Yiddish Books

Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)

Michael Wex

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> Yiddish

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A delightful excursion through the Yiddish language, the culture it defines and serves, and the fine art of complaint

Throughout history, Jews around the world have had plenty of reasons to lament. And for a thousand years, they've had the perfect language for it. Rich in color, expressiveness, and complexity, Yiddish has proven incredibly useful and durable. Its wonderful phrases and idioms impeccably reflect the mind-set that has enabled the Jews of Europe to survive a millennium of unrelenting persecution . . . and enables them to kvetch about it!

Michael Wex—professor, scholar, translator, novelist, and performer—takes a serious yet unceasingly fun and funny look at this remarkable kvetch-full tongue that has both shaped and has been shaped by those who speak it. Featuring chapters on curse words, food, sex, and even death, he allows his lively wit and scholarship to roam freely from Sholem Aleichem to Chaucer to Elvis.

Perhaps only a khokhem be-layle (a fool, literally a "sage at night," when there's no one around to see) would care to pass up this endearing and enriching treasure trove of linguistics, sociology, history, and folklore—an intriguing appreciation of a unique and enduring language and an equally fascinating culture.

Drek!: The Real Yiddish Your Bubbe Never Taught You

Yetta Emmes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

contents 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

What a fun book!! Easy to remember words with the translations right next to them. Even some history on the language of Yiddish. Very enjoyable.

entertaining read 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I bought this as a guide for my boyfriend, who is technically Jewish but doesn't really practice, as a fun way to learn something more about the culture he comes from as well as to just have some fun with language. This book was easy to read and digest, the phonetic guide was very helpful, and it was entertaining.

Editorial Review:

One doesn't have to be Jewish to recognize the words that have made their way into every fold of popular language: Chutzpah, Mensch, Tokhes, Mishmash, Nudge, Shtick, Schmaltzy, Schlep, Icky, and so on. Then there are phrases whose meaning and syntax are borrowed from Yiddish: "bite your tongue", "drop dead", "enough already", and "excuse the expression". This hilarious, concise guide includes chapters on the Basic Descriptions of People (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the goofy), the Fine Art of Cursing, Juicy Words and Phrases, Exclamations and Exasperations, and the Fine Art of Blessing.

Just Say Nu: Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won't Do) (P.S.)

Michael Wex

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In his New York Times bestseller, Born to Kvetch, author Michael Wex led readers on a hilariously edifying excursion through Yiddish culture and history. With Just Say Nu, he shows us how to use this remarkable language to spice up conversations, stories, presentations, arguments, and more, when plain English will not suffice (including, of course, lots of delightful historical and cultural side trips along the way).

There is, quite simply, nothing in the world that can't be improved by being translated into Yiddish. With Just Say Nu, readers will learn how to shmooze their way through meeting and greeting, eating and drinking, praising and finding fault, maintaining personal hygiene, parenting, going to the doctor, committing crimes, going to singles bars, having sex, talking politics, talking trash, and a host of other mundane activities. Here also is a healthy schmear of optional grammar and the five most useful Yiddish words—what they mean, and how and when to use them in an entire conversation without anybody suspecting you don't have the vaguest idea about what you're actually saying.

Yiddish with Dick and Jane

Ellis Weiner, Barbara Davilman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

oy vey very funny 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

we thought we were buying this book for our baby so she can experience some yiddish while we read her a 'classic'...but we found ourselves laughing out loud as we began to read.
our 90 year old mother kept reading the book out loud and commenting on the text.
we had so much fun with it we ended up buying another for a gift for our friend.
it's not alot of substance, but it certainly is a fun read.
probably best if not read to the little ones though as it has some pretty tough topics such as grandma falling down and ending up in hospital etc.

Editorial Review:

Jane is in real estate.

Today is Saturday.

Jane has an open house.

She must schlep the Open House signs to the car.

See Jane schlep.

Schlep, Jane. Schlep.

Schlep, schlep, schlep.

In text that captures the unque rhythms of the original Dick and Jane readers, and in 35 all-new illustrations, a story unfolds in which Dick and Jane--hero and heroine of the classic books for children that generations of Americans have used when learning to read--manage to express shades of feeling and nuances of meaning that ordinary English just can't deliver. How? By speaking Yiddish, employing terms that convey an attitude--part plucky self-assertion, part ironic fatalism. When Dick schmoozes, when Jane kvetches, when their children fress noodles at a Chinese restaurant, the clash of cultures produces genuine hilarity.

If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It In Yiddish: Say It In Yiddish

L.B. Epstein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

emes 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Very funny, especially if you have a non-Yiddish speaker read it out loud.
I bought two copies as gifts. If you grew up hearing Yiddish, now you have the translations of what the Bubbe's were saying.

Accurate cover baloons--a little scary regarding "curses" 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I should have considered that the cover indicates "curses". There are plenty of mean-spirited curses, which frankly scared me; these are clearly idiomatic within Yiddish language, but were not what I expected. I should have purchased a Yiddish dictionary or thesaurus for my interest level. The book contains much more, and the curse section (i.e., a hex or spell vs. calling people nasty names when they take your parking spot) is not primary, and there are plenty of OTHER areas of the book which are FUN and INTERESTING. It's a personal choice, obviously, so a potential reader shouldn't disregard the book based on MY superstitious nature alone! I guess I just wanted to understand the terms I've heard TO SWEAR for my own venting agenda.

A very poorly produced book! 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is arguably the most sloppily produced book I ever read:
The number of misspelled Yiddish words is enormous; the most frequenly recurring one is zid in place of zikh, or stub for shtub, cheyli for kheylik (or cheylik), toches-lecher for toches-lecker, etc. The gender of words is often wrong (di for der or vice versa).
The etymology of words is often inaccurate. The most blatant example:
Bobe-mayse is not derived from a story your grandmother told you, and you are free to use the word in her presence. It comes from a 16-th century translation into Yiddish by Elja Levita of the Italian romance "Bovo d'Antona" published under the name of "Bobe-bukh".
I am tempted to send the book back to Amazon for a $ 10 refund, even if I have to pay for return shipmen!

Talk Dirty Yiddish: Beyond Drek: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to know when you speak Yiddish (Talk Dirty)

Ilene Schneider

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Editorial Review:

This is the Yiddish they didn’t teach at Temple. This book gives readers the lowdown on how to really spit the Hebrew alphabet. With plenty of slang, curses, and idiomatic expressions, this book gives readers’ Yiddish vocabulary a real kick in the toches.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether you're getting back to your roots or getting ready for your first seder, it couldn't hurt to get a little help with your Yiddish, and the formidable Rabbi Benjamin Blech is here to lend a hand with the self-deprecatingly named Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish. This language has been a strong influence on American English and pop culture, so even if you're a hundred miles from the nearest synagogue you can learn plenty just from browsing the Rabbi's words of wisdom. It's not just vocabulary lists and pronunciation guides, either--that would be far too boring for such a vibrant language. You'll learn why a culture that typically uses two languages (Hebrew and whatever's local) needed to develop a third, and why it stuck. There's also lots of Jewish history and contemporary Yiddish American crossovers to put the language in its context--and, given the importance of humor in Jewish culture, there's a liberal helping of jokes and funny moments to help you grasp words and concepts. Chapters on holidays, travel, food, family, health, entertainment, and more round out your Yiddish experience. If you want to gossip with your local yenta, understand Lenny Bruce routines, or get to know one of our nation's founding cultures a little bit better, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish will make you a maven. --Rob Lightner

The New Joys of Yiddish: Completely Updated

Leo Rosten

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Get an older edition, without the irrelevant and/or PC footnotes 3 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. I simply wish to recommend buying any edition PRIOR to this 2001 revision by Lawrence Bush. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please! I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the humourous "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a problem to be sure, but no more so than in any other ethnicity). Lighten up, Bush! Finally, he inserts commercials for Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal, which are valid expressions of Judaism but are post-1950s American in origin and NOT a part of the old Yiddish culture Rosten celebrates. Stick with Rosten's original text if you can find it.

Editorial Review:

Enjoy the most comprehensive and hilariously entertaining lexicon of the colorful and deeply expressive language of Yiddish. With the recent renaissance of interest in Yiddish, and in keeping with a language that embodies the variety and vibrancy of life itself, The New Joys of Yiddish brings Leo Rosten’s masterful work up to date. Revised for the first time by Lawrence Bush, in close consultation with Rosten’s daughters, it retains the spirit of the original—with its wonderful jokes, tidbits of cultural history, Talmudic and biblical references—and is enhanced by hundreds of new entries and thoughtful commentary on how Yiddish has evolved over the years, as well as clever illustrations by R. O. Blechman.

Did you know that cockamamy, bluffer, maven, and aha! are all Yiddish words? If you did, you’re a gaon, possessing a lot of seykhl.

Yiddish for Dogs: Chutzpah, Feh!, Kibbitz, and More: Every Word Your Canine Needs to Know

Janet Perr

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Is your dog a shmendrick? A putz? Oróoy veyóa goniff?

There is only one way to find out, so nu, dive in to Yiddish for Dogs. This alphabetical handbook of Yiddish words features adorable and hilarious pictures of irresistible pooches. These dogs embody the meaning of well-known words such as kibbitz, tsuris, feh!, shlep, chutzpah, and many more. But thatís not all. Consider yourself warned. Once the Yiddish comes out, these dogs have much to say.

These dogs kvell. They go through the dreck. They recognize a mensch. They appreciate a nosh. And, believe it or not, they know youíre mishuggeh. So the next time your canine friend does a flying leap into your lap, instead of exclaiming, ìWhat a klutz!î, ask yourselfóDoes my dog want to kibbitz?

Written and illustrated by award-winning art director and graphic designer Janet Perr, Yiddish for Dogs will have you howling with laughter.

Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books

Aaron Lansky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Good Book About Good People 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book is the last present I bought my grandfather before he died. I walked into a small bookstore and the owner recommended it to me (you simply cannot get this kind of service from the major book chains). I must have read half the book in a day, before I sent it to him, and got to finish it only after he passed away.

I'm glad I bought this book, he loved it and so did I.

The book tells the story of a graduate student trying to rescue Yiddish books from elimination, and all the characters he meets along the way. The book is easy to read, funny, inspiring, well writing and a page turner. A story of how one man's passion triumph over the odds.

Editorial Review:

In 1980, a twenty-three-year-old student named Aaron Lansky set out to rescue the world’s abandoned Yiddish books before it was too late. Twenty-five years and one and a half million books later, he’s still in the midst of a great adventure. Filled with poignant and often laugh-out-loud tales from Lansky’s travels across the country as he collected books from older Jewish immigrants—books their own children had no use for—Outwitting History also explores brilliant Yiddish writers and enables us to see how an almost-lost culture is the bridge between the Old World and the future.