Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 21.011 January 24, 2012 1) tentler/burkis (Jane Peppler) 2) shibilnitse (Jan Jonk) 3) "Shotns baym hodson" (Miriam Udel) 4) Simms Taback (Hershl Hartman) 5) Israel Rosenberg (Bob Rothstein) 6) French translations of Yiddish songs (Samy Staro) 7) halevay (Elvira Groezinger) 8) Neshe (Hannah Salamander) 9) kheshbn (Zevi Ghivelder) 10) Jabberwocky in Yiddish (Leybl Talmy) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 2 Subject: tentler/burkis In the novel "Hershele" which I've mostly finished translating, (1) a "tentler" helps the yeshivah boys with their costumes. (2) The "maker of burkis'" is deemed to be unhappy in comparison to the "maker of perfume." Ideas? Thanks! Jane Peppler 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 16 Subject: shibilnitse Tayere Mendelyaner, Is there anyone who can explain the meaning of the word "shibilnitse" in "Di heyzer ale glaykhe, hoykhe shibilnitses .." and the verb form "farshmalyet" (from the short story "Vos er hot gezen in yihsihn teater," Leon Kobrin,Shriftn, pages 778/ 779) Thanks for your help, Jan Jonk 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 1 Subject: "Shotns baym hodson" "Shotns baym hodson" is accessible on microfiche at the NYPL and several other libraries, under Yitskhok Bashevis. It is VERY cumbersome to access. The serial ran twice a week, and I should have in my notes somewhere which two days they were. Alice is welcome to email me directly, and I'll try to look it up if that's helpful. Al dos guts, Miriam Udel 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 2 Subject: Simms Taback The obituaries in today's LA Times and yesterday's NY Times properly concentrate on Simms' tremendous achievements as illustrator/author of some 50 books for children, his drawing upon his secular Yiddish cultural heritage, and his union activism as founder and president of the guilds for illustrators and graphic artists. As a childhood friend, let me add some lesser-known facts about this extraordinary mentsh: Simms was, as the old phrase had it, "a kind fun undzere shuln " - a child of our progressive Secular Jewish schools. It was in shule No. 1 of the International Workers' Order (IWO) in the Bronx Workers' Cooperative Colony ( "the coops ") that he learned to read and write Yiddish, to absorb the lessons of Yiddish literature and culture, and to sing Yiddish labor and folk songs, one of which was the inspiration for the book that twice won the Caldecott medal, "I Had A Little Overcoat." His unusual name was given to him by his Communist parents since he was born (Feb. 13, 1932) two days after the martyr death of the Jewish labor organizer and member of the Young Communist League, Harry (Hersh) Simms. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA05/luckey/amj/harlan.htm (By almost poetic coincidence, Simms Taback died on the centennial of Hersh Simms' birth, Dec. 25, 1911.) In a winking tribute to his heritage, Simms included in his Caldecott medal book the masthead of the Communist Yiddish newspaper his parents read (and for which I was a cub reporter), the Morgn frayhayt - Morning Freedom. Simms' last book, "Postcards From Camp," published last June, jokingly "promotes" Camp Woodlands, an actual summer camp that was a spiritual descendant of the Jewish and multicultural camps founded by the IWO. http://stevebrodner.com/2011/06/24/advance-copy-postcards-from-camp-by-simms- taback/ kovid zayn likhtik-kolirtn ondenk - honor to his brightly-colored memory! Hershl Hartman Obituaries: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-simms-taback-20120102,0,3525229.story http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/books/simms-taback-writer-and-illustrator-of- childrens-books-dies-at-79.html?refobituaries 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 2 Subject: Israel Rosenberg Helene Courtois asked about Israel Rosenberg (21.009). Rosenberg (or Rozenberg), the son of a rabbi, was born in Lublin in 1895 and died in New York City in 1963. He was best known as a playwright, the author of musical comedies, melodramas, operettas, etc., but was also a director, an actor, a lyricist and a writer. He was married to the actress, singer and writer Shifra Viner, who performed (and published) under the name Vera Rozanka (or Rozanko) and as "di yidishe shikse." (See my MENDELE posting of May 16, 2005, issue #15-002.) Rosenberg and his wife ran various Yiddish theaters in New York City and conducted a Yiddish radio program on WEVD in New York for many years. There is a long entry on Rosenberg in volume 4 of Zalmen Zilbertsvayg's /Leksikon fun yidishn teater/ (columns 2533-41). I know of no evidence that Rosenberg wrote the Yiddish stanza beginning "Vu iz dos gesele...," although Irene Heskes (/Yiddish American Popular Songs 1895 to 1950: A Catalog Based on the Lawrence Marwick Roster of Copyright Entries/, Library of Congress, Washington, 1992. Entry #1934, p. 274) cites sheet music sold as a souvenir at the Hopkinson Theater, where Rosenberg's musical /Mashe, oder Margarita/ was performed in 1926. The sheet music does credit Rosenberg with the lyrics, but also credits Sholem Secunda with the melody, which is a folk tune. "Vu iz dos gesele" is part of a macaronic (/mishshprakhik)/ song with other verses in Polish, Russian or Ukrainian, and sometimes Hebrew. Bob Rothstein P.S. Israel Rosenberg and Vera Rozanko's archives are housed at YIVO, contributed by their daughter, Betty Perlov. 6)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: French translations of Yiddish songs Date: January 3 for Helene Courtois: I am French too and I am currently transcribing hundreds of Yiddish songs. http://samstar.jimdo.com/chansons/ If you need some help in French translation, I'll be glad to help you. By the way, there are already French translations of Yiddish songs. Samy Staro 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 2 Subject: halevay Ref. Query no.5 (h)alevay (by Gale Kissin) Alevay, halevay or levay: This means, "oh, may this come true " or "may itindeed happen," and comes from Hebrew or Aramaic. Best wishes for 2012, Elvira Groezinger 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: January 1 Subject: Neshe I'd like to know how one spells the Yiddish (female) name Neshe-pronounced either Neshe or Nesha. Is it possible to spell it like: nun, ayin, samekh, hey, alef? Or a shin instead of a samekh? Many thanks, Hannah Salamander 9)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: kheshbn Date: January 10 Khezm is the Yiddish version for the Hebrew word Kheshbon. Zevi Ghivelder 10)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: Jabberwocky in Yiddish Date: January 19 fartaytsht un farbesert fun Leybl (Len) Talmy Averbakheray S'iz brilik un di slivne toyves Goyen un gimlen in di vaybn: A tmimes hobn di bar-agoyves Un di mume-roytes tsegraybn. "Hit zikh far Reb Averbakh, mayn zun! Di peyes vos khapn, di bord vos shnaydt! Hit zikh farn fe-fe foygl, Un di frume bender-snyatshke farmayd!" Nemt er in hant dem vorpl-shverd: Lang hot er dem minkhn faynt gezukht -- Ot rut er zikh baym bim-bam boym, Un shteyt a vaylinke fartrakht. Un, vi er shteyt azoy oyfish fartrakht, Kumt Reb Averbakh, di oygn tseflamt, Farviflt durkhn tulgn vald, Un burtshet vi er kumt! Eyns, tsvey! Eyns, tsvey! Adurkh mit a drey Shnaydt di vorpl-sharf mit a shiker-shlak! Nokh dem mord, un mit der bord Kumt er gelofn tsurik. "Tsi hostu gekoylet Reb Averbakh? Beheymisher bokher, kum gezunterheyt! Oy zhlobisher tog! Az klug un az klog!" Tsholnt er derfreyt. ------------------------------------------------------------ original English JABBERWOCKY Lewis Carroll `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. "And, hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" He chortled in his joy. __________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 21.011 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, direct your mail as follows: Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements, i.e. announcements of events, commercial publications, etc., always in plain text (no HTML or the like) to: [email protected] (IMPORTANT: in the subject line write "Mendele Personal") Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language, i.e. inquiries and comments of a non-commercial or publicity nature: [email protected] IMPORTANT: Please include your full name as you would like it to appear in your posting. No posting will appear without its author's name. Submissions to "regular" Mendele should not include personal email addresses in the body of the message, as responses will be posted for all to read. Please send postings always in plain text (no HTML or the like). 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