paR ~ w• A Country Of Our Own
By MARY KORETZ
Each month in this space,
L'Chayim will present a Yiddish
lesson entitled, "Du Redst Yiddish?
(Do You Speak Yiddish?)," whose
aim is to encourage further study of
Yiddish. The lesson will include a
brief story utilizing the Yiddish
words to be studied and a
vocabulary list with English
translations. Two books which may
be helpful for beginning Yiddish
students are Yiddish for Beginners
by Dr. Joffen and Der Yiddisher
Lerer by Goldin. Weinreich's
English-Yiddish Dictionary also may
be useful.
The lessons were prepared by
Mary Koretz of Oak Park. She has
taught both children's and adult
classes in Yiddish at the Workmen's
Circle.
Following is this month's
lesson:
This hot pasirt when I was a
student at Wayne State University. I
was riding the Dexter bus on my
veg to classes. A woman, sitting in
front of me, was pointing out the
pletser of interest to an out-of-town
gast.
"This," she said, "is our main
library and on the left you see our
art museum."
Something struck me as being
modne about the way she referred
to "our bibliotek, our museum." I
would kay mol nit have said that. I
would have gezogt "the library, the
kunstverk museum." I wondered
about that and recognized
something consciously, for the
ershtn time. I didn't feel that
anything outside of personal
belongings in this country was
"ours" or mine. Dos, in spite of the
fact that I was born and raised, as a
yung child, near Boston. Where
could I have been geboyrn to feel
more American? Yet there was this
gefil of not being home, of being a
well-treated visitor.
My eltern often spoke of der
haym but that was Polyn and
Rusland. They couldn't have felt
that those countries were theirs, so I
presume, that they referred to plats,
where they were children in a family
situation. As a first dor Jew, I
wondered where my home was.
When Israel, once again,
became a Jewish medina, my frage
was answered. The Israelis had
dergraycht independence, not only
for themselves, but for Jews all over
the velt. Like a pebble tossed in the
vaser, it rippled to every shore line.)
am ibergetseigt that, at least
subconsciously, yeder Jew walked
taller in his zinen. I remember the
komiker, Buddy Hackett, saying
something to the effect that he
would have to be treated with more
dercherets now. "Some of my
freind are having their nezer
reconstructed,' he joked.
When I took a trip to Israel, I
felt, the rege we alighted at the
airport, that I was home. For the
first mol in my life, I was in a
country vuhin I was not a minority ;
to be tolerated — or not. For the
first time I was in a country where
there could nit zein Jewish
quarters, nor discrimination in
shtele choices, nor social slights,
nor housing oplaykenug. No more
Aaron Schwartzes becoming Arnold
Black, to be ongenumen, as an
engineer or architect. This
discrimination occurred, almost
without exception, in every country. I
remembered Sarah Bernhardt
complaining that, while she was
bavust throughout the world, as a
Frantsayzish actress; she was
referred to in France as a Jewish
actress. In short, in America, I was
a Jew. In Israel, I was a human
being.
Recently, I took a reize to
Washington, D.C. I was leaving my
hotel. As I opened the tir, I became
aware of a froy seeking entrance.
held the door oyfgeefent for her.
She badankt me and added, "are
you here for the Daughters of the
American Revolution convention
oich?" When I repeated this
incident tsu my friends, they hobn
gelacht. I'm so Jewish. I didn't
laugh. We seemed so much alike,
she and I. We were about the
zelbiker height, the same vog, the
same elter, the same travel-tired.
She has her homeland, I have mine.
A mentsh mit mentshn gleich.
Vocabulary
happened
way
places
guest
strange
library
never
said
art
first
this
young
born
feeling
parents
the
home
Poland
Russia
place
generation
hot pasirt
veg
pletser
gast
modne
bibliotek
kay mol nit
gezogt
kunstverk
ershtn
dos
yung
geboyrn
gefil
eltern
der
haym
Poyln
Rusland
plats
dor
medina
frage
dergraycht
velt
vaser
ibergetseigt
yeder
zinen
komiker
dercherets
freind
nezer
rege
mol
vuhin
nit
zein
shtele
oplaykenung
ongenumen
bavust
Frantsayzish
reize
tir
froy
oyfgeefent
badankt
oich
tsu
hobn gelacht
zelbiker
vog
elter
mentsh
mit
mentshn
gleich
state
question
achieved
world
water
convinced
every
mind (brain)
comedian
respect
friends
noses
moment
time
where
not
be
position (job)
denials
accepted
known (celebrity)
French
trip
door
woman
opened
thanked
also
to
laughed
the same
weight
age
person
with
people
equal
PUZZLE ANSWER
•
( 7 :1 Lti
From Page L-2
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
L-7