You now have before you this volume which contains an assemblage of popular Yiddish humor: jokes both folksy and racy, proverbs and colloquial curses which originated in the hundreds of towns and cities of Eastern Europe up to the Second World War. In recent decades interest in Yiddish has been growing in Israel and in many other countries. It expresses itself as a longing, a nostalgia, for the language that was spoken in people's parents' home, and that they heard from their grandparents. This volume reveals some of the treasures of Yiddish humor to the many lovers of Yiddish around the world. This sampler does not specify the origin of the jokes it contains, because "An anecdote and a cat have no master, they belong to whoever manages to catch them." (N. Stutchkoff, p. 571, see Bibliography.) In order to select the approximately 400 jokes and sayings appearing in this book, the collector spent many months searching through anthologies, joke books, lexicons etc. The most important sources are listed in the Bibliography. In their world of poverty, pogroms, persecutions and evil decrees, the Jewish masses of Eastern Europe were in dire need of spiritual support and psychological defence. They found this support in humor, which relieves tension and makes life more bearable. This book is organized by theme into 51 sections, each section exhibiting a particular aspect or feature of Jewish life in the cities, towns and townlets of Eastern Europe.

This dictionary contains mainly idioms, which are combinations of words of an idiomatic nature and have an adopted, metaphorical meaning. Some are commonly used expressions, and are not necessarily idiomatic or metaphorical. These second kind of expressions which are termed "collocations" in linguistic parlance have been included only in cases where they do not appear in existing dictionaries of Yiddish. This dictionary offers four options for the user to find the required expressions: 1. By alphabetic order; 2. By alphabetized lists of the equivalent expressions in Hebrew, English and Russian; 3. By a list of the nouns and numerals that appear in the Yiddish expressions; 4. By a subject index. The alphabetized lists of equivalent expressions in Hebrew, English and Russian enable the dictionary to be used in two directions – Yiddish to Other Languages and Other Languages of Yiddish. The expressions in the dictionary are of three types: 1. Expressions which reflect the everyday life of the Jews of Eastern Europe (food, occupations, etc.): 2. Expressions associated with Jewish customs and religious life: 3. Loan translations (literal translations of expressions from other languages):

The Yiddish proverbs in this book have accumulated for hundreds years. They originate from the Bible, the Talmud, the Eastern European and German folklore, but some were coined by Yiddish speakers themselves. Parallel proverbs and literal translations in Hebrew, English and Russian accompany the Yiddish proverbs. The dictionary also contains alphabetical indexes of the Hebrew, English and Russian proverbs and references to the original Yiddish proverbs, thus producing a combined two-way dictionary. Eastern European Jewish folklore is distinguished by an unusual degree of self-criticism, which is reflected in the proverbs. A large proportion of Yiddish proverbs are humorous, perspicacious, and sophisticated and some make opposite statements about the same matter.

Itzik Manger (1901-1969) stands out as the last great bearer of Yiddish song and humor, equal if not exceeding others in his power of feeling, invention, imagination and popular expression. His style of writing remained essentially the Yiddish of ordinary people, as spoken in shops and markets. To him, poetry was the supreme form of literature – a direct and sublime means of communication between the poet and reader. Manger was divinely endowed with “antennas” able to pick up delicate meaning often deliberately ambiguous, or intentionally obscure, dreamlike visions – and transmit them to the reader. Manger’s approach to the heroes of the Bible, whom he “brought down” from the heavens and transformed into ordinary Jews of Poland and other Yiddish speaking communities, remains in the minds of Yiddish speaking populations of Europe and the Americas. The lyrics and other texts in this volume, the seventh in the series of the Anthology of Yiddish Folksongs, are translated into Hebrew and English to ensure their survival for future generations. Most of the translations are “singable” - a rare and ingenious feat, requiring not only perfect knowledge of both languages, but also a deep feeling for music, rhythm, cadence, accents and so on. The main purpose of this book is not to deal with Manger’s singular poetic style or unique sense of humor, all of which are no less the product of Manger’s genius, but to publish some 50 of his poems, set to music, in the hope that other composers will be attracted to their exotic beauty and will enrich the world of spiritual culture.

A first attempt is made here to portray this folklore genre in Yiddish lexicography. The 200 blessings and around 450 curses included in this dictionary are arranged alphabetically. The Yiddish entries are accompanied by their equivalent in Hebrew, Russian and English. Also added are literal translations (in Hebrew and English), for readers whose knowledge of the Yiddish language is at a minimum, but who would still like to know the actual ideas and images behind the Yiddish expressions. The dictionary is illustrated by amusing drawings. Also included is an introductory essay in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Russian on the blessings and curses – a subject almost never researched until now. This genre of Yiddish folklore is evidence of the fertile imagination of the Yiddish speaker and their keen sense of humor, and will be eagerly welcomed by specialists and Yiddish lovers around the world. “May you grow like an onion with your head in the ground!” Or, as it goes in the original Yiddish: “Zolst vaksn vi a tzibele mitn kop in dr’erd!” That’s just one of the colorful curses to be found in the new book, Let’s Hear Only Good News: Yiddish Blessings and Curses, by Dr. Josef Guri of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Among the blessings is the familiar, “Foon dein moil in gotz oieren” – “From your mouth to God’s ears,” an expression said in reply to a good wish. All told, there are 200 blessings and 450 curses in this folkloric work, which is illustrated with amusing drawings. The items are listed alphabetically in Yiddish, with the equivalent expressions in English, Hebrew and Russian. Indexes are provided in the translated languages according to alphabetical listing and by themes. This is the seventh lexicographical work by Dr. Guri, of the university’s Department of Russian and Slavic Studies. His other works include Yiddish idiomatic expressions and proverbs. Dr. Guri says that his latest work is the culmination of three years of work and is the first attempt to assemble and describe blessings and curses (or good and bad wishes) as a genre of Yiddish folklore. “This genre is highly developed in Yiddish and is richer and more variegated than similar expressions in the folklore of many other peoples,” says Dr. Guri. He acknowledges, however, that his book is by no means an exhaustive list of such blessings and curses since Yiddish has been spoken in many parts of the world, with local variations, and new expressions are still being coined. Among many peoples, curses are characterized by the use of foul language (swear words). Among the Yiddish-speaking Jewish Eastern European population, however, curses took the form of often humorous maledictions. Yiddish speakers, continue Guri, are accustomed to witty remarks and do not become overwrought when someone hurls an expressive curse at them. As the Yiddish proverb says, “Fun a kloleh shtarbt men nit,” or “Curses do not kill.” At the same time, neither does a blessing create a new reality, adds Guri. Josef Guri – a self-described “Yiddish addict” -- immigrated to Israel from Lithuania in 1957. After eight years of work compiling the Great Yiddish Dictionary, he began work on a series of dictionaries compiling various forms of expression in Yiddish, including proverbs and idioms. Dr. Guri points out that his latest book is intended not only for Yiddish lovers but also for those learning the language, for translators from Yiddish and for those interested in folklore.

Mark Warshavsky was born in Odessa in 1848 and was a poet-composer of many famous Yiddish folksongs. It was Sholom Aleichem who first "discovered" Warshavsky with whom he often appeared in cultural evenings in Kiev. Like some of the early songs of Gebirtig - Warshavsky's songs too became folksongs, the lyrics and melodies spread like wildfire among the Jewish masses. The appearance of Warshavsky's Der Alef Beys, or as it quicky became known from its first words Oyfn Pripetchek, caused a real revolution in the minds of orthodox as well as progressive Jews in Eastern Europe."

Mordechai Gebirtig was one of the most influential and popular writers of Yiddish songs and poems. Born in 1877, he became a prolific poet and song writer, using everything he saw, heard and knew about people.

The twentieth century has been a time of great turmoil and momentous events for the Jewish people. How did Jewish women react during this period? Through the history of the International Council of Jewish Women, this work traces from its inception the course of an operation which is both far-reaching and little publicized: that of the mobilization of women who were confronted successively with the rise of anti-Semitism, migrations of persecuted Jewish populations, the destruction of European Jewry, the creation of the State of Israel, and the dissension surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Basing herself on archives and historical documents, Nelly Las analyzes the structures and operating mechanisms of an international Jewish women's organization. She also discusses the humanitarian action of numerous Jewish women's associations at the local level.