מענדעלע

I am Lecturer of German at the University of Almeria (Spain) and carry on my PhD on Yiddish Literature. I would appreciate you to let me know if there is any file within this Mendele list on Yiddish literature about Prague. Thank you.

Inigo del Guayo

In Der tsenter (The Tenth Man), one of the stories in his Ayzenban Geshikhtes, Sholem Aleykhem uses the word tsotske in an interesting manner. The narrator tells of a rabbi's son who seems about to be drafted, until he bares his head at the draft board physical, for the first time in memory, to reveal ...

Varum oyfn kop hot zikh bavizn bay im, nisht far aykh gedakht, a tsatske, un dafke nisht keyn gemakhte. A svore, az dos iz im farblibn nokh fun kindvayz. Geven a kind ayn okshn, zikh nisht gelozt tsvogn.

Curt Leviant's translation, apparently loose here, says that "his scalp was scurfy." Hillel Halkin's more recent, and generally more literal translation, calls it "a canker, a real running sore."

Presumably, this refers to what I am calling the "tshotshke" meaning of the word, here sarcastically implying an "ornament." But the spelling in the book is "tsotske," i.e., tsadi alef tsadi koof ayin. The edition is a NYC printing (1920s?) and the orthography is laden with (from a klal-shprakh perspective) redundant hey's and syllabic ayin's.

Does this example clarify or further confuse? Are there really two words and pronunciations? Admittedly, the klunky daytshmerish orthography and NY provenance of the edition obscures what Sholem Aleykhem's own pronunciation or spelling would have been. This example may in fact only reflect the dialect biases of the NY edition editors.

Harvey Spiro Vienna, Virginia

I recently heard the following expression: "kurtz fraytig un shabbes hagodl" when referring to a couple where one was particularly tall and the other short, or as we might say Mutt & Jeff. Has any one heard this expression?

With upcoming Shvues, ikh vintsh aykh alle a gutn yontef.

Ben Lesin Encino, CA

Rayshis kol a vareme Mazel Tov tsi inzere gabe in shames Reb Noyekh ofen simkhe fin fayren di fifte gebortstog finem mezinekel Mendele. Zol der Aybishter akh helfen ir zolt zeyn fin eym asakh asakh nakhes in ir miten mezinekel zolen gayn mikhayil el khoyil.

A Mazel Tov oykh far ints ale mekhitonim vos ints kiken mir ale tsi vi dos bokhir vakst tsibislekh of. Khotch ints zenen mir nisht di tate in mame finem kind vin dest veygen amol geben mir eym a okh a glet oder a tsip ofen bak.

Emes, ints zenen mir nisht of a halbe nakht ven dos kind fardarbt zikh oder ven er vil stam azoy nisht shlofen ober vi nisht vi amol get er ints okh amol a kop vay. Men shikt eym amol aran a klayne matonele shikt er es tserik vi a kale ven es gefelt ir nish di diamant ofen tnoim ringel. Men get oys tsat in mi eym tsi makhen epes a shpilekhel shtipt er es avek fin zikh vi a kind vos farmist zikh in di mames vetchere.

Nu, az men kimt mit eym op meyg men zikh kol shken mit eym frayen. Deym shvies, lekoved deym khimes side fin Mendele, lomer ale shashken mit ayn koysele mer in mit ayn veyg shoyn tsibasen nokh a krepel okh in hoyekh osshrayen, 'Lekhayim! Lekhayim Toyvim Ilesholem! Ze hakoten godoyl yiye!!!'

A fraylikhen Yom-Tev far akh ale.

Dovid Yosef Hershkovits

This is in response to Morton "Mekh'el" Penn's introduction in Mendele 6.002 wherein he states that he is busy translating "Fiddler on the Roof" into Yiddish. If this includes translating the songs also into Yiddish, there is a Yiddish recording of all the songs on Columbia LP record OS 3050. This should save some of the time needed to do the entire play.

Morrie Feller Phoenix

I always thought that 'conniption' was English straight from Yiddish. I was surprised that neither Random House nor Webster agree with this assessment. Both of these respected dictionaries declare it as 'origin uncertain'. For one, in my anacdotal statistics it was used mostly by Jews, and it sounded Yiddish. Any thoughts?

Gilad J. Gevaryahu

Israel Postal Authority issued a set of 14 stamps commemorating 75th anniversary of the Hebrew Writers' Union. Mendele Mokher Sefarim (spelling from the stamp) and I.L.Peretz made it to the list. The stamps are nice and can be seen in Shtetl (http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/stamps.html). While on this topic, does somebody know about other Yiddish-related stamps? I would also appreciate information about cancellations in Yiddish (other than from Birobidzhan).

Iosif Vaisman

Lekoved di fifte gebortstog fin Mendele shrab ikh do op a minheg fin di Khimesh Side.

Der minheg in asakh erter iz az ba di finef yor alt haybt men on tsi lernen mit a yingel khimesh. Dos nemt zikh finem mishne in Pirke Oves (Payrek hay; Mishne khof daled) 'Ben khomaysh shonim lamikro'. Lekoved deym makht men a side vos men rift a 'Khimesh Side'.

Bay Belzer khsidim (efsher in andre erter okh) iz dertsi do nokh a minheg az bay der Side shtelt zikh der yingel of of a benkel in der rebe firt mit eym a dialog.

Rebbe: Yingele, yingele vos lernst di? Yingel: Ikh bin mer nisht a yingele, ikh bin shoyn a bokherel. R: Bokherel, bokherel vos lernst di? Y: Khimesh R: Vos iz tatch Khimesh? Y: Finef R: Vinef vos? Finef baygelekh? Finef tsikerlekh? Y: Nayn. Finef seforim fin di haylige toyre R: Vi azoy haysen di finef seforim? Y: Brayshis, Shemoys, Vayikro, Bamidbor, Devorim R: Velekhe fin di finef lernst di? Y: Vayikro R: Farvos lernst di nisht Berayshis? Y: Val in Vayikro shtayt veygen di korbones vos zenen haylig in a yingel vos lerent khimesh iz okhet haylig.

Dernokh lernt di yingel apor pesikim in yeyder vincht Mazel Tov.

Dovid Yosef Hershkovits