מענדעלע

I'd like to draw your attention to the existence of the Fuks Library in the Provincial Library of Friesland in the city of Leeuwarden (Northern part of the Netherlands). The Fuks Library contains many books on Yiddish language, history and literature.

Here are some more details about the Fuks Library and its founder. Dr. Leo (Lajb) Fuks was born in 1908 in Kalisz (Poland). From 1949 to 1973 he was conservator of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana in Amsterdam. He published various old Yiddish texts. From 1964 to 1971 he taught Modern Hebrew and Yiddish at the University of Amsterdam. In 1969 Dr. Fuks founded the Jewish Scientific Magazine Studia Rosenthaliana. Dr. Fuks died in 1990 in Harfsen (Netherlands).

Before he died he donated his own library to the Provincial Library of Friesland because of the the existence of the Franeker Library there. The Franeker Library contains many Hebrew books of Protestant theologists. By doing so he also wanted to show his gratitude to the Frisian population for helping the Jews during the Second World War.

The Fuks Library contains more than 4000 titles (from 1485 to 1997) about the Hebrew and Yiddish language and literature; Jewish Religion, History and Philosophy. Besides, there are manuscripts (mostly in Hebrew and from the 18th century) and Yiddish magazines like Di Goldene Kayt, Yedies fun Yivo, Di Yidishe Gas, Afn Shvel, Yidishe Kultur YKUF, Bleter far Geshikhre, Parizer Tsaytshrift, Sovyetish Heymland and more.

The Fuks Library has an online catalogue. But the books may not leave the Library.

Few details about myself: I studied Semitic Languages and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Since 1993 I work part time as the conservartor of the Fuks Library and teach Hebrew and Jewish Culture at different institutes in the Netherlands.

Hope to see you at the Fuks Library!

Uzi Hagai

I fear I cannot help Heynkeh Sapoznik very much, but for what it's worth... My mother, a native Yiddish speaker whose parents were from Gomel/Homye (now in Belarus), used "drimpln" for the piano when someone was playing around idly, not really practicing or playing anything seriously.

Obviously his "drimpln" was more than that and has borne much fruit, judging by his rendition of such Yiddish songs as "Shprayt zikh mir."

Marti Krow-Lucal Sunnyvale

For a start, I'd suggest Raisins and Almonds, an excellent documentary on Yiddish movies, originally produced for Britain's Channel 4 Television and available on video through Ergo Media. If I'm not mistaken, several actors who appeared in Joseph Greene's movies are interviewed, as well as Joseph Greene himself!

Ethan Minovitz Vancouver, British Columbia

As many of you know, the UYIP mailing list was set up last year for discussion of Yiddish Information Processing. In response to the need of several vendors, especially Microsoft, to provide extensions to the modern Hebrew keyboard to support Yiddish, I and others have been designing and discussing a proposed new design for the Microsoft Hebrew keyboard.

We would now like to invite Mendele list participants to comment on the proposal. To view the proposal, please use a web browser to visit the following web page: http://world.std.com/~yv/uyip/keyboards.html

Your comments to me privately, on the UYIP list, or on Mendele are welcome.

For more information on the UYIP mailing list, please visit its web site: http://world.std.com/~yv/uyip/

Mark David UYIP (Understanding Yiddish Information Processing) List Moderator

My parents from Skalat in then-Austria (near Lvov, nee Lemberg) used to say rimplin in the same context Heynekh's tate-mame said drimplin. I remember a wooden-fingered duo (pianist and fiddler) who performed at a "shul banket" and mama whispered, "Oy, er rimplt un zi skripet. Lomir shoyn geyn aheym."

Rimplt is not in Weinreich either.

Could rimplin or drimplin be regional usages, or does memory dim pronunciation?

Mirl Schonhaut Hirshan

If Chana and Yosl Mlotek's _Lider fun dor tsu dor_ is even half as good as their previous Yiddish song books, then I'm sure it is truly wonderful and I would consider myself fortunate indeed to own a copy. However, I think I should warn Mendelyaner that, contrary to Chana & Yosl's assertion [7.041:4] reiterated by Itsik Goldenberg [7.041:5] that the book may be obtained from The Workman's Circle Book Center, the sad truth is that trying to get books and tapes from the Arbeter-ring is like trying to get blood out of a stone, if you try ordering by e-mail or fax, that is. I must concede that I don't live in the United States, but where is it written that a US address is a sine qua non for such transactions? Mendelyaner will remember that the Workman's Circle organised a "Mendele sale" back in January. The books I ordered and paid for by credit card eventually arrived, but my attempts to order other items from their catalogue, notably _Lider fun dor tsu dor_ and _YIVO-bleter_ (both ordered mid-March) have been completely abortive. All subsequent attempts to contact the Arbeter-ring whether to enquire what is happening or to place additional orders meet with stony silence, even though I copy my e-mails by fax just in case something is wrong with their server or whatever. They might just as well have gone out of business for all I can tell. I have sent them a total of five e-mails since March, but have not had a peep out of them since February.

Hugh Denman

Veyst emetser tsi di yidishe shprakh, vos zi hot asimilirt verter fun di ale kulturn vos di yidn zenen durkhgeforn zey beshas undzer langer geshikhte, hot arayngenumern verter oykh fun "langue d'oc" (= occitan oder provenc,al)?

Stanley F. Levine Aiken, SC USA

_Drimblen_ seems to be an interesting word. Obviously cognate to Slavic onomatopoeic _brenchat'_ (Russ), _bren'katy_ (Ukr), _brin^ceti_ (Czech), etc., it goes all the way to ancient Indian _bhrnga_ - "big black bee". First "d" in the Yiddish word might be explained by analogy with Russian regional variation _tren'kat'_. Interestingly, in older dictionaries _tren'kat'_ was traced to Middle High German _drohnen_, but that relation was dismissed by later authorities (e.g. M.Vasmer, Russisches etymologisches Worterbuch, 1953). Looks like a good material for Paul Wexler.

Iosif Vaisman