מענדעלע

Shtetl (http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/shtetl.html) presents famed Eliezer Steinbarg's "Alef Beys" (Czernowitz, 1921) in GIF format. Currently only first 29 pages are available, the rest of the book will be added later. Read, teach your children, enjoy!

Iosif Vaisman

Although Gintautas Kaminskas' query regarding books on Yiddish by the Lithuanian linguist Chackelis Lemchenas (Khatskl Lemkhen) was posted to Mendele: Personal notices and announcements, I believe that the subject might be of more than merely "personal" interest. At any rate, the YIVO Library's catalogue lists the following titles by Lemchenas:

(1) Lietuviu kalbos itaka lietuvos zydu tarmei lietuviskieji skoliniai. Vilnius: Mintis, 1970. 137 p. (About the influence of the Lithuanian language on Lithuanian Yiddish.)

(2) Trumpas Rusu-Lietuviu kalbu zodynas, apie 23,000 zodziu. Vilnius: Valstybine Politines ir Mokslines Literaturos Leidykla, 1957. 440 p. (Russian-Lithuanian dictionary.)

In addition, YIVO has an anthology of Yiddish fiction translated into Lithuanian, co-edited by O. Finkelsteinas, Ch. Lemchenas, and G. Zimanas: Rinktines zydu apysakos (Kaunas: Spaudos Fondo Leidinys, 1931). 232 p.

Finally, there is the Lemchenas festschrift:

Darbai ir polekai: kalbininko Chackelio Lemcheno 90-osioms gimimo metinems - Thoughts and aspirations marking the 90th birthday of linguist Chatzkelis Lemchenas, compiled by Polina Pailis and Judith Rozina (Vilnius: Jewish State Museum of Lithuania, 1994). 202 p.

The festschrift includes a bibliography (pp. 153-169) of books and articles by Lemchenas, works translated by him, books co-edited by him, and citations and reviews of his works. The earliest of his monographs that is cited in the bibliography dates from 1949 (the first edition of his Russian-Lithuanian dictionary). His first journal article was published in 1924.

Zachary Baker

I share many of Laybl Botvinik's feelings towards the enemies of Yiddish, who, perversly, are concentrated in the Yidishe Land and are usually (always?) descendant of Yiddish rather than Ladino speakers.

However, with all due respect, to accuse Mr Burg of anti semitism of all things does absoloutely nothing for Yiddish and merely cheapens the much abused term. The reasoning behind the actions of Mr Burg and his ilk is, as we all know, political and to do with the History of the State and the image it would like to present rather than with a hatred of Jews. After all it was not Mr Burg who made people change their surnames or their yidish first names.

By all means call him a charlatan, a paskotenyak, a soyne tsiyen or one of many other colourful epithets that Yiddish can bring forth, but an anti-semite? We are gebentched with enough true enemies without creating new ones.

Whilst on the subject, when looking up phone numbers in Israel I have always wondered if it is possible to enter one's name in the Israeli phone directory with the Yiddish spelling or do they automatically remove the ayins and double yids etc. that they consider to be redundant?

David Herskovic

In response to Goldie Morgentaler's query about Yiddish humorists besides Sholem Aleichem and Moyshe Nadir, there's Der Tunkeler [Yosef Tunkel, 1881-1949] who published extensively in the Warsaw press between the wars. There's an excellent anthology of his work, extensively annotated and with an introduction (his writings are in the Yiddish original, the apparatus is in Hebrew) recently published by Magnes Press.

Michael Steinlauf

Me tor nit fargesn dem nomen fun Yoysef Tunkel, vos hot geshribn an erekh 30 humoristishe bikher tsvishn beyde velt-milkhmes in poyln untern psevdonim "Der Tunkeler".

An opklayb fun zayne humoristishe verk ken men leyenen in a nayer zamlung redagirt fun Prof. Yekhiel Sheyntukh fun hebreishn universitet: Der Tunkel (Yoysef Tunkel): Der seyfer fun humoreskes un literarishe parodyes. Yerusholaim: Pirsumey har hatsofim, 1990.

Ikh gedenk, az ven dos dozike bukh iz aroysgegangen, hot der redaktor, Prof. Sheyntukh, banitst es in zayn klas fun yidish in hebreishn univeristet, un mir ale hobn mamesh hanoe gehat.

Tsuguya Sasaki

Khune Gottesfeld was a humorist. He could be very funny, even when writing about serious things.

Daniel Soyer