[Mendele] Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements--Korev, efsher, fun Mendele vil visn...

[Victor Bers]

Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements--

Nov. 20, 2009

To minimize wear and tear on the untershames, three requests:

1. Send time-sensitive notices well in advance.
2. Send material as plain text:  no HTML, other coding, or attachments;
and write MENDELE PERSONALS in the subject line.
3. Correspond directly with the person who or organization which has
posted the notice, *not* with your ever-beleaguered untershames.
_______________________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:29:04 -0800
From: Loren naiman <Lnaiman at pacbell.net>
Subject: NEW SUBSCRIBER AND DISTANT RELATIVE OF MENDELE MOCHER SFORIM WITH 
QUESTIONS

Gentlemen,

Thank you all for keeping up the language. I have for many years been a 
contributor to the National Yiddish Book Center, but I had never heard of 
your group.

I have not studied Yiddish in far too long.  I studied at UCLA with Janet 
Hadda in 1971.

By way of background, I believe I am a distant relative of Mendele Mocher 
Sforim.  I would like to tell you how close, but I can't because all the 
people I would now ask are deceased. When I was young I had an ancient 
uncle named only "Uncle"  His last name was Abramovich and I believe he 
was a nephew of Mendele.

My Yiddish name is Mendele after the great author. Unfortunately that is 
all I know.

I have a close group of friends all of whom know a smattering of Yiddish. 
We are all worried that we are the last remnants and that the language 
will soon perish.

I receive Pakentraeger and try to muddle my way through some of the 
articles, but most of it is beyond my rudimentary knowledge.

I have three questions?

1.Are there any good writings about Mendele's background particularly in 
Belarus?

2.Are you in contact with any of his descendants?

3.Can you point me to any easy, (as in very easy), entry points into the 
language that we can use as study guides at Shabbat dinners?  We are way 
beyond the "Joys of Yiddish" but not to the level of Sholem Alechem.

Anyway, I am glad I have connected with your group.  I look forward to 
reading whatever you send and am gratified that someone is preserving a
language that is a true art form.

Loren Naiman
____________________________________________________________
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