Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
'Words No Longer Used'—Yiddishisms and Proverbs
W. K. Kelsey, the briliant Detroit News Commentator, re-
centy devoted a portion of his column to a discussion of "words
no longer heard." He referred especially to two now extinct
terms, "skeezicks" and hobbledehoy." That set us to thinking
about words once popular among Jews which have fallen into
disuse and probably would not be understood by the prtsent
generation.
Take words like "karger," "krikher," "kalye-makhen," "kh,apen
klep," "skripen," "baytl," "sheynken," "shlimazl," "opshtoysen,"
"nzoykhl," "meyvin," and scores of others down the line. Sorhe
of the words are of Hebrew derivation, but they had become an
inerasable part of Yiddish.
It may well pe said that the decline of Yiddish is directly
responsible for the extinction of many of the once-common
terms from our vocabulary. But even those who did not know
Yiddish were acquainted with the common terms. "Krekhtzen"
and "kibitzin" were as popularly used by ultra-assimilated Jews
as by Yiddishists, and the latter even gained a place in the English
dictionary.
With the disappearance of many of the popular terms from
common usage, the Yiddish proverb, too, has been forgotten.
Many Yiddish proverbs are so unique that their revival arouses
within us a sense of deep appreciation. The SchOcken Book, "Yid-
dish Proverbs," edited by Hanan J. Ayalti, helps relieve our nos-
talgia. Let us share. a few of these. The following, selected frorn
Ayalti's book, contains a number of the forgotten words:
2 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 19, 1954
—
Rubiner Re-Elected
To Head Federation
SAMUEL IL RUBINER
Samuel H. Rubiner has been
chosen to head the Jewish Wel-
fare Federation of Detroit, a
post to which he has been un-
animously elected since 1950.
He is the seventh person to
.718 wt1,4z t4 ttvtr 5n1 t8: t8
hold the presidency of the fed-
eration, which was organized in
Az Got vil, shirt a bezim oykh.
1926 as an all-inclusive organ-
If God so wills it, even a broom can shoot.
ization to promote the welfare
11):158r1 ti 11i 183 11,1t38;
of the Jewish community in the
A gantser nar is a halber novi.
fields of health, welfare, educa-
A whole fool is half a prophet.
tion, culture and human secur-
ity. In effect, the combined
71,:).8n •)1587 718 pip r8P
communal movement of Jewish
A kats ken oykh kalye makhn.
community chest and social
Even a. cat can cross your plans.
agencies, the federation spon-
sors the annual Allied Jewish
pp
ts8 10511)18
Campaign which helps provide
An oylom is nit keyn goylem.
for human needs locally, na-
The masses are no asses.
tionally and abroad.
ne8: ,t.V;r1y.; 71i l'"8 13)1 /8
Other persons elected and
their of f ices are Irving W.
As der Yid is gerekht, khapt er ersht di rekhte klep.
When a Jew is right, that's when he gets a right good Blumberg, Harvey H. Goldman
and Abe Kasle, vice-presidents;
beating.
Max M. Fisher, treasurer.
.78
TI:an h 1y):18
wp 71)11”
Abraham Srere was chosen
Zingen ken ikh nit, ober a meyvin bin ikh.
chairman of the executive com-
I can't sing a note, but I know all about it.
mittee to which the following
persons were named members-
tr:,D8p
i4)tv
at-large: Hy Safran, Ben L. Sil-
A sheyn ponim kost gelt.
berstein, Abraham • Srere and
A pretty face costs money.
James Wineman. William Fried-
.Itt.'/81% n -1811 8 AftmilliZ ritniB
man, Julian H. Krolik and Hen-
ry Wineman were chosen hon-
A patch fargeyt, a vort bashteyt.
orary members of the executive
The smart of a blow subsides, the sting of a. word abides.
committee.
A foyler sheliakh gefint ale teyrutsim.
Rubiner is a board member
A lazy messenger finds many excuses.
A joign is gut shikn noknn malakh-hamoves.
of Federation, Jewish Comfnun-
ity Center, De t r o i t Service
Be sure to send a lazy man for the Angel of Death.
Group, Jewish Vocational Ser-
A kalyeke flit men gikher a nedove vi a talmid-khokhem.
vice, Jewish House of Shelter,
More alms are at hand for a cripple than for a scholar.
Jewish Social Service Bureau,
A karger tsolt tayerer un a foyler geyt mer.
Resettlement Service and United
The miser pays dearer and the sluggard walks farther.
Hebrew Schools.
A khissorn, di kale iz tsu sheyn!
He is a member of the
Too bad; the bride is so pretty.
National Jewish Welfare Board
A khoynef for nit in kaas vern.
and the board of Council of
A flaterer must not lose his temper.
Jewish Federations and Welfare
A kluger farshteyt fun eyn vett tsvey.
Funds.
A wise man hears one word and understands two.
A mentsh iz shtarker fun ayzn un shvaleher fun a flig.
His positions in the commun-
ity have included board mem-
Man is stronger than iron and weaker than a fly.
bership of the United Founda-
A meshumed is nit keyn Yid un nit keyn goy.
tion, Detroit Chapter of Ameri-
A convert is no Jew and no Gentile.
can Red Cross, and treasurer
A shlekhter rod skripet amergstn.
of Detroit Metropolitan USO.
The worst wheel squeaks loudest.
A shlimasl vandert oys ale lender un kumt aheym on hoyzn
Past presidents of Federation
ten hemder,
were Henry Wineman, Milford
Who's got no luck goes off to far lands with full haversack, St er n, Clarence H. Enggass,
returns without pants or shirt to his back,
Abraham Srere, William Fried-
A shverer baytl makht a laykht gemit.
man and Julian H. Krolik.
A heavy purse makes a light heart.
A sod iz keyn brokhe.
-
To be in on a secret is to be under no blessing.
A toyher hot gehert, vi a shtumer hot dertseylt, az a blinder
hot gesen, vi a krume r iz gelofn.
A deaf man heard a mute tell how a blind man saw a cripple
run.
Af a mitsve gefinen zikh a sakh balonim.
One good deed has many claimants.
Af a nar is keyn kashye nit tsu fregn un keyn pshat
xogn.
nit tsu
A fool cannot be questioned or explained.
Ale kinder zaynen kleynerheyt klug, nor dos rov blaybn baym
kindershn seykhl.
All children are clever when they are small, but most of them
grow no wiser.
As ale zukhn sheyne kales, vu kumen ahin di miesse meydn?
With all the world looking for pretty brides, what becomes of
the homely girls?
Az an oreman est a hun, is oder er krank oder di hun.
When a poor man gets to eat a chicken, one of them is sick.
Az der oyrakh hust, felt im a lefl.
When the guest coughs, he wants a spoon.
As der soyne fait, for men zikh nit freyen, (ober men heybt
im nit oyf).
"Rejoice not at thine enemy's fall"—but don't pick him up
either.
As der tate sheynkt dem sun, lakhn beyde—az der sun sheynkt
den tatn, veynen beyde.
When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son
gives to his father, both cry.
Az der Yid is hungerik, singt er, un der poyer shiogt dos vayb.
When a Jew is hungry, he sings; when a peasant is hungry,
be beats his wife.
As di hatslokhe shpilt, gilt ersht di khokhme.
• When „luck joins in the ga.me, cleverness scores doubles
Russia Reaps Ilus4e
Profit from Citrus
NEW YORK, (JTA)—Or-
anges from Israel are a
"brisk selling item" in the
Soviet Union and currently
sell at four and a half or
five rubles each (between
$1.12 and $1.25), the New York
Times reported from Moscow.
Commenting on the report,
the newspaper said that the
oranges, which were purchas-
ed from Israel at about two
and a half cents each, will
net the USSR over $100,000,-
000 at the official ruble-dollar
exchange rate.
The Times estimated that
the Soviet government would
receive 475,000,000 rubles for
the Israeli oranges which cost
it only 10,000,000 rubles at the
official exchange rate. The
newspaper also said that the
official valuation of one ruble
for 25 cent., in United States
currency "grossly exaggerates
the actual purchasing power"
of the ruble as against the
purchasing power of U. S. and
western currencies.
UN Secretary General Insists
On Direct Israel-Jordan Talks
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.. (JTA)
—UN Secretary General Dag
Hammarskj old warned Jordan
that if it did not reply soon to
his message convoking a confer-
ence with Israel he would have
to set a date for this meeting.
"My own feeling," Mr. Ham-
marskj old said, "is that we
should not let April pass without
a meeting:" He added that he
felt that the Israel-Jordan con-
ference should be started during
the first half of April.
The Secretary General said
that he had received "no word
from Athman yet." In reply to
a question, Mr. Hammarskj old
said that if Jordan did not turn
up at the conference, then Israel
had the right to bring the mat-
ter up before the Security Coun-
cil.
The UN Secretary General an-
nounced that UN water experts
had arrived in Palestine to make
an on-the-spot study of Pales-
tine waters. He indicated that
these men would act as tech-
nical advisors not only to the
Bunche committee which he has
been set up to aid him but also
to Maj. Gen. Vagn Bennike, chief
of the UN truce supervision or-
ganization.
Mr. Hammarskj old agreed that
it would be a "dangerous devel-
opment" if members disregard
Security Council decisions. He
made this comment in reply to
a question about the fact that
Egypt considered itself right in
refusing to comply with the Se-
curity Council decision ordering
it to desist from interfering with
Israel-bound shipping in the
Suez Canal. Mr. Hammarskj old
said it was a "basic misfortune's
if a country failed in its • duties
to the United Nations, but he
did not see any great danger of
this as far as the international
organization was concerned.
Between You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright , 1954, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Washington Moods
Who will be the next U. S. Ambassador to Israel? • .. This
question is now a matter of much speculation in Washington
Israel is, of course, not in a position to influence in any way the
State Department's choice of an envoy to succeed the late U. S.
Ambassador Monnet Davis However, it is known that Israel
would like that the new Ambassador not be a Jew, since this
would complicate matters ... A career diplomat, like the late Am-
bassador Davis, would be the best choice from the point of view
of the average man in Israel ... Washington is, for the time being,
mum on whom the State Department intends to send to Tel Aviv
... It is assumed that no candidate will be announced until the
internal situation in the Arab countries neighboring on Israel is
cleated up ... The recent revolutions in the Arab countries have
given the State Department much food for thought ... They have ,
proven behind doubt the instability of some of the Arab countries
as compared with the stable internal situation in Israel ... On the
other -hand they strengthened the position of those who advocate
the merger of Iraq with Syria and Jordan ...Israel strongly op-
poses such a merger ... The new American Ambassador to Israel
will have to be a person able to mediate ... The American Gov-
ernment seems bent on carrying out its Jordan Valley Authority
plan which affects Israel and Syria ..--. Syria is opposed to this
plan ... Israel did not say "no" to the project, but neither' did it
say "yes" . . . There will be a good deal of negotiations with Israel
about this plan as well as about other aspects of the Middle East
situation in which the U. S. Government is interested ... Thus,
the choice of an American Ambassador to Israel at the present is
an important matter for the State Department.
Campaign Innovations
A new system of campaigning will be introduced by the Israel
Bond Organization when it inaugurates its 1954 drive at the end
of this month ... The new system will abolish completely high-
pressure methods of salesmanship ...Instead, the campaign will
be conducted on a strictly "low pressure" or "no pressure" basis
...People who previously bought Israel bonds for more than $10,-
000 will be asked to buy no more than $10;000 this year .. If they
wish to invest more than $10,000 in Israel bonds in 1954, they will
be welcomed; however, they will in no way be pressured to do so
... A similar approach will be used with regard to American
Jews who in previous years acquired less, than $10,000 in Israel
bonds ... These people in the middle bracket category will be
asked to become members of a special "Guardian of Israel" organ-
ization through the purchase of no more than $1,000 in bonds this
year ... The same will be asked from Jews in the upper economic
bought any Israel bonds ...Principal
brackets who have not
reason for the new policy—which was designed by Henry Montor-
is the fact that from here on Ameican Jews will be asked to buy
Israel bonds on a regular and continuing annual basis ... This
.revolutionary move on the part of Mr. Montor is based on calcu-
lation that a "low pressure" or "no pressure" approach will secure
for Israel bonds much b.tter and more stable results than the
high presssure methods used hitherto when the sale of Israel
bonds had to be promoted intensively because it was something
new in American Jewish life.
Communal Trends
President Eisenhower and President Truman may, for the first
time, sit side by side at a Jewish dinner in this country . .
This will be the dinner marking the opening of the celebration of
300 years of Jewish settlement in America ... A delegation of
Jewish leaders which visited President Eisenhower to invite him
to attend the affair was told by Mr .Eisenhower that he has no
objection to having Truman also as a guest of honor ... Inci-
dentally, the work of the committee which is arranging the cele-
bration is moving slowly because of financial difficulties ... The
big celebration plans which some members of the committee have
nurtured are being reduced one by one because of lack of funds
...Even the project to build a wing on the Library of Congress
may be dropped ... The celebration will, naturally, be marked
locally by various Jewish communities in various ways and means
. . . Nationally, too, the Tercentenary will be observed through
radio and television hook-ups and by the publication of a 10-
volume History of the Jews in the United States ...For the latter,
a fund of $100,000 is, however, required ... The question of how to
raise this fund is now being discussed . . . Indications point to the
fact that the money will be secured, since this will probably be
the only major project to be carried out ...The projected 10-
volume history will be edited by Prof. Salo Baron, noted Jewish
historian . . . It is recollected that when American Jewry cele-
brated the 25th anniversary of its settlement in this country,
nothing but the coining of an anniversary medal marked the
celebration . . . One of the medals was presented to President- -/'
Eisenhower by the delegation of Jewish leaders which visite(
him at the White House.