Lomir Noh Laac’hen!

Zoog mir in Yiddish

By Sol Awend, GenShoah SWFL

It’s safe to say that most everyone who reads the Federation Star is able to read English. They read and understand in one smooth movement. This is not the case with the column of Zoog Mir in Yiddish. Granted, most of what’s presented is in English, but then Yiddish words and expressions come along and light up the page.

And that’s what is so fascinating — in regards to the people who read the column, at what level of Yiddish do they comprehend? Throw in the variations between Galitzianeh and Litvak dialects and you really have the potential of a mishmash.

Think about the last time you ran into someone who spoke Mameh Looshen Upon recognizing the first few words, you see their face light up as if they just met a long-lost friend. That’s what I hope happens to you. Hopefully you run across a memory of a loved one speaking to you through the Yiddish words and phrases presented here.

We are an anxious folk, what with history constantly pounding on our doors with mishigas (nonsense) about our background or our right to exist. We turn then to humor.

No matter the situation, we’ll find something about which to geb ah laac’h (give a laugh). Put a spin on it with a touch of Mameh Looshen, and the phrases or story becomes a spicy literary taco that’ll bring tears to one’s eye every time.

Like Jerry Seinfeld said in a recent quote, “The greatest Jewish tradition is to laugh. The cornerstone of Jewish survival has always been to find humor in life and ourselves.” And should that include ah maaseh (a story) about a person or an event told in Yiddish, so much more the better.

Thanks for your loyalty and interest, dear reader. May the pages of this column light up before your eyes, as you conjure up a happy memory or two.