The Mendele Review:
Yiddish Literature and Language
(A Companion to MENDELE)
---------------------------------------------------------
Contents of Vol. 10.005 [Sequential No. 170]
Date:
1) This issue (ed.)
2) Review of Jerold Frakes' Early Yiddish Texts (Marion Aptroot)
3) "Die fragen [di frages], vos men shtelt baym veren [vern] a sitizen
[birger]" (Robert Goldenberg)
4) Books Received (ed.)
a) Shalom Luria, Vilna Shelanu-Ir VaEm
b) Mordkhe Schaechter, Di geviksn velt in yidish
Click here to enter: http://yiddish.haifa.ac.il/tmr/tmr10/tmr10005.htm
1)---------------------------------------------------
Date:
From: ed.
Subject: This issue
***The discipline of Yiddish studies has been
growing apace, building on the basis of work carried through by earlier
generations of scholars. One area that has made great advances is that of Old
Yiddish, which now boasts a number of critical editions of key works and,
for the first time a comprehensive textbook that surveys the entire field.
Jerrold Frakes's Early Yiddish Texts is here reviewed by Professor
Marion Aptroot of the Lehrstuhl fuer jiddische Kultur, Sprache un
Kultur, Heinrich-Heine Universitaet, Duesseldorf.
***The recent fracas over a Spanish translation of
the "Star-Spangled Banner" brought into momentary prominence earlier
parallel translations in other languages, including Yiddish. The latter point up the role of Yiddish as a
handmaiden in the acculturation of Yiddish-speaking immigrants. As early as
1896 the lexicographer, journalist and author Aleksander Harkavi
(1863-1939) in one of the many periodicals he founded and wrote for, was
publishing help columns for prospective naturalization applicants. In
the pages brought here in both Yiddish and Latin letters, we see how
an effort is made to write English in Yiddish letters. This suggests that many
Jewish immigrants mastered a rudimentary English before they could match
English alphabet to English sounds. Nayer leksikon fun der yidisher
literatur (vol. 3:82) records the shortlived
2)--------------------------------------------
Date:
From: Marion Aptroot
Subject: Review of Jerold Frakes' Early Yiddish Texts
Early Yiddish Texts 1100–1750.
Edited by Jerold C. Frakes.
Jerold Frakes’s copious anthology, Early
Yiddish Texts 1100–1750, with its 889 pages of texts and excerpts
accompanied by succinct introductions and selected bibliographical information
provides a weighty argument in discussions with those who think Yiddish only
became a written language in the nineteenth century. Even among those who are
aware that Yiddish texts from earlier centuries have come down to us, the
cliché often rules that virtually all older Yiddish texts – apart
from some medieval epics and Elye Bokher’s Renaissance romances – were intended
for pious women. This anthology reflects the scholarship of the past two
centuries that has described and studied a highly diverse body of Yiddish texts:
Frakes includes Bible translations, Biblical or Midrashic as well as secular
epics, fables, letters, minhogim (customs), glosses and glossaries, vikuekh-lider
(poetic disputations), drama, ethical and moral literature, satire and humour,
historical songs and historiography, legal and para-legal texts, responsa,
liturgical texts, a newspaper, songs, medical and magical texts, paratexts,
prose narratives (mayses), and travel guides.
With this book, guided by chronological and genre
indices, one can embark on a tour of discovery. The indices facilitate access
to the anthology, but in some cases one can dispute the date or the genre under
which a text is classified. The latter is nearly always a moot point in
literary histories and anthologies, but a division into genres is a practical
organizing principle. Still, it is surprising to find Isaac Wetzlar’s Libes
briv not only under the heading of muser but also that of Kabbalah.
Kabbalah is currently a live topic and the scholarly debate on the nature and
extent of the transmission of kabbalistic narratives and ideas in early Yiddish
texts is ongoing. This connection, however, is puzzling to this reviewer, who
divines a mishap during the production process: Frakes’s introduction to the
excerpt provides no arguments for this classification.
Whereas most users will be aware that ideas about
the classification of texts according to genre are in constant flux and that
what is understood by these labels changes through the ages, they will probably
accept the date of texts as a given. The texts should be dated with extreme
care, taking account of codicological, linguistic and stylistic criteria.
Frakes, overall, is careful and dates the texts on the basis of colophons or
title pages of manuscripts and printed texts and is not afraid of giving vague
indications where there is uncertainty. Unfortunately,
this caution is not always upheld. The heading of text Nr. 14, “Vu zol ikh hin”
/ ‘Whither Shall I Go?’, for example, states that it was written in the
fourteenth century. The dating of the text, however, is not at all certain. The
manuscript in which it is found dates from the fourteenth century. The poem in
question, according to Frakes, “is written in an Ashkenazic cursive hand
distinct from the formal book hand of the main text” (p. 64). Frakes bases his
dating on the fact that “[t]he hand of the poem is characteristic of the
earliest period in Old Yiddish texts and may well be a near contemporary of the
main text.” I am sure that Jerold Frakes has read many Yiddish manuscripts and
that he has developed an eye for paleographic differences, but the paleography
of Ashkenazic writing alone does not allow precise dating. The language in
which the poem is written is strikingly more modern than that of the texts
preceding and following it in this anthology. The spelling conventions to which
the scribe adheres, too, are more typical of sixteenth-century works.
For this anthology Jerold Frakes has consulted many
original manuscripts and printed works as well as critical editions. The main
objective of this anthology is “to provide reliable texts of a representative
range of works from early Yiddish” (p. lxxi). In this Frakes has succeeded
since the number of errors in the Old Yiddish texts appears to be extremely
low. However, one would sometimes wish for more editorial information when he
provides different scholars’ (and his own) textual readings of originals that
are sometimes hard to decipher or contain typographical errors. As he states in
the introduction: “A text edition may be provided with various types of notes,
such as explanatory notes (that identify references and allusions to or
citations of other texts, such as Bible, Talmud, or midrash, or identify
people, places or events mentioned in the text), lexical notes that explain
‘difficult’ words, and textual readings by previous scholars” (p. lxxi). These
were not provided because of other priorities and considerations of space, but
those who try to read these texts may give up because of the difficulties they
provide. If one is not a polyglot like Frakes and familiar with a number of
European languages from the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, one may become
frustrated by the lack of explanatory notes.
The attention devoted to checking the early Yiddish
texts was not paid to the bibliographies.
This criticism aside, Jerold Frakes’ anthology
fulfills the aim of providing reliable texts for advanced students. One hopes
that this book will contribute to Old and Middle Yiddish texts becoming part of
the curriculum at more universities. Time will tell if this book will indeed be
used for the academic teaching of Early Yiddish literature. At universities
where Old and Middle Yiddish literature and language are taught, teachers
attach much value to their students becoming familiar with the look of older
Yiddish manuscripts and printed books and it is unlikely that they will use
this edition for texts which – for lack of explanatory notes – are just as easy
or difficult to read in the original if reproductions are available. Students
who can read Yiddish in square characters can usually master the Ashkenazic
semi-cursive and cursive scripts without much difficulty. In my experience in
teaching early Yiddish texts, students prefer facsimiles once they become
familiar with the writing. Furthermore, a considerable number of Yiddish
printed books of the 16th to mid-18th century can easily be found online [3]or as part of microfiche collections.[4]
Where early Yiddish texts are taught in facsimile, this impressive compilation
can still be used as an accompanying manual providing materials (textual
readings by scholars – where available –, short introduction and
bibliographical references for further reading) which can be both an aid to and
the object of further discussions in the study of pre- and early modern Yiddish
texts.
This anthology also makes evident the need for good
scholarly editions of early Yiddish texts which include “various types of
notes, such as explanatory notes (that identify references and allusions to or
citations of other texts, such as Bible, Talmud, or midrash, or identify
people, places or events mentioned in the text), lexical notes that explain
‘difficult’ words, and textual readings by previous scholars” (to quote Jerold
Frakes, p. lxxi, out of context). A number of editions that provide these aids
have appeared and such works continue to appear, most recently Chava
Turniansky’s prize-winning Glikl edition.[5]
With this compilation of a wide choice of works and
excerpts, Jerold Frakes has provided the only single-volume companion for
exploring early Yiddish literary and non-literary texts in independent studies.
This pioneering work will doubtless help raise interest in Medieval and Early
Modern Yiddish.
[1] Erika Timm, Zur Frühgeschichte der jiddischen
Erzählprosa: Eine neuaufgefundene Maise-Handschrift. In: Beiträge
zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 117,2 (1995), p.
243-280. Far from simply being a description of a newly
discovered mayse-codex, this is also one of the best introductions to
the Mayse-bukh and full of new information.
The articles of Lucia Raspe on specific Ashkenazic
prose narratives which feature, among other sources, in the Mayse-bukh
and Mayse nisim are among the most innovative studies relevant to the
study of older Yiddish texts. It would have been very helpful to students and
teachers of Early Yiddish literature if their attention had been drawn to them,
e.g. Emmeram von Regensburg, Amram von Mainz: Ein christlicher Heiliger in der
jüdischen Überlieferung, in: Neuer Anbruch. Zur deutsch-jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur, Michael Brocke, Aubrey Pomerance and Andrea
Schatz, eds., Berlin: Metropol, 2001, p. 221–241.
[2] Michael Stanislavski, The Yiddish “Shevet
Yehudah”: a study in the “Ashkenization” of a Spanish-Jewish classic. In: Jewish
History and Jewish Memory; Essays in Honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi. Ed.
by Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron, David N. Myers.
[3] Scans of Yiddish works from the extensive holdings
of the University Library of Frankfurt on the
[4] E.g., the collection of Old Yiddish Literature
edited by Chone Shmeruk, based mainly on the Yiddish collection of the Bodleian
Library in Oxford (Leiden: IDC-Microfilms) or the Yiddish books from the
Thyssen Collection, Rostock, and parts of the Wagenseil collection, both edited
by Heike Tröger and Hermann Süss (Erlangen: Harald Fischer Verlag). A
notable recent facsimile edition with translation and commentary is Astrid
Starck’s edition of the Mayse Bukh: Un beau livre d’histoires / Eyn
shön Mayse bukh: facsimilé de l’edition princeps de Bâle
(1602).
[5] Chava Turniansky, ed., Glikl – zikhronot
1691–1719,
3)------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
From: Robert Goldenberg
Subject: Die fragen [Di frages], vos men shtelt baym veren [vern] a sitizen
[birger]
Cover of Der yidish-amerikanisher folks-kalendar, 1896-1897
Click here for higher resolution
"Die fragen [di frages], vos
men shtelt baym veren [vern] a sitizen [birger]", p.114
Click here for higher resolution
"Die fragen [di frages], vos men shtelt baym veren [vern] a sitizen
[birger]", p.115
Click here for higher resolution
Die fragen [Di frages], vos men shtelt baym veren [vern] a sitizen
[birger]
(fun der Arbayter [Arbeter]
Tsaytung)
Dos gezets shraybt nit for, vos der rikhter zol fregen dem vos vil veren [vern]
a sitizen [birger]. Nor der rikhter fregt gevehnlikh [geveynlekh] etlikhe
[etlekhe] fragen [frages], um zikh tsu ibertsaygen, oyb der kandidat hot khotsh
a shtikel [shtikl] yedie vos di amerikaner regirung iz azelkhes. Velkhe
fragen [frages] fregt, iz nit beshtimt [bashtimt], nor gevehnlikh [geveynlekh]
fregt er folgende:
frage:
àÇÔ äàÇå îòðé ñèÖèñ àÇø ãäé éåðééèòã
ñèééèñ ÷àÈîôÌàÈåæã?
Of how many states are the
antvort [entfer]:
ôÏàÈøèéÎôÏàÈåø
Forty-four (44).
frage:
äååàÇè
÷ÖÇðã àÇåå âàÈÔòøðîòðè äòÔ Ôé?
What kind of government have we? (Velkhe sort regirung hoben [hobn] mir?)
antvort [entfer]:
øéôÌåáìé÷òï
Republikan.
[Ed:. Note how, as in the above, Yiddish letters are used to write
English words throughout the citizen's catechism.]
frage: Who makes the laws of the
antvort [entfer]: The People, through Congress in
frage: What do you call the two
branches of Congress? (Vi rufen [rufn] zikh di tsvey abtheylungen [opteylungen]
fun kongres?)
antvort [entfer]: House of
Representatives and the Senate of the
frage: Who is the head of the
antvort [entfer]: The President of the
frage: Where is the capitol of the
antvort [entfer]:
frage: Who makes the laws of this
state? (Ver makht die gezetse [di
gezetsn] fun dizen shtaat [dizn shtaat]?)
antvort [entfer]: The State Legislature.
frage: Who is the head of the
government of this state? (Ver iz der
hoypt fun der regierung [regirung] fun dizen steyt [dizn shtat]?)
antvort [entfer]: The Governor.
frage: Where is the capital of this
state?
antvort
[entfer]: (Ven es iz in steyt [shtat]
Nyu york) In Albany.
frage: What does the Constitution
guarantee to everybody? (Vos fir rekhte [Vosere rekht] garantirt die konstitutsiyon
[di konstitutsye] tsu yeden [yedn] eynem?)
antvort [entfer]:
frage: Who abolishes the laws of the
antvort entfer]: The People through the Supreme
Court. (Dos folk durkh dos ober-gerikht [dos Hekhste gerikht])
frage: Who makes the laws of the
city? (Ver makht die gezetse [di
gezetsn] fun shtodt [shtot]?)
antvort [entfer]: The Board of Aldermen. (Die
ferzamlung fun di oldermen [di Kolegye fun shtot-yoyetsim].)
frage: Who is the head officer of the
city? (Ver iz der hoypt-beamter
[baamter] fun shtot?)
antvort [entfer]: The Mayor.
4)-------------------------------------------------
Date:
From: ed.
Subject: Books Received
a) Shalom Luria, Vilna Shelanu-Ir VaEm
Shalom Luria. Vilna Shelanu -- Ir VaEm. [Tadpis mitokh seyfer
hazikaron leken "HaShomer HaTsair" beVilna: Lahavot 'HaShomer
HaTsair', Tel-Aviv, 1993; reprinted from Shalom Luria. "Vilna
Shelanu - Ir VaEm," Madurot; HaShomer HaTsair beVilna veHaGalil, Givat
Khaviva: Yotsey haShomer haTsair beVilna veHaGalil veYad Yaari, 1991,
pp. 20-71].
Shalom Luria, the son of the distinguished Yiddish linguist Zelik Kalmanovitsh (1885-1944) and an accomplished Yiddish scholar and translator in his own right, movingly describes his beloved Vilna, which he left as a young man to "go up to" the Land of Israel -- with the blessings of his parents whom he was never to see again. These beloved parents "brought him to Vilna when he was a child, raised and educated him and planted in him a love for the Jewish people and its two tongues -- Yiddish and Hebrew ...." In 22 succinct chapters, this brochure of 100 pages (with a 4-page bibliography) sketches in an individual manner the cultural biography of Jewish Vilna through the ages, a remarkable story.
b) Mordkhe Schaechter, Di geviksn-velt in yidish
Mordkhe Schaechter. Di geviksn-velt in yidish
[English title: Plant Names in Yiddish] (
----------------------------------------
End of The Mendele Review Vol. 10.005
Editor, Leonard Prager
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