PURELY somm COMMENTARY ■ sm PHILIP SLOMOVITZ `Yiddish Is Alive' . . Lexicographers To The Rescue "Yiddish Is Alive . ." Authors of a new lexicon proclaim it with pride, as they present a remarkably interesting new dictionary for what may certainly be greeted with acclaim. Two authors combined their skills to produce The Yiddish Dictionary Source Book – A Transliterated Guide to the Yid- dish Language (Ktav). There are qualities that are surely remarkable, and certainly pioneering about this lexicon. It is almost quadriling- ual in its educational approach. There four portions to each page: commencing with the Yiddish word, fol- lowed by the transliteration, then the pro- nounciation, completed by the meaning of the word in English. The dictionary thus treats 8,500 Yid- dish words and phrases. In addition to the lexicon, this volume contains these sections: pronounciation keys, grammar, numbers and the calendar, popular expressions and proverbs. The dictionary itself is divided into the Yiddish-English and English-Yiddish sec- tions. Herman Galvin, "a businessman who teaches Yiddish and lectures on Yid- dish humor," and Stan Tamarkin, who has taught at Yale about the Jewish American novel and on American social history at Connecticut College and the University of Rhode Island, are the co-authors of this informative lexicon that can surely also serve as a textbook for Yiddish. The co-authors show their masterful links with Yiddish in a most informative 12-page essay, "The Yiddish Language." For an appreciation of its aim, which will certainly also be an achievement for those sharing in it with the authors, the acclaim by them for Yiddish is thus introduced: It would be highly satisfying for us to be able to report that Yid- dish is alive and well, that it is a flourishing language, used daily by millions of Jews throughout the world, that it still is — as it was in its heyday — the language of a rich literature that ranged from tradi- tional fiction to modernist poetry, from history and philosophy to linguistics and the social sciences. Unfortunately, we can not suggest that Yiddish is as widely used as it was at its zenith when an estimated eleven million people spoke what Continued on Page 22 Fear Not' Guideline For New Year rime rtrv5 Whatever lessons may hve been pro- vided by this nation by Franklin D. Roosevelt, his most powerful instruction applicable for all generations, was: 'We have nothing to fear but fear it- self. FDR may have benefitted from Holy Scriptures and Prophecy. In Genesis 26:24 there is the admonition: 'Fear not, for I am with thee." Isaiah (43:1) prophetically pro- claimed: "Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine." We are entering an era during which there may be multiple fears, causing an- xieties over the welfare and security of mankind. Therefore the "Fear not" may be the most important advice to be offered our fellow citizens as we commence 1987. The past decades were evidenced by numerous effects aroused by villainies and medieval cruelties revived in any age that had begun to lose its humanism. The Nazi terror, its influence in countries dominated by the Hitler hordes, the hatreds that enveloped several areas of the world, caused panic in the cruelly horrified areas of the world. The more courageous, who would not submit to fear, were the few whose actions retained a measure of decency in a time of great stress. Those who spoke out against terror, who defied the beasts who were destroying all vestiges of human spirit, were the heroes of the Resistance that will always be recorded as the defiance of inhuman ter- rorism and the defense and protection of whatever may be retained in the human sphere. There were heroes of the Resistance even during the most horrifying years of the Nazi era. One such demonstration of courage was recalled during the presenta- Continued on page 22 A Fact-Provider From Israel A genuine informational treat is pro- vided for American Jewish students in the form of a textbook translated from the He- brew. Adam Ackerman, an Israeli educator, authors textbooks for elementary schools in his country. He is also a lecturer of prom- inence. His textbooks introduce the pupils to the numerous historical backgrounds of Zionism as the creative movement of Jewish statehood redeemed. One of his textbooks, Prakim b'Toldot Ha-Tnuha Ha-tzionit contains basic facts analyzing historical Jewish experiences. While they are presented in capsules, they encourage acquaintance with the most im- portant events that affected world Jewry during more than the past century. Therefore, acquaintance with the facts selected by Dr. Ackerman are history itself as it relates to the Zionist cause. Therefore, availability of the more than a score of essays in the enlarged paperback issued in an English translation by Ernest Heinemann under the title Selected Chapters in the History of Zionism should also fulfill an important need for American students. By the same token, it serves a good purpose for English readers of all ages. It is the good judgment of Dr. Acker- man that has contributed toward an understanding of the Zionist ideal that is provided in the narration of "The Damas- cus Blood Libel," Mordecai Manual Noah and his dream of a Zion redeemed in the Ararat Colony in this country, Baron Hirsch's Argentinian settlement project, Theodor Herzl and his Zionist precursors, the Dreyfus Case, "The Uganda Project and the Failure of Territorialism," Sholem Aleichem as a Zionist, Ahad Ha Am's credo, Dr. Chaim Weizmann and his out- cry, "People' of Israel, 'Where Are You',' " and many more Jewish leaders and their historic roles. The list of essays is too long to mention here. They total less than 100 pages, and perhaps because of their brevity are in- formative while encouraging further study. It is the factualness of Dr. Ackerman's study that encourages special attention to a textbook in the English translation from the Hebrew. The numerous essays describe Continued on Page 23 PROVERBS Common Sense and Ethics A halber emes iz a gantser lign. Half a truth is a whole lie. Di klenste nekome farsamt di neshome. The smallest vengeance poisons the soul. A shlekhter sholem iz beser vi a guter krig. A bad peace is better than a good war. Truth is found only in the prayerbook. Ale mayles in eynem, iz nito bay keynem. Fun yidishe reyd ken men zikh nit opvashn in tsen vasern. No one person possesses all the virtues. Ten washings will not cleanse you of Jewish talk. Az a leyb shloft, loz ha shlofn. Emes iz nor in sider. When a lion is sleeping, let him sleep. Ganve nit un fast nit. Az es brent, iz a fayer. Steal not and repent not. When something's burning, there's a fire. Host du, halt; veyst du, shvayg; kenst du, tu. Beser a krumer fus eyder a krumer kop. Better a crooked foot than a'crooked mind. If you have it, hold it; if you know it, be silent; if you can do it, do it! Beser a yid on a bord, vi a bord on a yid. Krikh nit tsu hoykh, vest du nit darfn fain. Betterka Jew without a beard, than a beard withouLa Jew. Don't climb too high and you won't have td fall. mabl, der mahb-I mageyfe, di mah-gay-feh make, di make, di makherayke, di makhmes makhn makhsheyfe, di makhshir, der maksimal, der mah-keh mah-keh mah-kheh-rei-keh mahhh-inehs mahkh-shay-feh mahhh-sheer malik-see-mah/ malakh, der malakh-ambves, der malbush, dos mah-lakh mah-lahkh-ah- maw-vehs mahl-boosh mal zayn malene, di malke, di malpe, di malyer, der mame-loshn, dos mahl-zein mah-leh-neh mahl-keh mahl-peh mahl-yehr mamshikh zayn mamzer, der man, der mahm-shikh zein mahm-zehr mahn mandl, der mandlbroyt, dos mahnd-I mahnd-I broyt mahkh-n mah-meh-lawsh-n deluge torrent plague pestilence plague abcess contraption because of to make witch tool utmost greatest possible angel angel of death 1111 ;71:n ,71D1 1T7, 1111 item ranzr-Rem ,V212'7D garment piece of clothing T rT 5n to circumcise ,17317'7Rn raspberry ,n5n queen '1 ,17954D monkey ,117'54D (house) painter or ,11e2-11Dg71 mother tongue the Yiddish language (coil.) Try 'VT/DO to continue 1111 ,1TDD bastard 1371 ,Irt) husband man ;7-artn almond t)1 32,11:5134n almond bread Aphorisms A khazer blaybt a khazer. A greedy person is always a greedy person. (A pig remains a pig.) A nar blaybt a nar. A fool remains a fool. Abi gezunt. As long as you're healthy. Az me muz, ken men. LIf you must, you can. ....mammon...wow • -aest -orms.varnnwanana. Az me vii, ken men iberkern di gantse velt. If you want to, you can turn over the whole world. Bist oyf eyn fus? Are you in a hurry? (Are you standing on one foot?) Di gantse velt iz nit meshuge. The whole world isn't crazy (so you could be wrong).