Yackety-Yak in Yiddisch

[aka]

 

With the slaughter of the Jews during the First Crusade and the devastation of the Black Plague, the Ashkenazic Jews split into two migrating groups.
 

The first group went to southern Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and northern Italy.

Their written language is known as Western Yiddish.
Unfortunately, Western Yiddish died out in the Medieval Yiddish Period which spanned from 1500-1750.

 

Eastern Yiddish was not touched by this movement and survived to become the prevailing form of Yiddish spoken today. Eastern Yiddish was developed by the second migratory group. This group of Ashkenazic (Germany) Jews received an invitation to go to Poland with the guaranteed social status
of traders. While in Poland, the Ashkenazic ran into an older settlement of Polish-speaking Jews.
 

The Polish Jews welcomed the Ashkenazic Jews into their social and cultural life.

“Since the golden age of Jewish life in Babylonia, Jews had never felt as much at home in a country as they did now in Poland” (quote: in Joys of Yiddish pg.525).

Under these desirable conditions, Eastern Yiddish thrived and developed into three dialects:

Southeastern (Ukranian-Romanian), 

Mideastern (Polish-Galacian-Eastern Hungarian), and

Northeastern (Lithuanian-White Russian) Yiddish.
 

The vocabulary of Yiddish is said to be 72 percent German,
18 percent Hebrew, 16 percent Slavic languages, 5.60 percent Romance languages, and

3.55 percent English.

 

Yiddish is known as an open language. John Geipel validates this assertion when he states,

“Compared with the procrustean rigidities of German syntax, that of Yiddish is highly flexible…”

In essence, it would appear that Yiddish has adopted certain German elements and adapted them to suit its own carefree spirit.

       
                       

[aka]

                                        "Golem"

 

Golem: Originally from Jewish folklore legends which tells of an artificially created human being that is given life by supernatural means.In our folklore we have the "Boogy-man" who was invented to discipline little unruly kids with threats of fearful things which could take place.

 

In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, magically created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material (usually out of stone and clay) in Psalms and medieval writing. The word golem occurs once in the Bible in Psalm 139:16, which uses the word גלמי (galmi; my golem), meaning "my unshaped form"

 

In Modern Hebrew, golem is used to mean "dumb" or "helpless". Similarly, it is often used today as a metaphor for a brainless lunk or entity who serves man under controlled conditions but is hostile to him under others."Golem" passed into Yiddish as goylem to mean someone who is clumsy or slow. Early on, the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak.

 

It was believed that golems could be activated by an ecstatic experience induced by the ritualistic use of various letters of the Hebrew Alphabet forming a "shem" (any one of the Names of God), wherein the shem was written on a piece of paper and inserted in the mouth or in the forehead of the golem. 

A golem is inscribed with Hebrew words, such as the word emet (אמת, "truth" in Hebrew) written on its forehead. The golem could then be deactivated by removing the aleph letter (א) in emet, thus changing the inscription from "truth" to "death". (met מת, meaning "dead").
 

The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century rabbi of Prague, also known as the Maharal, who reportedly created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto from antisemitic attacks and pogroms. Depending on the version of the legend, the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled or killed under the rule of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

To protect the Jewish community, the rabbi constructed the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river, and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations. The Golem was called Josef and was known as Yossele. It was said that he could make himself invisible and summon spirits from the dead. The only care required of the Golem was that he can't be alive on the day of Sabbath (Saturday).  Rabbi Loew deactivated the Golem on Friday evenings by removing the shem before the Sabbath began, so as to let it rest on Sabbath. One Friday evening Rabbi Loew forgot to remove the shem, and feared that the Golem would desecrate the Sabbath. He destroyed it by smashing it to pieces.  A different story tells of a golem that fell in love, and when rejected, became the violent monster seen in most accounts. Some versions have the golem eventually going on a murderous rampage.
 

The rabbi then managed to pull the shem from his mouth and immobilize him in front of the synagogue, whereupon the destructive golem fell in pieces. The Golem's body was stored in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue, where it would be restored to life again if needed. According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic. When the attic was renovated in 1883, no evidence of the Golem was found. Some versions of the tale state that the Golem was stolen from the genizah and entombed in a graveyard in Prague's Žižkov district, where the Žižkov Television Tower now stands. A recent legend tells of a Nazi agent ascending to the synagogue attic during World War II and trying to stab the Golem, but he died instead.(could the tale be constructed wish-full thinking?)

 

The existence of a golem is sometimes a mixed blessing. Golems are not intelligent, and if commanded to perform a task, they will perform the instructions literally. In many depictions Golems are inherently perfectly obedient. In its earliest known modern form, the Golem of Chełm became enormous and uncooperative. In one version of this story, the rabbi had to resort to trickery to deactivate it, whereupon it crumbled upon its creator and crushed him. There is a similar hubris theme in Frankenstein, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and some golem-derived stories in popular culture.
 

A Yiddish and Slavic folktale is the Clay Boy, which combines elements of the Golem and The Gingerbread Man, in which a lonely couple make a child out of clay, with disastrous or comical consequences. The older couple whose children have left home make a boy out of clay, and dry him
by their hearth. The Clay Boy comes to life; at first the couple are delighted and treat him like a real child, but the Clay Boy does not stop growing, and eats all their food, then all their livestock, and then the Clay Boy eats his parents. The Clay Boy rampages through the village until he is smashed by a
quick-thinking goat.

 

                    
 

(A recent representation of a golem by illustrator Philippe Semeria. The Hebrew letters on the creature's head read "emet", meaning "truth". In some versions of the Chełm and Prague narratives,
the Golem is killed by removing the first letter, making the word spell "met," meaning "dead.").

 

 

 

[aka]

Yiddish was the language of the more than two million Jewish immigrants who came to the U.S. from Eastern Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. As the last great wave of these arrivals landed at Ellis Island in the 1920s, radio was beginning its ascent in American culture. The recent Jewish immigrants embraced the medium, and by the early 1930s, Yiddish radio flourished nationwide. In New York alone, 23 stations broadcast dramas, variety programs, man-on-the street interviews, music, commercials, even editorials in rhyme.

 

The Holocaust had forever stemmed the flow of Yiddish speakers to America, while many earlier arrivals turned away from Yiddish culture as they assimilated in the New World. Israel's choice to make Hebrew its official language further marginalized Yiddish as the language of modern Jewish life.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_q2pyW_tTo

U-Tube clip showing how to make Gefilte Fish (Filled/Stuffed Fish) with a Granny speaking in Yiddish

 

[aka]

                            Time Now For Yiddish Audio Lessons

 

 

Lesson 1.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOdk_yx_D_0

 

Lesson 2.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tylAWbkS24

 

Lesson 3.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8maprffYKxo

 

Lesson 4.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKLJFmJq2xA

 

Lesson 5.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rBVDLk2v9o

 

Lesson 6.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ltwytJjv4

 

Lesson 7.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQqO6y-Z4U8

 

Lesson 8.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDwFYPOQEg

 

Lesson 9.        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQW3o0GVW_o

 

Lesson 10.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq64QReB5zI

[aka]

          

 

I am really truly happy for having found the site with all these u-tube Audio Yiddish Lessons.

 

With my grasp of the German Language I can easily move into Yiddish with the v-clips because the guy makes all very simple and applicable to every day life.

 

If any of you are following this thread and finally using the audio-lessons do let me know.

 

 

             

[aka]

         

 

A BI GEZUNT: So long as you're healthy. It means,
"Don't worry so much about a problem, whatever it is. You've still got your health."

ALTER COCKER: An old and complaining person, an old fart.

AY-YAY-YAY: A Joyous, or at times sarcastic, exclamation.

BALABUSTA: The wife of an important person or a bossy woman.

BEI MIR BIST DU SHAYN: To me you're beautiful.

BERRYER: Denotes a woman who has excellent homemaking skills.

BISSEL, BISSELA: A little.

BOBBEMYSEH: Old wive's tales, nonsense.

BOYCHICK: An affectionate term for a young boy.

BROCHE: A prayer.

BUBBA: A grandmother.

BUBBALA: A term of endearment, darling.

BUPKES: Something worthless or absurd.

CHAYA: An animal. "Vilda Chaya," a wild animal, is
a term used to describe unruly children.

CHAZEREI: Food that is awful, junk or garbage.

CHUTZPAH: Nerve; gall, as in a person who kills her parents
and asks for mercy because she is an orphan.

ESS: Eat.

FAYGALA: A male homosexual.

FERBLUNJIT: Lost, mixed up.

FERDRAYT: Dizzy, confused.

FARPITZS: All dressed up.

FERMISHT: All shook up, as in an acute disturbance.

FERSHLUGINA: Beaten up, messed up, no good.

FERSHTAY?: Do you understand.

FERTUMMELT: Befuddled, confused.

FRESS: To eat like an animal, i.e., quickly, noisily, and in
great quantity.

GAVALT: A cry of fear or a cry for help. Oy Gevalt is often
used as expression meaning "oh how terrible."

GAY AVEK: Go away, get out of here.

GAY GA ZINTA HATE: Go in good health. Often said in parting
but can be spoken with irony to mean, "go do your own thing."

GAY SHLAFEN: Go to sleep.

GELT: Money.

GONIF: A thief, a tricky clever person, a shady character.

GOY: A derogatory term meaning gentile, goyim is the plural,
and goyisher is the adjective.

GREPSE: To belch.

GORNISHT: Nothing. Often used in a sarcastic manner, as in
what did you get from her? Gunisht.

HAYMISH: Informal, friendly. A haimisher mensch is someone
you feel comfortable with.

HOK A CHAINIK: To talk too much, to talk nonsense.

KIBITZ: To offer comments which are often unwanted during a
game, to tease or joke around. A kibitzer gives unasked for advice.

KINE-AHORA: A magical phrase to ward off the evil eye or to
show one's praises are genuine and not tainted by envy.

KISHKA: Intestines, belly. To hit someone in the
"kishka" means to hit him in the stomach or guts.

KLUTZ: An awkward, uncoordinated person.

KOSHER: Refers to food that has been prepared according to Jewish
law. More generally kosher means legitimate.

KVELL: To beam with pride and pleasure, Jewish parents are
prone to kvell over their children's achievements.

KVETCH: To annoy or to be an annoying person, to complain.

LOCH IN KOP: Literally a hole in the head, refers to things
one definitely does not need.

LUFTMENSH: A dreamer, someone whose head is in the clouds.

LUZZEM: Leave him be, let her or him alone.

 

[aka]

MACH SHNEL: Hurry up.

 

MACHER: An ambitious person; a schemer with many plans.

 

MAVEN: An expert, a connoisseur.

 

MAZEL TOV: Good luck, usually said as a statement of support or congratulations.

 

MEESA MASHEENA: A horrible death. The phrase "a messa mashee af deer" means a horrible death to you and is used as a curse. Some have suggested that Masheena is the origin for the insulting name for Jews of sheeny.

 

MEESKAIT: A little ugly one; a person or thing.

 

MEGILLAH: Long, complicated and boring.

 

MENSCH: A person of character. An individual of recognized worth because of noble values or actions.

 

MISHEGOSS: Inappropriate, crazy, or bizarre actions or beliefs.

 

MISHPOCHA: Family, usually extended family.

 

MOYL: The man who circumcises baby boys at a briss.

 

NACH A MOOL: And so on.

 

NACHES: Joy. To "shep naches" means to derive pleasure. Jewish children are expected to provide their parent with naches in the form of achievement.

 

NARRISHKEIT: Foolishness, trivia.

 

NEBBISH: An inadequate person, a loser.

 

NOODGE: To bother, to push, a person who bothers you.

 

NOSH: To snack. NOSHERYE refers to food.

 

NU: Has many meanings including, "so?; How are things?; how about it?; What can one do?; I dare you!"

 

NUDNIK: A pest, a persistent and annoying person.

 

ONGEPOTCHKET: Messed up, slapped together without form, excessively and unesthetically decorated.

 

OY-YOY-YOY: An exclamation of sorrow and lamentation.

 

OY VEY: "Oh, how terrible things are". OH VEZ MEAR means "Oh, woe is me".

 

PLOTZ: To burst, to explode, "I can't laugh anymore or I'll "plotz." To be aggravated beyond bearing.

 

POTCHKA: To fool around; to be busy without a clear goal.

 

PUPIK: Belly button.

 

RACHMONES: Compassion.

 

SAYKHEL: Common sense.

 

SCHLOCK: A shoddy, cheaply made article, something thats been knocked around.

 

SCHMALTZ: Literally chicken fat. Usually refers to overly emotional and sentimental behavior.

 

SCHMUCK: strong put-down for a jerk, a detestable person.

 

SHADKHEN: a professional matchmaker.

 

SHANDA: A shame, a scandal. The expression "a shanda fur die goy" means to do something embarrassing to Jews where non-Jews can observe it.

 

SHAYGETS: A gentile boy and man, also means a clever lad or rascal.

 

SHAYNER: Pretty, wholesomely attractive, as in shayner maidel (woman.)

 

SHIKSA: A gentile girl or woman.

 

SHLEMIEL: A dummy; someone who is taken advantage of, a born loser.

 

SHLEP: To carry or to move about. Can refer to a person, a "shlepper," who is unkempt and has no ambition.

 

SHLIMAZL: A chronically unlucky person, a born loser, when a shlimazl sells umbrella the sun comes out.

 

SHMENDRICK: A weak and thin pipsqueak. The opposite of mensch, a a physically small shlemiel.

 

SHMEGEGGE: A petty person, an untalented person.

 

SHMATTA: A rag, often used as a putdown for clothes of the unfashionably dressed.

 

SHMEER: To spread as in to "shmeer" butter on bread. Can also mean to bribe and can refer to the "whole package", as in I'll accept the whole shmeer.

 

SHMOOZ: To hang out with, a friendly gossipy talk.

 

SHMUTZIK: Dirty.

 

SHNORRER: A begger, a moocher, a cheapskate, a chiseler.

 

SHNOZ: A Nose. Jimmy Durante was known as a the great shnoz.

 

SHTETL: A Jewish ghetto village.

 

SHTIK: A stick or thing. Often refers to an individual's unique way of presenting themselves, as in "She is doing her shtik."

 

SHTUNK: A stinker, a nasty person or a scandalous mess.

 

SHVITZ: To sweat, also refers to a Turkish bath house. A shvitzer means a braggart, a showoff.

 

SPIEL: To play, as in to play a game. 

[aka]

TCHOTCHKA: An inexpensive trinket, a toy. Can also mean a sexy but brainless girl.

 

TSETUMMELT: Confused, bewildered.

 

TSIMMES: A side dish, a prolonged procedure, an involved and troubling business, as in the phrase, "don't make a tsimmes out of it."

 

TSORISS: Suffering, woes.

 

TSUTCHEPPENISH: Something irratating that attaches itself like an obsession. She has a tsutcheppenish that is driving everyone crazy.

 

TUCHES: Backside, ass, "tuches lecker" means ass kisser, one who shamelessly curries favor with superiors.

 

TUMMEL: Noise, commotion, disorder.

 

UNGABLUZUM: To look as if one is going to cry.

 

VERKLEMPT: All choked up

.

VUS MACHS DA: What's happening? What's up?

YENTA: A busybody, usually refers to an older woman.

 

ZAFTIG: Juicy, plump. Can refer to food, ideas or people. A buxom woman.

 

ZIE GA ZINK: Wishing someone good health.

 

ZETZ: A strong blow or punch.

 

ZEYDE: Grandfather, or old man.

 

ZHLUB: An insensitive, ill-mannered person, a clumsy individual.

[aka]

Flash cards in vocabulary learning are great. English on the  one side and the foreign language word on the other side.

 

Partner off with someone who'll test you. Now that's a good learning 'Spiel'.

[aka]

 

Two largest sects of Judaism differ when it comes to what is and isn't kosher for Passover.

Ashkenazics, Jewish  folks who are traditionally of a European background.

Sephardics, Jewish  who are typically of Spanish or Italian descent.

Ashkenazic Jews have complicated Passover observance by avoiding rice, millet, and legumes.
 

The word "knish" is Ukrainian for "dumpling."

 

 "Blintz" comes from a Ukrainian word meaning "pancake."

Blintzes are basically Jewish crepes made to serve like an egg roll.

 

Blintz is a thin, flat pancake rolled around a filling which can be sweetened cottage cheese or mashed potatoes and onion; as a dessert, they can be filled with fruit, such as apple, cherry or blueberry. They are usually pan fried in oil and generally served with sour cream and/or applesauce. Cheese blintzes are the traditional meal for the festival of Shavu'ot, when dairy meals are traditionally eaten.
 

Cholent is a very slowly cooked stew of beans, beef, barley and sometimes potatoes. It is the traditional meal for the Shabbat lunch or dinner, because it can be started before Shabbat begins, and left cooking throughout Shabbat.
 

Holishkes are cabbage leaves stuffed with meatballs in a tomato-based sweet-and-sour sauce.
 

Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws These are collectively known as kitniyot, from the Hebrew word katan (little). kitniyot is  not the same as hametz.
 

Pareve is something without dairy product.
 

Challah is a very sweet, golden, eggy bread made into a braid.
 

Bagel is a donut-shaped piece of bread that is boiled before it is baked. It’s soft, warm and spongy inside, lightly crispy outside. They are often topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, or flavored with other ingredients. The bagel has been a part of Jewish cuisine for at least 400 years. Bagels are good with cream cheese and a thick slice of tomato or Lachs.

 

[aka]

Cholent Cooker                                               Cholent meal

          

 

Cholent Stew                                                  Challah Bread

               

 

Challah

[aka]

sweet Blintzes                                                Savory Blintzes                                             

      

 

Creme Cheeze Blintzes

 

Holishkes                                                           3 Holishkes

                 

[aka]

        Bagel Sandwich

 

 

           Bagels

[phkrause]

Yentyl, your making me very hungry for Jewish cooking, which my Mom did very well. And for sure, I'll be eating a bagel for breakfast this morning.

[aka]

Peter,  I sure do understand your feeling. It's great to have memories of cultural culinary eating habits. I would love to make stuffed cabbage or stuffed paprika's. My mother did that often but always poured a very spicy tomato sauce over them.  I'd like to make make Challah at home. But I'm bound in duty to keep my Alfie feeling comfortable with meals. So that means nothing of wheat or grains in flour products. He has celiac intestinal problems. He eats mainly vegan. Cooking veggie stews is what I do a lot. But I do my own pleasure and buy some Challah for myself. As a matter of fact I ate some with our stew this evening. Our bakery does a great job of making it soft and delicious.

 

I now duck my head low and speak softly...." I really don't like bagels and never eat them."

[Sylvia49]

 

 

 

Yiddish arose from Old High German about 1000 years ago. The medieval Jews were being persecuted by Christians and wandered from east Europe to west/central Europe. The development of Yiddish happened by taking up the spoken languages of their surroundings but not in a pure grammatical way, then supplying the foreign words of the language (in this case Germany) with Hebraic elements. ‘Jewish’ is in German Jüdish with was corrupted into Yiddish.

 

The transliterated spellings of Yiddish words and conventional German spellings are different, but the pronunciations are frequently the same (e.g., shvarts in Yiddish is pronounced the same way as schwarz in German, which means ‘black’).

German and Yiddish used to be pretty much dialects of each other - though in many cases only the literal meaning is known in German, while the transferred meaning is peculiar to Yiddish.

 

Active vocabulary is the vocabulary we use when speaking and writing, passive vocabulary is the vocabulary we hear and understand.

 

Ashkenaz is a Hebrew name for “Germany”.

 

Naches is a Yiddish word that means "pride" or "joy." Typically naches refers to the pride or joy that a child brings a parent. For instance, when a child is born people will often say to the new parents "May [your son or daughter] bring you naches." The "ch" is pronounced gutturally - so it's not "ch" as in "cheese" but rather "ch" as in "Bach" (the composer).

Examples: You bring me such naches!

 

Kvetch is a Yiddish word that means "to complain." It can also be used to refer to someone who does a lot of complaining, as in: "Phil is such a kvetcher!" Kvetch is one of many Yiddish words that has become popularly used in the English language.

Examples: Stop your kvetching, things are not as bad as you make them sound.

 

"Mazel Tov" (מזל טוב) is a Hebrew phrase that literally means "good destiny" but is more commonly understood to mean "good luck" or "congratulations." "Tov" is the Hebrew word for "good" and "mazel" is the Hebrew word for destiny or constellation (as in the stars in the sky).

 

When is the appropriate time to say "mazel tov" to someone? Whenever something good has happened. Whether someone recently got married, had a child, became a Bar Mitzvah, or did well on an exam, "mazel tov" would be an appropriate (and very nice) thing to say.

Pronunciation: mah-zehl tahv

Examples: I heard you just got a promotion at work - mazel tov!

 

a bisl     a bit, a little bit, some

 

Chutzpah (pronounced huuts-pah) is a Yiddish word that is used by Jews and non-Jews alike to describe someone who is particularly audacious or has a lot of "guts." Chutzpah can be used in a variety of ways. You can say someone "had chutzpah" to do something, or you could describe them as a "chutzpanik" and achieve the same meaning. Chutzpah can be used to describe both males and females.

Examples: Rachel invited her boss out to dinner last week and convinced him to give her a huge raise. That took chutzpah!

 

Dreidel is a Yiddish word that comes from the German word "drehen," which means “to turn.” In Hebrew the dreidel is called a "sevivon," which comes from the root "savov" and also means "to turn."

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. It is used during Hanukkah to play a popular children's game that involves spinning the dreidel and betting on which Hebrew letter will be showing when the dreidel stops spinning. Children usually play for a pot of gelt, which are chocolate coins covered in gold colored tin foil, but they can also play for candy, nuts, raisins – anything really!

 

A game similar to the dreidel game was popular during the rule of Antiochus. During this period Jews were not free to openly practice their religion, so when they gathered to study Torah they would bring a top with them. If soldiers appeared, they would quickly hide what they were studying and pretend to be playing a gambling game with the top.

 

Meaning of the Hebrew Letters on a Dreidel

A dreidel has one Hebrew letter on each side. Outside of Israel, those letters are: נ (Nun), ג (Gimmel), ה (Hay) and ש (Shin), which stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes Gadol Haya Sham."

This phrase means "A great miracle happened there [in Israel]." When played outside Israel.

 

After the State of Israel was founded in 1948 the Hebrew letters were changed for dreidels used in Israel. They became: נ (Nun), ג (Gimmel), ה (Hay) and פ (Pey), which stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes Gadol Haya Po." This means "A great miracle happened here."

The miracle referred to in both versions of the Hebrew phrase is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil, which lasted for eight days instead of one.

 

How to Play the Dreidel Game

Any number of people can play the dreidel game. At the beginning of the game each player is given an equal number of gelt pieces or candy, usually 10-15.

 

At the beginning of each round, every player puts one piece into the center "pot." They then take turns spinning the dreidel, with the following meanings assigned to each of the Hebrew letters:

 

Nun means "nichts," which means "nothing" in Yiddish. If the dreidel lands with a nun facing up the spinner does nothing.

Gimmel means "ganz," which is Yiddish for "everything." If the dreidel lands with the gimmel facing up the spinner gets everything in the pot.

Hey means "halb," which means "half" in Yiddish. If the dreidel lands with a hey facing up the spinner gets half of the pot.

Shin means "shtel," which is Yiddish for "put in." Pey means "pay." If the dreidel lands with either a shin or a pey facing up the player adds a game piece to the pot.

If a player runs out of game pieces they are "out."

 

Love this, Yentl !

[Sylvia49]

Peter,  I sure do understand your feeling. It's great to have memories of cultural culinary eating habits. I would love to make stuffed cabbage or stuffed paprika's. My mother did that often but always poured a very spicy tomato sauce over them.  I'd like to make make Challah at home. But I'm bound in duty to keep my Alfie feeling comfortable with meals. So that means nothing of wheat or grains in flour products. He has celiac intestinal problems. He eats mainly vegan. Cooking veggie stews is what I do a lot. But I do my own pleasure and buy some Challah for myself. As a matter of fact I ate some with our stew this evening. Our bakery does a great job of making it soft and delicious.

 

I now duck my head low and speak softly...." I really don't like bagels and never eat them."

Mmmmmm....  Love bagels!  But I should be gluten free, too.  

[phkrause]

They have a gluten free section at the DeLand Bakery, which we go to once in a while. I have bought the gluten free bagels, not bad.

[phkrause]

Don’t Be Skittish, Bring Back Yiddish!

They say that Yiddish is dying off, but I’m not ready to give this colorful language any sort of burial!

http://www.aish.com/j/fs/Dont-Be-Skittish-Bring-Back-Yiddish.html?s=mm

Oy vey!! The first I've heard this??

[aka]

JEWLARIOUS !

I loved that write up. And I had so much fun doing the Yiddish messages in this topic.

                             

(Ja, I used the calling name of Yentyl on this topic because it's so Jewish in usage.) 

[phkrause]

Here's an interesting "gem" for the day:

The Yiddish Speaking Latino Cop

Working to protect Rabbi Teitelbaum, he gained insight into the essence of the Jewish people.

by Rabbi Moshe Greene

Living in New York City is tough on cars. Pot holes and sharp debris on the road leads to bent rims and punctured tires.

One day while driving near my home in Queens, the inevitable happened. My tire went flat. I pulled over, took out my cell phone, called AAA, gave my location to the dispatcher, and waited.

About half an hour later a Latino man in his mid-60s pulled his truck behind me. He got out, looked at the car and then looked at me. "Hello, my name is Donny," he said as he extended his hand. He then began speaking in Yiddish.

"Are you Jewish?" I asked.

He shook his head smiled and said, "No."

I laughed and asked the obvious question. "So where did you learn Yiddish?"

"I picked it up many years ago when I was hanging out with one of your buddies," he said teasingly. "Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum from Williamsburg. You heard of him?"

"The great chassidic leader?" I asked in disbelief.

"That's the one," he replied.

Donny would dress like a chassid and scan the crowds looking for infiltrators.

Donny explained that he was a retired NYPD cop. While on the force, his job was to protect Rabbi Teitelbaum – not only from outsiders but also the throngs of chassidim that push to get near him. Donny was assigned as the rabbi's bodyguard – at home, in shul and at public gatherings.

Donny described how he would dress like a chassid – a Latino with beard and sidelocks (peyos), scanning the crowds, looking for infiltrators.

"How could you tell a real chassid from an impersonator?" I asked.

"You guys are always hunched over your books," he explained. "If someone was standing a little too straight I kept my eye on him. He was either an outsider... or someone who ain't serious about his studies," he laughed.

Donny reminisced about the kindness of the rabbi's wife, and how she supplied him with a steady stream of cholent and kugel.

Donny then asked if I knew the expression "Yiddishe kup."

"Of course'" I replied. "It refers to Jews as a smart and clever people."

Donny became serious, knowing he had me where he wanted. "I heard you guys used to live in Israel with your capital in Jerusalem. I heard that you had a Temple – a beautiful place where you all got together for the holidays – right?"

I nodded.

"I also heard that about 2,000 years ago you were exiled because you guys didn't get along with each other. True?"

I nodded again.

"I also heard that if you guys could just learn to get along with each other, God will move you back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple."

Donny then leaned toward me, looked me straight in the eye and said, "So if you guys are so smart, how is it that in 2,000 years you haven't figured out how to get along?"

I had no answer.

The Torah tells us that unity of the Jewish people was a prerequisite for the revelation at Mount Sinai. The verse describes the encampment of the Jews by the mountain, united as “one person with one heart.”

It all starts with the realization that while Jews many be different from one another, we are all one family. We are part of the same unit, connected at the core, sharing the goal of Tikkun Olam, making the world a better place.

The upcoming holiday of Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai. Now is an ideal time to work on attaining this consciousness and unite as a people.

Let’s make Donny’s question no longer a question.

Article is at this url:http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Yiddish-Speaking-Latino-Cop.html?s=mm

[aka]

"So if you guys are so smart, how is it that in 2,000 years you haven't figured out how to get along?"

You'd think he's talking directly to SDA's in his retort,  

[phkrause]

11 hours ago, aka said:

"So if you guys are so smart, how is it that in 2,000 years you haven't figured out how to get along?"

You'd think he's talking directly to SDA's in his retort,  

Good point!

[aka]

Many Yiddish words found in English came from Southern Yiddish dialects. In the 1930s, Yiddish was spoken by more than 10 million people, but by 1945, 75% of them were gone.

Shalom Aleichem! No other language has the expressive power of Yiddish – maybe because it’s a mash-up of several languages.

An interesting point to think about:

  In the Nazi extermination camps an offer was made to each Jew that they were free to leave if they would publicly confess to the messiahship of Jesus for salvation. All they had to do was repudiate Yahweh and they could walk out of the camp. Most all in the camps, with only a handful of exceptions, stayed, choosing martyrdom over betrayal of their Jewish faith.

(in this topic thread I had at the time used Yentyl as my display name. I've changed into another avatar and hope it doesn't bother readers much)

[phkrause]

8 hours ago, aka said:

Shalom Aleichem! No other language has the expressive power of Yiddish

I have to agree!! I was actually thinking about that the other day!