THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

16 October 3, 1975

TAMAROFF GIVES

Nessen Rumors
Ark Project'

UNBEATABLE DEALS

ON

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TAMAROFF

TELEGRAPH NR. 12 MI

Boris Smolar's

`

OPEL HONDA
353-1300

NEW YORK — During
the White House press
briefing Sept. 26, Ron Nes-
sen, President Gerald
Ford's spokesman, stated:
"President Ford has signed
an emergency order direct-
ing the Pentagon to begin
immediate construction of
an ark 350 cubits long."
After 8.4 inches of rain-
fall in a four-day downpour,
Nessen's point was not lost.
He added that Ford had
"directed the National Zoo
to begin assembling two of
every living species."
The correspondents ob-
liged Nessen with a spate of
questions: Was this a politi-
cal venture? Was it true Sec-
retary of State Kissinger
had secretly promised an
American ark to Israel?

IF YOU CAN'T
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DOUG HOFFMAN
CAN

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this promise to all his customers
."They will never take a suit
from his store, unless it fits them
as well as their personality."

Doug Hoffman's new fall line of
suits:
• Oscar de la Renta $165 and up
• Pierre Cardin
$175 and up
• Van ails
$205 and up
• Tiger of Sweden $225 and up
to Rafael
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we just have it.

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-

Store Hours:
Monday-Thimsday-Friday,
9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday Wednesday Saturday,
9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

-

-

'Between You
and Me'

...

Editor-in-Chief

Emeritus, JTA

(Copyright 1975, JTA, Inc.)

U.S. INTEREST IN YIDDISH: The Yiddish lan-
guage — the origin of which goes back to the earliest Ash-
kenazic communities of the Jewish people on the Rhine
some 1,000 years ago — is now becoming more and more a
prestige language in the United States. Its acceptance in the
academic world is becoming wider with every year.
One finds an increasing number of scholars studying
Yiddish not only as a language but also as a source of Jew-
ish cultural, economic and social life of about 30 genera-
tions of Jews in the various countries of their dispersion.
The number of Yiddish literary works being translated into
English, and published by modern American publishing
houses, is growing and attracting more and more intere-
on the part of American-Born Jews who never learned t
read Yiddish. Among the translated works is the `Tzeenah
U-Reenah" — the Biblical book in Yiddish which was writ-
ten in the 16th Century primarily for women who did not
understand Hebrew. This 400-year-old Yiddish book popu-
lar among women, was translated by Norman Gore, a schol-
ar-priest of the Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
The U.S. government, through its National Endowe-
ment for the Humanities, has been financing some projects
of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Now it has
awarded $75,000 for the "Great Dictionary of the Yiddish
Language" as an outright gift. At the same time, it offered
to increase this award by $149,200 on condition that half of
this sum be matched by private and institutional donations
by Feb. 29, 1976.
The National Endowement offer comes at a time when
the dictionary project faces an acute financial crisis. Its fi-
nancial situation will become even more desperate should
the group not succeed in securing from private and institu-
tional souces the donations needed to match the National
Endowement's generous offer.
AN ENORMOUS TASK: "The Great Dictionary of
the Yiddish Language", is not an ordinary dictionary. Its
scope is encyclopedic. It provides the definition, derivation,
the region where the word originated, the various dialects.
It records and processes every Yiddish word of every time
— from the earliest communities in the 10th Century along
the Rhine and Danube to the Yiddish-speaking communi-
ties of all continents today.
The dictionary also documents the word with proverbs
and citations contining the word, to show cultural, reli-
gious, social and political developments and/or characteris-
tics of the Jewish way of life. It also brings in all the words
from other languages adopted by Jews in their Yiddish con-
versations through the ages.
At its present stage, the dictionary is already consid-
ered worthy of comparison with the best all-inclusive dic-
tionaries in modern lexicography. When completed, it will
have more than 200,000 words, testifying to the richness of
the Yiddish language as compared with other languages.
Hundreds of collaborators in many countries have vol-
untarily helped the editors of the dictionary — Judah A.
Joffe and Yudel Mark — in the assembling of this huge col-
lection of words. None received remuneration except the of-
fice staff. Even the editors worked without pay.
Prof. Nathan Susskind, director of the Department of
Jewish Studies of the City College of New York, who is the
co-editor and principal investigator of the dictionary, simi-
larly works without remuneration.
URGENT PROBLEMS: In addition to the financial
problems which the dictionary faces, it also faces the prob-
lem of the diminishing Yiddish linguists and authorities on
Yiddish. Many of its collaborators perished in the Holo-
caust. The surviving few are no longer young.
The urgency to complete the project while lexicogra-
phers who are native experts are still available, is, there-
fore, emphasized by the New York City College which takes
an interest in the project. The college has established an
Institute for Yiddish Lexicography to help prepare the dic-
tionary, with Prof. Susskind as director. The college also
encouraged the Nebrew University in Jerusalem to join as
co-sponsor.
Neither the Hebrew University nor City College are
able to underwrite the dictionary's total budget.
The gift from the National Endowement for the Hu-
manities is of very great assistance. However, the full sum
of the generously offered award will never be obtained un-
less a part of it is matched by private contributors. The fu-
ture of the entire dictionary project may depend on such
contributions this year.

Jews Celebrate First Landing

NEW YORK (JTA) — first Jews in New Amster-
Jews from the greater New dam.
York area will be gathering
The event is co-sponsored
Sunday at Battery Park to by the Jewish Historical
celebrate the 321st anniver- Society of New York and the
sary of the landing of the American Jewish Historical
Society.

