Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.030 July 10, 1996 1) Introduction (Frida Grapa de Cielak) 2) National Yiddish Book Center (Cherna Wolpin) 3) _Tam-Tam_ (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 4) U va! (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 5) Eliezer Shteynbarg (Yosl Kurland) 6) Nokh a mol "mishteyns gezogt" (Bob Rothstein) 7) Yiddish films (Nomi J. Waldman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 8 Jul 1996 10:27:34 -0600 From: arele@enter.net.mx Subject: Introduction I am Frida Grapa de Cielak from Mexico City, I am the author of the Yiddish Workbook _Arele_ (a set of three workbooks for beginners). I am new in Internet with my own e-mail address.I want to suscribe among your Yiddish friends. I do not know much yet about internet, I´m very interested in knowing more about you, your services and you information. Would you kindly enlighten my knowlage on Mendele? I´ll be looking forward to all that information. I´m also interested in publishing my own home page with you, is it possible? Do I send you the information about it? I'm very interested to know more, I do thank you in advance for all you efforts and send maineh fraindlejeh grusn to you all who make Mendele an the existence of Yiddish in Internet possible: Norman (Noyekh) Miller, Iosif Vaisman, Dovid Sherman and all the others. You all deserve a yeisher koyakh! Frida Grapa de Cielak 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 08 Jul 96 23:51:27 EDT From: 103172.1552@compuserve.com Subject: National Yiddish Book Center Tayre Mendelers, as I proceed to fill our van with my zamler activated book collections, a few thoughts pass through my little grey cells which I would be happy to share with you. The National Yiddish Book Center is not only concerned with rescuing yiddish books from dumpsters....books continue to flow in through the zamlers collections not only from the United States and Canada but from all over the world. These books are made available to all major colleges and universities, many now have their own yiddish libraries, and are recirculated to individuals and groups of people with an interest in developing and reclaiming their yiddish speech and reading knowledge. Yiddish vinkles are forming vu mir kukt. A catalog is available upon request with available books, sheet music, in yiddish, transliteration or translated current material as well as the Jewish classics, als vus mir veln. My partner in zamlering in Phoenix would agree, I'm sure, with the knowledge and pleasure that a little bit of yiddish continues to bring to those around us. Red yiddish yedn tog....es iz azoy voyl. Mit gezunt, Cherna Wolpin Tonawanda, New York 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 10:10:55 -0400 From: shirshan@aol.com Subject: _Tam-tam_ It is well worth the journey to France to spend a true happy hour (sans liquer) with Tam Tam, if just to see di oysyelekh on a computer screen. But there is more, so much more. Charming you with graphics, and presenting literary selections pivoting upon the unlikely topic,"Vegn Meshugene Ki un Andere Beheymes", they hold your interest as they entertain and educate until you've read every word. I found myself wondering about the editor (undeniably an intense Frenchman) who views Mendele's "Dos Kelbl" as an "emese Romeo and Juliet libe" and then maintains our interest in the "Ku Bukh" published in Verona in 1595, extoling the cow over the fox, the lion and the donkey. He continues with related proverbs, a touch of religion (the golden calf), and a poem by Bialostotsky I remembered from my youth (in the olden days). I recalled that as a child I had dismissed it as an Edward Lear nonsense rhyme. A ku in dorf U-hu un ir mu. Upon rereading this morning, I saw his tribute to our stiffnecked, wonderful people who would always have a voice (in Yiddish?) and would continue on, as in "Ikh heyb zikh oyf vider un shpan avek vayter." An added bonus: footnotes in French to define Yiddish word demons or Hebrew expressions used in Yiddish. Example - Oylem Habe = le monde a venir, which adds a touch of spice to Yenevelt, and renews the joyous concept of our presence in every land of this spinning globe. Tam Tam is a spurt of Tam Gan-eden. Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan North Conway, New Hampshire 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 10:10:24 -0400 From: shirshan@aol.com Subject: U va! Khaym Bokhner used the expression, "U va!" in Volume 6.026 on July 2,1996. My zeyde used this expression often (as he was a bearded, dynamic "Yeah-to-life!" khosid.) I had always thought it his personal way of saying "wow"! Many times he added, "A teater!" Any information about its use, derivation, meaning, etc. ? Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan North Conway, New Hampshire 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 15:37:21 +1100 From: ganeydn@crocker.com Subject: Eliezer Shteynbarg ikh zukh biografishe informatsie vegn dem yidishn poet, eliezer shteynbarg, (geshtorbn 1932?) der mekhaber fun "di shpiz un di nodl.". ikh hob zayn nomen nisht gekent gefinen in "Encyclopedia Judaica." tsi veyst men oykh tsi zayn verk hot nokh a drukrekht un, oyb yo, fun vemen me darf betn tsu nutsn es? (ikh hob geleynt mendele mit groys freyd di fargangene 6 khadoshim, un kh'ob gevolt zikh tsu forshteln far aykh, nor ikh hob nisht gehat keyn tsayt vos tsu shraybn vayl ikh arbet oyf tsvey naye rekordirungen oyf eyn mol. Ikh hof ikh zol beser shraybn mayn introduktsie ven me hot aroysgegebn di rekordirungen.) a sheynem dank, I'm looking for biographical information about the Yiddish poet Eliezar Shteynbarg, (d. 1932) who wrote "The Spear and the Needle." I could not find his name in Encyclopedia Judaica. Does anyone know if his work is still under copyright and if so, from whom to ask permission to use it? I appreciate any help you can give me. (I've enjoyed reading mendele during the last 6 months, and I wanted to introduce myself to you, but I haven't had any time as I'm working on two new recordings at the same time. I hope I can better introduce myself when the recordings are out.) Yosl (Joe) Kurland Colrain, MA 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 09 Jul 1996 23:33:49 -0400 (EDT) From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Nokh a mol "mishteyns gezogt" In the July 5 issue of the English _Forward_ Philologos responds to a query about the expression _mishteyns gezogt_, citing (via Zachary Baker) a bit of dialogue between Noyekh Miller and Mikhl Herzog from the early days of Mendele (1.42). (The discussion in Mendele was later renewed in 4.202, 4.208 and 4.213.) Mikhl's explanation of _mishteyns gezogt_ as originating in a "warding-off formula" (what James Matisoff called "malo-fugition") was supported by the late Yudel Mark, who cited an example from an early 17th-century Prague letter: "den shteyn in der erdn gezogt," i.e., "it should happen to the stone in the ground [and not to you/me/us...]" (_Yidishe shprakh_ 3 [1943], 78). In a later response to a reader's question about the expression (_Yidishe shprakh_ 21 [1961], 64) Mark simply said that it came "from a Middle High German formula." As for its meaning, Mark explained that it has various nuances (_kneytshn_): "oykh mir a..., vos iz nor kloymersht un nit oyf an emes, vos iz in a nideriker (shlekhter) mos oder madreyge; vos iz do tsu zogn (reydn), vos ken men zikh do helfn; nebekh, tsum shlimazl." He pointed out further that it can be syntactically related to the preceding or following word. Bob Rothstein 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 Jul 96 16:18:31 EDT From: nomi.j.waldman@valley.net Subject: Yiddish films This message is part of a three-way communication. Ruth Segal, an esteemed member of the Jewish community here in the North Country (I'm in Vermont, Ruth's in NH, in the Dartmouth area) is getting Mendele printouts from the Jewish Center office. Knowing I'm also a Mendele subscriber, she's asked me to respond to a query and enter one of her own. She recalls that someone asked about Jewish films. Ruth cites the National Center for Jewish Films in Waltham, MA, phone: (617) 899-7044. She also refers to a catalog of Yiddish and other Jewish videos that she sent for. The company is Ergo Media, Inc., 668 American Legion Drive, P.O. Box 2037, Teaneck, NJ 07666-1437. The number is 1-800-695-3746. The catalog lists a number of "oldies and goodies." With reference to the discussion of Yiddish as a "dead" language: Ruth recalls that in I.B. Singer's acceptance speech (1978), he made a reference to this. Does anyone have the text or know how we can locate it? Nomi J. Waldman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.030