מענדעלע

In Memory of Writer Haya Elbaum Dorembus On The Yiddish Voice, WUNR 1600 AM, Weds., March 5, 1997

Boston's Yiddish-language radio program, The Yiddish Voice (WUNR-AM, 1600 in Brookline, MA), will dedicate its upcoming (March 5, 1997) program to the memory of Chaya Elbaum Dorembus upon the occasion of 30 days after her death. Mrs. Dorembus began her writing career in Warsaw in the 1930's. She survived life in the Warsaw Ghetto for three years, and then escaped the Ghetto's final liquidation by escaping to the "Arian Side" and hiding with non-Jews. She immortalized this period in her book, "Af der Arisher Zayt" ("On the Arian Side"), published in Israel, where she lived after the war. Excerpts from this book recently appeared, in English translation, in Moment Magazine. In recent years, she lived with her daughter in Boston. She continued to write almost until the end, contributing nonfiction and fiction prose as well as poetry to the Yiddish Forward, as well as to the Letste Nayes in Israel and other newspapers. She recited from her original poetry for a broadcast of The Yiddish Voice in 1995. This broadcast will feature that poetry, as well as excerpts from an interview that was originally aired on The Yiddish Hour (WBRS, Waltham, MA) in 1993. In addition, Zalmen Srebro, chairman of the Yiddish Culture Club in Boston, will deliver a eulogy and appreciation of her work.

The Yiddish Voice is a weekly Yiddish-language radio show in Boston that features music, poetry, comedy, interviews, news, commentary, and announcements of current events.

Additional contact information:

dos yidishe kol / The Yiddish Voice WUNR Radio International 160 North Washington Street Boston, MA 02114

Voice: (617) 738-1870 / Email: yv@world.std.com Web: http://world.std.com/~yv/ Broadcast: WUNR 1600 AM / Wednesdays 7:30-8:30pm

Mark David Brookline, MA

a. joseph ross claims (6.252) that french words in english retain their french spelling. perhaps he is thinking of the handful of *recent* borrowings (lingerie, liaison, memoire, etc), but surely not of the 40% of the english vocabulary that came in from french at around the time that the vast majority of semitic borrowings came into yiddish -- if not later. in fact, they are so well integrated into english spelling conventions that you probably have no idea that they're from french, so here's just a baker's dozen (from french _douzaine_) that come to mind:

english french _______ ______

beef boeuf cherry cerise chestnut chastaigne (old french) flower fleur laundress lavandiere (old french) + -esse mountain montagne mutton mouton palace palais pawn pan ('hock'); pion ('chess-piece') perfume parfum valley vallee very vrai vine vigne

isn't it lucky for us english speakers that no one endows french spelling with divine inspiration?

ellen prince

I don't know how old the phrase 'tsadik in pelts' is, but M. Weinreich states that it's a pun, meaning: 'he's as much a tsadik, as the final letter in pelts (in other words, not a righteous person at all)'. Somewhat like: er vaizt mir a hay - in sider (in answer to someone requesting hay for his horse - and is shown the letter hay in a siddur). For the pun to have become entrenched in the language, I would asume that it's been there for 150 years at least. A logical assumption?

Les Train

Bob Rothstein pointed out [6.249] that Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko "was a friend and supporter of Yiddish literature".

Indeed, Franko, who apparently was fluent in Yiddish, translated Yiddish poetry (including also M. Rosenfeld and V. Erenkrants), wrote a famous lyrical cycle "Zhydivski melodii" (Jewish Melodies), and devoted a significant part of his publicistic efforts to various Jewish problems.

However, it would be unfair to forget that Franko's major prose - a series of two novels "The Boa Constrictor" and "Borislav is Laughing" - is one of the most viciously antisemitic works in the Ukrainian literature. In both novels the author describes the family of Herman Goldkremer, a poor weaver who rises into a powerful oil magnate. Even official Soviet Ukrainian critic feels somewhat uncomfortable discussing certain aspects of the novel (that was in general highly praised and studied in schools): "Herman's wife Rifka, and his son Gottlieb are transformed into parasitical monsters. In the description of Rifka and Gottlieb, it is not the social aspect that prevails, but the biological motivation of their conduct. This seems a bit far-fetched and, besides, their [mental and moral] deterioration takes place too fast - within a single generation" (P. Kolesnyk, Ivan Franko. Kiev, 1977). I remember a joke that was popular among some of my classmates in the Ukrainian Literature class: Q. What is Ivan Franko's major literary innovation? A. In the Ukrainian literature before Franko all Jewish characters were exploiters, in Franko's works all the exploiters are Jews. As some other jokes, this one contains a good deal of truth.

So, what was the real face of the "great Ukrainian writer"? Probably, the answer can be found in the political situation in Eastern Galicia in the late XIX - early XX c. Like in other parts of Austro-Hungary, the political arena was divided along the ethnic lines. Major (and polar) forces were Ukranians and Poles, but Jews, who constituted in 1910 13% of the population, often served as a swing vote. Since most of the Jews did not have strong allegiances to either side and had difficulties in deciding which of the evils is lesser, both parties fought for Jewish votes. Franko was a prominent political figure and may be his literary works sometimes pragmatically reflected his current political goals. Or in his own words: "Ukrainian radicals are not antisemites. We are not enemies of the Jews, just because they are Jews... We are enemies of Jewish financiers, millioners, speculators, and traders".

So familiar motif... Such a precarious friend and supporter...

Iosif Vaisman