Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 20.018 April 11, 2011 1) Dos yidishe lid (Harriet Weinstein) 2) Dos yidishe lid (Nadia Dehan-Rotschild) 3) R. Shimen (Fegl Timna) 4) tshipik (Sylvia Liff) 5) Yiddish in the University (Henry Sapoznik) 6) kusher (Eliezer Greisdorf) 7) Eric Byron (Jewish names used on early sound recordings) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: "Dos yidishe lid" Re: Scott Meyer's query The Yiddish song played on the YouTube video is "Dos yidishe lid," sung by Mordechai Hershman (1888-1940). It is over 7 minutes long. The rest of the soundtrack is largely comprised of music from the Kol Nidre service (Eli Eli), as well as music from Simchas Torah, etc. I hope this helps. Harriet Weinstein 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 17 Subject: "Dos yidishe lid" ot dos iz der titl funem langn lid, durkhgevebt mit shtiklekh khazones, vos me derkent oyfn film. Der zinger iz Mordkhe Hershman. Der mekhaber iz Anshel Schorr un Sholom Secunda hot geshribn di muzik. Me ken gefinen di transliteratsye dort : http:// www.milkenarchive.org/works/lyrics/584#/works/lyrics/584 a grus di ale mendelyaners, Nadia Dehan-Rotschild 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 1 Subject: R. Shimen In Lesson 24 of "College Yiddish," Rambam's famous Eight-Stepped Ladder of Tsedakah is attributed to R. Shimen. Can anyone explain who is this R. Shimon and why does the textbook attribute the teaching to him? The lesson begins on page 224 of the textbook: "Mit iber tsvey toyznt yor tsurik hot in erets-yisroel gelebt a groyser yidisher lerer. Geheysn hot er R. Shimen....." Thanks, Fegl Timna 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 24 Subject: tshipik Could anyone inform me of the meaning of the word "tshipik"? My mother, who came from Pinsk, used this word, smiling, when she saw her small grand daughters sporting a hair style with a curl clasped by a bow or clip. Recently, reading a memoir in Yiddish by a writer who also hailed from Pinsk, I again encountered this word. She described her aunts, at a festive family dinner, all dressed up with "tshipiks" in their sheitels. Many thanks, Sylvia Liff 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: Yiddish in the University Can anyone tell me the earliest reference of when and where Yiddish was first taught at an American university? A sheynem dank, Henry Sapoznik [Moderator's note: As far as I am aware, the first for-credit courses in Yiddish were taught by Max Weinreich at City College, NY, in 1947. The brochure "Deutsch, Polnisch oder Jiddisch?" by Germano-Judaeus, which was published during the German occupation of Poland in World War I, translates an article from the "Varshever tageblat" (17 February 1916). According to the article, a Yiddish language course was introduced at Columbia University that year - the first such course at an American university. "The well-known Professor Margullis" was appointed to teach the course.] 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15 Subject: kusher This word reminds me of "kutsher." which is the driver of a horse-drawn taxi or coachman. The Harkavi includes it but not Weinreich. Eliezer (Lazar) Greisdorf 7)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: Jewish names used on early sound recordings Date: April 10 I am doing research on early sound recordings (1890s-1920s) and their relationship to ethnicity and race. Many of the songs and skits of this period play on ethnic and racial stereotypes, including the use of certain names to specify identity. I have a question about the Jewish names that were used on these early sound recording. By far the most common name assigned to Jews in recordings about Jews is Cohen. I assume the name was used because few, if any, non-Jews would have the name Cohen. *Can anybody offer any other reason why the name Cohen might have been used to designate Jewishness?* I also have a question about names used in recordings by Jews. It seems the two most popular names the authors employed were Mendel and Yente/Yenta. Yente/Yenta makes sense since it is associated with a gossip or busybody. "The Online Etymology Dictionary" states that Yenta/ Yente is a "'gossip, busybody,' 1923, from Yente Telebende, comic strip gossip in 1920s-1930s writing of Yiddish newspaper humorist B. Kovner (pen-name of Jacob Adler) in the 'Jewish Daily Forward.' It was a common Yiddish fem. proper name, alt, from Yentl and said to be ult, form It. gentile 'kind, gentle,' earlier 'noble, high-born.'" I assume that the association predates Kovner's use since the Yiddish recordings employ the name Yente/ Yenta at least as far back as 1916. *My questions are: Does anybody have any information about when Yente/Yenta became associated with a gossip and busybody? Does anybody know whether there is a similar association with Mendel?* Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Eric Byron ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 20.018 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. 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