Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 5.090
August 20, 1995

1) Yiddish superstitious expressions (Zellig Bach)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 15:33:44 -0400
From: zellig@aol.com
Subject: Yiddish superstitious expressions

I received from Paul Gilon (Joshua Tree, CA), before he became a Mendele
subscriber, the following interesting inquiry:

"When I was a child my mother told me about so-called _nish-gite_ , evil
ghosts who frequented isolated places at night.  Their distinguishing
characteristic was that they had "chicken legs."  Over the years I was
never been able to find anyone who had heard the same tale.

"On my last visit to Poland I mentioned this topic to the historian Prof.
Greenberg, Director of the Jewish Museum in Warsaw.  Unfortunately, he
was not  able  to  give  me  any information on this subject.

"The reason this tale has been so important to me is that when I was
hiding in France during the war, not only did I have to look out for the
Gestapo and the French Gendarmes, the Milice (German polIce consisting of
Frenchmen wearing special uniforms and usually mounted on motorcycles), I
also had to keep an eye for the "nish-gite."  In retrospect I do not
really know whom I feared most."

Answer to inquiry:

A.  The term "nish-gite," spelled in Romanized Standard Yiddish
_nit-gute_ (or nisht-gute), literally means bad, malevolent ghosts or
spirits, always ready and on the lookout to harm people and to bring
havoc to human affairs. They are invisible, and their "chicken legs" is a
sign that they do not partake in the human anatomy.  [The letter /t/, in
the first part of the compound noun "nish(t)-gute" is often silent,
similar to the /t/ in the expression "nish(t) koshe"  that  has  been
compressed  in Yiddish into *nishkoshe* ("tolerable").]

"Nit-gute" is a so-called generic name.  It was superstitiously believed
that if one were to mention them even by their colllective names, such as
shEydim (demons, devils), mazI'kim (injurers), or rUkhes (ill spirits,
beyze vintn), they would interpret it as an "invitation" and promptly
show up with all dispatch.

The English expression "talk about the devil" with the implication that
the person mentioned will suddenly and unexpectedly show up is, albeit in
a jocular vein, an echo of that old superstition.

B.  Li'les (in Hebrew Lilith):  According to rabbinical and mystical
literature li'les has a human face, long hair, and wings, is the symbol
of sensual lust and sexual temptation, and seduces mortal man.  She is
the Queen Demon, consort of Satan, and mother of the shEydim.   She is
singled out by the fact that she alone is referred to by name.  In Jewish
lore she is especially known as preying on and abducting new-born babies,
to torture them and to kill them.

(The name "li'les" was occasionally applied in Yiddish to a living woman
if she was thought of as malicious and wicked on purpose.)

C.  Superstitions are an age-old universal phenomenon throughout the
world, and the Jewish people were, of course, no exception.

Herewith , by way of example, a very few superstitions among Jews and
their Yiddish expressions:

a) Mazltov:  This extremely popular expression is so embedded in Yiddish
and in the Jewish tradition that I seriously doubt if many know its
origin and meaning.  It comes from the Talmud, and is an *astrological*
term, meaning a _constellation_ of stars.

"Mazltov" (from Hebrew mazal tov, tov meaning good) came to signify good
fortune, luck, or destiny.  It essentially means, "May you have a good,
lucky, propitious star constellation for your future and for all your
future endeavors."  [Now that you know the history and literal meaning of
this expression, I beg of you -- do not stop using it even if you don't
believe in astrology!  (Nancy Reagan believed in astrological charts
interpreted to her by a famous Hollywood astrologist, and look -- her
husband was re-elected to a second term...)

Mazltov is so much part and parcel of our living verbal tradition, that
it transcends its origin and history.  So "Mazltov!" to all Mendelyaner
and to our rosh-khavruse, the very best of luck in all we do and plan
doing!]

b)  Keynehore:   From the Hebrew "Ayen hOre" (evil eye), prefaced with
"keyn" (or "kayn"), meaning _not_.  The entire expression "keyn ayen
hOre" has been compressed in Yiddish into _keynehOre_, meaning "May he
(or she, or we) be protected from an evil eye."

It is based on the superstitious belief that an envious glance, or even a
word of praise, may be injurious to the person, especially a child, who
was the object of the glance or praise.  It was velieved that the moment
the "nit-gute" will hear it or become aware of it, they will consider
"it" an urgent call to action to undo the intended goodwill.

c)  To this category belongs the old-fashioned custom, especially among
women--the eternal protectors of children --to spit three times on the
fingertips and making each time a quick movement with the hand,
tantamount to saying to the nit-gute "Go away! Get lost!"   It was
believed that this spitting and hand motion will cancel, nullify and ward
off any mischievous, untoward designs the evil eye may have cast.

d) Protective Names:

1)  If a Jewish family had the misfortune of losing several very young
children, a newly born infant was given a Hebrew name that was however
_never_ uttered for fear that the very mention of the name would alert
the nit-gute to the baby's presence.  Instead, the child was called Alter
(if a boy), or Alte (if a girl), both names meaning Old, for the purpose
of counteracting any designs of the malekhamoves (the Angel of Death).

Naming the baby the equivalent of Old was thus a superstitious expression
of a _halevay-gedank_, of wishful thinking, hoping that the child will
live up to the literal meaning of its name, and grow in years to a stage
in life where it will be natural to call him Alter (or her Alte).

2)  If one was very sick and the family feared for his life, the name of
the afflicted was changed, traditionally to the symbolic Khayim (male
given name) or Khaye (female given name), the new name meaning Life.  In
this superstition it was believed that the name change will outwit the
Angel of Death since it will not conform with his "calling" papers.

3)  I knew a man Jacob Rabinovitsh who, as a very young child and
throughout his adolescence, was called Ey'gele, the endearing and
diminutive of Oyg (Yiddish: eye).  This indeed was in a family that lost
several very young children, and the choice of this very unusual name,
Ey'gele, was a kind of heartfelt,  wishful, and a so-to-speak warning
message to the nit-gute that the child will be cherished and protected
like the apple of one's eye by all available means.

Conclusion:

When khaver Gilon hid during the German occupation of France, the tables
completely _turned_:  The Gestapo and the French motorcycle-riding
gendarmes acting in its behalf were in reality the roving demons,
shEydim, and nit-gute, with all attributes of the human anatomy except
for their hearts that dwelled in the darkest of dark, cold like stone,
without the remotest trace of human feelings and feelings for humans.

And fortunately for him and for us, in his hideout that determined his
fate and future, it was he who became the -- invisible...

Zellig Bach
Lakehurst, NJ

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End of Mendele Vol. 5.090