“Khanike-gelt (mume, mume, mume gite)” Performed by Dora Libson

Khanike-gelt (mume, mume, mume gite) – Hanukkah Money (Aunt, Aunt, Aunt So Good)
A Hanukkah song sung by Dora Libson. Recorded by Lionel Libson, 1977 

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

There seems to be a connection between this song and the Yiddish schools of Argentina. Avrom Lichtenbaum, director of the Argentina YIVO, remembers singing it in kindergarten in a Yiddish school in Buenos-Aires. The only printed version I have found was in the children’s song collection Heym un mishpokhe, yomim-toyvim, edited by Sara Fischer, Buenos-Aires, 1948. A scan of the song from that volume is attached (Fischer). 

In Heym un mishpokhe, yomim-toyvim it is called “Khanike gelt” and includes only the first two verses which I also transliterate since the rhymes are better in those verses than the ones in Libson’s version.  It also states that the poem was “From the Hebrew” translated by the Argentinian Yiddish children’s writer Shemuel (Shmuel) Tsesler (1904 – 1955).  

Sure enough, in the Israeli Zemereshet website we find the song in Hebrew in several versions, with more and different stanzas but the composer and writer of the Hebrew original song remains unknown.

Libson’s third and fourth verse, however, are not included in these Hebrew versions. Click here to see the Hebrew versions.

Libson’s pronuncation of the holiday as “Khaniko” instead of the usual “Khanike” in Yiddish, or “khanuka” in modern Hebrew,  reflects an Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation.

Thanks this week to Avrom Lichtenbaum, Gila Flam and Dina Pozniak.

Khanike-gelt as sung by Dora Libson

1) Mume, mume, mume, gute,
vi ikh hob dikh lib.
Bist a gite, bist a zise,
khanike-gelt zhe gib.
Bist a gite, bist a zise,
khanike-gelt zhe gib.
Khaniko iz haynt! Khaniko iz haynt!

Aunt, aunt, aunt, so good,
how I love you.
You’re so good, you’re so sweet.
So give me Hanukkah-gelt!
Hanukkah is today! Hanukkah is today!

2) Un az di mume hot gegebn
loz ikh mikh tsurik.
Un ikh gey mir glaykh tsum feter
feter gib zhe di!
un ikh gey mir glaykh tsum feter
feter gib zhe di!
Khaniko iz haynt!   Khaniko iz haynt!

And after Auntie gave me,
I returned back
and go straight to my uncle.
Uncle give me!
Hanukkah is today! Hanukkah is today!

3) Dem [Di] badaytung fun dem yontif
veys ikh dokh gants git.
Antiyoykhes iz [hot] fargosn
fil yidish blit.
Antiyoykhes hot fargosn
fil yidish blit.
Khaniko iz haynt!  Khaniko iz haynt!

The significance of this holiday
I know so well.
Antioches spilled 
much Jewish blood.
Antioches spilled 
much Jewish blood.
Hanukkah is today! Hanukkah is today!

4) In beys-hamigdesh fremde geter
hot men ungeshtelt. 
Un du ayl zikh nisht mayn dreydl
zay zhe mir a held.
un du ayl zikh nisht mayn dreydl
zay zhe mir a held.
Khaniko iz haynt!  Khaniko iz haynt!

In the Temple, foreign gods
were erected.
And don’t hurry my dreydl
be my hero. 
Khanike is today!  Khanike is today!

חנוכּה איז הײַנט
געזונגען פֿון דאָרע לאַבסון

מומע, מומע, מומע גוטע
.ווי איך האָב דיך ליב
ביסט אַ גוטע, ביסט אַ זיסע
.חנוכּה־געלט זשע גיב”
!חנוכּה איז הײַנט! חנוכּה איז הײַנט

,און אַז די מומע האָט געגעבן
.לאָז איך מיך צוריק
,און איך גיי מיר גלײַך צום פֿעטער
„פֿעטער, גיב זשע דו !”
!חנוכּה איז הײַנט! חנוכּה איז הײַנט

די באַדײַטונג פֿונעם יום־טובֿ
.ווייס איך דאָך גאַנץ גוט
אַנטיוכות האָט פֿאַרגאָסן
.פֿיל ייִדיש בלוט
!חנוכּה איז הײַנט! חנוכּה איז הײַנט

אין בית־המיקדש פֿרעמדע געטער
.האָט מען אָנגעשטעלט
,און דו אײַך זיך נישט מײַן דריידל
.זײַ זשע מיר אַ העלד
!חנוכּה איז הײַנט! חנוכּה איז הײַנט

The two verses in the Shemuel (Shmuel) Tsesler collection Heym un Mishpokhe Yomim-Toyvim:

Tsu der mumen, tsu der guter
makh ikh a shpatsir.
“Khanike-gelt, gute mume,
Gib zhe gikher mir!”

Git di mume mir a groshn
“Kh’dank dir!” Zog ikh hoykh.
Itster gey ikh tsu mayn feter:
“Feter gib mir oykh!”
Khanike iz haynt! Khanike iz haynt! 

“Shule, oy, oy, oy, shule” Performed by Ester Szulman

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

Abraham (Avrom) Lichtenbaum, Yiddish teacher and director of the IWO (YIVO Institute in Argentina) recorded this school song from Ester Szulman, 78 years old, in Buenos-Aires, Argentina, October 2017.

Szulman attended the Wolfsohn school and the Peretz school, part of the YKUF (Yidisher kultur-farband – Jewish Culture Federation) in the Villa Lynch neighborhood in the 1950s.

Leon Weiner’s book of children’s songs, Musical Alef-beys,
published in Buenos Aires, 1950

We invite all those who follow this blog in all countries to send in their Yiddish school or Yiddish camp songs (preferably in mp3 format but any format is ok) to: itzikgottesman@gmail.com

Shule, oy, oy, oy shule
In shule darfn ale kinderlekh geyn.
Der “mikro”* nemt un brengt tsurik –
Ale kinderlekh a glik!
Shule, oy, oy, oy shule.

(Yiddish) School, oy, oy, oy, school.
All the children have to go to school.
The “micro” * takes us and brings us back.
What a joy for the children!
School, oy, oy, oy school. 

Mikro/micro = micro-bus = small bus.

 

“Di apikorsim” Performed by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

Di apikorsim (“The Heretics”) was the first song that Lifshe Schaechter-Widman (LSW) sang for collector Leybl Kahn in NYC in 1954. He recorded approximately 100 songs sung by LSW over the next few weeks or months. LSW is my grandmother and the child one hears in the background is my then 4-year old sister Taube. At one point during her singing, she gets up and runs after her. The spoken dialogue between LSW and Kahn is transcribed in the Yiddish text.

In Shloyme Prizament’s book Di broder zinger (Buenos-Aires, 1960), he has a version of this song with the music on pages 110-112. He writes that he wrote the words and music, and states that Pepi Litman recorded it. There is indeed a recording of Pepi Litman performing the song. This book can now be read and downloaded at the Yiddish Book Center website.

Shloyme Prizament was born in 1889 in Hibinev, Galicia and died in Buenos-Aires in 1973; his biography appears in the third volume of the “Leksikon fun yidishn teater”, pages 1873- 1876. Prizament was an amazingly prolific composer, songwriter, but I am not convinced that he wrote the song that LSW performs. The more likely scenario, in my opinion, is that he based his song on the popular current version that LSW sings.

The song itself, a maskilic song mocking the Hasidim but sung in the voice of true believers, was a common genre. However, in Apikorsim the humor is quite vulgar. In songs such as “Kum aher du filosof” the irony is much more subtle. Ruth Rubin’s book Voices of a People has a nice section on maskilic songs (chapter 10). Rubin also prints Velvl Zbarzher’s song “Moshiakh’s tsaytn” (pp. 255 – 257) which is on the same theme as di apikorsim.

A couple of comments on the words and rhymes of Apikorsim: “Daytshn” literally means “Germans”, but in the Yiddish of the 19th century, early 20th century, it referred to the Maskilim, the Jews who were assimilating and dressing like Germans – that is, as modern Europeans.

You will also hear that in the refrain which begins “Folgts daytshn…” there is no rhyme for gikh. LSW sings sheyn. The implied rhyme should be rikh – the devil, and my mother remembers LSW singing it vet ir oyszen vi a layt or oyszen vi a rikh so i put those options in brackets. The listener would have understood the implied rhyme gikh and rikh.

Di apikorsim, di voyle-yingen
es vet in zey ale trasken lingen
zey veln ale tsepiket vern
ven zey veln shoyfer-shel-moshiakh derhern.

The heretics, those loose fellows, 
Their lungs will all rattle.
They will burst apart,
when they hear the shofar of the messiah.

Far kol-rom vet vern gehert
der rebe vet lernen toyre.
Di apikorsim veln faln tsu dr’erd
far shrek un far moyre.

Loudly for all, it will be heard
the rebbe will teach Torah.
the heretics will fall to the ground,
out of fear and alarm.

Folgts datshn mekh,
un verts khasidemlekh gikh.
Tits un a yeyder yidishe kleyder
vet ir oyszen sheyn [vi a layt] [vi a rikh]/

Listen to me Germans [assimilated Jews]
and become Hasidim quickly.
Each of you dress in Jewish clothes,
so you will appear – beautiful [vi a layt – presentable] [vi a rikh – like a demon]

Hop, hop, yadadada, yadadalakh
hop, hop, yah……hop, hop, yadalala

Hop, hop, yadadada, yadadalakh
hop, hop, yah……hop, hop, yadalala

Eyner vet esn tsimes-kigl,
eyner a shtikl beylik,
eyner dem kigl, un eyner dem fligl,
un di rebetsin – dos interkheylik.

One will eat a tsimes-kugl
another a piece of white chicken meat.
For one a kugl, for another a wing,
and for the rebetsin – the bottom part.

Mir veln pikn fun dem rikn,
mir veln nisht ofhern,
Di sonim veln shteyn fun der vaytns [un kikn,]
un tsepiket vern.

We will gnaw on the backside,
and we will not stop.
Our enemies will stand from a distance [and watch].
And burst from envy.

Folgst daytshn…..
hop, hop….

Listen to me Germans…
Hop, hop….

Eyner vet esn a tsimes-kigl,
eyner a shtikl beylik
eyner a fligkl, dem andern dem kigl,
un di rebetsin – dos interkheylik.

One will eat a tsimes-kugel
one a piece of white meat.
One a wing, another the kugel,
and the rebetsin – the bottom part.

Vayn vet rinen fun di stelyes
af der rebetsin aleyn veln vaksn drelyes,
Mir, heylike kushere khsidim
veln hobn vos tsu lekn.

Wine will flow from the ceilings,
grapevines will even grow on the rebbetzin.
We holy and kosher hasidim
will have what to lick.

Af deym bal, in deytm groysn zal,
talmidim, khsidim,
rabonim, dayonim
veln mit undz tantsn geyn.

At the ball,
in the great hall,
yeshiva-students, Jewish judges,
will all dance with us.

Hop, hop…

Hop, hop.