Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.135 October 11, 1995 1) Introduction and request (David Lidsky) 2) Khapn (Daniel Soyer) 3) Khapn (Mendy Fliegler) 4) Khapn (Stan Bernstein) 5) Shilumim (Hershl Hartman) 6) Yiddish & bas/bar mitsves (Marcia Gruss Levinsohn) 7) Itzik Manger's _The Book of Paradise_ (Ronald Florence) 8) ICOR (Shuli Berger) 9) Frida de Cielak's _Arele_ (Marti Krow-Lucal) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Oct 95 10:39:03 -0500 From: fl@usia.gov Subject: Introduction and request My name is David Lidsky, and I'm a lover of Yiddish. I've been lurking around Mendele for a while, but this is my first posting. I have recently come across a delightful example of Yiddish pulp literature: "Amazonen", by Michailevitch, first published in 1913 and subsequently in 1920 by the Hebrew Publishing Company in New York. I would very much like to find out more about the author (I suspect his name is a pseudonym). Can anyone out there help me? Thanks and Shone Toyve to all. David Lidsky Jerusalem 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 09 Oct 95 09:34:46 EDT From: 74212.2700@compuserve.com Subject: Khapn Regarding grabbing, nabbing, and aprehending, I have heard of a couple of interesting variations of "khapn." According to the memorial book for the town of Luboml (Yiddish: Libevne) in Volhynia, an action in which the Germans seized Jews from the streets and houses was called a "khapun." "Punkt a khoydesh nokhn daytshn araynkum iz plutsling gevorn a groyse behol behole in di gasn. S'iz bald klor gevorn, az dos iz 'a khapun' (azoy hot men ongerufn di tsayt, ven men hot in di gasn un hayzer gekhapt yidn). Ver es hot zikh bahaltn, iz tsaytvaylik geblibn lebn, un di farkhapte, vos zeyer tsol iz geven hekher 400 mener, hot men mit oytos avekgefirt hinter der shtot." (Nosn Sobel, "Khronologie fun khurbn," in _Sefer yizkor le-kehilat Luboml_ (Tel Aviv, n.d.), p.247.) On a somewhat less terrible note, I have heard that in Borough Park an action in which a mob of citizens chases after a mugger is called a "khapts'em." That may be more Yinglish than Yiddish. Daniel Soyer 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Oct 1995 22:05:49 -0400 (EDT) From: efliegle@capaccess.org Subject: Nabbing and getting For Neil Jacob's benefit, there is a little ditty that starts out: "Men khapt un men nemt un men zetst im an....." (one captures, one takes, and one jails him...) I forgot the rest, if anyone can provide, thanks. Mendy Fliegler 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 08:58:48 EDT From: hgvb87a@prodigy.com Subject: Nabbing and getting In my house it was always "khop ihm" to denote grab him. "Vos khopt ihm" was idiom for what's grabbing him or what's wrong with him. Stan Bernstein Lexington, MA 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Oct 1995 20:04:14 -0400 From: hershl@aol.com Subject: Shilumim The posts responding to Steve Jacobson's question are, of course, quite accurate in defining the Hebrew word, "shilumim." They didn't, however, deal with the issue of whether the word can be considered a _Yiddish_ word. (That the _Forverts_ used it is hardly evidence, given the nature of journalism in general.) The traditional Yiddish word for "reparations" is _fargitikung_ and was, indeed, the word used when the acceptance of German reparations was a hotly-debated issue in Jewish life. Weinreich also offers _reparatsye_; I can't recall whether that word was ever used in the reparations debate. Hershl Hartman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Oct 1995 20:19:11 -0400 (EDT) From: mashinke@wam.umd.edu Subject: Yiddish & bas/bar mitsves Hershl Hartman writes in vol. 5.132 that the last line of Lipa Feingold's song was omitted. Sorry, it is as follows; zoln undzer fon nor trogn let them carry our banner un nit vern keyn mol mid. and never tire. (carry our banner forever.) The sheet music of the song, "der neier yid," arranged by Jack Kammen is no. 453 of a series of "Kammen Songs," copyright 1947 by J. J. Kammen Music Co., 1619 Broadway, New York 19, N.Y. I don't know if the music company still exists. Good luck Is your, "Credo for a Secular Bar/Bas Mitsve" available? I concur with your philosophy. un a gut gezunt yor tsu ale. Marcia Gruss Levinsohn 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 13:27:54 -0400 From: ron@mlfarm.com Subject: Itzik Manger's _The Book of Paradise_ I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with information on where I might find a copy of Itzik Menger's _The Book of Paradise: The Wonderful Adventures of Shmuel-Aba Avervo_, in English. A translation by Leonard Wolf was published by Hill and Wang in New York in 1965, but I haven't been able to find a copy for sale anywhere. Thanks. Ronald Florence 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 14:41:16 -0400 (EDT) From: sberger@yu1.yu.edu Subject: ICOR A few documents relating to ICOR's work in Birobidzhan are located in the Russian Relief Collection at Yeshiva University Archives. They are: an offprint from the ICOR Yearbook - 1936 (I assume the yearbook is available elsewhere), a copy of an article with a photo of a tractor donated by ICOR, a fact sheet in Yiddish and English about ICOR and Birobidzhan, and a flyer for a lecture by Anna Louise Strong, sponsored by the NY City ICOR Committee. Shuli Berger 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 16:08:39 -0400 From: kromobile@aol.com Subject: Frida de Cielak's _Arele_ I have seen Frida de Cielak's _Arele_ mentioned several times and would be very interested in examining it and buying it for my son. Can anyone give me the full title, publisher, city and date, as well as price and from whom it might be purchased? The Workmen's Circle Book Center has no record of its existence, and without the bibliographic information it's hard to ask people to find it for me. A sheynem damk aykh. Marti Krow-Lucal Sunnyvale ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.135