Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 2 no. 39
July 21, 1992
 
1) Meyashev zayn (David Sherman)
2) Borsht belt (Paul Weichsel)
3) Shtupn (Martin Davis)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 92 14:52:34 EDT
From: dave@cai.lsuc.on.CA
Subject: RE: Mendele Vol 2.15

(I'm finally catching up on old issues of MENDELE after
being very busy for a while.)

Our khusheve shames asks:

> Subject: One word, two questions
>
> 1. I've seen and heard 'meyashev' used in several ways:
>
> bin ikh meyashev
> bin ikh mir meyashev
> bin ikh zikh meyashev
>
> Does this interest grammarians?

There are two questions here, no?  One is whether meyashev
has a different meaning when used reflexively.  The other
is whether the first person reflexive is "mir/mikh" or
"zikh". I'm interested in hearing from people about the
second question.

Is there an official rule on this for YIVO Yiddish?  And is
there a consistent regional variation?

Over the past year or so, I've switched myself (and my
kids) over from "mikh" to "zikh".  Thus, "Ikh gay zikh
avekzetsn" instead of "Ikh gay mikh avekzetsn".  I sort of
suspected that using "mikh" was too much a translation of
the English ("myself").

> 2. Meyashev is often used for ironic or comic effect:
>
> Iz zikh meyashev dos redl un falt arop fun vogn.
> Iz er meyashev un heybt on shrayen 'Gevald! A fayer!'

What's the closest translation to what you mean here?  The
wheel deliberated and decided to fall off the wagon; He
considered carefully and began shouting "Fire!"?  (Meyashev
wasn't in my vocabulary until now; I'm trying to understand
its meaning, connotation and use.)

David Sherman
Toronto

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1992 11:59:45 -0500
From: Paul Weichsel <weichsel@symcom.math.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Borsht belt memories

Some memories about borscht belt music. My experiences
during the early forties ranged from the sublime to the
contemptible. I have alraady had my say about Mickey Katz
and company so I won't continue to beat a gepaygerten ferd.
During those years I was a meshorer with Samuel Sterner's
Symphonic Choir. (Any other alums out there?) Most of our
work was weddings and Bar Mitzvahs on the weekends,
sometimes 4 or 5 a night, shabbas and yontov services inthe
bigh synagogues, e.g. The Concourse Center of Israel, The
Williamsburg Shul, etc., and the real plums, Grossingers
and The Concord during the Yomim Neroim and Pesach. These
were especially good gigs because we got to stay the whole
ten days of Rosh Hashonoh and Yom Kippur and the entire
week of Pesach. The Chazanut during these holidays was
first class. I have never forgotten the experience of
davening with Pinchick at Grossingers. On occasion Moyshe
Oisher would come up and give a concert during the week. He
was in his waning years but he was still an extraordinary
entertainer. Moishele Genshof was another cantorial
presence that I remember with great fondness.

On a biographical note, I am a Professor of Mathematics at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I have
continued my Jewish musical activities to this day both as
a cantor (Temple Israel in Springfield, Ill) and a singer
of Yiddish music. In fact I will be giving a concert of
Yiddish music on 28 July at the University of Illinois as
part of the Jewish Elder Hostel. I gave another such
concert last year also in connection with the Elder Hostel.

Paul Weichsel

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 92 11:54:08 PDT
From: martind@drum.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: "shtupen" etc.

I only learned the sexual connotation as an adult. My
parents (from Lodz) always used it in its literal sense.

On the other hand, they freely used "lebn mit" (and also
the English "live with" or "live together") to mean that a
couple were having sexual relations (not necessarily that
they were cohabiting). I never heard any of the other terms
for sexual intercourse mentioned, but they might well have
used them when I wasn't around.

Martin Davis

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End of Mendele Vol 2.39

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