aci 40 st From Zoos To Iguanas, Respect For Animals
nti ti
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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:
When I spend tseit in the
countryside, I feel as though I could
live there aybik. It is azoy idyllic: the
shtark leafy trees providing shade;
the groz, so silky and yielding unter
bare feet; the lake so klor, mirroring
the cottages and boymer; the sky
so clear that the shtern appear
almost gring tsu dergraychn.
After a voch, I develop a
terminal case of nimas vern.
Something is felndik. I have a
benkshaft for that which a
metropolis possesses. I miss a good
bibliotek, a kunst museum and the
symphony orchestra. These three
are repositories of man's intelligence
and passions.
Still, I miss the country but find
a good part of it when I go onkukn
the zoo. The place is a vunder in its
presentation of anderish forms of
life. It brings shtiker of the world to
us. From Africa, the majestic giraffe
moving with a modne kind of grace,
or the clumsy hippopotamus, the
mias aardvark . . . From West Asia,
the two horbn camel, from Europe,
the badger; from Tibet the
chaynevdiker pandas; from India the
shrekediker tiger and the exquisite
peacock; from Arctic America the
ponderoous musk-oks, the crocodile
from almost ometum, Asia, Africa,
Australia and America. Pieces of the
velt, different but lebedik. This is
gebracht to us in a zoo.
There is immer something new
to oyfdekn on a lovely day (who
goes to the zoo when the weather is
bad?) Recently, in Salt Lake City, I
saw for the ershte time an all-white
peacock. When he spread his
feathers into a lacy fan, he was
breathtakingly beautiful. I'm zicher
that he was aware of his great
beauty, he stood so regally calm.
Pieces of the velt alive and different
is the gift of a zoo, that bareicht our
lives.
There was a time I kein mol nit
getracht of reptiles as a form of life.
Efsher because they are azoy
lethargic and seem nit lebedik. My
youngest child hot zay lieb gehat.
One day, he hot gekoyft a klayn
iguana, about four inches in length.
It was bright green with amber
colored oygn. The inside of his
moyal and its tsung were also
amber colored. Unlike merste
reptiles he was lovely.
Thoughtlessly, I bamerkt that he
would make a great pin to decorate
my klayd. My son iz geven horrified,
by my remark. From his attitude, I
hob gekumen to the awareness that
reptiles have life deserving of
respect. We named the iguana
"Sam" and hobn geboyt a large
shteig for him. We provided him
with esenvarg and a source of
varefrikeit. He fascinated me, even
though I never saw him move. On
several occasions, I gemaynt him
dead. I would take time off to
fashion a rede for my youngster. I
wanted to tell him in as tsertlech a
way as possible about the toyt.
Subsequently, I found that Sam
had changed his ort. I knew neis of
his death was premature. But a tog
came when he didn't move
anymore. I was farvundert to find
how much I missed him, how much
I cared.
chaynevdiker . appealing, charming moyl
fearful tsung
shrekediker
ox merste
oks
everywhere bamerkt
ometum
world klayd
velt
alive iz geven
lebedik
brought hob gekumen
gebracht
always hobn geboyt
immer
shteig
discover
oyfdekn
esenvarg
first
ershte
confident varemkeit
zicher
enriches gemaynt
bareicht
never
thought rede
kein mol nit getracht.
maybe tsertlech
efsher
lifeless toyt
nit lebedik
liked them ort
hot zay lieb gehat
neis
purchased
hot gekoyft
small tog
klayn
eyes farvundert
oygn
mouth
tongue
most
remarked
dress
was
came
built
cage
food
warmth
thought
speech
gentle
death
spot, place
news
day
astonished
Famous Facts
Q. Who wrote the
first Hebrew-Sioux
language dictionary?
A. A dictionary of the
Hebrew and Sioux or Dakota
Indian languages was compiled
in 1842 by Samuel W. Pond. A
hard working Christian of old
New England Puritan Stock, Mr.
Pond had little formal schooling;
however, he had a phenomenal
gift for languages. Had a
nineteenth century Jewish
traveller through the badlands of
South Dakota chanced upon a
Sioux synagogue, he might have
been honored by being called to
read from the wokicuze (Torah).
And if he had come late to
services that would have been
wowantani (sinful). Mr. Pond's
manuscript was never published,
and the original rests today
among the treasures of the
Minnesota Historical Society.
Compiled by Dr. Matthew and
Thomas Schwartz
Vocabulary
time
tseit
forever
aybik
so
azoy
strong
shtark
grass
groz
under
unter
serene
klor
trees
boymer
stars
shtern
gring tsu
dergraychn .within one's reach
week
voch
boredom
nimas vern
missing
felndik
yearning
benkshaft
library
bibliotek
art
kunst
visit
onkukn
wonder
vunder
varied
anderish
pieces
shtiker
strange
modne
ugly
mias
humps
horbn
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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