It’s hot! What are you going to do? Complain!

Zoog mir in Yiddish

By Sol Awend, GenShoah SWFL

If you live in sunny south Florida, you can look forward to an outdoor steam bath almost every day, it seems. If you’re a fellow c’hevreh, well there’s always something about which to comment. And when it comes to the weather, it only gets more descriptive in Yiddish.

This time of year is known as zimeh, summer.

Siz heis! (It’s hot!)

Es brent ah heldish fahyeh! (Seems that a hell fire is burning!)

Siz dooshneh! (It’s suffocating!)

Siz dempik o’chet! (It’s humid too!)

I would pay money to see one of our own presenting the weather and giving a forecast. Until then, let’s do what we can here to talk about more than the weather.

Lomir gein shvimen! (Let’s go swimming!)

Tee oop dee boot hoyzen! (Put on your bathing suits.)

Lomir oobrooten voorsh tah lec’h! (Let’s grill some hot dogs!)

Fah bren zei nisht! (Don’t burn them!)

Saysht t’zin inteh dee koylen! (First light the briquettes!)

There is so much about which to comment — food, and what’s good or bad about it, or the weather and how it affects us. And our wonderful Yiddish language has words for everything that’s brewing.

If it’s hot you must be shvitzing (sweating). If so, then you must be dahrshtik (thirsty). If you’re trying to get a tan, don’t forget the zin shmeer ec’hst, otherwise known as suntan lotion. And where are you going to get that tan? Bahm beech! (To the beach!)

It goes on and on, so it’s no wonder that you’re meed (tired) at the end of the day. Whatever you’re doing, I hope you’ve been having fun and enjoying the season, considering we’re almost into fall.

I know one place I’m glad I’m not: Phoenix, Arizona!

You want to know the definition of heiss?! (hot?!)

Oy! Lawts mec’h layben! (Oh! Just let me be!)