekrokhn in layb arayn, -- ikh hob es gemuzt haltn nor in a kishn. nor in der nakht, ven es iz geshtorbn, hot es bay mir gor an ander kheyn bakumen. do hob ikh shoyn nisht gezen far zikh keyn kind, nor a groysn mentsh, vos farshteyt un veyst alts. un geveyntlekh hob ikh shoyn derfar moyre gekrogn. shteyendik lebn kind, hob ikh getsitert, es zol nisht trefn mayne gedanken. mir hot zikh gedakht, az ot itst veyst es alts, -- veyst, az ikh hob es nokh mer nisht gekont onkukn, vi ale do in shtub. ale zaynen geshlofn, der zeyger hot badarft zeyn arum dray. in droysn iz a fintstere nakht geven. a shreklekher vint hot in fentster gefayft un hot ale mol gevorfn gantse lyapukhes shney in di shoybn. tsu der ksise hob ikh a likhtl ongetsundn un glaykh es in ponem gekukt. es iz zikh gants ruik gelegn, nor dos hertsl hot zikh bay dem shtark gehoybn. di eygelekh hot es gehaltn laykht farmakht, nor a minut farn toyt hobn zey zikh mit a mol an efn gegebn, azelkhe reyne, shvartse oygn, un hobn zikh glaykh oyf mir avekgeshtelt. "zay mir moykhl!" -- hob ikh tsu dem gezogt. un azoy vi ikh hob es aroysgeredt, hobn zikh bay im di oygn vi mit a pare ibergetsoygn, un azoy zeynen zey ofn geblibn. ikh hob dos mesl mit a shvartsn shal tsugedekt, tsukopns hob ikh dos likhtl tsugeklept un aleyn hob ikh mit shvere trit ongehoybn arumshpanen iber der shtub mit an aropgeloztn kop. mit a mol hot mir fardrosn: far vos kumt mir eynem aleyn zikh arumdreyen arum mes? ikh bin glaykh tsugegangen tsu mayn vayb, ir gegebn a shtorkh un gezogt: "shtey oyf! dos kind iz geshtorbn!" zi hot zikh vi a tsemishte oyfgekhapt. nokh dem bin ikh tsugegangen un oyfgevekt mayn konkurentke un oysgeshrien: "shtey oyf, dayn bruder iz geshtorbn!" di muter hot opgedekt dos kind un hot zikh deroyf shtil tseveynt. di kleyne hot oysgevalyet di oygn un getsitert far kelt. ikh hob zikh avekgeshtelt fundervaytns, gekukt oyf zey beydn un geshmeykhlt. dernokh bin ikh tsugegangen tsu mayn konkorentke, ongenumen zi far a hant, aroysgefirt in mitn shtub un aleyn bin ikh oyf hinter-fislekh opgegangen fun ir, zikh avekgeshtelt antkegn un ongehoybn tsu plesken mit di hent un tsu zingen, zi zol geyn a tentsl. mayne hot oysgeshrien: - bist fun zinen arop?! - ikh bin nisht arop fun zinen! dos hot zi dos kind gepatert. dos kind volt gelebt, ven zi kilt dos nisht tsu. - vos heyst? - vos heyst? vos zol dos heysn? zi hot umishne gelozt ofn di tir. ikh hob vayter ongehoybn tsu zingen un tsu plesken. - yidn, gvald! er iz fun zinen arop. vos iz dos far a plesken? -- hot mayn vayb a tsetumlte gegvaldevet. - umishne! umishne! zol dos kind hern. zol dos visn, ver es iz zayn malekhamoves. ven nisht zi, volt es gelebt! ikh bin tsugegangen tsum kind un gezogt: "zolst visn, Hershl, az dayn shvester Malke iz goyrem in dayn toyt. zi iz dayn malekhamoves. ikh, dayn foter, Meyer BeRebe Yitskhok, zog dir on, du zolst nisht shvaygn oyf dayn fritsaytikn toyt!" do iz gevorn a gvald, punkt vi der mes volt shoyn gehat oyfgeshtanen un zikh genumen tsu der arbet. di muter iz aroyfgefaln oyfn kind un hot zikh getreyslt mitn gantsn kerper, getupet mit di fis un hot derbay epes geredt. di kleyne iz vi a meshugene arumgeshprungen iber der shtub un gegvaldevet. di tsvey kleyne kinder hobn zikh oyfgekhapt fun shlof un oykh ongehoybn ritshen. ikh bin shoyn gor tsedult gevorn. ikh bin a por minut geshtanen un hob nisht gevust, vos mit mir tut zikh. un azoy nisht visndik, hob ikh ongehoybn pakeven mayn bisl vesh. ayngepakevet zikh, bin ikh tsugegangen tsum geshtorbenem kind un gezogt: "hob a likhtikn ganeydn, mayn tayerer zun! du zolst shteyn un betn far dayn oremen tatn, vos lozt zikh itst avek in der velt arayn"... dernokh hob ikh genumen dos pekl untern orem un mit a kuk zikh opgezegnt mit di tsvey klenere kinder. ikh bin pamelekh fun shtub aroys un avek in der shvartser velt arayn... [Proofread by Noyekh Miller and Leonard Prager]. ______________________________________________________ End of _The Mendele Review_ 04.018 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 Project Onkelos archives can be reached at: http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/onkelos.htm