The River Midnight (58 page)

Found Treasures: Stories by Yiddish Women Writers
, edited by Frieda Froman, Ethel Raicus, Sarah Silberstein Swartz, and Margie Wolfe. Second Story Press, Toronto, 1994. The introduction by Irena Klepfisz is a fascinating, brief history of Yiddish language and literature, its changing social meaning and impact on the lives of women and men.

I. L. Peretz, Selected Stories
, edited by Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg. Schocken Books, New York, 1975.

A Shtetl and Other Yiddish Novellas
, edited By Ruth R. Wise. Behrman House, New York, 1986. Includes an excellent introduction by Ms. Wise.

The Great Jewish Plays
, translated and edited by Joseph C. Landis. Horizon Press, New York, 1972.

The Gypsies
by Charles G. Leland. Houghton, Mifflin, Boston, 1882. You may be able to find this book at a university library. It’s a fascinating contemporary account by an English traveler to eastern Europe. Leland had also spent time with the Rom in England and spoke their language.

A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia
by David M. Crowe. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1994.

The Pariah Syndrome
by Ian Hancock. Karoma Publishers, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., 1987. This book, written by one of the Rom, movingly describes the history of persecution endured by the Gypsies.

The Tsarist Economy, 1850–1917
by Peter Gatrell. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1986.

Russian Imperialism: The Interaction of Domestic and Foreign Policy, 1860–1914
by Dietrich Geyer, translated from German by Bruce Little. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1987.

Love, Anarchy, and Emma Goldman
by Candace Falk. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1984.

Out of the Sweatshop: The Struggle for Industrial Democracy
, edited by Leon Stein. Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., New York, 1977. A compilation of brief first-person accounts and contemporary documents. Gives a real flavor of life as it was then.

The World of Our Fathers
by Irving Howe. Bantam, New York, 1976. Still a classic.

The Courage of His Convictions
by Tony Parker and Robert Allerton. Hutchinson, London, 1962. This is a book of conversations between a journalist and a repeat armed robber. Intelligent, morally aware, and brutally callous by turns, Allerton’s story is intriguing, both revealing much and leaving many unanswered questions.

Crime Among Jews: A Comparative Study of Criminality Among Minorities and Dominant Groups
by Zvi Hermon. Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquincy, and Corrections, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill., 1991.

Criminal Russia
by Valerie Chaldize. Random House, New York, 1977.

Jewish Explorations of Sexuality
, edited by Jonathan Magonet. Berghahn Books, Providence and Oxford, England, 1995.

Love, Sex, and Aging: A Consumers Union Report
by Edward M. Breecher, and the Editors of Consumer Report Books, Consumers Union, Little Brown & Co., Boston, 1984.

Class Struggle in the Pale: The Formative Years of the Jewish Workers’ Movement in Tsarist Russia
by Ezra Mendelsohn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1970.

The Peasants
by Władysław Stanislaw Reymont, translated by Michael H. Dziewicki. A. A. Knopf, New York, 1924–25. Written in the early years of the century while Reymont was in Paris, this novel later won the Nobel Prize.

Polish Art and Architecture, 1890–1980
by Andrezej K. Olszewski. Interpress Publishers, Warsaw, 1989.

Stanisław Wyspianski
by Tymon Terlecki. Twayne Publishers, Boston, 1983.

The Wedding
by Stanisław Wyspianski (1901), translated by Gerard T. Kapolka. Ardis, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1990.

Warszawa Zapomniana
(1898–1915) by Krystyna Lejko. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Pwn, Warsaw, 1994. This little book of postcard photographs
of Warsaw at the turn of the century gives a lovely visual sense of the city at that time.

A Book of Jewish Women’s Prayers: Translations from the Yiddish
, selected and with commentary by Norman Tarnor. Jason Aronson Inc., Northvale, N.J., London, 1995.

Four Centuries of Jewish Women’s Spirituality: A Sourcebook
, edited and with introductions by Ellen M. Umansky and Dianne Ashton. Beacon Press, Boston, 1992.

The Weekly Midrash, Tz’enah Ur’enah
, translated from the Yiddish by Miriam Stark Zakon, introduction by Meir Holder. Mesorah Publications, Ltd. New York, 1995.

Voices of a People
by Ruth Rubin. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973. Any collection of folk songs by Ruth Rubin is fascinating.

Adam Harishon
Adam the first

Aguna
A woman whose husband has deserted her, whether intentionally or not; she cannot remarry because there is no mechanism in Jewish religious law to declare a man that is missing dead or to force a man to grant his spouse a divorce other than through social coercion.

Allevai
If only

Alta-Bubbie
Great-grandmother

Alter
(m) or
Alta
(f) Old one, often added to a baby’s name to confuse the evil eye, hence “Alta-Fruma.”

Ani mammin
Hebrew, “I believe,” the first two words of an old prayer, “I believe in the coming of the Messiah although he may tarry.”

Ba’al Shem Tov
Founder of Hasidism

Baalebatim
Middle-class, often business people who had money but were not considered “shayner” because they dealt directly with peasants.

Baba Yaga
Witch-figure in Russian folk legend

Babka
Pound cake

Badhan
Wedding jester, entertains guests and bride and groom at a Jewish wedding.

Bakenta Bilder
Familiar Pictures
, title of book written in Yiddish by I. L. Peretz

Barukh hashem
Blessed be the Name

Bedecken
Covering, the ceremony of covering the bride with her veil.

Beshert
Intended

Boim
Tree

Broygez tanz
Literally “angry dance,” one of the dances that involve miming characters and situations, performed to entertain bride and groom; the object of the wedding feast was to entertain the new couple.

Bubbie
Grandmother

Cack
Defecate

Daven
Pray

Dayeinu
Hebrew, literally “Enough for us,” refers to a Passover song.

Der kleiner
Literally “the little” [one or thing], perhaps abbreviated from “der kleiner mann,” the little man. Polite euphemism for penis.

Dodi li v’ani lo
Hebrew, “I am my beloved and he is mine,” a quote from the
Song of Songs
in the Bible.

Dreck
Feces

Dybbuk
The soul of a dead person that has moved into the body of a living person.

Ein Sof
Hebrew, literally “without end,” a term for God

Feldsher
Barber-surgeon, someone who attempted to heal the sick by the use of leeches, enemas, and cupping, that is applying heated glass cups to the skin, creating a suction effect in which the skin swelled, sometimes cutting the skin first to bleed the patient just as in medieval times.

Gadje
Romany for non-Gypsy

Gan Aeden
The Garden of Eden

Get
A religious divorce

Golem
In Jewish legend an artificially created person brought to life by supernatural means.

Gott in himmel
God in heaven

Gotteniu
A term of endearment for God.

Goy/goyisher
Gentile

Groschen
Penny

Gubernia
Governing district under Russian rule

Gudulka
Romany string instrument

Gut Yom Tov
Good holiday

Haggadah
Hebrew, literally “the telling,” refers to the book of songs and stories recited at the Passover seder.

Hallah(s)
White egg-bread, usually braided and eaten on the Sabbath

Haman
In the story of Purim, Haman is the Persian king’s advisor who persuaded the king to decree the death of the Jews.

Hammantash/hammentashen
Three-cornered pastry filled with prune, poppy seed, or almond paste, eaten on Purim. It is supposed to represent the villain Human’s three-cornered hat, some say his ear, others his purse or pocket.

Hanukkah
The eight-day winter solstice festival that commemorates the victory of the few over the powerful and the miracle of lights.

Ha-ra
Hebrew, “the wicked one” in the story of the four sons told at the Passover seder, illustrating four responses to the telling of the story. The wise son wants to know all of the commandments pertaining to the observance of the festival. The simple son just wants to know the story. The wicked son denounces the story as irrelevant to him. And the son that doesn’t know how to ask any questions must be initiated by the storyteller.

Haroses
A sweet mixture of crushed nuts, apple, honey, and wine representing the bricks made by the Hebrews when they were slaves in Egypt and eaten with matzo at the Passover meal.

Hasidic, Hasidism
A sect of Jewish mystics founded in Poland about 1750, characterized by religious zeal, and emphasizing joyful worship.

Hazen
Cantor

Hazzer
Pig

Heder
Primary Hebrew school for boys, usually from age three to ten.

Hod
See
Netzakh

Hutzpah
Nerve

Kaddish
An ancient prayer most commonly recited as the mourner’s kaddish in memory of the death of someone close.

Kasha
Boiled or baked buckwheat

Kassa
Union

Kefir
Soured milk, similar to buttermilk.

Khapper
Kidnapper, specifically a person who earned money by kidnapping Jewish children for induction into the Russian army.

Kiddush
Blessing recited over wine at Sabbath and religious festivals.

Kielbasa
Polish salami.

Kind/kinder/kinderlekh
Child/children/little children

Kishka
Intestines

Kittel
White robe, worn by men at Yom Kippur, the Passover meal, and when buried.

Klezmer
Musician

Kol Nidrei
Aramaic, literally “All Vows,” refers to the prayer that is recited at the beginning of Yom Kippur. Its origins are uncertain. Rabbinic
authorities were at one time opposed to it, but popular acclaim made Kol Nidrei such a beloved ritual that rabbinic authority accepted it by about the year 1,000
C
.
E
. There are two versions. The Hebrew version refers to vows made in the past year; the Aramaic, used by Jews from Eastern Europe, refers to vows of the coming year. A vow to God was no light thing. Such a vow unfulfilled meant that God’s name had been used in vain, uselessly, and that was considered a great sin. Both versions of Kol Nidrei arose from the anxiety of being unable to fulfill a promise made to God under stress, as people often do.

Kopeck
Smallest demonation of Russian currency, a penny.

Kosher
Permitted according to Jewish dietary law; also used colloquially to mean something allowed.

Kugel
Baked pudding, usually made with potatoes or noodles.

Kupka
Cap worn by married women at the end of the 18th century.

Kuvod
Honor, respect

Lag b’omer
A minor festival about halfway between Passover and Shavuos; the only day during this season on which a Jewish wedding can be performed.

Loshen-hora
Literally, “evil tongue,” meaning malicious gossip.

Ma Nishtanah
Hebrew, literally “How is this different?” refers to the four questions recited by the youngest child during the Passover seder to initiate the telling of the story of the exodus from Egypt.

Maggid
Preacher

Mahrime
Polluted, impure in Romany. Among the Rom (Gypsies), certain foods are considered appropriate for eating while others are
mahrime.
Similarly certain uses of utensils can render them
mahrime.
Using a stranger’s knife is inappropriate because one does not know how the stranger used it; similarly drinking directly from a stranger’s bottle.

Mamala
“Little mother,” a term of endearment

Mama-loshen
The mother tongue, Yiddish

Matzah/matzos
Unleavened bread eaten during Passover to commemorate the exodus from Egypt, when there was no time to wait for the bread to rise.

Mazel-tov
Literally good luck; congratulations

Maydela
“Little girl,” a term of endearment

Megillah
Literally “scroll,” most commonly used to refer to the Scroll of Esther, which told the story of the Jewish Queen Esther and the salvation of the Jews from persecution in ancient Persia.

Mekhitzah
Hebrew, the wall that divides the men’s section from the women’s section in a traditional synagogue.

Melamud
Hebrew, teacher

Mensch
Literally “person,” refers to a responsible/mature person.

Mikva
Ritual bath, or the bathhouse in which the ritual bath is housed.

Mitzrayim
Hebrew, literally “the narrow place,” the word used for Ancient Egypt.

Mitzvah/mitzvos
Good deed(s), religious obligation(s)

Mordecai
In the story of Purim, Mordecai is the cousin of the Jewish Queen Esther who was married to the King of Persia. Mordecai saves the king’s life and then advises Esther to take action in order to save the Jews because she is close to the king, though she risks her own life in revealing her Jewish identity to the king.

Nakhes
Proud pleasure

Nebekh
Unfortunate(ly)

Netzakh and Hod
Hebrew: in Kabbala, two of the Sefirot, the ten spheres or channels through which the Divine descends from the Endless Source to become present in the physical world. These spheres are seen as representing various Divine aspects: wisdom, love, beauty, courage, and so on. They are often diagrammed as circles connected by lines to form the shape of a person. In the diagram, Netzakh and Hod are the “legs.” The right side of the diagram is seen to represent Divine compassion while the left side sets limits.

Nu
Interjection like so or well as in “Nu, what do you want?”

Parev
Food that can be eaten with either meat or dairy; traditional Jewish dietary laws require that eating meat be separated from eating dairy by several hours and that different dishes and utensils are used for meat and dairy.

Parsha
Weekly Torah reading

Pesakh
Passover, the festival commemorating the exodus from Egypt, the flight from slavery to freedom.

Pierogi
Dumplings stuffed with cheese, potato or mushrooms

Pish
Urinate

Pisher
Literally “one who pees,” term of familiarity for someone young or immature; small fry.

Potsh
Slap

Pripichek
There were no stoves, that is cooking ranges, above the oven. Instead, beside the oven there was a cooking grate on bricks, called the
pripichek.
A hot fire would be lit under the grate, and a pot placed on top of the grate to begin cooking, after which the pot would be put inside the oven to continue cooking slowly.

Proster
A plain one; lower-class people who worked with their hands, artisans or peddlers

Purim
The festival commemorating the salvation of the Jews from persecution
in ancient Persia, in which there is a kind of “carnival” atmosphere. Costumes were worn, men were allowed to wear women’s clothes even though it was forbidden at all other times, “lessons” in Torah and Talmud were given which made fun of religious law, humorous plays were performed; children went from house to house for a penny and treats, drinking was not only permitted but encouraged.

Ribono shel olam
Master of the Universe, God

Rosh hashanah
The Jewish New Year

Rosh Hodesh
Hebrew, first of the Hebrew month celebrated on the New Moon, traditionally a woman’s festival.

Rov
Rabbi

Rusalkeh
Mythical figure of a swamp-woman that lures unwary travelers to their death.

Seder
Hebrew, the festive meal at Passover during which the
Haggadah
is read and the story of the exodus from Egypt told.

Sela
Hebrew, forever

Sh’ma Israel, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai ekhad
Hebrew, “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

Shaalakhmonas
Gifts of dried fruit, nuts, sometimes pastry given at Purim.

Shaaleh
A question of ritual or ethical significance brought to the rabbi.

Shabbas
The Sabbath

Shadkhen
Matchmaker

Shalom ha-bayit
Hebrew, peace in the home

Shammus
The man that maintains the synagogue, calls the villagers to prayers, may assist at services.

Shandeh
Shame, scandal

Shavuos
Holiday celebrating the receiving of the Hebrew law (the Torah) at Mount Sinai; occurs seven weeks after Passover. Between Passover and Shavuos, Jewish religious law prohibits weddings except for several specified days.

Shaynela
Pretty little one, a term of endearment.

Shayner
A nice one, upperclass; meaning those that were wealthy and did not deal directly with peasants or those that were gifted religious scholars.