CONTENTS

OPINION

`Oy' Is A Treasure
That Needs Protection

LEATRICE GLANTZ

Special to The Jewish News

I

n the glossary of A
Treasury of Jewish Folk-
lore, edited by Nathan
Ausubel, "oy" is defined as
the Yiddish exclamation that
denotes pain, astonishment,
or rapture.
According to The Random
House Dictionary of the
English Language, the word
"oy" is defined: used to ex-
press dismay, pain, an-
noyance, and grief, etc.
But I have determined "oy"
to be a kinder, gentler word.
"OW" the English cousin, is
too self-righteous and pallid.
"Oy" is full of promise: rich,
musical, mysterious, poetic,
and expressive. It conjures up
memories of chicken soup
replete with chicken feet and
tiny yellow eggs, bubbies,
aunts, cigar smoking uncles,
bratty cousins, other times
and other places — a con-
tinuum as oval as the
precious little word itself.
"Oy" is intangible. Its
meaning exists only in con-
nection with something else
such as the rise and fall of a
voice or body language — be
it subtle as a whisper or as
fleeting as the arch of an
eyebrow or the rolling of the
eyes.
Chameleon-like, "oy'.' slips
through emotion and physical
feelings, gathering its color
and shading — so ethereal it
seems only nuance, at the
same time, so real it can seed
the air with feeling.
Take "oy" as an expression
of pain. A stacatto oy-oy-oy in-
dicates intermittent pain,

Leatrice Glantz is a freelance
writer in Barrington, R.I.

while a continuous shriek of
oyeeeee means protracted
pain. Talk about virtuosity!
One expressive "oy" is the
equivalent of lines and lines
of dialogue, but that never
stopped such contemporary
Jewish American authors as
Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Ber-
nard Malamud, Woody Allen
and the like from writing
books whose contents if boiled
down would be in essense
You've got it!
The Jewish Scriptures are
filled with characters who
suffered more than their
share of "oys." Job comes to
mind with good reason. Life
pursuing him like a swarm of
angry bees, very often, he
must have cried, "Oy, how
much can a person take?"
Jonah swallowed up in his
dismaying situation surely
shouted, "Oy, talk about
alone in the dark!" And Noah
on the 39th day probably
lamented, "Oy, enough rain
already!"
Who am I to criticize
Shakespeare? But I really
believe he could have greatly
improved Hamlet by allowing
the Dane in his famous solilo-
qu this slight enrichment:
"To be or not to be, oy, now
that's a question!" Everyone
could identify with that.
So you see, "oy" is no mere
utterance. It is a fine kosher
whine: bittersweet, full-
bodied, profound and yet
light. It is used to comfort the
bruised psyche and restore it
to health.
We must never let this word
slide into obsolescence for it
is a unique Jewish treasure,
a common bond to be passed
from one generation to
another. It is a thing of
!, Ei

erusalem — According
to highly placed
sources in Washington,
terrorism will once again be
used as a major political
weapon in the coming hot
months ahead. The form it is
expected to take is another at-
tempt to blow up an
American or Israeli airliner,
as in the Pan Am Lockerbie
disaster which took 270 lives
last December. The reason:
Arab radicals — especially
Ahmed Jibril of the Popular

j

Herzl Slept Here

DAVID HOLZEL
Preserving the memory of an 8-day
visit is an old family tradition.

44

EDUCATION

Study Hall

24

HEIDI PRESS
A new program seeks to encourage
Jewish adult education classes.

FITNESS

m AKOR

An 'Activist' Quits

46

RICHARD PEARL
Ada Bandalene ends a 35-year career
at the Jewish Community Center.

44 ENTERTAI-NMENT

59

What A Sport!

MIKE ROSENBAUM
Sportscaster Don Shane has returned
to a long-coveted job in Detroit.

TEENS

Evening Of Elegance

73

B'nai B'rith Youth hold a spectacular
installation and dance event.

76

LIFESTYLES

Labor Research

(t oy

Terrorism Cranks Up
For Tourist Season

A DEPTH News
Service Exclusive

24

CLOSE-UP

Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command,
the Palestinian Jihad and
Lebanon's Hizbollah Shi'ites
— want to torpedo American
efforts to advance the Middle
East peace process. The U.S.
government has issued secret
directives to all American in-
ternational airlines to
tighten security. As the
tourism season gets under
way, the United States is sen-
ding teams of anti-terrorist
agents to check if the airlines
are complying with the new
directives. They are keeping
their efforts quiet in fear of

Continued on Page 10

59

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
Sheldon Friedman has a labor
of love at UAW headquarters in Detroit.

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CANDLELIGHTING

73

July 14, 1989
8:51 p.m.
9:58 p.m.
Sabbath ends July 15

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

7