;.cTrans. of Amdur mi Pueblo Natale, pp162-169 (by Chava Berg)
;.l1,6,60,66,1,0,10,75,192,4,15,20,25,127,10,0,
;.l2,15,75,192,2,20,25,127,15,0,
;.l3,20,75,192,2,25,127,20,0,
;.l4,25,75,192,2,127,25,0,
.h2, =amp16269  --  (ɀ, ɉɉ -  
l2

AMDUR, MIYN GEBIRN-ShtEtL ) 

Translation (Chava Berg) Amdur, Mi Pueblo Natale, pp162-169
  (ɀ, ɉɉ -   AMDUR, MIYN GEBIRN-ShtEtL ) 
    Amdur, Mein Gebirn-Shtetl ]

PREVIOUS SECTION TRANSLATED TO DATE 3 MAY 96: pp152-54
INTERVENING:
PP 154-157:  Amdurer Doctors (no photos)
pp 157-162: Amdurer Pharmacists  (no photos)

EDITORIAL NOTES:
l3
(N.B: sa to CB:  I have noted any questions I have onthe translation, and have no doubt raised many ratherignorant questions about passages that are quitecorrect; please excuse same.}
When I can't read something in your translation, Iusually flag it with ?question marks?
L2

{N.B.:  Where I put Yiddish words in quotes, the quotes arefrom the text; ie, the author flagged these words ascolloquialisms of the period he writes about.}

l1
l2
---------------------------------------------------------
AMDUR'S INN-KEEPERS [ WIYNShENQERs ]
l3
{GLOSSARY: WIYNhSENQER [wein-shenker , lit; winegiver(?).  Harduf gives the translation of Innkeeper asQREtShMER [kretshmer ] , and of vinter as WIYNeHENDLER }
l1

Amdur's Jews did not used to get drunk on wine.  A quart [Yid:QWARtIRL ]
l3
{Harduf's dictoniary translates quart as QWART ; so Isuppose kvartirl is just a dimunitive of quart; but Idon't know if it means here: precisely a quart } 
l1
of raisin wine for Kiddish and Havdalah, Friday night and Shabbosnight {n162-1} is enough to fulfill the obligation of "rememberwith wine".  What are we, `PIANTzEs' {Yid: Piantzes ziegen mir,wos?  } {n162-2}
l2
[GLOSSARY: "piantzes" -- Probably fr. Sp. peons, peasants. 
Presumably slang contemporary to the author in Buenos Aires.]
l1
You make Kiddush and havadalah and {Yid: YOTzA } finished.  Winewas not drunk for drinking's sake,  ChaLILeH [ Halileh ][heavensforfend] {n162-3}
You drink the beverage because the Torah commands us to make 
l2
{end text p162} {start text p163}
l1

kiddush.  Wine made from grapes was unknown in Amdur.  To drinkwine with your meal, it was said, that {Yid: PRITzIM } the gentile
nobility does.  Those Amdur Jews who used to travel throughBessarbia	
l3
{Glossary:  Bessarbia.  One of the two southernmostprovinces of the Pale [of Russia, 1830-1914), borderingon Romania and on the Black Sea; about 600-1000 km.south of Grodno. (N.b.: Pop. of Grodno currently listed(Webester's Dict. ) as 195,000).
l1

would tell of wonders and miracles: that the Besarabian Jews woulddrink wine from a dipper!  {Yid: QENDL}
l2
[A vessel used to draw the wine directly from the barrel -?Trit? or maybe from a ?muh?-- Tr.]
l1
During the last years before my leaving Amdur, wine was alreadybrought in from Bessarabia, not the best kind, of course, butAmdur's Jews would say that it could not compete with raisin wine... {eo} -- somehow "unpleasant" {Yid: "PRIQRE"}

they would remark(?) whle drinking and cluck {Yid: "tSMAQEN" , Cf.Eng. "smack"} with their tongue.  A new drink {Yid: MShQeH} ! Amdur's working {Yid: ARemeR, poorer?} class would use forhavdalah a kind of drink called "ShLIAKTzITz" -- a byproduct ofAmdurer beer. {n163-1} 

It was agreed 
l2
{Yid: Men HAt GePosQeNt -- Man hat GePosken'd -- to 'Posken'is to given an halachic opinion; in this context, that is ahumorous turn of thought & phrase}
l1
upon that it was "the drink of the country" {Yid: ChMR MeDINaH }{n163-2} and {Yid: A GaNGaBARER WIYN -- apparently not translated}one has fulfilled the obligation.   
This [drink] cost a groschen a quart {Yid: QWARtIRL} .  But tocall it the "beverage of the country" was an exaggeration {Yid:AIN DAR NIt SIYN(?) ... {eo}

On Pesach, for the four cups, people would mostly?? use mead {Yid:MED }-- honey wine.  Its colour was yellow, and when it was ofgood quality it would be sweet and pleasant.  Aye, but you aresupposed to have "wine that became reddish" -- well, in terms ofhardship it is still acceptable.  (When wasn't there a "time forhardshyip" for a Lithuanian Jew?) {n163-3}
And for such "wine-quaffers"  {Yid: "Wei*N-ShIKURIMK" ; 
l3
{GLOSSARY: Yid: "Wei*N-ShIKURIMK"lit. wine-drunkards; 
{n163-4}
l1
Amdur had three innkeepers.  A few words about them here:

	TZaLAL the INNKEEPER {Yid:  DER VVIYNShENQER }

was not  not a Jew learned in Torah {Yid: BeN-TORaH} , and yet hedeserved the title "Reb"  {Yid: RV Resh-Bet (no dagesh).; sopossibly better, Rav }
l3
{This Yiddish is Resh-Bet . I am not clear whether thisis to be rendered Reb, Rav, or both; both are supportedby transliteration.  Nor am I clear of the distinctionbetween the two in turn-of-the-century eastern EuropeanYiddish.  Harduf translates RB Resh-Bet(dagesh) as Reb,defined as "Jewish title" and Rv Resh-Bet (no dagesh) asrabbi.  I have so far neglected to notice whether Efronuses Resh-Bet(dagesh); although if not, that might havebeen a typographic limitation.}
l1

clearly.  A true tzadik.  An open hand for everyone.  All poorpeople, widows, orphans, cripples, blind people and ShNARERS[shnorers], charity-collectors in general -- all came to R' Tzaleland his wife {Yid: PRUI} ChaNaH-ShIYNE .  His home was very large. There also a large inn was.  
l3
{Ie, There was also a large inn was also there??}
What precisely is the Yiddish of which 'inn' is thetranslation; and how should it be translated.
{n163-5}
l1
 He also had a "LYADAVVNYE" [lyadavne -- the word sounds veryRussian ] -- If someone needed ice in the summer for a person sickwith typhus or "VVAsPALIENIE MAZGO" [TR: "volspalyne mosgo" --Again, the term sounds Russian] he would run to
l2
{end ms. p2} {end text p163}
#p
{start text p164} {start ms. 03}
l1

Tzalel.  In the winter a sour  pickle [ Yid: AOGERQE ]  for youngwomen -- at Tzalel's.  Such a delicacy(?)  would cost a kopeck andolder women would mumble that it was a "LAsNstOVAi",  
l2
{Glossary:  "LAsNstOVAo" .  Don't know.  Maybe lesens-tov-o,a play on mazel-tov; a delicacy you should only read about.}

l1
 -- FEh!  TRIeFeH [traif] talk ... {eo.  
l2
{Glossary:  FEh!  -- Yid., expression of disgust, likespitting.
Glossary:  TRIeFeH [traif, treyf] ; lit. not kosher; hence,improper.]
l1

By him the wine for kiddish, havdalah, and the four cups would beproduced.  Tzalel's raisin wine was renown throughout Amdur.  

	The house {Yid: ShtOV } in which Tzalel was living belongedto LIYZER [Leyzer, Lazer ] BREGMAN , an Amdur GVIR   
l3
{Glossary: GVIR,  ?From gibor , "big man"?}
l1
who lived in GRAoDNE [Grodne, Grodno].  He renovated the Amdurbathhouse, which was considered at that time as a modern one,becuase it functioned and was heated by a "PAoRAoVVKE" ["porowke"]
l2
[Glossary:  "PAoRAoVVKE" ["porowke"].  Sounds Russian. Probably some sort of sauna-oven.  One could make such ofstones, iron, or tin. -- sa]
l1

  He also renovated, L-HaVDIL , the Beis Medresh.  
l3
{Glossary: BaYT*-HaMeDReSh , [Bet (Ha-)Midrash, BeisMedresh; House of Study, House of Learning.}.  
{n164-1}

{Glossary:  L'HAVDIL:  A pro-forma pious expression usedto mark the distinction in an association or (usually)analogy of sacred and profane matters. {n164-2} 

l1
which bore his name -- Bregman's Beis Medresh.  After the greatfire {Yid: ShRIFeH} , Tzalel's house became the central pont,about the only one in the center of town that had not burnt down. There the old Rav R' AVRaHaM-EZRA,  of blessed memory, 
l3
{Glossary:  'Of blessed memory':  Zichron l'bracha.  Aconventional expression, usually abbreviated zayin--2apostrophes--Lamed; hence similarly in English, with zand l; predicated of those who have passed on; oftentranslated 'his/her memory for a blessing'}
l1

moved in, and there he passed away.

	I remember that when the great Beis Medresh was being built - after the fire -- and one {they} endeavoured to use thefoundation stone of the old one in the new building, Tzalel stoodwith a pick in his hands and toiled with some other Jews to pullout the old foundation stone, and he sweated heavily -- he wasthen already an old man.  The [holy] books say that sweating {Yid:ShITzEN } for {end ms. p3} {start ms. p4}

a holy purpose is a great remedy {Yid: SeGULaH}  for gainingforgivness {Yid: KaPeret} [for your sins] [ TR: KaPeReT  averot ].
	Reb Tzale passed away Friday night on a wintry day.  He wasburied first-thing  {Yid: ERSt,  TR: only } at-night-after-Shabbat. {Yid: ShaBaT-TzU-NAKts }

l3
{Halacha requires immediate burial; but, as far as know,it cannot occur on Shabbat.  I think the implicationhere is that he was buried at the soonest time permittedby halacha; but that this could only be at theconclusion of Shabbat. -sa}
l1                                      
The entire town {shtetl} was in mourning.  When MOSHE LIYMES, theGaBAI of the Yeshiva, came to kabbalas Shabbos 

l2
{Glossary:   GaBAI, gabai, gabe.  Beaddle, sexton.  The guywho does at the work at the synagogue.  Opposite: Cf.'rabbi'.}

{Glossary:  Kabbalat Shabbat: Psalms preceeding the Fridayevening service; said between sunset and the appearance ofthe first 3 stars, as far as I know --- sa}
l1
he called out with a sight:  O! {Yid: Aleph (underlined)} -- aruined Shabbos for the town {Yid: ShtAt.}  

	His son, ShLoMeH-AItShE AIZRAELsQII [Shlomo-Itshe Israelski],remained?? the heir.  He walked in his father's {Yid: tAteNes}ways:  a great philanthropist {Yid: B'EL-TzaDaQaH [Ba'al Tzadaka],modest, religious {Yid: FRUM} {end text p164}
#p
{start text p165}

hired a Rabbi to learn Talmud, and a center {Yid: MItGLID}  of allthe benevelovent societies {Yid: ChevReHs, chevres}.  But atragedy {Yid: AIMGLIQ, unluck}  -- he was chldless.  He wife RIYZLjust does not conceive ... {eo} {Yid: HaKLaLa, not translated} 
l3
{GLOSSARY: HaKLaLa, not translated:  Expression: }
l1
a remedy {Yid: seGULaH} is found:  on Simchas Torah go with allthe young boys .... to all BaTI-MiDRaShIM 
l3
{I would guess that this refers to a custom, on ShimchatTorah, that the young boys -- I'm not sure if that wouldbe before bar mitzva, after, or both -- would go aroundto all the synagogues, to attend the celebrations withthe Torah scrolls.  -sa }
l1
 "tried and true" {Yid: "BRU&Q V-MNUseH"} ... but the one incharge of making the barren fertile has locked HIMself in anddoesn't give the key for children ... In the end, after living forten years with the first wife, he divorced, split the possessionsbetween them both, and remarried a second wife.

	His new better self {Yid: ZIVUG} was {Yid: GEVVEN, nottranslated} sAoNYE [Sonya] YASHE ANSHIL's daugter .  Yashe Anshelwas an important BALEBAos [balebos] 
l3
{Glossary:  BALEBAos [balebos] :  Not yet translated --person of means? }
l1

-- a person of means.  HE had half a dozen girls -- besides boys - one more beautiful than the other; {end ms. p 4} {start ms. p5} 

he kept a ... {ellipsis tr} kind of count .... {ellipsis tr}
l2
{I think these ellipses indicate phrases the translator couldnot translate, but I'm not sure. }
l1
        and therefore he was also called "YAShE sVaKADAL-INER " 
l2
{Glossary:  sVaKADAL-INER, svakadalner, translation: don'tknow. }
l1

SONYA, a pretty girl {Yid: a ShIYN MIYDL} , knew the art of havinghalf a dozen boys and  girls with Shlomo-Aishe, without thespiritual remedy {Yid: segul} of "KoL HaNERIM". 
l3
{Glossary: "KoL HaNERIM".  Translation: don't know.}
l1

Today [presumably 1952 -- sa ] the family can be found inMontevideo and in Israel. {n165-1}        

	Tzalel had a brother, MoSheH-DaVID  was his name, and he wascalled Moshe David Tzalel's.   A pious old bachelor, hired toteach Gemorah to my older brother ShevaCh of blessed memory --alearned Jew {Yid: a YID a LaMDeN} -- 
l3
[not translated:  to learn with him GaMRA {probably: indeed a blessing to learn with him??}
l1

and didn't want to get married.  LAZER the RaV's [son]  used tosay, Moshiach will have come and Moshe David will still be abachelor ... {eo}
 
Also NAFTALI THE WINE-POURER [Yid: WIYNShENQER, wine-shenker ] wasa {Yid:  GEVVEN, a TIYERER, PRIMER} precious, devout Jew.  In hisyoung years he was a wealthy {Yid: RIYKer, r} BALEBOS 
l2
[Explain the word in the Glossary; no exact Englishtranslation exists, to my knowlege -- TR ]
l1
in old age, a pauper {Yid: YOReD} .  His house was next to AVRaHaMShLoMeH TZINEses .  
l2
{Apparently sentence not translated:  Zei*n prui hat gehiysenBriyne. }
l1
Kept an inn [ a bar ] {Yid: ShENQ. Harduf: Saloon, Tavern; Harduftranslaters Shenker:  Saloon-keeper.} 

Every day the Jewish {Yid: AQTZIZNIK, Tr. akzismik, aktziznik}
l2
{Glossary: {Yid: AQTZIZNIK, Tr. akzismik, aktziz-nik} -translation not given: German root aktziz, with a Russiansuffix ?  From context, apparently a minor Jewish official, asort of inspector, appointed by the Russians.  Text does nothave the term in quotes.}
l1

would make trouble {Yid: "MaKeN AN AQt"} --  to sell liquorwithout a permit -- and each time BRIYNE would faint.
Naftali the wind-pourer became very fanatical in is old age.  Hewould strongly forbid the BoChURIM [see Glossary] 
l3
{Glossary: BoChURIM, bocherim: lit., boys (?), ie,Yeshiva boys.}
l2
{end text p165}
#p
{start text p166}
l1
to play {end ms. p5} {start ms. p6} cards of "31" in the women'ssection of Bregman's Beis Medresh 
And a little story (Yid: ANEQDAot, annecdote} about this wentaround { the shul?  -- Cf. text} as following:  On the eve of RoshHaShana Bocherim started a game of cards in the women's section. NAFTALI caught them red handed.  Several bokerim got away fromhim.  One, who just had 3 "kings" stuffed them in the shofar thatwas kept on the side by the shames for the blowing the next day.  
l2
{Is there something here that has not been translated?  WasNaftali the shofar-blower?}
l1
In the morning?? for the Tekios 
l3
{GLOSSARY: Tekia; part of the Musfaf Shofar service onRosh HaShana -sa} 
l2
{Is there something here that has not been translated?}

l1
hardly a sound came out of it.  As the congregation says withenthusiasm "May it be HIS will" 
l3
{If memory serves, that is at the conclusion of prayersfor a good year   -sa}
l1

AHaRoN KaDISh the MaLMuD -- the shofar-blower {Yid: AIYVQER B'ELTOQE??} in Bregman's Beis Medreash -- 

turns over and gently knocks the shofar against his lectern(?}{shtender?} to improve the sound {n166-1}
l2
{Is this passage in the text?}
l1
and -- three "kings" fall out.  MAtE RAShE's calls out with tears?{Yid: tRERN}  "On the rest?? of kings of who came out of theShofar" ... {eo} he had it right there ??"tried and true"?? {Yid:GetRAoFeN: BDIQ V-MNOsaH}  
l2
[The joke here is that one of the principal themes of theJewish New Year is the proclamdtion of G-d as King {Malkut}and "kings" (albeit of the underside of holiness), came outof the Shofar, itself one of central symbols {Malkut,Zichronot, Shofarot} of the New Year -- TR]
l3
{ I guess the word-play here is on the phrase "KING ofkings" -- sa}
l1

	Here should be noted?? R' MAIR-ZVI YELIN , [[of]] whom Iwrote about in the second chapter, because he was NAFTALI's sonin-law; he was married to Naftali's daughter RAShQE-RIYZL ; really{Uod" B-AMeT*, b-emes} a nice son-in-law he was. {end ms. p6}
{start ms. p7}

AItShE TzIRL's 
l2
{N.B.:  I have followed the text in putting the personal namefirst, and the possessive-form family name -- not aninherited family name, but the name of a parent, oroccasionally relative or spouse -- second;  though that's abit awkward in English grammar. -sa}
l1

 -- A Torah Jew {Yid: BeN-ToRaH}, had a big house with a pub {Yid:ShENQ}.   The village goyim would celbrate their " KAs-LIKes" 
l2
{Glossary:  " KAs-LIKes" (kos-liKes , or koslikes -- thehyphen falls at the end of the line, so I don't know if thisa Yiddsh 2-word phrase, or a 1-word Russian term formarriage; probably the latter, kosliks (plural).  Nearlycognate with "kulaks", Russian peasants.} 
l1
  
(weddings) there.  The dancing  could be heard in the wholestreet.  Every thump with the feet would make a hole in the floor. And after a good drink there would be fist fights to the blood{Yid: BIN BLUt}   In Amdur one would say in such cases:  "NsKIM" [wine??? -- offering? go together with sacrifices {Yid:korbanot}... {eo}
l2
{A rather sardonic joke, which I don't entirely get.}
l3

{Glossary:  Korbanot.  The Biblical term for the animalsacrifices of the Temple eras.} 
l1

AItShe TzIReL's would also make wine and was a great expert atmaking honey-wine.  His Pesach honey wine was famous:  
l2
{end text p166}
#p
{start text p167}
l1
"Honey-wine [mead] should be bought at Tziel's Ishe" .  Also thegoyim would celebrate with his drink.  

	And a typical incident happened with is Pesach wine that'sworth mentioning.  I mentioned how Amdur's elder's would talkabout it and of how REB AVRAHAM-EZRA z''l would take care of it,and they hinted(?) mysteriously:  Well, the old Tzadik ... {eo} heknew everything. 

	A day or two before Erev Peseach   
l3
{Glossary:  Erve Pesach:   Erev (Heb.) evening; hence,by extention, the day (in the Jewish system, in which aday is measured from sunset to sunset) preceedingShabbat or a holiday.  
	(`Motzi' is the term for the evening immediatelysucceeding; in strict observance, it has a semi-sacredcharacter) --sa}
l1
someone let the Pale?? uthorities {Yid: AQTzIZoNIK} 
l2
{Glossary: AQTzIZoNIK; apparently aktzi-zon-ik.  I wonder ifthe root 'zona' has been put into this term; a Jew working asa minor inspector for the Russian authorities. -sa}
l1
know that in Tziel's Ishe's cellar sat a batch of brandy {Yid:BRAoNFoN, Bronfon; {n167-1}
-- a thing that was not allowed.  The dervation(?) [distillation?]was made with the purpose of making the wine in the barrels unfitfor use because the goyische inspectors touched them.  
l3
{Cf. Kitzer Shulchan Aruch (Goldin tr.) 47:1, ."Jewishwine that has been touched by a non-Jew" [is forbiddenfor drinking by a Jew]; 47:11 "Brandy made out of kosherwine, is no longer rendered unfit for use by the touchof a non-Jew."  
	The preceeding passage may be saying that the winemaker added a bit of kosher brandy to his wine, with theintention that then the mixture would count as brandyand so would not be rendered unkosher if touched by anon-Jew; yet could still count as wine for purposes ofmaking kiddush.  I'm not clear on that.  -- sa}
l1

Brandy they did not find, but the wine was spoiled(??) whichspelled ruin for the poor innkeepers.  Ische's livelihood?? forseveral months depended on this
{end ms. p7} {start ms. p8}

Pesach wine.  The town went topsy-turvy.  

	People ran to the Rav.  The "ALtER" made his way immediatelyto Tziel's Ische, checked the basement and found the barrelsclosed with a sealed spout.   The Tzadik right away asked aqauestion.  R' {TR: Reb}  Ishe, you {Yid: AIR; formal 2nd-person} saw with your own eyes how the "ERL" [Glossary]
l3
{Glossary: "ERL" {TR: orel }  I don't know.  The local(gentile) Inspector?.  Possibly an ironic play on theEnglish term, earl?} 
l1
touched the kegs?"  "Yes Rabbi {Yid: RaBINQE} , I cannot deny it. The insepctor {Yid: M-taMA} made the same TAMEH
l2
[GLOSSARY: M-taMA, to make TAMEH, ritually impure, applied inthis case to rendering wine unkosher. ]
l1
with his paws {Yid: LAFEs} "...{eo}  
	And R' Avraham Ezra exclaimed sarcastically, "A goyish head{Yid: goyische kopf} 
l3
{That is:  the Rabbi dismisses as goyish thinking, thewine-maker's assumption that the wine was renderedunkosher because, in his presence, the gentile Inspectortouched the sealed kegs.  Since the kegs were sealed,and since R. Ishe, whom the Rav has, with his respectfulform of address, demonstrably assumed to be a truthfulman, witnessed that the Inspector did not break theseal, the Rav concludes that the Inspector did not touchthe wine itself, and hence did not render it unkosher. -- sa}
l1

-- sealed kegs and Reb Ische present ...   -- Kosher, kosher,kosher, Reb Ische.  This year I will buy some for the four cups[Glossary] 
l3
{Glossary: Four cups:  The four cups of wine which eachperson  must drink at the Pesach Seder.  During Pesachrequirements of kashrut are observed, at least nowadaysin Israel, with particular stringency.  -- sa}
l1                                                    
only by you, to dispel any suspicion about the wine among poeple.
{n167-2}
The exaggerators {Yid: B'ELI-GVVMA} would add that that yearTziel's Ische "put aside a nice sum {Yid: BIYNDeL} " from the fourcups ... {eo.  But Ische {end text p167}
#p
{start text p168}

was not a wealthy {Yid: GVIR} man.  
	Onee think I know for sure.  Every Tuesday night after thehard exhausting work of pouring and serving the 'bitter drop' tohundreds of drunkards, all the while worrying that the authoritiesshouldn't catch him {Yid: "ARAFKAFN", tired and exhausted he wouldcome to the Beit Medrash to learn Gemorah with my father, "CHIYKLLDER GROIseR [TR: Cheikel the tall one], and MAtIE RAShE's. 
(end ms. p8} {start ms. p9}

	And I say it with pride, they learned then the chapter {Yid:PeReQ, perek} "YSh NIChLIN"  
l2
[Tr. will look for the reference to this Peruk.  The Talmud{Gemora} is divided into 6 orders, which are divided intoTractates, which are divided into Chapters (Perukim). ]

l1
in the tractate of BABA BATHRA 
l2
{Glossary: Baba Bathra ("Last Gate") : Tractate in the OrderNeziquin (Torts).}
l1
, and the Gemorah on the Mishna "the daughers of Zelopchad tookthree parts of the inheritance" 
l3
{The quote is presumably from the Mishna commentary onthe parasha.  The parsha is Numbers: (Pinchas): 27:1-11, which establishes the principles of inheritance (ofportions in the land of Israel) in the case where a manhas no sons.  -- sa}
l1
  Truly {Yid: B-AMeT*, b-emes} a difficult piece {Yid: ShtIQL,shtikl} of gemorah, especally for weary Jews.  I learned then theabove mentioned MaseKtA MESECHTA
l2
[Glossary:  MaseKtA [Mesechta]: :  Tractate of the Talmud.  -TR]
l1
and was asked for "intervention" {Yid., neologism: AINtERVVENTz} . I translated  he big RaShBA''M [Commentary] which I knew well. MAtIE RAShE's exclaimed, "A prodigious head!" 
l2
[Yid: A PIGIQER QEPeL [a piker kepel] TR: "brat kid" incontemporary English].  
l1

	How much heroism those Jews displayed:  exhausted fromconstantly having to use all their wits to eak out a living {Yid:PaRNasaH, parnasa} , they came at night together to worry aboutthe daugshters of Zelopchad getting their part in the {Yid:ChaLOQoT?? HaAReTz} inheritance in the land of Israel.  EverythingTZIEL's ISCHE had take care of, the only thing he hadn't done yetwas reassure?? {Yid: BAoRUIQO?}  the daughters of Zelopchad ...
l2
{Rather a poignant remark, illustrating how, for religiousJews, as R. Solevetchik points out in Halachic man, study ofthe Torah/Talmud is not an academic exercise, but a livingengagement with the world. -sa}
l1

	Tziel's Ische, peace on him, 
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{Glossary:  'Peace on him':  Yid: abbrev: E''H ; olavhaShalom [dwell in peace; hence, 'rest in peace'], aconventional expression said of the dead.  I think it isless often used than z''l; I don't know if any criteriagovern that.}
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came to Argentina together with his family.  HIs daugher BIYLQE{Bielke] , the dedicated and ardent {Yid: ENUQt-DIQE}  worker forKaren Kayemet
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{Glossary:  Karen Kayemet [L'Israel]:  Jewish NationalFund; laid much of the foundation for the State ofIsrael, and has continued funding settlements and socialwelfare.  -- sa}
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rosied??? {Yid: ChatONaH; referring to voluntary work?} theprecious {Yid: TIYEReN} and important Jewish Zionist activist of 
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{I think there is a reference here to him as a Jewish "cooperativist"  not translated}
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long standing YiTzChaQ  QAPLAN.  May G-d 
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{The term is not hyphenated in the text; that reflectsacceptable orthodox practice; hyphenation is, I think,  acontemporary orthodox practice. --sa}]
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give them long and good years.
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[TRANSLATOR COMMENTS: 	It might be noted that a certainZionist  {end ms. p9} {start ms. p10} affection was alreadystrongly present in Tziel's Ische back in Lithuania andinteresting is the fact that this daughter was interested inreclaiming the land of Israel, decades after her father gavehis best mental energy to, as the author put it, worryingabout the daughters of Zelopchad's claim to the land ofIsrael.  -- TR]
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Tziel's Ische was hit by a car [text: accident] [after emigrating,in 1895, to Argentina] and died on the spot.  May my words serveas a nomument for this precious Amdur Jew who became a sacrificeon the altar of Jewish colonization in Argentina.  Here shall alsobe mentioned {end text p168}
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#p
{start text p169}
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his wife ETQE [Etke], or as she was called in Amdur, ETKETZIReL's.  A precious [Yid: tIYERE}  and kosher {Yid: KaSheRE} Jewish wife and mother {Yid: MAME, mame}.  Accompanied her husbandthrough their hard Jewish life, in joy and sorrow {Yid: AINFRie*DeN AON AIN Lei*DeN} .  In the year 1895, when she emigratedwith her family together with my own, to Argentina, she kissed thestones of the Beis Medrash and visited the graves of her closerelatives.  She cried out with bitter tears:  Whom do I leave youto, Father, Mother {Yid: tAtE-MAME}!' ..." {eo}.  It brings tomind the words of R' Yehuda HaLevi in his elegy {Yid: KINaH} ,"Zion, crown of the the deer":  "My heart longs to embrace thedust(?) of your land and my mouth desires to kiss your stones."  
[The preceeding Hebrew quotation is apparently followed by aYiddish translation; not here translated.]

	Etke passed away several years after her husband.   She wasthe one here in Buenos Aires won the record with the blue PUSHKES
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{Glossary:  PUSHKE -- Collection cans for spare change,distributed for Keren Kayemet Yisrael, the JewishNational Fund, to plant trees etc. in the land ofIsrael.  Distributing them became a predominantgrassroots Zionist activity in the USA, and apparentlyin South America.    -- sa }
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{end ms. p10} {start ms. p11}
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of the [Jewish] National Fund.  Before candle lighting {Yid: LIKtBENtSheN} 
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{Glossary:  Candle lighting:  The candle-lighting whichcommences Shabbat.  By halacha, one is not permitted touse nor carry money on Shabbat, and ought not even lookat it; a passage in the Siddur implies that one ought tobe sure just before Shabbat that one's pockets areempty.  Further, it is strongly recommended to givetzadaka  prior to and in anticipation of Shabbat; themore so since one cannot give tzdaka on Shabbat. Anothertradition is that one must be sure, immediately beforeShabbat, that one is not carrying anything in one'spockets that ought not be carried on Shabbat; (eg sparechange). -- sa}
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she would throw her coins into her pushkeh and after that shewould sanctify the Shabbat with the words of her blessing:  WHOhas sanctified us with HIS commandments nad commanded us to lightthe lights of Shabbat."   
	Her daugher and her son-in-law are her loyal deputies.
[END TRANSLATION; END SECTION.]                            
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NOTES:
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{n162-1}
[N.B.:  It's interesting that the author added the phrase'Friday night and Saturday night'; that suggests, if one canassume that he intended this book only for the Jewishcommunity in his area, that by the 1950s religious practicewas no longer the norm ]
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{n162-2}
{N.B.:  One sees here how the author, whom at first I'dthought, on the basis of rough translations, wrote in aflowery, stuffy style, writes, at least in some places,with a refreshingly direct Yiddish style, informal tothe point of humour.  It's my guess that this bookwould, as Chaya Berg has tried to point out to me, repaytranslation by someone who enjoys Yiddish and isunsaddled by a longing to impress our American cousins.
	Having dabbled in poetry, I see no need to flatterthe indolence of assimilationists; unleash the originallanguage, and let the haut-bourgeoisis chop weeds for afew minutes a day. }
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{n162-3}
{ I will keep Halileh, and z''l, as untranslatedexpressions.  (The latter is the conventional respectfulexpression for anyone deceased; it stands for zichoronl'bracha, memory for a blessing ).
Halileh, as far as I know, is short for "Chet v'halilileh, "  - It may be a euphemistic derivative of'chet v' shalaom ', lit. "a sin and peace", ie, a sinagainst peace (often over-translated by newly-observantAnglos as [Heaven] forbid. 
{N.B.:  Among strictly observant, such expressions areused rather freely, a bit like pro-forma superstition tomy mind; almost as in the USA they use salt andexpletives.  -- sa}

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{n163-1}
{(As I recall, brewing was one of the industries of thethat region.)
I'm not sure what this "byproduct" could be  --  Butreally, the Yiddish is vivid enough to figure it out: shliakTzitz -- this will be what's left after you'vesyphoned off the fermented beer for bottling -- the"shlock" of yeast and I suppose hops, etc. that havesettled to the bottom of the vat, with liquid, in whichtoo much yeast was suspended to make good-quality beerfor syphoning:  so it will still be fizzing with CO2,that's the "Tzitiz".  It's something you either throw onthe compost heap, as far from the house as possible, orgive to the poor.  Or drink when no-one's looking.  -sa
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Perhaps I recall this because Gretchen Grossner,z''l, once gave me a fine large earthware crock formaking beer.  I eventually gave it to the HaveratShalom, in Somerville, for making wine.  She was afine person, in as fine an upper-West-SideManhattan Jewish family as one will find.  She wasChair of the Columbia U. Student Peace Union when Iarrived, in 1963; and it was from her example ofdedicated, ethical, but realistic public servicethat I undertook to try to make some similarcontribution to the political/ethical problesm ofour time.  (Steve Amdur, Kibbutz Haon, 1996).
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{n163-2}
[TR: "the drink of the country": a halachic definition forthe type {end ms. p1} {start ms. p2}  of drink that may beused for the havdalah ceremony; it must be a drink that iscomonly drunk at formal occasions in the state of residenceof the Jew who wants to use it:  TR]
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{Kitzer Shulchan Aruch 96:3 (Tr. Goldin): "When winecannot be procured, the havdalah may be recited over anyother beverage, such as beer, mead, or any beveragewhich is a national drink, except water."}
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{n163-3}
{ I suppose that grape-wine was not used because in theclimate of Poland, it was difficult to grow grapes. Though we do grow concord grapes in New England; indeed,in the time of the Vikings, ca. 1000 C.E.,  it wwouldseem to be New England that was  known as Vineland theGood; which must refer to grape-vines. -sa}
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{n163-4}
Cf. "the palm-wine drunkward" (title of an African collectionof short-stories) and "winos" (USA slang; but in that usagemeaning indeed, not a tippler but an alcoholic habituated tocheap wine.}

{n163-5}
(The point is more than picky; since it will indicate whetherwhat he ran was a lodging-house (guest-rooms, food, anddrink) ;  a place where one could get food and drink as wellas lodging;  or whether he was simply a wine-maker who solddrink of wine on the side.   
	From context below it appears that the term refers to awine-maker who sold wine to the Jews for kiddish, and soldliquor (I'm not clear if beer, hard liquor, wine, or all} togentiles as a saloon.  Presumably Jews did not go to saloons,but I'm not sure.}

{n164-1}
Ashkenazim pronounce Tav (without dagesh) as s; I can onlyrepresent it as T* , since I use t for tet and T for thestandard Israeli-Hebrew pronounciation of Tav as t ]

{n164-2}
Although a bathhouse would not, I think , be consideredprofane, one is forbidden by halacha to discuss torah in abathhouse; as it is not proper to do so undressed.  -sa}
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{n165-1}
{GENEOLOGY SUMMARY:  Tzalel (the Innkeeper) + ChanaShaine; Their sons:  Moshe David (did not marry) andShlomo-Itsche Israelski:  his first wife, Raysel (nochilden, divorced after 10 years, equal division ofproperty); his second wife,  Sonya, daugher of YascheAnshel; they had six chldren (boys & girls); descendentsnow [1952] live in Montivideo and Israel.  -- summaryfrom text, sa}
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{n166-1}
{One can do that; I guess it sets up prior low-pitchvibrations in the shofar  -- sa}
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{n167-1}
but Harduf:  whisky, liquor -- Harduf translates brandy ascognac. However, it seems that hard liquor would have to havebeen distilled from the mead (honey-wine) or from raisinwine; since grape-wine was not made there; and sincefermented grain products would not have been kosher forPesach.  Nor is there an indication that vodka (made frompotatoes) was made.  As for fruit-brandies, I don't have theimpression that the countryside and climate supported manyfruit-trees.  --sa}
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{n167-2}
{    Note that the Rabbi is here following the principlethat, if a Rabbi rules something is permitted which manyless-learned people would have deemed forbidden, theRabbi should publically do that, to assure the people. Hence, in the ultra-orthodox Mea She'arim neighbborhoodduring the War of Independence, Rabbis dug trenches onShabbat:  although work, especially any sort ofconstruction work, is unequivocallyl prohibitted onShabbat, there is an overriding principle that, as faras I know, any religious law (except, I think, murder,incest and idolatry (with some dispute about idolatry))can be overridden when doing so is necessary to savelife.

	The halachic point is that wine is deemed unkosherif it is touched by a gentile.  Apparently there wassome qualification, such that if a Jew was present andsaw that the gentile did not do anything in proper, thewine may still be kosher, since it is not per se thetouch of a gentile that can render anything unkosher,but rather the possibility that the gentile (presumably,at the time when the laws were codified, a Roman) mighthave consecrated the wine to idolatrous {polytheistic}purpose.  In this case, appaently the inspector touchedthe kegs, but not the wine itself.  
	The ruling is an interesting example of a rabbidoing his utmost to find a halachic exception to asimplistic generalization that in the given case couldprove ruinous to the Jews involved.  
	R. Shlomo Carlebach tells a contemporary story  ofR. Moshe Feinstein staying up all night to find ajustification for permitting the marriage of a pregnantwoman who had been abandonned by the child's father, andwho seemed bent on suicide.  --sa }

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