Category Archives: Yiddish

Misbehaving Hasidim?

I have taken the liberty of posting here, a post that had been rejected because the moderators closed the original thread. Please feel free to continue the discussion below.JeromeFrom Charles Rosner:(I know that you decided to close this thread, but I believe that the following testimony may still go to the List )Dear Gary,I have ancestors as well from Sadagura as from Wiznitz. And one of my great-grandfathers from Sadagura even decided in his old age, after his second wife died, to travel to Palestine around 1908-10 so as to die in the Holy Land.Personally, I was born in Czernowitz and I live in France: I consider myself as a Jewish-Czernowitzer- Frenchman. And, when a Frenchman, an Israeli or a Jew in general misbehaves to the extent of what the Hassid do in Oman, I feel ashamed.Now, it happens that I travelled via Oman on my way to Czernowitz for the 600-years-celebration, a few days before Rosh Hashanah in 2008. The Hassid arrive there per thousand: just imagine thousands of them in a city smaller than Czernowitz! They own many houses (but certainly not enough accommodation) around the grave of the Tsadik and I can tell you that many of them really misbehave in the city and around.On the same trip I also made a stopover in Odessa: the big synagogue is located on one of the main streets of the city: there were quite some Jews praying when I got inside. I didn’t notice any policemen stationing nearby the building, whereas I saw quite a few of them maintaining order near the Tsadik grave in Oman.I was posted in Ukraine 1996-99 and I consider that things slowly change for the better over there. But, even in 1996, there was a Sholem Haleichem statue downtown in Kiev. This doesn’t mean that there are no Anti-Semites, like in every country all over the World, including France and Israel.This is just to say that there are correct people in every group and others, nationalists and extremists in general, who misbehave with the exception, of course, of the Old-Czernowitzers and their children and grandchildren, who are all and always correct.
Regards,
Charles

Unveiling Ceremony for Eliezer Steinbarg’s Funerary Monument on 08.10.1933

It is sad, children, in this wide giant world.It is bitter! Let’s at least enjoy a fable!

Moshe Altmann Memorial Plate on 23, Kobylanska Street (Herrengasse)

History Museum of the Romanian Jews, Bucharest

Links: Eliezer Steinbarg, Arthur Kolnik, Barbu Lazareanu, Jacob Sternberg, Moshe Altmann, Dr. Shlomo Bickel, Leib Malach

Photos: Courtesy of Edgar Hauster, Irene Fishler, Lydia Schmerler, Sergij Osatschuk, Iosif Vaisman

Gueboiren of Tzu Kvetchen

GEBOIREN OIF TZU KVETCHEN

Is based on the first Chapter ot Michael Wex book Born to Kvetch,

Kvetchenzaij bakluguen is nit blois a shpas, oder di enfert tzu shlejte tzeiten oder shvirikaiten. Kvetchen is a leiben stil dos hot gurnisht tzu tien mit di meiglijkait tzuoisfiren dos vos nen vil oder men zujt in leiben.

Kvetchen, complaining is not just a joke, or the response to problems or difficult times. Kvetchen is a way of living that is not related with the possibility of accomplishing what you want or what you pursue in life.

Men ken zij kvetchen as men is zat oder ven men is hunguerig, ven men is tzufriden oder ven men ist un glicklich, es ist a mitle of tzu vissen est ist a mitlle zeij tzu zorguen vos kickt oif di velt mit colierte gleizer.

One can kvetch when one is satisfied or when hungry, when you are happy and content, it is a way to worry kind of looping into the World with colored glasses.

Kvetchen is a weig oid tzu aroisbreing a bisl fargueniguen bay backluguen zij, men tit of tzelujesder velt, a velt vos ist nisht fraindleich oder michet deij,

Kvetchen is a means to extract some satisfaction by complaining, a means to annoy the world that doesn’t like you or disturbs you.

Will continue.

Isidoro Zaidman

isidoro@racsa.co.cr

Dos Yidishe Shtolz

Jose Gutman

DOS IDISHESTOLTZ

JEWISH PRIDE

You must remember this,DIMUSTZIJDERMANEN

A bris is still a bris,AS A BRIS ISDOJ A BRIS UND

A chai is just a chai.A JAI IS DOJA JAI

Pastrami still belongs on rye,UND PASTRAMIGEHERTTZURYE

As time goes by.AS DI ZEIT GUEITARIBER

With holidays in view,AS SE CUMT TZU YOM TOV

A Jew is still a Jew,A YIDIS DOJAYID

On that you can rely.OIF DEN KENST DU FARTROIEN

No matter if we eat sushiA FILLEAS MEN EST SUSHI

As hours slip by.AS DI SHOIENGUEIN ARIBER

Old shtetl customs, never out of date.

DIALTESHTETEL MINUGUEN, GEIN NIT FORIBER

All those potatoes mother has to grate.

ALE DI BARBULES DI MAME DARFNOJRAIBEN

Honey, tsimus, latkes, chopped liver on our plate

HONIK, TZIMES, LATKES, GUEFILTE FISH

Guefilte fish, chopped liver, schmaltz and a

shpritz,

UND GUEHAKTE LEIBER SCHMALTZUND A SHPRITZ

The best that gelt can buy

DOS BESTE VOSGUELT KENKOIFEN

Some would send us to perdition,

ASAJVOLTEN UNS BAGRUBEN

But we’re strengthened by tradition,

OBER MIR ZENENFARSHTARKT BY TRADITZIE

That no one can deny.

UND DOS KEN KEINERZAJNISCHTUPZUGEN

We roam, but we recall our birthright,

MIR VANDERN, OBER MIR DERMONENZJJVU MIRZENEN GEBOIRN

As time goes by.AS DI ZEIT GUEITARIBER

Dreidels and chocolate, never out of date.

DREIDLS UNDCHOCOLAT, GUEIENENNISHTAUSDER MODE

Ancient Jewish stories that we all relate.

DIALTEIDISHE MAISES MIRALLEDERZEILEN

Blue-and-white gift wrap, everything that’s great?

VAIS UND BLUMIR VIKLEN EIN ALS VUS IS TAIER

And festive chazerai!

UNDIOMTEVDIKEJAZERAI

It’s still the same old Torah,

ES IST DOJ DI ALTE TOIRE

It’s still the same menorah,

UND DI ALTE MENOIRE

We’ve latkes still to fry.

UND DI LATKESMIR DARFEN BRUTN

It’s at yomtov when we feel most blessed,

ES IST IOMTEVVEN MIR FILMER ZAIJ GEBENSCHT

As time goes by.

AS DI TZEIT GEIT ARIBER

Yiddish joke.

Overhearing  a jewish parvenu couple in old time America .   Speaking strictly “only” English :   ” Moses, ken ich mich shoin dressn oder willsti mich noch usen ?”

Hardy

Czrenovitzer Fraint Mir Heiben on.

Liebe Czernowitzer Fraint.Di letste tzwai wochenseinen gevein schvere teig far yeden einem,as mir hoben gueendiktmit di holushkes und ungehoiben sich tzu dermanen in di fargangene yurn es ist uns alleshveir guevoren of dein hartz.

Dear Czernowitzer friends; the last two weeks were difficult days for all of us, as we did finish with the holushkes, and then started to go back to the bygone years, and all of us got heavy hearts.

Mein zugt as es ist shver tzu zain a yid, und dus ist emes. Mir leben mit di gedanke fun di shlejte tzaitn und mir vilen nisht farguesen dus vus hot pasirt.

They say is difficult to be Jewish, and t is true. We live with our remembrances of the bad times and we don’t want to forget what happened

A teil fun uns vilen moichel zein und andere pushet vilen nisht . Yeider einer hot dos recht tzu denken vi er vil und men darf keinem nisht bashuldigen, vail beide zeine gerecht.

Some of us want to forgive, and some simply don’t want to. Every one has the right to think as he pleases, and we can’t Judge them because both are right.

Maine fraint mir veisen as di welt hotuns nischt lieb, un es drikzij ois in farshidene vegen, ober men ken gurnisht oder zeir veinik ton, men mus leben vaiter und mir turn zij nisht losen mit di fis treiten.

My friends, we know that the World doesn’t like us, and we perceive it in different ways, but there is nothing we can do about it or very little, life has to go on and we should not allow to be trampled by any body.

Mir darfen gein Vaiter,und un halten ales vus hot uns gebracht bis aher.Mentur gurnisht farliren, mir darfen vainen und lachn, mir darfen zeij delectiren mit di machulem vus unzer muters und babes hoben far uns guemacht, mit unzere vitzn und zeir vichtig unsere gelibteyidishe shprach.Lo mir ale eneinemtun vusmir kenen kedei zi zol nisht engantsenuntergein.

We have to continue, and keep every thing that has brought us up to this time. We should not get anything lost, we have to laugh, and cry, we have to enjoy the wonderful feasts that our mothers and grand mothers made for us, our Jokes and above all our beloved Yiddish language. We should all together, do as much as we can, so that it does not disappear all together.

Vus epes mir velen tienis tumet beser vi gurnisht, und tumet kemen es farbesern.

What ever we can do is always better than nothing, and we can always improve it.

Eich vil hofen as ale veren mier hobn a Grosse anue, naches und freit fun dos vos mir heibn haint un.

I want to hope that all of us are going to have great pleasure and joy from what we are starting to day.

A sheinem grus far ale: Isidoro

With kind regards for every body, Isidoro,

Isidoro Zaidman

Isidoro@racsa.co.cr