Vi iz dus meydele? / Where Is The Girl? A Yiddish children’s game song from Bukovina. Sung by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman [LSW], recorded by Leybl Kahn, NYC 1954.
Image: YIVO Institute
Leybl Kahn (spoken): Vi heyst dos lid?
LSW: (spoken) A kindershpil. Kinder hobn zikh arimgenemen in a rud. In m’ot eynem tsigebin’en di oygn; geveyntlekh a yingele hot men tsigebinen di oygn in er fleygt arimgeyn in zingen.
LSW: A children’s game. Children held each other in a circle and they blindfolded someone; usually a boy was blindfolded. And he went around singing this:
LSW sings:
Vi iz dus meydele vus ikh hob zi gevolt. Ikh vel ir geybn a shisele mit gold. Efsher shteyt zi dort bay der tir. Meydele, oy meydele, kim arayn tse mir.
Where is the girl that I wanted. I will give her a golden plate. Maybe she is standing there at the door. Girl, o, girl come inside to me.
Vi i’dus meydele vus ikh hob zi gevolt? Ikh vel ir geybn a ringele fin gold. Kim shoyn meydele, kim arayn tsi mir. Meydele, oy, sheyne, shtey nisht bay der tir.
Where is the girl that I wanted? I will give her a golden ring. Come already girl, come inside to me. Girl, o, pretty one, don’t stand by the door.
LSW (spoken) Azoy fleygt men arimloyfn biz m’ot gekhapt dos meydele un dernokh iz men gegangen mit an andern.
LSW: In this way they ran around till they caught a girl and then they chose another
This is a shtetl version of Blind Man’s Bluff or “Blinde ku”(Blind cow) sung by the boy. In the collection of Ginzburg and Marek Yiddish Folksongs in Russia, 1901, there is a one verse song that might be what the girl would sing when it is her turn (No. 208, page 168)
Vu iz dus bokherl vos hot mikh gevolt? Vos hot mir tsugezogt a “fazeile” [fatsheyle] mit gold? Dortn shteyt er unter der vant. Halt di “fazeile” in der hant.
Where is the boy who wanted me? Who promised me a kerchief full of gold. There he is standing at the wall. Holding the kerchief in his hand.
Gib a brukhe tsu dayn kind/ Give a Blessing to Your Child A Holocaust song learned in the Bochnia ghetto, Poland. Sung by Sara Rosen, recorded by Itzik Gottesman, 1989, NYC.
Photo: Children in Bochnia
COMMENTARY BY ITZIK GOTTESMAN
This is a Holocaust song from the Bochnia ghetto sung by Sara Rosen. The author and composer of the song are unknown. Rosen learned this song in the Bochnia ghetto. For her biography see the previous post “Es dremlt in geto”.
A post-Holocaust recording of this song can be listened to on the album Remember the Children, 1991. Sung by Adrienne Cooper, #18 on the recording produced by the United States Holocaust Museum.
Printed versions of this song, words and music, can be found in We Are Here/Mir zenen do (1983) compiled by Eleonor Mlotek and Malke Gottlieb. (scans attached – “Rosen/Mlotek) and in Shmerke Kaczerginsky’s Lider fun di getos un lagern: text 208 – 209; no music. (scans attached “Rosen/Katsh”). Mlotek and Gottlieb write that “This song was sung by the deported Jews of Cracow in Miedzrych Podlaska and in the Bochnia ghetto in 1941.”
Much of the last verse in my recording of Rosen is missing due to technical issues [approx.5:50 min – 6.00Min I would advise any singers of this song to make up the gap with Katsherginski’s version, which he recorded from Meyer Lamer. מאיר לאמער
The music of this song was used in the first Bobov Purim Shpil after the Holocaust produced in the United States. In an article by Moyshe Aftergut (translated by Shifre Epstein in the website “In Geveb”), Aftergut writes:
“The music of one song, “Mame, gib dayn brukhe tsu dayn kind (“Mother, Give a Blessing to Your Child”), best illustrates the role of music in creating the setting for the play. The song was written by an unknown composer and was sung by mothers in the ghettos during World War II as farewell songs to their children before they were taken away.”
Thanks this week to Eliezer Niborski who edited my Yiddish text.
Spoken introduction to song by Sara Rosen, translated by Itzik Gottesman:
“This ws already the year 1943. There were almost no Jews left in Poland. There were a few towns where the last ones were left in labor camps. And there were already concentration camps. I remember there was a girl Fela Shtern. She said she knows a song that a young boy wrote it; she doesn’t know who wrote it. And this is how the song spread around. And it was sung a lot because we already knew this is the fate that awaited us.
There [Bochnia ghetto] where we were, maybe five families remained together. They took away a sister, they killed, led her away. There were also refugees who escaped from here and there. The original people from Bochia, even from the Bochni ghetto were very few because they were already deported. For first raid they said that young people will be taken to work. The parents forced them, even pulled the children to go. ‘You will live but we are old already.’ So almost the whole youth of Bochnia was “liquidated”, that’s what they called it. Bochnia was the town I was in. It was a small town. The parents always hoped, waited for letters from the children, but they soon knew what happened.
This was a then a popular song that I have never heard. First of all there were very few people who survived. I never heard any one sing it. I wanted to sing it because it’s such a great song; not from a poetical, musical viewpoint, but it illustrates the situation how it was.
I have a good voice but today it’s rusty, but it’s not about my voice.
VERSE 1 PLUS REFRAIN
Ikh vil nisht mer nemen gor in akht. vus ikh hob letstns mitgemakht. Zayt ikh bin fin der haym avek, di tunkle gedanken vus nemen kayn ek. Di tribne teyg, der shverer veyg zey roybn bay mir dus letste gefil. Nor amul banakht, az kayner vakht tsu man mamen in khulem vayn ikh shtil.
I don’t want to consider anymore what I suffered yesterday, Since I have left my home I have dark thoughts that are endless. The gloomy days, the difficult way, they steal away my final feeling. But sometimes at night, when no one is awake I cry to my mother in my dreams.
REFRAIN:
Oy mame, mame nokh atsind gib a brukhe tsu dayn kind. Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn, veln mir zeyen zikh geshvind. Oh mama, mama, even now give a blessing to your child. As God will give, health and life, we will soon meet again.
VERSE 2 PLUS REFRAIN
Gedenk ikh nokh, es iz damolst geveyn; Der tug der letster herlekh un sheyn. In mayn mame, bay der kokh farnumen, iz di shvester di klayne arayngekumen. Ikh hob gehert nas [nayes] af der gas. Az morgn vet a registratsye zayn. Di yugnt gur, biz finf un draysik yur. zol morgn fri far “arbaytsamy” ofshtayn.
I remember still how it once was; That day the last onem beautiful and nice and my mother, busy cooking when my younger sister entered, I heard news on the street that tomorrow there will be a registration. For all those younger than 35 years they will tomorrow wake up for the workers’ office.
Oy mame, mame blayb gezint, Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind. Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn, Veln mir zeyen zikh geshvind .
Oy, mother, mother stay healthy, I must now leave you. If God will give health and life we will see each other soon.
VERSE 3 PLUS REFRAIN
Kom iz adorekh di kurtse nakht, der tog der letster nemt shoyn di makht, un mayn mame git zikh di mi dus frishtik dus letste, greyt zi mir tsi. Mir gisn aroys trern yamen ale kinder fin ayn mamen. Me kisht zikh tsuzamen Di mame vaynt: Vi vel ikh mikh kenen shaydn fin aykh?
Oceans of tears are pouring from me. All children from one mother. We kiss each other, and mother cries How will I separate from you all?
Oy mame, mame blab gezint, Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind. Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn, vel mir zeyen zikh geshvind.
Oy, mother, mother stay well. I must now leave you. If God will give health and life, we will see each other soon.
[Beginning of Verse 4 sung by Rosen]
A ray khadoshim avek shoyn fin mir, fin mayn mamen, fin mayn tatn vays ikh kayn shpur.. Mayne libe eltern hot der tayerer Got farviglt, farpakt in a groysn [sod?]
[RECORDING IS ERASED FOR 15 SECONDS. What follows in bold face are four similar lines from Katcherginski’s Collection to conclude the fourth verse]
Un ikh ze nisht mer mayn mames gezikht vos ikh lib mit harts un gefil… Nor a mul ba nakht, ven keyner vakht, tsi mayn mamen in khulem vayn ikh shtil.
Translation of last verse:
(Rosen) My dear parents, did the great God hide in heaven, in his great orchard. I no longer see my mother’s face that I love with my heart and emotion. (Katsherginski’s text at this point) But sometimes at night, when no one is awake, I cry quietly in my dreams to my mother:
LAST REFRAIN FROM ROSEN
Oy mame, mame blab gezint, Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind. Az got vet geybn, gezint mit laybn, vel mir zeyn zikh geshvind.
Oy, mother, mother stay healthy. I must now leave you If God will give, health and life, will we see each other again soon.
גיב אַ ברכה צו דײַן קינד ,געזונגען פֿון שרה ראָזען געהערט אין בוכניער לאַגער, פּוילן
איך וויל נישט מער נעמען גאָר אין אַכט .וואָס איך האָב לעצטנס מיטגעמאַכט זײַט איך בין פֿון דער היים אַוועק .די טונק’לע געדאַנקען וואָס נעמען קיין עק די טריבנע טעג, דער שווערער וועג זיי רויבן בײַ מיר דאָס לעצטע געפֿיל נאָר אַמאָל בײַ נאַכט, אַז קיינער וואַכט .צו מײַן מאַמען אין חלום וויין איך שטיל
S’hot mit indz geleybt a khaver / A Comrade Lived Among Us. A Soviet Yiddish song praising Stalin. Sung by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman [BSG], recorded by Itzik Gottesman, Bronx. 1990s.
Image: A Jewish Kolhoz in Crimea
Commentary on the song is below after the lyrics and translation.
BSG spoken:
Dos hob ikh gehert tsum ershtn mul in Chernovitz in tsayt fun di rusn. I heard this for the first time in the time of the Russians. [The Soviet occupation of Chernovitz was June 1940 – July 1941]
S’hot mit indz geleybt a khaver. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay S’iz geveyn a yat a, braver. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
A comrade lived among us. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay He was a brave lad. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Er fleygt kikn af di shtern. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay A kolvirt vet bay undz vern. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
He used to look up to the stars Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay. We should build a kolvirt [farming collective]. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Fun di velder ungekimen. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay Hot er indz tsunoyf genimen. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
From the fields we came. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay He gathered us together Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Lomir trinken a lekhayim Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay far dem leybn, far dem nayem. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
[BSG indicates this verse can be sung at the end]
Let us make a toast Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay for the new life. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Far der oktober-revolutsye Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay in far Stalins konsitutsye Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
For the October Revolution Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay And for Stalin’s constitution Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Far di kinder, [far] di zkeynem. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay In far alemen in eynem. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
For the children, for the old ones Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay And for all of us together. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Zol der ershter kos zikh khvalyen. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay far indzer libn khaver _______
(BSG spits and says “yemakh shmoy” then continues) …Stalin. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Let the first drink swirl Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay for our dear comrade ______ [BSG spits and curses him “May his name be erased” then continues] …Stalin. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Far der Oktober-revolutsye Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay in far Stalins konsitutsye. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
For the October Revolution Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay And for Stalin’s constitutution Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
.ביילע רעדט: דאָס האָב איך געהערט צום ערשטן מאָל אין טשערנעוויץ אין צײַט פֿון די רוסן
BSG was reading from a notebook of Yiddish songs that she wrote down in Vienna in the Displaced Persons camp (1947- 1950). You can hear my voice helping her read some of the lines.
It seems that this song started out as a Hasidic nign (כּיצד מרקדי Ketzad merakdin);
Here is an instrumental version of the Hasidic tune from the album “Chassidic Authentic Wedding Dances (Galton D-5935):
Then the melody was used for a Soviet Yiddish song praising Stalin in the 1930s and 1940s, probably made popular by the 1938 recording of the Soviet Yiddish singer Zinoviy Shulman (1904 – 1977) .
The text version praising Stalin as was printed in the collection Yidishe folks-lider, edited by Y. Dobrushn and A. Yuditsky, Moscow 1940, p. 425
Here is an image of that version:
In the 1950s, after the death of Stalin (1953), the song made its way into the leftist 1956 American Yiddish songbook Lomir ale zingen / Let’s Sing (Jewish Music Alliance, NY) but dropped any mention of Stalin, of his constitution and of the October revolution. It was called “S’hot mit undz gelebt a khaver”.
A rousing version of the song entited L’chayim Stalin and based on the Shulman recording was recently recorded by Dan Kahn and Psoy Korolenko, including the references to Stalin on their album The Third Unternationale (2020):
Special thanks this week to Benjamin Ginzburg, Arun Vishwanath, Psoy Korolenko and Dan Kahn.
Seyder nakht (Di fentster, zey lakhtn)/ Seder Night (The Windows Illuminate) A Passover song from the American Folkshuls. Words: Naftoli Gross. Music: Mikhl Gelbart. Sung and recorded April 12, 2022 by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Teaneck New Jersey
Naftoli Gross (1896-1956)
Di fentster zey lakhtn mit yontif in blendn. Di tishn – mit gildene koyses in kares, koyses in kares. Di shtiber – mit kinder in vinder-legendn. Zey zingen – fin gur ale vinklen in shpares. vinklen in shpares
The windows illuminate with festival and dazzle. The tables – with golden goblets and seder plates goblets and seder plates The homes – with children and wonder legends, they sing from every corner and crevice, corner and crevice.
Di tirn fin shtiber, zey shteyen breyt ofn. Ver s’darf zol hant kimen tsi indz un zol esn, kimen in zol esn. Di kindershe oygn mit yontif in hofn. Eliyohu vet kimen in keynem fargesn, keynem fargesn.
The doors of homes are wide open. Whoever needs to, should come to us and eat, come and eat. The childlike eyes with holiday and hope, Elijah should come and forget no one, Forget no one.
COMMENTARY by Itzik Gottesman
This song entitled “Seyder nakht”, with words by Naftoli Gross (1896-1956) and music by Mikhl Gelbart (1889 – 1962) was published in 1948. It was sung at the beginning of the Workman’s Circle and Sholem Aleichem folkshuls’ seders in the 1960s and probably earlier. Since I could find no recording of the song, I asked Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, who remembered it from Sholem Aleichem Shul #21 in the Bronx to record it.
Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath is a Yiddish poet and the chair of the League for Yiddish in New York City.Below the song as published in the Sholem Aleichem folkshul Passover Haggadah, circa 1968:
Tsen brider zenen mir geveyzn / We were ten brothers A Holocaust adaptation. Text by Israel Ashendorf. Sung by Molly and Josef Lubelski. Recorded by Abraham Lubelski, Bronx 1967
The Lubelski Troupe performing in a German D.P. camp
Transcription and Translation (Yiddish text after the commentary below)
Spoken by Josef Lubelski: “Tsen brider zenen mir geveyzn. An alt folkslid ibergearbet fun Ashendorf un Zigmund Taytlboym.” “We Were Ten Brothers”, an old folksong adapted by Ashendorf and Zigmund Taytlboym
Tsen brider zenen mir geveyzn in frayd in in payn. Iz eyner gefaln inter Kutne zenen mir geblibn nayn.
Ten brothers were we in joy and in suffering. When one of us fell near Kutne we remained nine.
Yidl mitn fidl, Berl mitn bas, zingen aykh a lidl, oy, in mitn gas. Yidl mitn fidl, Berl mitn bas.
Yidl and his fiddle, Berl and his bass sing a song for you in the middle of the street.
Nayn brider zenen mir gevezn yeder bay zayn mi in fakh. Iz ayner gefaln inter Varshe zenen mir geblibn akht.
Nine brothers were we we traded in cargo. One fell in Warsaw and eight remained.
Akht brider zenen mir geveyzn tsezayt in tsetribn farpaynikt eynem in Oshvyentshin [Oswiecim] zenen mir geblibn zibn.
Eight brothers were we, scattered and driven off. One was tortured in Auschwitz so seven remained.
Zibn brider zenen mir gevezn in groylteg un in shrek. en eynem in Vin gehongen, zenen mir geblibn zeks.
Seven brothers were we in the days of horror and fear. When one of us was hanged we remained six.
Zeks brider zenen mir geveyzn fartribn vayt in Krim. Iz eyner dortn imgekimen zenen mir geblibn finf.
Six brothers were we driven away to the Crimea. When one of us died we remained five.
Yidl mitn fidl, Berl mitn bas zingen aykh a lidl, oy, in mitn gas. Yidl mitn fidl. Berl mitn bas
Yidl and his fiddle, Berl and his bass sing a song for you in the middle of the street. Yidl and his fiddle; Berl and his bass.
Finf brider zenen mir gevezn un sonim un a shir. hot men eynem in Prag geshosn zenen mir geblibn fir.
Five brothers were we with countless enemies. When they shot one in Prague we remained four.
Fir brider zenen mir geveyzn in teyg fin bombes in blay. Iz eyner gefaln in Vilner geto zenen mir geblibn dray.
Four brothers were we during days of bomb and lead. One died in the Vilna ghetto, leaving three.
Dray brider zenen mir gevezn eyner in der bafrayter armey. iz er gefaln vi a held, zenen mir geblibn tsvey.
Three brothers were we, one in the liberated army. He died a hero and two were left.
In di tsvey ver zay zenen vilt ir avade hern: Ayner fun zey is Yidl in der tsveyter Berl.
And who the two remaining are you know of course: one of them is Yidl and the second one Berl.
Yidl mitn fidl. Berl mitn bas zingen aykh a lidl, nokh der tsayt fun mord un has. Yidl mit dem fidl, Berl mitn bas.
Yidl with the fiddle, Berl with the bass sing for you a song in the time of death and hatred. Yidl with his fiddle, Berl with his bass.
O-ho, o-ho, o-ho o-ho o-ho o-ho ho ho ho hoh hohhoho hoh hoho hoho hohohoho
Zoln ale itstert hern, un zoln ale visn mir veln nokh vi frier shpiln af khasenes un brisn.
Let everyone now hear, let everyone should know: we will still play for you as before at weddings and circumcisions.
Oy veln mir nokh kindlen. frukhtbarn zikh in mern, vi di zamd in yamen, un oyf dem himl shtern.
Oh will we have children, be fruitful and multiply, like the sand in the seas and the stars in the sky.
Yidl mitn fidl. Berl mitn bas Yidl with his fiddle. Berl with his bass.
Nor a kleyne bakushe hobn mir tsu aykh yidn. in der heym gedenken zolt ir undz in fridn.
Just a minor request we ask of you all. In your homes you should remember us in peace.
A khasene, a simkhe betn undz tsu gast. mikh – yidl mit dem fidl in mir [mikh] – Berl mitn bas
For a wedding, a party invite us as guests. Me – yidl with his fiddle. and me – Berl with his bass.
Oy, vet men in ayer hayzer gertner vet men flantsn. Vider vet men lider zingen vider vet men tantstn.
O in your houses gardens will be planted. Once again we’ll sing songs, once again we’ll dance.
oy, veln mir nokh shpiln, vayzn vos mir kenen. Az far veytik veln platsn di strunes in di sonim.
O, will we play, and show what we are capable of. Let our enemies and music strings explode out of pain [envy].
Yidl mitn fidl, Berl mitn bas. Yidl with his fiddle; Berl with his bass.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
This is the third song that our blog is presenting from the repertoire of Molly (Male/Minska) and Josef Lubelski who traveled to Displaced Persons (D.P.) camps in Germany after the war to perform songs, skits and recitations. For more on their biography see their previously posted songs.
Versions of the popular folksong “Tsen brider zenen mir geven”, upon which this version is adapted, can be found in the Ginzburg/Marek Collection of 1901 and a short history of the folksong, words and music, can be found in the Mlotek collection Perl fun der yidisher poezye, p. 121 (see scans below).
Itzik Manger used the refrain for his song “Yidl mitn fidl”. In the Lubelski version, the music changes from the folk version when the number of brothers is reduced to two. The text at that point becomes more explicit on the plight and future of the Jews, rather than the demise of the brothers. Singer and compiler Shoshana Kalisch included a different Holocaust adaptation of “Tsen brider” in her collection of Holocaust songs – Yes, We Sang! – with words and music. One can hear that song at this link.
The author of this Lubelski version is Israel Ashendorf (1909 – 1956) but I could not find the text in his printed collections. In his introduction, Josef Lubelski mentions Sigmund Teytelboym as the musical adapter but I could not find any details on him. There is a 78 RPM recording of the Ashendorf song entitled “Yiddl [sic] mitn fidl” sung by I. Birnbaum and E. Zewinka, arranged by R. Solomon on the “Le Disque Folklorique Yiddish label”. There Ashendorf is credited as the author, spelled “Aschendorf”. A link to listen to the recording is here.
Israel Ashendorf (1909 – 1956)
I. Birnbaum and E. Zewinka recording
The Lubelski version is very close to the Birnbaum/Zewinka version but without instrumental accompaniment the Lubelski duo surely captures the sound and feeling closer to what the performance was like in the D.P. camps. One interesting change is that on the Birnbaum/Zevinka recording they sing “Royte armey” [Red army] and the Lubelskis sing “Bafrayte armey” [Liberated army]. Thanks this week to Alex Ashendorf, Abraham Lubelski for the recording and photo and to Eliezer Niborski for transcription help.
Vi iz dus gesele? / Where is the street? A Holocaust adaptation written and sung by Malka and Josef Lubelsksi recorded by Abraham Lubelski, Bronx 1967
On the Lubelski family by Abraham Lubelski
Malka (Male, Molly, Minska) Lubelski (1920 – 1996) was born in Lodz, Poland. She and her husband, Laibish Holcman, left Lodz in 1939, as the Nazis were invading, and headed East to the Soviet Union. With them was Malka’s sister, Chana, and her brother, Yasha. They were attempting to find Malka’s uncle in Ukraine.
They were diverted by Soviet authorities to Siberia, ending up in the town of Magnitogorsk. Here their son, Abram [Abraham], was born. They were finally given permission in 1941 to travel to their uncle’s home in Ukraine, arriving in Kharkov just as the Nazis invaded. They never reached their uncle and he was never heard from again. Laibish Holcman disappeared in 1941, soon after joining to fight with the defending Soviet Army.
They left behind their mother, a younger sister Ruth (Rivka) and three younger brothers, Motel, Laibel and Avrom. Malka, Chana, Yasha and Rivka survived the Holocaust. Their mother, Nacha, was taken from the Lodz ghetto and never heard from again. The three younger brothers also did not survive; one died in the ghetto and the other two died after being transported to Auschwitz. The four surviving siblings were reunited in 1946 in the Displaced Persons camp. All emigrated with their new families to the US in ’49-’50.
From Siberia, Malka and her son traveled on to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where Malka met Josef Lubelski (1906 – 1972) originally from Kalisz, Poland. Malka’s siblings, Chana and Yasha, also were able to travel to Tashkent. From there they returned west at the war’s end, searching for surviving family, Malka, Josef and Abram eventually making their way to the DP camp in Berlin. They transferred and were reunited with Rivka in the Leipheim, Germany DP camp. In the camp, Josef established a troupe and directed an ensemble of friends and actors. Josef and Malka sang duets and performed Yiddish monologues and Shakespeare. They were legally married in the DP camp in 1948.
As their son (Abram) I remember sitting in the front row of the theater watching their vaudeville performances and dramas with awe. Josef did classic “retsitatsyes” [recitations] often dressed like Charlie Chaplin or as a Jewish peddler making the audience laugh as he magically pulled things out from his long black overcoat and tried to sell a chicken here, pots and pans there or a “valgerholts” [rolling pin] with which to beat husbands. They traveled to DP camps performing on week-ends and I cried if they left me behind so eventually they had me come along as the child actor in one or two Yiddish plays.
In 1950 they emigrated to the US. and performed their songs occassionaly at Workmen’s Circle gatherings. In 1967 I recorded Josef’s monologues and Molly and Josef singing duets. I remembered my mom sitting alone on the stage dressed in black mourning singing “Vu iz dos gesele,” “Tsen brider” and “Akhtszik er un zibetsik zi”, …. Never forgetting the warming spirit trying to revive the people around them.
More on the Lubelski family can be read in the two memoirs The Cage (1980) and To Life (2000) by Ruth Minsky Sender.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
Today’s post is the first of three songs performed by Molly and Josef Lubelski that we will post. We thought it particularly appropriate to post “Vi iz dus gesele” to mark Kristallnacht on Nov. 9th. Though these songs were recorded in 1967, two decades after the war, they still convey the emotional performance of the artists.
The Lubelskis sing a Holocaust themed adaptation of a popular song “Vu iz dos gesele”. Their son Abraham believes they created the text. I have not found it in collections of Holocaust Yiddish songs. The words and music to the original song can be found in the Mlotek collection Songs of Generations. There are also Ukrainian, Russian and Hebrew versions of the older song.
Here is a link to an orchestrated version of the original song “Vu iz dos gesele” sung by Jan Peerce:
TRANSLITERATION, TRANSLATION & TRANSCRIPTION Folksong with new words by Malka and Josef Lubelski
Vi iz dus gesele? Vi iz di shtib? Vi iz mayn mishpokhe, vus ikh hob azoy lib? Nishtu shoyn dus gesl, tsebrokhn di shtib farbrent mayn mishpokhe vus ikh hob azoy lib. Nishtu shoyn dus gesl, tsebrokhn di shtib, farbrent mayn mishpokhe vus ikh hob azoy lib.
Where is my street? Where is my house? Where is my family that I onced loved? The street is no more.The house is broken. Burned up is the family that I loved so much.
Vi zenen di zingendike, tantsndike kinder? Vi zenen zey ale atsinder? Tserisn, tseshtokn, tsetsoygn. Der mamen, der mamen, der mamen in di oygn. Tserisn, tseshtokn, tsetsoygn. Der mamen, der mamen, der mamen in di oygn.
Where are the singing, dancing children? Where are they now? Torn, stabbed and pulled apart in their mothers’, their mother’s eyes.
Vi iz di shil? mitn gildenem orn-koydesh? Der shabes, der yontif? rosh-khoydesh? Farbrent iz di shil, farbrent oykh di sforim; fun gantsn shtetl, geblibn iz bloyz kvorim. farbrent iz di shil, farbrent oykh di sforim, fun gantsn shtetl, geblibn iz bloyz kvorim.
Where is the synagogue with the golden Holy Ark? The sabbath? The holiday? The beginning of each month? The synagogue is burned down, as well as the holy books. Of the whole town, only graves remain.
Gekumen iz der tug far nekume far dem blut far yedern gesl, far yederer shtub. Ot iz der tug – azoy zet er oys. Ober der khezbn, der khesbn iz tsu groys. Ot iz der tug – azoy zet er oys. ober der khezhbn, der khesbn iz tsu groys.
The day for revenge has come for this blood, for every street, for every house. The day has come – this is how it looks. But the reckoning, the reckoning is too great.
געזונגען און באַאַרבעט פֿון מלכּה און יוסף לובעלסקי
רעקאָרדירט פֿון אַבֿרהם לובעלסקי, בראָנקס 1967
?וווּ איז דאָס געסעלע? וווּ איז די שטוב ?וווּ איז מײַן משפּחה, וואָס איך האָב אַזוי ליב ,נישטאָ שוין דאָס געסל, צעבראָכן די שטוב .פֿאַרברענט מײַן משפּחה וואָס איך האָב אַזוי ליב ,נישטאָ שוין דאָס געסל, צעבראָכן די שטוב .פֿאַרברענט מײַן משפּחה וואָס איך האָב אַזוי ליב
?וווּ זענען די זינגענדיקע, טאַנצנדיקע קינדער ?וווּ זענען זיי אַצינדער ,צעריסן, צעשטאָכן און צעצויגן .דער מאַמען, דער מאַמען, דער מאַמען אין די אויגן ,צעריסן, צעשטאָכן און צעצויגן .דער מאַמען, דער מאַמען, דער מאַמען אין די אויגן
?וווּ איז די שיל מיטן גילדענעם אָרון־קודש ?דער שבת? דער יום־טובֿ? ראש־חודש .פֿאַרברענט איז די שיל, פֿאַרברענט אויך די ספֿרים .פֿון גאַנצן שטעטל געבליבן בלויז קבֿרים
Kinderland, du tsoyberland / Kinderland, You Magical Land A Yiddish summer camp hymn Music: Albert Bitter, Words: M.A. Suhl (Yuri Suhl, 1908 – 1986) Sung & Recorded by Gerry Tenney, May 2021
Gerry Tenney
(Spoken) Eyns, tsvey, dray, fir One, two, three, four
Kinderland, du tsoyberland. Kinderland, you magical land Unter himlen fraye. Under the open skies Mir kumen zikh do opruen, We come here to rest, Shtarkn un banayen. To be strengthened and renewed. Oy, kinder, kinder, kinderland. Oy, children, children, children –land Far kinder a gan-eydn For children it’s a paradise. Mir shpiln zikh, mir lernen zikh. We play, we learn Mir lebn do in freydn. We live here peacefully Oy, kinder, kinder, kinderland Oy, children, children, children-land Far kinder a gan-eydn For children, it’s a paradise. Mir shpil zikh, mir lernen zikh. We play, we learn. Mir lebn do in freydn. We live here peacefully
There is second verse to this song, which according to Tenney was rarely sung.
Mit zun un feld un fraye nakht. With sun and field and free nights Du bist undz azoy tayer You are so dear to us. Freylekh munter zingt dos lid Happy, boldy sing this song, An arbets lid a nayer a labor song, a new one.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
Camp Kinderland is a summer camp, today in Tolland, Massachusets. It was founded in 1923 in New York by leftist unions. Several generations of Jewish children from NY and surrounding regions were raised there with a love for Yiddish song and culture. Kinderland has evolved since then and here is the current link to the camp.
A link to the songbook of Kinderland, 1954, which includes the Yiddish and English transcription of this and many other songs can be found here. We hope to present more recordings from this songbook.
Gerry Tenney is a leading figure in the Yiddish cultural world in the Bay area. He writes about himself:
I was born in a Yinglish speaking family in the Bronx. Yiddishwas all around me as we lived in the same building as mybubi and zeydi. Although I was not raised in linke krayzn [leftist circles], Ifound my way there in the late fifties and early sixties. Igraduated from the Hekherer Kursn [high school level] and taught in theelementar shuln in Queens. From 1963 -1968 I was acounsellor and group leader at Camp Kinderland. I haveremained active in camp activities and went back there toteach music many times. My son Noah also attended camp.In California I was the co-founder of East Bay Kindershul,leader of California Klezmer, and the President ofKlezCalifornia. I am currently working on the Beregovskitranslation project.
We would add to this short bio, that Tenney together with Betty Albert-Shreck produced a popular Yiddish recording for children “Let’s Sing a Yiddish Song/Lomir zingen a yidish lid.”
This is one of three Camp Kinderland hymns according to Tenney, and though there is at least one recording with a second verse, Tenney remembers only singing one. Bitter and Suhl also together composed the humorous children’s song “Poyzn ayvi” [ Poison Ivy] which can be heard on the recording “Let’s Sing a Yiddish Song”
You can hear other Kinderland alumni sing the song at this link.
We invite readers of the blog to send in recordings of songs from their Yiddish camps. There are many that have never been recorded and are unknown to the larger Yiddish world.
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:
Er hot di zakh gut gemakht / He did it well A Yiddish Cheer sung by Tuba Shvartz-Khatinsky, recorded by Sarah Faerman, Toronto 1991
“Recess at a Talmud Torah” from Photographing The Jewish Nation: Pictures Form An-sky’s Ethographic Expeditions
Er hot di zakh git gemakht, git gemakht, git gemakht Mir hobn im nisht oysgelakht nit oysgelakht!
He did it well, did it well, did it well. We didn’t mock him, We didn’t mock him.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
Tuba Shvarts Khatinsky was born in 1927 in Telenesti (then Romania, today Moldova) and then lived in Keshenev, (today Chisinau). Sarah Faerman recorded her in 1991 in Toronto where they both lived. Thanks for this week’s post to Sarah Faerman.
Senderl (Ayzikl) mayn man / Sender (or Ayzikl) My Husband Two versions Sung by Rose Serbin and Bella Cutler Ruth Serbin recorded by Ruth Rubin in Patterson, New Jersey, 1956, from Ruth Rubin Archive at the YIVO Sound Archives. Bella Cutler recorded by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, 1988, in Daughters of Jacob Nursing Home, Bronx
Research into the one verse remembered by Bella Cutler (from Bolokhov, Galicia, today Bolekhiv, Ukraine) led me to a printed version of the song with music entitled “Senderle [sic] mein Man” in the collection Jewish Folk Songs from the Baltics: Selections from the Melngailis Collection edited by Kevin C. Karnes, 2014. (Scans attached – Karnes 1,2). According to Karnes, Melngailis possibly heard the song in Keidan (today Lithuania, Kedainei) in 1899.
The innkeeper and his wife in Suchestaw, Eastern Galicia. (YIVO)
In the Ginsburg and Marek (GM) collection of 1901, Yidishe folkslider fun rusland, there are two versions, # 305, #306, one with 8 verses from Kaunas; one with 4 verses from Minsk.
In Der pinkes, ed. Shmuel Niger, Vilna, 1913, there is a version in the collection “Folklsider” of L. B-N [Leyvi Berman].
Rose Serbin (1890 – 1974) was born in Bohopolye, Podolia, Ukraine. In the Ruth Rubin Archive this song is entitled “Vi vel ikh nemen”.
All evidence indicates that it originates in Lithuania or other countries “up north”. Of the six versions of the song (all from the 19th century), three were written down in Lithuania, one in Belarus, one in Galicia, one in Ukraine. The important rhyme at the end of each verse “kroyn” and “aleyn” only rhymes in the “Litvish dialect” where “kroyn” is pronounced as “kreyn”.
The textual differences are also intriguing. Is the husband leaving? Is he dying? The question “Where should the wife get bread for the children?” is answered in four ways. In GM #306 and Serbin – “from the lord of the estate”, in GM #307 “at the stall”, in Karnes “at the store”, in Berman ” from the baker”.
Serbin’s version is the most satisfying, not only because she is such a wonderful singer, but also because it ends with a wedding which is where many folk narratives conclude.
Thanks for help with this week’s blog to: Paul Glasser, David Braun, Arun Viswanath, Philip Schwartz, Michael Alpert, Sergio Lerer and YIVO Sound Archives.
RUTH SERBIN: Transliteration and Translation
Oy, vi vel ikh nemen mayne kinderlekh oyf broyt, Senderl mayn man? Vi vel ikh nemen mayne kinderlekh oyf broyt, Senderl mayn man?
Baym purits mayn tayer vaybele, Baym purits mayn tayer taybele, Baym purits, mayn tayere kroyn. Di blabst do shoyn aleyn.
Where will I get bread for my children, Senderl my husband? Where will I get bread for my children Senderl my husband?
From the lord of the estate, my dear wife. From the lord of the estate, my dear dove. From the lord of the estate, my dear love [crown] You will remain here all alone.
Bam purits iz du hintelekh, Senderl mayn man? Bam purits iz du hintelkeh, Senderl mayn man?
Mit a shtekele, mayn tayer vaybele, Mit a shtekele, mayn tayer taybele, Mit a shtekele, mayn tayere kroyn. Di blabst do shoyn aleyn.
On the lord’s estate there are dogs, Senderl my husband. On the Lord’s estate there are dogs Senderl my husband.
With a stick, my dear wife. with a stick, my dear dove. with a stick, my dear love [crown] You will remain here all alone.
Mit veymen vel ikh firn mayne kinderlekh tsi der khipe, Senderl mayn man? Mit veymen vel ikh firn mayne kinderlekh tsi der khipe Senderl mayn man?
Aleyn, mayn tayer vaybele Aleyn, mayn tayer taybele Aleyn mayn tayere kroyn. Di blabst do shoyn aleyn.
With whom shall I lead my children to the marriage canopy, Senderl my husband? With whom will I lead my children to the marriage canopy Senderl my husband?
Alone, my dear wife. Alone, my dear dove. Alone, my dear love [crown] You will remain here all alone.
Bella Cutler’s version: translation and transliteration.
Vos veln mir geybn di kinder esn, Ayzikl mayn man? Vos veln mir geybn di kinder esn, Ayzikl mayn man?
Broytenyu mayn vaybele Broytenyu mayn taybele Broytenyu mayn kroyn Du veyst dos shoyn aleyn.
Yiddish Song of the Week 
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