PURELY COMMENTARY Multiple Tevyes Expand Sholem Aleichem Academia PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor Emeritus holem Aleichem is a phenomenon in world literature that keeps growing in stature. From the mo- ment it became the pen name of Sholem Rabinowitz, with every tale depicted the Yiddish author commenced to sym- bolize every aspect of life, with em- phasis on the struggles and agonies as well as the spiritual armor of his people. It kept developing into much more than a single Tevye who dominated the stage in many lands. There was more than one Tevye, and from 1894, when the first emerged under the byline Sholem Aleichem, until 1914, each new Tevye represented new challenges, new experiences in Jewish life and the Jew in a world atmosphere. With each Tevye under newly-developing conditions there were the daughters, the family, the wife Golde. To the vast library of Sholem Aleichem Yiddish originals, translations, commentaries and biographical works is added an S Sholem Aleichem exceptionally enriching addition with the qualities of previous works and newly researched data. In Sholem Aleichem: Tevye the Diaryman and the Railroad Stories, translated by Hillel Halkin, the many Tevyes, the great variety, are introduced and exclusively studied. This volume is one of the classical works still published under the insignia of Schocken, before the firms's merger with Random House. Its great value is in the introduction by the translator, Hillel Halkin, who has an admired record as translator of S.Y. Agnon, A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz, as well as Sholem Aleichem. Halkin, who now resides in Israel, lends glory to the new work as a master of Yiddish who masters Sholem Aleichem in English. He shares with the late Maurice Samuel the distinction of brilliance in mastering languages. Halkin's introduction has reference to translations that will merit being included in this review. In Halkin's essay there is the real, a new Tevye. Would that it had been written and read as widely as were the comments on Fiddler on the Roof wherein Tevye heads the cast of characters. Halkin thus defines the true Tevye as he differs from the dramatized stage character: Readers of Tevye the Dairyman who are familiar with the play or movie Fiddler on the Roof will notice that, in more ways than one, there is scant resemblance between Sholem Aleichem's novel and the charming musical based on it. (Indeed, this is true even of the musical's name, which does not come from the work of Sholem Aleichem at all but from the art of Marc Chagall with its recurrent motif of a sad-gay Jewish fiddler playing upon the rooftops of a Russian village.) To begin with, there is the tone: unlike Fiddlerwhich, whether sad or gay, keeps within the range of the safely sentimental, Tevye has a giddy energy, a recklessness of language and emotion, a dizzy oscillation of wildly funny and wrenchingly painful scenes that come one on top of another without letup .. . Quite apart from the Continued on Page 46 William Safire Defines Roots Of 'Holocaust' W illiam Safire, New York Times Op-Ed Page columnist who writes a weekly essay "On Language" in the NYTimes Sunday Magazine, is an expert on words and their meaning. He is an expert on language and he fascinates his readers, as he achieves it by inspiring the writing of this column. Safire provided an important analysis of the origin of the word "Holocaust" in his essay of September 20th. Calling attention to the meeting of Jews with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, he points out that Rabbi Marc H. Tannenbaum of the American Jewish Committee referred to the presi- dent of the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews as Cardinal John Willebrands. Thereupon Safire wrote: "Shouldn't this read 'His Eminence, John Cardinal Willebrands?" asked the rabbi, referring to the ancient, formal style stemming from the time the nobility put the Christian name before the title, as in "William, Duke of Norfolk." "We don't do that anymore," said Cardinal Willebrands cheerfully, and into the historic communique went a couple of references to cardinals using the title before the first name. The statement read: "On Tuesday morning, the Jewish delegation met with Cardinal Agostino Casaroli." That was how the text appeared in the New York Times, but the accom- panying news story clung grim- ly to the old ways: "This morn- ing the Jews met with Agostino Cardinal Casaroli." In some 2 FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 1987 matters, the Times thinks in terms of centuries. The Associated Press Style- book goes with the new form, and most newspapers are adop- ting it. "There has been no for- mal decreee to change the place- ment of Cardinal from its tradi- tional use after the first name," says a spokesman for the Na- tional Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington. "It has become an informal option?' Mebbeso, but priests who want to get in tune with the latest Vatican usage will pro- bably take this communique as their keynote. Personally, I hate to see the archaic usage go — we have few enough reminders of our linguistic heritage — but the adoption of the modern form will simplify matters for those outside the church who wondered why so many church leaders had the same middle name. An appreciation of Safire's treat- ment of word origins, this is important thus far. Safire went into discussing the term " demonic" as applied to Jews, and proceeded to define "Shoah" and "Holocaust." The "demonic" ter- minology, the rejection of the Nazi ef- fects on the religious tendencies of our time, the definitions of the Holocaus- tian elements, all combine to provide many gems in language studies. The following from Safire will instruct and inspire fascinatingly:" "It was also noted," read the communique, "that Nazi ideology was not only anti- Semitic but also profoundly demonic and anti-Christian:' Demonic is an adjective that has special resonance for theologians, who take demons seriously; a synonym is satanic. The Jewish drafters were aware of millenarian cosmology, which holds that the Christ and An- tichrist will do battle at some future Armageddon; for cen- turies, many priests identified the Jews with the Antichrist, and icons often pictured Jews as demonlike. In this statement, the use of demonic to describe Nazism breaks the libelous link between Jews and demons, plac- ing Christians and Jews on the same side against the satanic Hitler. Another significant usage: "The agenda for the meeting in- cluded the Shoah (Holocaust)." Shoah is a Hebrew word for Continued on Page 46 Salute To Max M. Fisher A salutary function, planned jointly by the Jewish Welfare Federation and the Jewish Com- munity Center, will add a never-ending mark of appreciation for the services of the admired Max M. Fisher. The occa- sion will be the Oct. 21 dedication of a sculpture of Fisher for permanent display in the Center. The formal dedication is acclaimed in the sponsors' joint announcement which declares: "In creating a bronze bust of Max Fisher, sculptor Jerome Soble has sought to convey 'the dignity and strength of this man who has done so much for the Jewish people.' The sculpture will be permanently displayed in the lobby area of the Jewish Community Center." The entire community will surely acclaim this honor and dedication. It is additionally appropriate to repeat a quote from Fisher with which the sponsors introduce their invitation to the planned event. Fisher is quoted: "We are all trustees of our Jewish heritage . . . with an obligation to im- prove it, cherish it, and guard its future." Max M. Fisher The Fisher credo is inspiring and the honor to be accorded him commen- dable. Many additional good wishes to you, Max!