[Mendele] Mendele Vol. 18.010

[Victor Bers]

Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
____________________________________________________

Contents of Vol. 18.010
October 5, 2008

1) "Mentshn-yeger" (Shirli Sela-Levavi)
2) kapore (Robert D. Rachlin)
3) shlyonder (Margie Newman)
4) Chava Rosenfarb's convocation address (Goldie Morgentaler)
5) peysakh-lid (Avraham Yehoshua Kahana)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  September 24, 2008
Subject:  "Mentshn-yeger"

In his novel "Ven yash iz gekumen, " Yankev Glatstein mentions a play
called "The Manhunters" (Mentshn-yeger). Does anyone know of a play by this
name? Any idea who wrote it? What is it about? All my attempts to find it
or any information on it were in vain. Any clue will be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,
Shirli Sela-Levavi

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  September 11, 2008
Subject:  kapore

Stephen Stern tells how his parents, who survived the Holocaust but whose
children, aleyhem ha-sholom, were killed, referred to the children they had
later as "kaparah." I suspect that their meaning was not "redemption," as
Mr. Stern surmises, but "expiation" or "atonement," the Hebrew meaning of
the word. It may refer to the traditional ceremony performed on erev
Yom-Kippur known as "shlogn kapoyres," in which a fowl was waved in the air
as an atonement for sins. While, of course, it's impossible to say exactly
what was in Mr. Stern's parents' minds when they used this term for their
post Holocaust children, I can venture a guess that they viewed their new
children as an atonement for those that were lost to the Holocaust. To
venture the speculation farther perhaps too far - we know that many
Holocaust survivors felt (and still feel) guilt for having survived. It's
possible that Mr. Stern's parents, in some way, blamed themselves for the
loss of their children. After all, parents have a duty to protect children.
By having children after the horrors, they may have sensed that they were
in some way atoning for having lost their earlier children. My guesses may
be completely off the mark. But if they are correct, the use of that term
by Mr. Stern's parents was an especially poignant witness to the
sensitivity of their yidishe neshomes.

Robert D. Rachlin

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  September 15, 2008
Subject: shlyonder

My father (z'l) often used the word "shlyonder" to describe any traveling
that he thought was unnecessary  or foolish. Weinrich's definition is "to
lounge." The online Yiddish Dictionary Lookup defines it as "stroll,
wander, lounge." I never heard it used in a neutral sense, as in taking a
walk. It always had a negative connotation.

Can anyone comment on the usage of the word and from where/what is might be
derived? It's interesting that its definitions include both staying in one
place and moving around.

Thanks,
Margie Newman

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  September 10, 2008
Subject:  Chava Rosenfarb's convocation address

The link to this video as posted in Vol. 18.009 somehow got corrupted and
will not work. The correct link is
http://media.uleth.ca/crdc/convocation_spring_2006/c1/address_rosenfarb.mov>http://
media.uleth.ca/crdc/convocation_spring_2006/c1/address_rosenfarb.mov

Goldie Morgentaler

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  September 15, 2008
Subject: peysakh-lid

I watched yesterday a copy of the testimonial my grand uncle recorded for
Spielberg's Shoah Institute and I learned about a song the family used to
sing at the seder at Peysakh. I'm going to type below what I could get from
the Yiddish, as well as some additional info that might be relevant:

"Mayn tate flegt trinken fun dem mentshn, un dem mirn freygte mirn zingt
azoy sheyn..."

My grand uncle mentioned this song was from a city called "Slutz," Poland.
They lived in Lodz at the time, I guess (maybe it's a place nearby?) They
sang this at the Peyach' seder, as I already mentioned above - not sure
if/when they had guests joining the meal.

Thanks in advance,
Avraham Yehoshua Kahana
______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 18.010

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