Kinder kumt der friling ruft / Children come, Spring calls Sung by Harry Mervis, recorded by Gertrude Nitzberg, Baltimore, 1979. From the Jewish Museum of Maryland collection.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman and Peter Rushefsky
Jewish Museum of Maryland
Kinder kumt as sung by Harry Mervis.
Kinder kumt, der friling ruft Blo der himl, klor di luft. Shmekn zis di frishe blumen un di taykhlekh freylekh brumen. Leyft [loyft] in frayen feld.
Children come, Spring calls. Blue the sky, clear the air. Smell the fresh flowers and the rivers gaily roar.
Hert, di feygelekh zingen, flien heykh [hoykh] un klingen, Helft zey, kinderlekh, shpringen. Leyft in frayen feld.
Listen to the birds sing, flying high and resound. Help them, children, to jump. Run in the open field.
Kinder yetst iz ayer tsayt, S’iz sheyn bald nor gor nit vayt. Er makht gel di grine bleter Er makht di zise bleter, azoy on a sof.
Children now is your time. It is soon not far. He makes the green leaves yellow. He makes the sweet leaves. Thus without end.
Kinder aylt zikh unter, Zayt zikh freylekh, munter. Vayl der langer vinter varft af alemen a shlof.
Children hurry yourselves. Be happy and brave because the long winter throws on everyone a slumber.
COMMENTARY BY ITZIK GOTTESMAN
The lyrics to the song are by Mordkhe Rivesman (1868 – 1924), the same author of such songs as “Haynt is Purim Brider” and “Khanike Oy Khanike”. the melody is almost always referred to as “a folk melody”. The first printing of the song that I have found is in Z. Kisselgof’s collectin Lider-zamlbukh far der yidisher shul un familye, 1912. There it is called “Kinder kumt der friling ruft”. It was also called “Likhik iz Gots velt”. Yiddish music archivist Robert Freedman remembers singing this song in his Chaim Nakhman Bialik Folk Shul and from memoirs it is clear that the song was also popular in Zionist circles in Eastern Europe.
Recently singer, composer and choir director Polina Shepherd has revived the song. She newly arranged and recorded the song with her London Yiddish Choir and Chutzpah choir. Here is a link to that performance.
Shepherd also printed the music and original words at this link.
The song was translated into Hebrew by the Israeli Yiddish scholar Dov Sadan and can be found at this link in the website Zemereshet. זמרשת
The original lyrics by Rivesman in Yiddish has been scanned form Z. Kisselgof’s Lider-zamelbukh, St. Petersburg 1912 and are attached below.
The song uses a variant of a Hasidic-flavored melody recorded by Belf’s Romanian Ensemble for the Syrena record label as “Nakhes fun Kinder”. The melody was also recorded as part of a suite by the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia-based Lepiyansky Family of tsimbl (dulcimer) players and released on the Soviet MusTrust label.
Let’s take a closer look at the Belf version, which presents this beautiful melody in its fully-rendered form. The instrumental version of the piece is best known for its syncopated melodic gesture beginning with a rest on the first beat (a rhythmic device seen in many Hasidic nigunim):
However, the song version from Rivesman simplifies the melody, substituting four quarter notes for the first measure.
Composed in the freygish/Ahava Raba scale, the first section sets up the mode by emphasizing the first and then third degrees, repeating the phrases to create a sense of gravity. The second section switches to a call-and-response form to expand the melodic range to the fourth and fifth degrees, and hints at what will come in the final section with a quick reach up to the octave. Finally the third section lifts the melody to its climax (known in Arabic music as the “awj”) with three beats on the octave, initiating a lovely four-part walk down the freygish scale that continues into the mode’s subtonic range before resolving back up to the tonic.
There is an interesting difference between the Mervis version and the better-known version that Shepherd’s choir performs. The second section of Mervis’s version of “Kinder kumt” (starting with “Hert, di feygelekh zingen”) is reminiscent of the second section of the Belf “Nakhes fun Kinder”. In contrast, the second section of Shepherd jumps immediately up the octave like the third section of Belf. Perhaps Mervis (or whomever he learned his version from) was aware of the full melody ala Belf, and chose to sing it this way. Or possibly the variant is a result of confusion between the two melodies.
As I was contributing to this post, the wonderful Yiddish singer Eleonore Weill happened to be over giving my son Gabriel his weekly piano lesson. She graciously agreed to record herself performing the song on my iPhone (recorded April 6, 2021 in Brooklyn):
Lyrics by Rivesman published in Z. Kisselgof’s Lider-zamelbukh, St. Petersburg 1912:
Eyns ver veyst? / Who Knows One? A Passover song sung by Dr. Thelma Borodkin. Recorded by Dr. Hankus Netsky, 2021
Dr. Thelma Borodkin
Eyns ver veyst? Who knows one? Eyns, eyns, ikh, ikh veys. One, one, I, I know. Ikh, ikh veys I, I know Eyns iz Got aleyn, iz Got aleyn. One is God himself, is God himself. Der har funem himl un fun der erd. The Lord of heaven and earth,
Tsvey ver veyst? Two who knows? Tsvey, tsvey, ikh, ikh veys. Two, two I , I know Ikh, ikh veys I, I know Tsvey likhes. Two tablets Eyns iz Got aleyn, iz Got aleyn. One is God himself, is God himself. Der har funem himl un fun der erd. The Lord of heaven and earth,
Dray ver veyst? Three who knows? Dray, dray, ikh, ikh veys. Three, three I , I, know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know Dray futers. Three fathers [patriarchs] Tsvey likhes. Two tablets Eyns iz Got aleyn, iz Got aleyn. One is God himself, is God himself. Der har funem himl un fun der erd. The Lord of heaven and earth.
Fir ver veyst? Four who knows? fir, fir ikh, ikh veys. Four, four I, I know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know Fir muters. Four mothers [matriarchs] Dray futers….. Three fathers….etc.
Finef ver veyst? Five how knows? Finef, finef ikh, ikh veys. Five, five I, I know Ikh ikh veys I, I know Finef khamushim fin der Toyre Five books of Moses in the Torah Fir muters…. Four mothers…etc.
Zeks ver veyst? Six who knows? Zeks, zeks ikh, ikh veys. Six, six I, I know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know. Zeks mishnayes. Six “orders” of the Mishnah. Finef khamushim in der Toyre…. Five books of Moses in the Torah…etc.
Zibn ver veyst? Seven who knows? Zibn, zibn. ikh, ikh veys. Seven, seven I, I know Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know Zibn teyg in der vokh. Seven days in the week Zeks mishnayes… Six orders of the Mishnah...
Akht ver veyst? Eight who knows? Akht, akht, ikh, ikh veys. Eight, eight, I, I, know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know. Akht teyg tsi der mile. Eight days to the bris Zibn teg in der vokh… Seven days in the week….etc.
Nayn ver veyst? Nine who knows? Nayn, nayn ikh, ikh veys. Nine, nine, Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know Nayn khadoshim in deym trugn. Nine months of pregnancy Akht teyg tsi der mile… Eight days to the bris…etc
Tsen ver veyst? Ten who knows? Tsen, tsen, ikh, ikh veys. Ten, ten, I, I know Ikh, ikh veys. I , I know Tsen dibres. Ten commandments Nayn khadushim…. Nine months to the pregnancy….etc.
Elef ver veyst? Eleven who knows? Elef, elef, ikh, ikh veys. Eleven, eleven, I, I know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know Elef shtern in deym himl. Eleven stars in the sky Tsen dibres… Ten commandments….etc.
Tsvelef ver veyst? Twelve who knows? Tsvelf, tsvelf, ikh ikh veys. Twelve, twelve I, I know. ikh ikh veys. I, I know. Tsvelef shvotim, Twelve tribes Elef shtern in deym himl… Eleven starts in the sky…etc.
Draystn ver veyst? Thirteen who knows? Draytsn, draytsn, ikh, ikh veys. Thirteen, thirteen I, I know. Ikh, ikh veys. I, I know. Draytsn mides hot der Got. Thirteen attributes has God Tsvelef shvotim… Twelve tribes….etc.
………….
Eyns iz Got aleyn, iz Got aleyn. One is God himself, God himself Der har fun dem himl un fun der erd. Master of heaven and earth Der har funem himl un fun der erd. Master of heaven and earth
Commentary by Hankus Netsky
Dr. Thelma Borodkin grew up on Hopkinson Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Her parents came from Ukraine, her mother from Dnietopietrovsk and her father from Stara Constantine. She remembers her mother singing constantly in Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian and English while she worked, and her mother taught her a wide array of Yiddish Theatre songs that she heard at the nearby Hopkinson Theatre.
Dr. Borodkin attended Jefferson High School and the local Hebrew Educational Society School. She became fluent in Hebrew and made Aliyah twice. She received her Ph.D in English and taught writing for twenty-three years at Lehman College. Most recently (pre-pandemic), she taught a course on works by female Yiddish writers at Lester Senior Housing in New Jersey. She remembers this wonderful and little-known Yiddish version of “Echod Mi Yodea” from her childhood family seders in Brooklyn, and her children and grandchildren keep the tradition going to the present day.
Thanks for this week’s post to Thelma Borodkin, Hankus Netsky and Arun Viswanath.
Badkhn Toyvye Birnbaum’s Improvisation of “Yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn” Recorded in Brooklyn circa 1982 by Itzik Gottesman
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
Birnbaum sings the refrain of the popular song “Yidish iz dokh azoy sheyn” and then improvises the verses in the tradition of a badkhn, the Jewish wedding entertainer. Birnbaum referred to these improvisations as “shtey gramen“, rhymes created at the moment, while standing.
Toyvye (Tobias) Birnbaum was born in Nowy Sacz, Poland, (Yiddish = Tsanz) in 1916. I met him in 1981 in Brighton Beach, NYC in the street. I was was walking with Yiddish actor Zvi Scooler, and Birnbaum recognized Scooler and came over. When he told us that he was a badkhn in Eastern Europe, I took his phone number and we became friends.
Toyvye Birnbaum, Collection of the Museum at Eldridge Street
The song “Yiddish redt zikh azoy sheyn” was written by Isidore Lillian and the music composed by Maurice Rauch. The original text and music were printed in the Mlotek collection Songs of Generations and we are attaching those scans. But it seems that just about no one sings the words as originally written. This is also reflected in this performance during which the guests sing along with different words.
Among those who have recorded this song are Ben-Zion Witler, Henri Gerro, Johnny Grey, and more recently Myriam Fuks, the Klezical Tradition, Clarita Paskin, Harold Goldfarb and Mirele Rozen. The texts of their versions vary, especially in the verses. Witler’s and Gerro’s versions were particularly popular and Birnbaum’s way of singing owes quite a bit to them. His punctuation of the word “Yiddish” in the refrain is a nice touch.
Here is a link to Gerro’s version:
This song was recorded at a “fraytik-tsu-nakhts” (friday night, sabbath eve) at my apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, approximately 1982. Among the people at this event that I recall or can be hear are Michael Alpert, Joshua Waletzky, Zwi Kanar. One of Birnbaum’s rhymes refers to two Germans in attendance that evening who had come to study Yiddish (at YIVO/Columbia). I do not remember who that was.
The Yiddish scholar Vera Szabo interviewed Birnbaum, and her papers and recordings are at YIVO. Klezmer musican and researchers Joshua Horowitz and Michael Alpert have also worked or interviewed with Birnbaum.
Thanks this week to Joshua Horowitz and Vera Szabo.
Yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn
Ikh gedenk di kinder-yurn, sheyninke kinder-yurn. In hartsn ayngekritst zenen zey bay mir. Di yinge zikhroynes, di sheyne khaloymes leygn in hartsn bay mir.
I remember my childhood wonderful childhood. They are inscribed in my heart. The memories of youth, the sweet dreams lay deep in my heart.
Freyg ikh aykh tsi besers iz den farhan? Ven di khaveyrim fun Itziklen kimen zikh tsuzam? Men est, me trinkt, keyad hameylekh, der oylem fraylekh. Vil ikh aykh, zayt zeh azoy git, Lernt aykh os dus lidele un zingt zhe mit mir mit. Vus?
So I ask you, is there anything better? When friends come together to Itzik’s place? We eat, we drink, as if we were kings. The people are happy. So I ask you please, learn this song and sing along with me. What?
REFRAIN Yidish redt zikh azoy gring. Yidish leygt zikh oyf der tsing Yidish redn ales Zaydes, tates mames Oy, adarebe, zug oyf goyish “Git shabes”. Yidish iz dekh azoy sheyn Yidish hot a toyznt kheyn. Vus toygn mir leshoynes, fun fremde zikhroynes. Az yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn.
Speaking Yiddish is so easy. Yiddish is easy to pronounce. Yiddish is spoken by everyone Grandfathers, fathers, mothers. Just try to say in any foreign tongue – “gut shabes” [good sabbath] Yiddish is so beautiful Yiddish has a thousand charms. What do I need languages from other memories When Yiddish sounds so sweet.
Tsi iz den epes besers farhan, ikh miz aykh zugn nokh a mol ven me kimt zikh tsizam, Durkh deym vil ikh aykh nisht dertserenen un ikh vel aykh a lidele oyslernen zayt zhet ale azoy git, lern akykh oys dus lidele zingt zhe mit mir mit.
Is there anything better, may I repeat, when we all get together? With this I don’t want to make you angry and I will teach you a song. So please learn the song and sing along.
Yidish iz dokh azoy sheyn. Yidish hot a toyznt kheyn. Yidish redn ales” Zaydes, tates, mames Oy, adarebe zug af goyish: “Git shabes” Yidish iz dokh azoy gring. Yidish leygt zikh oyf der tsing. Vus toygn mir leshoynes fun andere mikoymes. Az Yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn.
Yiddish sounds so sweet. Yiddish has a thousand charms. Yiddish spoken by all, grandfathers, fathers and mothers. Just try to say “Gut shabes” in another language. It’s so easy to speak Yiddish. It’s so easy to pronounce Yiddish. What do I need languages from far other places. Yiddish sounds so sweet.
Yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn yidish hot a toyznt kheyn. yidish redn ales zaydes, tates, mames Oy, adarebe zugt af goyish: “Git shabes” Yidish iz dokh azoy gring. Yidish leygt zikh oyf der tsing. vus toygn mir leshoynes fun andere mikoymes. Az yidish redt zikh azoy gring.
Yiddish sounds so sweet. Yiddish has a thousand charms. Yiddish is spoken by all, grandfathers, fathers and mothers. Just try to say “Gut shabes” in a foreign tongue. It’s so easy to speak Yiddish. It’s so easy to pronounce Yiddish. What do I need languages from far other places. When Yiddish sounds so sweet.
Oy az yidn redn yidish, vus iz den du der khidesh? yidish vet azoy sheyn klingen, say bam redn, un shener bam zingen. Duz iz klur vi der tug. Duz beyt’ ekh der batkhn un hert zhe vus ikh zug.
Oy, that Jews speak Yiddish, what’s the big deal? Yiddish will sound wonderful both when you speak it, and evern more so when you sing it. This is clear as day. So the badkhn asks you and hear what I say.
Yidish redt zikh azoy sheyn. Yidish hot a toyznt kheyn. Yidish redn ales, Zaydes, tates, mames Oy, adarebe zugt af goyish: “Git shabes”. Yidish iz dokh azoy gring. Yidish leygt zikh oyf der tsing. Vus toygn mir leshoynes fin andere mikoymes? Az yidish redt zikh azoy gring.
Yiddish sounds so sweet. Yiddish has a thousand charms. Yiddish is spoken by all, grandfathers, fathers and mothers. Just try to say “Gut shabes” in a foreign tongue. It’s so easy to speak Yiddish. It’s so easy to pronounce Yiddish. What do I need languages from far other places, when Yiddish sounds so sweet.
Di gantse velt zugt az yidish hot azoy fil kheyn. Ven yidish i’ nisht geveyn git, volt yidish nisht gekimen tsu Itziklen tsi geyn. Un nokh deym vil ikh aykh nisht dertserenen. Ir mizt dokh hobn a fink fin yidish, vus ir vilt zikh yidish oyslernen. S’iz nisht keyn kharpe, s’iz nisht keyn shand. Tsvay mentshn zenen gekimen zikh lernen yidish azsh fin Daytshland. Nokh deym vintsh ikh aykh ale du, hatslukhe un a shir. Dus letste zug ikh zingt zhe mit mit mir.
The whole world says that Yiddish has so much charm. If Yiddish weren’t good, then Yiddish would not come to Itzik. And after all I don’t want to enrage you. You must have a spark of Yiddish to want to learn it. There’s no shame, no disgrace. Two people came to study Yiddish all the way from Germany. So after all, I wish you all success without end. For the last time, sing along with me.
Yidish iz dokh azoy sheyn. Yidish hot a toyznt kheyn. Yidish redn ales Zaydes, tates, mames Oy, adarebe zugt af goyish: “Git shabes” Yidish iz dokh azoy gring. Yidish leygt zikh oyf der tsing. Vus toygn mir leshoynes fin andere mikoymes? Az yidish redt zikh azoy gring.
Yiddish sounds so sweet. Yiddish has a thousand charms. Yiddish is spoken by all, grandfathers, fathers and mothers. Just try to say “Gut shabes” in a foreign tongue. It’s so easy to speak Yiddish. It’s so easy to pronounce Yiddish. What do I need languages from far other places, when Yiddish sounds so sweet.
Az ikh hob aykh du gezugt gramen s’hot aykh afile farshaft a bisele tamen. Her zhe Itzikl tsi zikh tsi mayn shmis der mentsh iz shoyn geveyn in der gantser velt un oykhet in Pariz. Lomir nor zan gezint in shtark. Men iz gekimen hern a yidishe drushele keyn Prospekt Park. Mit deym vil ale zugn aykhץ Un zayt aykh matriekh un dus lidele lernt zikh oys vus gikh. Dus hob ikh ale simunim ven ir zingt yidish keyn-hore laytish shaynt af ayer punim. Atsindert vil ikh aykh tsvingen Dus letste mul, beyt ikh aykh, nokh a mol mit mir mittsuzingen.
And so I have said some rhymes here. It even gave you some pleasure. So listen Itzik to my converstion. He has gone all over the world, and also Paris. Let us all be healthy and strong. People came to hear my talk to Prospect Park. And with this I say to you. Please try to learn this song quickly. For this I have all the signs: when you sing Yiddish right, no evil eye, your face shines. So now I demand of you all to sing for the last time, I ask you, to sing along with me.
דער בדחן טובֿיה בירנבוים זינגט „ייִדיש רעדט זיך אַזוי שיין” רעקאָרדירט פֿון איציק גאָטעסמאַן אין ברוקלין, אַן ערך 1982
.איך געדענק די קינדעריאָרן, שיינינקע קינדעריאָרן .אין האַרצן אײַנגעקריצט זענען זיי בײַ מיר די יונגע זכרונות, די שיינע חלומות .לייגן [ליגן] אין האַרצן בײַ מיר ?פֿרעג איך אײַך, צי בעסערס איז דען פֿאַרהאַן ?ווען די חבֿרים פֿון איציקלען קומען זיך צוזאַם ,מען עסט, מע טרינקט, כּיד־המלך .דער עולם פֿריילעך ,וויל איך אײַך, זײַט אַזוי גוט לערנט אײַך אויס דאָס לידעלע און זינגט זשע ?מיט מיר מיט. וואָס
Zishe Breitbart Sung by Yitzchak Milstein
Recorded by Toby Blum-Dobkin, 2/19/1977, Brooklyn NY.
Commentary by Toby Blum-Dobkin. Song lyrics and transcription appear at the end of the post, including Milstein’s opening and closing spoken remarks.
About the Singer Yitzchak Milstein
I first recorded Yitzchak Milstein singing the ballad of Zishe Breitbart in 1973, when I interviewed Mr. Milstein for the YIVO Yiddish Folksong Project, directed by Dr. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. The project team aimed to define and document Yiddish musical specialists and to compose portraits of such individuals [Blum-Dobkin 1975]. I again recorded the song in 1977, when I wrote an article about Zishe as a folk hero.I translated the song into English, and also transliterated it to reflect features of Milstein’s Yiddish pronunciation [Blum-Dobkin 1978].
Yitzchak Milstein
I conducted ten interviews with Yitzchak Milstein for the Yiddish Folksong Project, between 2/27/1973 and 9/18/1974.Each interview lasted approximately 90 minutes. All the interviews were conducted in Yiddish, with some songs and narrative in other languages. I translated portions of the interviews and songs into English, directly from the recordings.Bella Gottesman transcribed all the interviews and songs in Yiddish, also directly from the recordings.
Mr. Milstein was born in Shidlovtse (Szidlowiec), Poland, in 1914. His mother Rokhl had a booth of ‘galenterye’ at the shtetl market. His father Motek (Mordkhe) was a ‘holts tokazh’ – a wood turner. Yitzchak worked as a tailor in Shidlovtse and seasonally in Warsaw. His childhood home was filled with music. He remarked, “In our home, almost everyone sang. . . were there better entertainments?. . . I remember that my father had a ‘liderbikhl’ – a Yiddish song book..[with songs about] city girls and farmers’ girls…When my father was young he also acted in the drama circle, in [Goldfaden’s] Di Kishefmakherin – The Sorceress.” Even when Yitzchak’s father became more religious, he did not forbid Yitzchak from attending performances and acting in amateur dramatics. Yitzchak remembered that his father “said it was ‘b’yerushe’ – part of my legacy.”The family had a mandolin, and Yitzchak learned by observing others.
In 1942 Yitzchak Milstein was forced into labor at the Skarszysko Hasag camp, and was subsequently incarcerated in several other Nazi camps. He was liberated in April 1945 and housed in the Displaced Persons camp in Feldafing, Germany.He emigrated to the the US in 1950 and settled in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, resuming work in his trade of tailoring.He also resumed his avocation, singing. Mr. Milstein’s other avocation was keeping the memory of his shtetl Shidlovtse alive. He was active in the effort to publish Shidlovtse’s ‘yizker bukh’ – memorial book – for which he created artwork and essays[Milstein 1974]. For Yitzchak Milstein, it was a matter of pride to reproduce a performance or song ‘genoy’ – as correctly and faithfully as possible. “I am a tape recorder,” he explained to me.
The Song ‘Zishe Breitbart’
Yitzchak Milstein had heard the ballad of Zishe Breitbart in the 1920’s from a ‘hoyfzinger’ – a street singer in Shidlovtse. The text of the ballad along with pictures of Zishe Breitbart were sold by street singers in broadside form. I am indebted to Chana Gordon Mlotek for directing me to other versions of the Breitbart song, and for pointing out the elements that the Breitbart ballad had in common with traditional ballads [Mlotek 1974].
Zishe (Sigemund) Breitbart
Zishe (Siegmund) Breitbart, son of a blacksmith, was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1883.His fame was based both on his physical strength and his unique personality. He toured widely, and in 1923 performed for the Keith vaudeville theaters in New York. The New York Times reported on Breitbart’s 1923 arrival in the United States:
“Among other feats of strength he claims to be able to lift ten or twelve persons with his hands, twist bars of iron like scraps of paper, crack Brazil nuts between his fingers, and haul a wagon with ten persons along the road by his teeth.” The article notes that Breitbart “says he is so sensitive that he would walk into the roadway to avoid trading upon a worm. . . he likes music and writes poems, but doesn’t like prize fighting. He declined an offer received by telegram at the pier to go to Saratoga Springs and have a tryout with Jack Dempsey, the heavyweight champion. ‘For me it is not,’ the strong man of Poland said.” [New York Times 1923].
Breitbart’s death at the age of forty-two apparently resulted from blood poisoning initially contracted during a performance in Radom, Poland, when he scratched or punctured his leg with a nail. He died in Berlin in 1925.
Zishe Breitbart’s crowd-pleasing persona and sense of mission as a Jewish hero made a lasting impression [Blum-Dobkin 1978; Bart 2014; Gillerman 2010]. He appeared in the silent film [Der Eisenkoenig 1923] and is the subject of a feature film [Invincible 2001].It has even been posited that Zishe Breitbart was an inspiration for the character of Superman [Gordon 2011].
From Khane & Yosl Mlotek’s Song of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song (Workmens Circle, 2004):
Selected Sources:
Bart, Gary.Interviewed by Christina Whitney,Wexler Oral History Project, National Yiddish Book Center, Amherst MA, November 21, 2014.
Blum-Dobkin, Toby.“Case Study of a Traditional Yiddish Folksinger.” Unpublished paper, 1975.
Blum-Dobkin, Toby.“Zishe, the Yiddish Samson.”The Parade of Heroes: Legendary Figures in American Lore.” edited byTristram Potter Coffin and Hennig Cohen, Anchor Press, Garden City NY, 1978: 206-213, 557-558.
Der Eisenkönig.Film directed by Max Neufeld, 1923.
Gillerman, Sharon.“The Strongest Man in the World.” YIVO Encyclopedia, 2010.
Gordon, Mel.“Step Right Up and Meet the World’s Mightiest Human: A Jewish Strongman from Poland who Some Say Inspired the Creation of Superman.”Reform Judaism, Summer 2011.
Invincible.Film directed by Werner Herzog, 2001.
Milstein, Yitzchak.“Khronik fun khurbn in Shidlovtse.”Shidlovtser Yizker Bukh/Yizkor Book Szydlowiec, edited by Berl KaganShidlovtser Benevolent Association, NY (1974): 344-368.
Mlotek, Chana Gordon.“Perl fun der yidisher poezye.” Forverts 1973.The New York Times August 27, 1923.
S’vet nit eybik fintster zayn / It will not be dark forever
A song in Yiddish, Hebrew and Hungarian.
Sung by Professor David Fishman, recorded by Itzik Gottesman,
June 7th, 2019, NYC
*There are two parts to this song– please watch the video, then listen to the audio that follows for the song’s conclusion:
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman.
This one-verse song in three languages was learned by Dr Fishman on a visit to Budapest in 1972.
David Fishman is professor of history at the Jewish Theological Seminary, NYC. His recent work The Book Smugglers won the 2018 National Jewish Book Award in the “Holocaust” category. He was born in the Bronx.
Fishman introduces the song by saying in Yiddish “A very simple song, but very sad”. The Polish/Hungarian Yiddish/Hebrew dialect is reflected in a few words such as: “lekhtik” instead of “likhtik”, “bimhayru” instead of “bimheyro”.
After the initial recording on video, Fishman later realized he had forgotten the ending of the song and sent the Yiddish concluding lines as an audio file.
“S’vet nit” was discussed in Yiddish on a Hasidic on-line forum in 2010. There the song is attributed to the Kaliver/Kalover/Kalever Rebbe, and it is also mentioned there that the Tosh Hasidic community still sings it at Purim. Tosh and Kaliv are both Hasidic dynasties with Hungarian roots. Here is a link to that on-line Yiddish discussion.
The Kalover Shul in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Google Street View)
The version mentioned there by “Khaykl” differs slightly and does not include the concluding lines about Jerusalem that Dr. Fishman added as an audio. “Khaykl” suggests that the composer of the song was the Kaliver rebbe (Yitskhok Isaac Taub 1751 – 1821) who was known for his compositions.
Thanks this week to David Fishman, Bob Cohen, Arun Viswanath and Bret Werb.
This weeks’ Yiddish Song of the Week, “Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye” (“To Sing a Song is a Joy”) by Chaim Berman (d. 1973) was recorded by Rabbi Victor Reinstein, now of Boston, in late 1960s, early 1970s. Rabbi Reinstein writes:
Chaim Berman, ‘Hymie,’ was short and of slight and wiry build. Born and raised to early adulthood in Proskurov in the Ukraine, he lived most of his life in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York. His eyes twinkled with life, and there was almost always an impish smile on his lips. Hymie was a Jewish type that is no more. He was a self-described atheist and a card-carrying communist, a worker and an organizer in the ladies’ handbag industry, who in one moment would quote from Lenin or Marx and in the next, from Sholom Aleichem or Yud Lamed Peretz.
Steeped in Jewish tradition, he exuded Yiddishkeit from every pore of his being. Bridging the worlds and times of his life, he would put on a yarmulke and lead the Pesach seder with a profound and poignant depth of feeling. Hymie loved to sing and would perform for family and friends ‘in der heym,’ and to larger audiences at Yiddish summer camps. He was a man in whose veins coursed both joy and sadness, a reflection of the realities of his life, of Jewish history, of human reality. He worked and sang from the depths of his being to help bring a better world for all.
Certainly the first song we have chosen from the recordings of Hymie Berman for the Yiddish Song of the Week reflects that last sentiment – singing for a better world.
The melody is well-known: it is used for the Yiddish song to honor guests “Lomir ___bagrisn” and for the Purim nign “Utsu eytsa” (עצו עצה, “Take counsel together”, Isaiah 8:10), which is attributed to the Chabad/Slonim tradition (thanks to Hankus Netsky and Steven Greenman for this information).
From my mother, who belonged briefly to the leftist Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatsair, I know a one-verse song with the same melody from Chernovitz, circa 1930s:
Lebn zol Bistritski mit zayn hora. Lebn zol Bistritski mit zayn hora. Nisht keyn rekhter, nisht keyn linker, nor a Mizrakhist a flinker. Zol lebn Bistritski mit zayn hora.
Long live Bistritski and his hora. Long live Bistritski and his hora Not a right-winger, not a left-winger, but a clever Mizrakhist Long live Bistritski and his hora
Other field recordings in the Israeli National Sound Archives (NSA) in Jerusalem confirm that this was a ditty from the East European Hashomer Hatzair movement (NSA call #Y/05890, #Y/05898 – I was not able to listen to the NSA recordings to hear the lyrics in these versions).
In the Kremenits Yizkor book (1965) [Kremenits is in the Volin/Volhynia region] page 152, there is a description of the end of a Zionist youth meeting which actually connects the ditty to the dance hora, here written hoyre: (my translation from the Yiddish)
Finally someone yells out – ‘Enough of this chattering’ or ‘Leave the academy alone’. At that point someone would start singing “Lebn zol Bistritski and his hoyra” [!]. It seemed that this is what the gang was waiting for and everyone stood up, hands and shoulders interlocking and the circle got bigger and bigger. And so we danced a hoyra till the break of day. We danced so long that some people started to faint away.
Someone more familiar with Zionist history please clarify. Are they singing about the Hebrew writer, editor Nathan Bistritsky?
Please see the comments below for a number of additional points on the melody.
Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye
sung by Chaim Berman
Words by H. Goldberg
Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye Oy zingt zhe brider, zingt zhe munter A folk vos zingt geyt keyn mol unter. Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye.
To sing a song is a joy. To sing a song is a joy. So sing brother, sing with cheer A people that sings never dies. To sing a song is a joy.
A nign – an olter [alter] tsu a nayer. Zingen – vet ir filn frayer. Oy zingt zhe brider, zingt zhe munter A folk vos zingt geyt keyn mol unter. Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye.
A melody – an old one or a new one. Sing and you’ll feel more free. So sing brother, sing with cheer, A people that sings never dies. To sing a song is a joy.
Hostu fardrus tsi hostu dayges? Oder bistu kholile broyges? Oy zingt zhe brider, zingt zhe munter A folk vos zingt geyt keyn mol unter. Zingen a lid iz a mekhaye.
Do you have regrets? Or have worries? Or God forbid angry at someone? So sing brother, sing with cheer A people that sings never dies. To sing a song is a joy.
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