Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 4.392
April 20, 1995

1) Soviet writers (Leah Zazulyer)
2) Hotzmekh (Rudi Roth)
3) Hotzmekh (Keyle Goodman)
4) Mameloshn 95 (Stephen Dowling)
5) Dos kompyuter-shpil Peysakh (Peter Kluehs)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 1995 21:29:32 -0500 (EST)
From: watson@uno.cc.geneseo.edu
Subject: Soviet writers

Israel Emiot, a writer whose poetry I am translating, who was also a prose
writer, has written some about the era in two books:  The Birobidjhan
Affair, publ by Jewish Publication Society in 1961?, in English .  The
introductory essay to Siberia, a bilingual poetry book about his years
in the lager, also, along with the poems, details some events.  The poetry
book is still available, now from me.  The prose memoir, misleadingly
titled Birobidjhan Affair, is probably not available in print, but the
Jewish Community Center in Rochester New York has copies. Also, suggest
contacting Josef Kerler in Israel;I interviewed him once; interesting
stuff about writing in the depths of a mine, his only place of solitude.
Also see a book called The Black Years of Soviet Jewry, Gilboa is author,
Brown and Co., l971.

Leah Zazulyer

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: 18 Apr 95 14:00 GMT
From: rothr@infomail.infonet.com
Subject: Hotzmekh

Re Bernard Greenberg's request on "Hotzmekh", I wonder if it is not the
word "Hutspa" (Hes vuv tzadek peyz he), pronounced somewhat differently.
Hutspa (according U Weinreich) means impertinence, impudent and is
derived from the same word in hebrew.

I remember I have seen this in an expression like : "wos a hustpa"
meaning "what an impudence, how can he...."

Rudi Roth
Belgium

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 11:25:04 -0700
From: ac939@lafn.org
Subject: Hotzmekh; Tundele

Bernard Greenberg asks about 'hotsmekh'.  My mother used it differently.
When someone was saying a long goodbye, she would humorously say,
"Hotsmekh un Zaytsmekh un Geytsmekh gezinterheyt."

Also re 'tundele'.  This may be reaching but Ellen Seid referred to a
finger play.  She called it 'Sorinke Borinke'.

My mother used such a finger play and the verse went something like this.

Saroke, Varone
Di tem kashe navarile
Na pripitchke stanovile
Pokreshkoyn akrile
Tome dale, tome dale, tome dale
Tsemenedale
A giri, giri, giri (tickling the arm up to
    the underarm and then kissing the palm
     of my hand

If memory serves me it was supposed to have something to do with birds in
a nest.  As she said tome dale, she would bend each little finger down
the way we say, "This little Piggy Went to Market".  Each finger
represented a little bird and the tsemenedale was the last little bird to
fly away.

Ikh vintch ale mayne mendelyaner fraynd a zisn, koshern pesakh.

Keyle Goodman

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 19:26:51 -0400
From: stdowling@aol.com
Subject: Mameloshn 95

Two things:

1. I am handling the reservations for MAMELOSHN 95. It has come to my
attention that some people are under the impression that the rates we
quoted are by the day. The impression is mistaken. The prices quoted are
for the full three days and includes meals. If I can provide any extra
information, please feel free to contact me.

2. Mayn tayere fraynt, Marcia Gross Levinsohn is rikhtig. In
arbeter-ring, hobn mir a "Yiddish" hagode. S'iz a veltlekhe hagode. Es
hot eyn problem, nito keyn narativ. S'iz es zeyer sheyn ven mir hobn a
drtin seder by Hilton hotel un mir hobn Zalmen Mlotek un der arbeter-ring
chor. Tsulib dem, mir panirn a naye hagode vos vet arois kumen in harbst.
S'iz a teil fun a naye program fun lebnbikhlech vos der arber-ring
bildungs opteil planirt. Ikh bin farinteresirt in ein zach. Hobn emetsn
oyf Mendele vos nutst der arbeter-ring hagode itst?

A sheynem dank for allowing me to mangle the Yiddish language in public.
Zay shtark far di baveygung!

Stephen Dowling
Brooklyn

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: 18 Apr 1995 14:25:00 +0200
From: pete@pko.rhein-main.de
Subject: Dos kompyuter-shpil Peysakh

tsurik funem forn mit a shifl adurkh di kanaln in Frankreykh tsvishn di
taykhn Rhein un Marne mit der gorer mishpokhe. zeyer a farvaylndike zakh!

kh'hof az di mendele-khevre hot gehat a freylekhn Peysakh un ikh ze mit a
groyser hanoe az undser shames hot banayt di koykhes far zayn vikhtike
arbet in der mendele-redaktsye.

far mayn eynikl hob ikh gefunen a kompyuter-shpil vegn Peysakh, ober mir
veysn nisht dos vort vos me darf kedey ontsuhoybn dem shpil. es volt zayn
"bedikat", nor, az ir zet, Abba vil hern epes andersh.

efsher kent emetser dos shpil un kon mir gebn an eytse?

**************************************************************************
                            THE PESACH ADVENTURE
                 Copyright (C) 1993 by Avi Gobbler Productions

You are in the dining room.  You can see that Imma has begun to prepare
the large table for the Seder.  There is a chandelier hanging over the
table, and a buffet sideboard set up.  Through the window, you can see
into the back yard. A doorway to the south leads to the kitchen, and a
doorway to the west leads to the living room.

While you and the family gather in the dining room, Abba enters.  "Well,
children", he says, "I know you can't wait to get started on the search.
But first I would like to ask you something.  Which one of you can tell
me what the search for chametz is called- in Hebrew, of course?"

You raise your hand quickly and Abba looks at you and says, "Nu, so tell
me then."

Abba seems to expect an answer.

?bedikat

No," Abba says, "That's not it.  You'd best ask at religious school so
that you will know the answer next time."

Nu, was ?b'dikat I don't know the word "b'dikat".

peter kluehs
wehrheim, germany

______________________________________________________
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