Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.321 April 19, 1994 1) Petcha (Sheldon Benjamin) 2) Tevye der Milkhiker (Daniella HarPaz) 3) Miami in fiction (Dvosye Bilik) 4) The Yidishe Gauchos---a documentary (Mark Freeman) 5) Telser yeshiva (Jules Levin) 6) Ton/tin (Yankel Ekhoyz) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Apr 15 14:47:31 1994 From: sbenj@MIT.EDU Subject: Petcha Thank you Bob Rothstein for the scholarly review of petcha theory and practice. Personally, I could never appreciate this particular dish. When we were in Russia in 1992, our hosts referred to petcha as "cholodnaya." Fortuantely I was able to cop a plea of "kosher, sorry" and was spared. I did note that for some of our family in Ukraine who were at that time experiencing severe food shortages, petcha with more gelatin than marrow or eggs was helping them stretch the food they did have. The whole subject makes one want a sip of shchav. Sheldon Benjamin 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Apr 18 14:58:35 1994 From: Daniella.HarPaz@um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Tevye der Milkhiker Louis Fridhandler: Thank you so much! I enjoyed the letters tremendously! Daniella HarPaz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Apr 18 15:25:55 1994 From: Dorothy_BILIK@umail.umd.edu (db28) Subject: Miami in fiction To Henry Breitrose: I am in my office and don't have the volume in hand, but Cynthia Ozick's harrowing "The Shawl" has a sequel set in Miami which was originally published in the New Yorker. Perhaps other Mendelenikes will recall the story. It was about the nature of memory-- Holocaust memories "vs" Jewish-American. Louis, a hartsikn dank for the wonderful Sholem Aleichem letters. Dvosye Bilik 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Apr 18 15:32:20 1994 From: MFREEMAN@PITZER.EDU Subject: The Yidishe Gauchos---a documentary I'm the director of a 1/2 hour video about Jews who emigrate from the Pale at the turn of the century and came to the Argentine pampas. There they became ranchers and farmers and as the saying goes "We palnted wheat and grew doctors." The program is narrated by Eli Wallach, screened at MOMA and at the Smithsonian and won awards at festivals here and abroad. It's now available from the National Center for Jewish Film. Lown Building 102; Brandeis University; Waltham, MA; 02254-9110; 617 899-7044; FAX 617 736-2070 As many of you know Yiddish culture in Argentina flourished with newspapers, theater, poetry, novels etc. All of this was a part of the rich life and history of the Jewish agricultural colonies there. Can anyone help us locate list electronic or snail of Argentines and/or Yiddishists who might be intrested in our "little known story of Jewish cowboys? Thanks for your help. Questions? Mfreeman@pitzer.claremont.edu or call me here at Pitzer College (909) 621-8000 x4319 where I'm an Asst. Prof. of Film/Video Studies. Mark Freeman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Apr 18 17:38:16 1994 From: JFLEVIN%UCRVMS.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: Telser yeshiva location In reply to Auslin, The Telser yeshiva was located in Telzhe, Lithuania-- NOT in Poland. When I was in Lithuania in 1991, my regional Jewish antiquities guide informed me that the site of the famous yeshiva, like many other sites, had just been (this was shortly after independence) or was about to be commemmorated with a plaque. As with the plaques I saw in Vilna, Kovno, etc., I assume it will be in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Lithuanian. Telzhe at that time was I believe in the top 5 of "Jewish" towns in population, after Vilnius, Kaunas, etc. That would probably mean about 50 Jews left, but THEY would doubtless know Yiddish! The Yeshiva, by the way, was transferred to Ohio somewhere, and sends me candles for Chanuka and dried kharoses mix for Pesach, soliciting donations. --Jules Levin 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Apr 18 19:52:56 1994 From: eckhause@sas.upenn.edu Subject: Ton/tin First, let me introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Eckhause(Yankel Ekhoyz). Although I am not fluent in Yiddish, I do understand the spoken language. I also have a more extensive knowledge of Modern Standard German(Hochdeutsch). My knowledge of Yiddish is only from the German and a few Yiddish expression, as I am only 19 and live in southern Virginia. Although I have limited knowledge of Yiddish, and I am not quite fluent in German, I am unclear about Ralf Arnemann's translation of the Yiddish. Although I am not entirely sure, the Yiddish verb "lernen" means the English verb to teach and the German "lehren". I have read the verse from "Afn Pripetshik": "Un der Rebbe lernt kleine Kinderlach dem allef beis." This cannot mean that the rabbi learns from the children, rather he teaches them. I believe oysgelernt means learned, as opposed to taught. Would this not be translated into German as gelernt, not ausgelernt? I have never come across the word "ausgelernt" in German prose. The Yiddish "kuken" is translated, to my knowledge, "gucken", which means to look or look at. Rather than "kochen" which means solely to cook. A Yiddish speaker informs me that the German "kochen" translates as the Yiddish "kuchen", not "kuken". To make matters more complicated, the German "Kuchen" means cake, which in Yiddish is "Lekach". Of course, then there is kacken, which ya'll remember from "alterkacker". In summary, Mr. Gildemeister makes an important point. There cant be just superficial translations, in many cases, between Yiddish and German. Indeed studying both these languages, I can recognize how similar, but often quite different, these languages are. Yankel Ekhoyz PS Also, I am not clear on the translation, "Ich tu kochen" In Hochdeutch, tun, means to make or do. One does not "make cook". ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.321 A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Send submissions/responses to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu