Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.001 May 15, 1995 1) We start our fifth year (Noyekh Miller) 2) Of koyletches and khalas (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 3) Koyletch (Jascha Kessler) 4) Dutsn un irtsn af yidish (Sholem Berger) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 From: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu Subject: We start our fifth year From Vol4.001 (5/15/94): Mendele begins its fourth year today. From a nucleus of 22 we are now close to 500. From a hand-stitched mailing list that came out of Trinity's old VAX we now, thanks to Victor Bers, conduct business via Yale's Listserver. For the shames it's been pure pleasure the whole time, since all the hard work has been done by those who do the writing. I would change nothing from that statement except to note that, as Mendele begins its fifth year, we are now just short of 750. And live in 24 _known_ countries. Country Subscribers Country Subscribers ------- ----------- ------- ----------- Argentina 3 Israel 23 Australia 5 Italy 3 Austria 2 Korea 1 Belgium 1 Netherlands 3 Canada 41 New Zealand 1 Costa Rica 1 Poland 5 Estonia 1 South Africa 1 Finland 1 Spain 1 France 2 Switzerland 2 Germany 17 USA 601 Great Britain 6 Venezuela 1 Hungary 1 ??? 13 Iceland 1 Total 747 Not bad, as the shameste says, for a dying language. Noyekh Miller 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 14:24:44 -0400 From: shirshan@aol.com Subject: Of koyletches and khalas My bubie used to say, "A koyletch un an ek oif Rosh Hashona." A koyletch was a round khala to symbolize eternity and wishes for a long life. Our roots were in Skalat and Husiatin in Austria near the Russian border and mama used to tell about koyletches made in Russia with saffron and raisins, and ladders (so one could ascend to the blue yonder) imprinted on top. An article in Moment told of the Ukrainian custom of baking khala dough in the form of a bird symbolizing God's protection in the form of a hovering bird. I think it was Lithuania where khala dough was baked in the form of a crown to symbolize God as king (or queen?). In Leviticus, Moses was instructed to place two rows of six khalas each before the Lord every Shabos. This eventually came down to the family table on Shabos where the 12 round loaves turned into 2 braided loaves with at least 6 humps in each (to represent the 6 loaves in each of the 2 rows placed on the table in the Temple). The first khalas (which were round) were believed to be made from semolina flour, a fine wheat flour used in pasta. Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 May 95 12:57 PDT From: ime9jfk@mvs.oac.ucla.edu Subject: Koyletch In Hungarian Jewry it was kalach, pronounced kalatch. My motherinlaw made them , a light breakfast type coffee cake. My father, when shown it, laughed: Oy, this is a koyletch! He was promised a something different. He was from Bessarabia. I wanted my motherinlaw to put raisins and cinnamon in, which she began to, to oblige me. Hers was plain, and not flat but high. Good for dunking, and for putting jam on. Coming from South Russian types, I needed more zetz to everything she made, spices, peppers, raisins, cinnamon, even salt. You name it. The same cake I buy now and then in its Italian form, as pannettone. That has some dried fruit morsels in it, but it comes plain, too. Nothing special, and easy to make...not that my writing wife would ever trouble to bake a cake. Why did I marry her, you might wonder? She had a Smith Corona portable typewriter ,new, as her dowry. I jumped at the chance. Four years later I even wrote my PhUD on it! Oh, to think of the labors of Hercules, and pre-technology. Note cards, cut and paste! Oi vey. Now, I can entertain hundreds unknown with such trivia. Jascha Kessler 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 18:20:55 -0700 (PDT) From: zdb@cco.caltech.edu Subject: Dutsn un irtsn af yidish tayere ekspertn, ikh bet aykh ayer koved far ot der nisht-geshulter frage: s'farinteresirt mikh di teme fun dutsn un irtsn af farsheydene shprakhn. m'hot tomid gezogt (tsi rikhtik tsi nisht) az, nokh der tsveyter velt- milkhome, m'dutst zikh ale mol mer un m'irtst zikh ale mol veyniker. ershte frage: iz emesdik ot di svore? tsveyte frage: vos tut zikh mit dutsn un irtsn af yidish haynt-tsu-tog? tsi dutst zikh di mayoritet fun yidish-redners, oder nisht? a yidish grus fun sholem (Zack) berger ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.001 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. 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