מענדעלע

Robert Shapiro [6.263] suggests the origin of cholent as possibly being French. He may very well be right. I would not know. But I heard that the origin was German; i.e., "shul ende" which leads quickly to cholent.

There is also an argument that Boston baked beans are a variant of cholent made by New England whaling men whose boats stopped at Russian ports and who ate real cholent while on land. Then on board, they tried to duplicate the delicious flavor but had only beans, fatback, and molasses.

Who knows?

Dan Leeson Los Altos, California

[see 6.263]

Men nitzt dus vertl "es hot zikh getin oyf tish un oyf benk...." azoy:

Ven es iz du a freylakhn zamlung un men tantzt, in men zingt, un men shpilt, un men hulyet, un a.z.v..... zugt men "az et hot sikh getin "oyf tish un oyf benk"!!

Mendy Fliegler

Redoubtable klezmer scholar Henik Sapoznik [6.263] inquires about the publishing date of Sholem Aleichem's _Afn fidl_, which he describes as a serial novella. I always took the date given in the Folksfond edition at face value: geshribn in yor 1902. That doesn't tell when it was published, but I would bet it wasn't languishing on his desk too long before it saw the light of day, particularly if it was serialized. (Why, after all, would a professional writer continue generating episodes to a serial not being published?) I am not a little surprised, however, to learn that it was in fact published serially, because it certainly reads as a seamless short story. Could Henik be thinking, rather, of the author's brief treatment of some of the same material in his serial memoir _Fun'm yarid_, notably in the chapter _Tsvishn khazonim un klezmorim_? An extensive (and fascinating) textual history of that work can be found in David G. Roskies, "Unfinished Business: Sholem Aleichem's _From the Fair_," in _Prooftexts_ 6, No. 1 (January 1986): 65-78. See especially footnote 5 (pp. 76-7).

I must mention another klezmer-depiction source I just stumbled upon on the Library of Congress web site, to which we were recently directed by our own shames, Reb Noyekh [6.234]. From there, the typescript of Yosef Tsherniavsky's _Moyshe der fidler_ (1919) can be downloaded in facsimile, and one can clearly see that the handwritten title was an afterthought, the typewritten one having been crossed out. Noyekh and Henik can look for themselves: it was originally called _A shames un a klezmer_.

But now a question for Henik. Which Odessa stories of Isaac Babel depict klezmorim? I can only recall "The Awakening," about violin lessons for would-be concert-hall prodigies; but I would be very interested in his treatment of klezmorim.

Ron Robboy

In response to Henry Sapoznik's question: There's a wonderful, funny, lyric-grotesque (i.e., not literal) description of klezmorim in M. Kulbak's Moshiekh ben Efrayim (see mendelyanier Joachim N.'s translation). Perets's Gilgul fun a nign describes describes a klez moment (the tune Perets follows through various musical and socio-economic permutations is played at one point by a klezmer), but I don't recall if the musicians are described. There's also a description of an ad hoc town band in Linetski's Polylishe yingl (leading up to the wedding scene), but Linetski's point is the rudeness and crudeness of the music and the musicians, so his description is distorted beyond ethnographic value without a large shake of salt.

David Goldberg

Henik Sapoznik asks (6.263) about the publication date of Afn Fidl by Sholem Aleichem. According to Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh page 364, it was first published in the monthly _Der Yidisher Familie_ in 1902. Since the data was compiled by his son-in-law, it's probably accurate.

During that year Sholem Aleichem was quite productive contributing as well to _Der Yid_ and _Der Folkstsaytung_.

Louis Fridhandler

[see 6.263]

It looks like "The Star-spangled Banner" in Yiddish was published in Adolph Mann's "Songs for my people" (Lake Elsinore, Calif.: A. Mann, 1948. 52 p.) There are copies in the NY Public Library and Gratz College Library.

The song is also printed in "Oneg Shabbat: the new Jewish community songster" (New York: Transcontinental Music Corp., 1942. 17 p.), but from the bibliographic record it is not clear in what language.

Iosif Vaisman

I am looking for information on a Yiddish play "Sold to Shame" written by Dr. Waltzman & Jacob Silbert. Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed?

Sheryl Harawitz

Mendy Fliegler writes (6.261) that "men shtelt di fis oyf di playtses' means "you can't get there from here," and indicates an impossibility. Es heybt zikh nisht on! Firstly, the correct form of the expression is "nemen di fis oyf di pleytses" and the meaning is to suggest going somewhere or doing something with great energy and verve, doing it speedily. It does not have the sense of an impossibility. "Vi kumt di katz ibern vaser" means "how do you get from point A to point B? In other words, how does one overcome obstacles in accomplishing something that one wants to accomplish? Humbly,

Goldie Morgentaler

Kh'hob gehat a tante vos fleg entfern, "Shmir zikh oys di shikh," ven mir flegn ir opdanken (far ire gute maykholim un vunderlekhe mayselekh) un ir vintshn a gute nakht (azoy vi di mame hot undz gelernt).

Kindvays, hob ikh ir oysdruk oysgetaytsht als, "get outa here, burn shoe leather, start walking" - to indicate that a thank you was unnecessary. (In normal families, they said, "Nishto far vos.")

My Vinkl members think it must have a different meaning, and that if it meant what I describe, she would have said, "Shmir zikh oys di padeshves."

Does the expression live in anyone's memory?

How else would you say, "You're welcome."

Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Boynton Beach, Florida