A Yiddish celebration

DENA DAWSON

More than 80 people gathered to celebrate the Yiddish Connection, part of the latest Empowerment Series for Seniors offered by the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver. The event was coordinated with Sholem Aleichem Seniors and was held at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture last month.

After an introduction by Sylvia Gurstein, the program was turned over to scholar and prize-winning translator Seymour Levitan. He asked the “respected listeners” how many spoke Yiddish and, surprisingly, nearly half of the audience raised their hands. The term “respected listeners or khosheve tsuherer,” Levitan explained, “originated on Jewish radio.”

Using Max Weinreich’s research, Levitan dealt with the perception of Yiddish as a “mixed-up” language. In fact, there has been criticism of the language as a “lower” form. However, Levitan pointed out that a discussion of Yiddish requires a look at all levels of language – source, sound and meaning. He showed the origins of several words, Yiddish being a language of fusion: sefer means book in Hebrew but, in Yiddish, it means religious book, while buch is book. Other examples were zeyde (grandfather), which has a Slavic origin and bentshn (to recite Grace After Meals), which comes from French and Italian.

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, many held Yiddish in low regard. The maskilim (followers of the Jewish Enlightenment) aimed to use a “real” language for Jewish life and suggested it be Hebrew.

Moses Mendelssohn, a leader of the Jewish Enlightenment, was among those who tried to retire the use of Yiddish. It was author Sholem Aleichem who worked to improve its status. “Language is the voice of a culture,” he said – and Yiddish was the language.

Levitan noted that when a translator comes across an apparent Yiddish insult like goyishe kop, it has a culture behind it that the translation, dummy, just cannot convey. Similarly, fun der maneshtanah is imbued with the experience of going through the Passover Haggadah – too much for any translation to convey. “Inherited experiences and values make the language that is the voice of our culture,” Levitan stressed.

The audience heard a selection of familiar music from Cantor Mike Zoosman and prayer leader Debbie Fenson of Congregation Beth Israel.

At this point in the evening, a sad note was announced and the audience learned that poet Avrom Sutzkever had died the previous week. He was a survivor of the Vilna Ghetto and a well-known poet. His poetry was rediscovered in 1965. Fenson and Zoosman sang Sutzkever’s “Between the Whiteness of Your Stars.” But, before they began to sing, the audience showed its feisty expertise: “You don’t need the mic.” “Hold the mic closer.” The mic will work better in your hand.” (Although the language was English, even then the culture could be heard in these exchanges.)

Following the music, a Sholem Aleichem story was read aloud by Al Stein and Shanie Levin, both in costume: he in a black suit and an old black hat; she with her hair bound in a green scarf and a long red skirt, with a black apron. “We wanted to give the flavor of the period,” said Levin. The story was an early version of Menahem Mendel’s letters to his wife, published in 1892. “We chose the story,” said Stein, “for its humor and the insight it gave into shtetl daily life.”

The story begins with Mendel in Kiev looking to seek his fortune and consists of alternating letters from husband and wife. In that time period, letters began with formal blessings for the recipient and family. Stein and Levin read these each time, eliciting more laughter as the letters continued. The audience learned about the wife’s mother through her curses, and the wife’s kvetching.

Gallia Chud of the Peretz Centre closed the evening, thanking those involved and noting that the series has provided a chance to learn and enjoy being together.

Does Yiddish make a connection? Such a question you had to ask?

Dena Dawson is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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