Voos iz “Gaab’l, Gaab’l?” Zoog mir in Yiddish

Zoog mir in Yiddish

By Sol Awend, GenShoah SWFL

If it’s November, then Thanksgiving can’t be far behind.

I don’t know about you, but this time of year conjures up wonderful memories of growing up.

Keep in mind that as a young boy, I wasn’t familiar with the Thanksgiving story as I was a newly minted American, having arrived in America in January 1951 at the age of 4. Part of the problem could have been my inability to speak and understand English. Being young, though, I caught on quickly and English rivaled my understanding of Mamah Looshen.

I was fascinated by the Pilgrim’s story and how the turkey came to symbolize what “giving thanks” meant if you were an American. Explaining this to my parents in Yiddish was an interesting experience, as it was totally foreign to them. But once I connected the Pilgrim’s story, the meaning of the turkey and giving thanks for being here in America, the light bulb went on.

Amongst the gGreener” (refugee) families in our community, Thanksgiving caught on in short order. I was in fourth grade, and I was used to explaining billboard advertising to my parents. We were one of the first families to have a black-and-white TV, which helped English to be better understood. One day, my mother and I went to the local A&P to shop for the feast and came home with all the fixings, including sweet potatoes and, of all things, a pumpkin pie.

All went well, that is, until it was time for dessert.

My parents did not know about pumpkin pie. They just managed to figure out Halloween and how the pumpkin fit into that scheme of things. And now, a month later, it shows up again as a piece of pie?

I kept on playing up the virtues of how great it would taste and that we should all wait until the end of the meal and try it together. My younger brother, Abe, and I told our parents to be seated and that we would serve them.

With a plate in front of everyone, we picked up the fork and took our first bite of this all-American treat. Silence.

After a bite or two, our parents grimaced and couldn’t finish another bite. In a word: they hated it. Something in the pie was totally foreign to their taste buds. I guess if you were European, eating pumpkin pie involved a learning curve they could not master.

“Feh! Nisht fah meeyeh!,”* my mom exclaimed.

“Ich ken doos nisht essen!** Ess shmek’t mir nisht! ***,” vehemently commented my father.

How ironic it was that the following year, after enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, my mom made her dessert — apple strudel, thereby creating a tradition that lasted 30 years.

May we all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, complete with the dessert of your choice. To be here in America, in spite of what one hears, is still worthwhile and worthy of our thanks.

A few Yiddish words that help express the season

1. IN-dik (Turkey)

Ich hob leep t’zeh essen ahn indik! (I love to eat turkey!)

2. OOH geh-BROOT-teneh (Roasted)

Ahn indik iz shein ven siz ahn ooh gehbroot-teneh. (A turkey is beautiful when it’s roasted.)

3. doos HO-et (The skin of a turkey)

Doos ho-et fin ah gehbrooteneh indik shmek’t ahzoy git! (The skin of a roasted turkey tastes so good!)

4. “GAAH-bl, GAAH-bl !” (Like it sounds) Voos iz doos “gaahbl, gaah-bl”? Ich fah shtei nisht! (What is this “gaah-bl, gaah-bl?” I don’t understand!)

*5. FEH! Also Fooy! (Distasteful, awful)

Feh! Nisht fah meeyeh! Fooy! (Terrible! Not for me! Foowee!)

**6. ESS-en (n. Food, v. To Eat) Ich ken doos essen nisht essen! (I cannot eat this food!)

***7. ShMEK’T (Taste, Smell, Aroma) Ess shmek’t mir nisht! (It doesn’t taste good!)

8. POMP-keh Pei (Yiddish derivation. In real Yiddish, it’s Der KEER-vaas.)

Ah Pompkeh Pei miz zaahn geh maac’ht fin der keer-vaas. (A pumpkin pie must be made with pumpkin.)

9. OOH-geh fressen (Full, stuffed to the point of being sick)

Mott zec’h oogeh fressen biz arof! (We ate and filled ourselves full!)

10. LEEB-shaaf’t (Undying love) Mah leebshaaf’t fah America is eibik! (My love for America is eternal!)