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THE SOUTHERN I SR ABUT E
5
Friday, October 33, 1953
PANORAMA by David Schwartz
Jewish Swearing
The new judges in Israel, it was
reported in the press recently,
instead of being sworn in, took a
pledge, in deference to the rabbi
nate which frowns on oath taking.
Thousands of years ago, the Es
sences, according to Josephus,
held that if a man couldn’t be be
lieved on his simple affirmation,
it was no use making him take an
oath.
There is another form of swear
ing which has an even more in
teresting Jewish angle. I refer to
the swearing of people against
one another. The proper name for
it of course, is cursing.
Cursing is generally classified
as mean and vicious. Sticks and
stones may break your bones but
names will never hurt you, saps
the old saw. Still there is no ques
tion but that cursing is a vice and
like all vices, it is not the mono
poly of any race or class. Jews
curse as do other people. In fact
it seems to me that cursing is one
of the vices in which Jews reveal
some talent.
There are vices for which Jews
do not show great aptitude. I re
member the late Prof. Franz Op-
pendeimer, the great economist,
once telling me of his meeting
with the German Marshal Luden-
dorf in the first World War. Lu-
dendorf who later became a most
vicious anti-Semite told Prof Op-
penheimer that one of the griev
ances he had against Jews was
that they couldn’t drink. Prof. Op-
penheimer decided there an'd then
to teach Ludendorf a lesson. Every
time Ludendorf took a drink, Op-
penheimer followed suit and the
conference between the two end
ed with Prof. Oppenheimer drink
ing the Marshal under the table.
But it may be admitted that this
is a little exceptional. While here
and there, Jews may proudly
claim some champion among the
alcoholics, as a race, collectively,
we do not belong in the Big
Leagues when it comes to alcohol
consumption.
But swearing is another matter.
There we have the real spark of
genius. There, we bow to none in
superiority. As Jews practice it,
swearirtg is raised to an art.
The essence of an art form of
course is that it manifest a spark
of creative originality. Jewish
swearing is not merely malicious
cursing.,I would almost say that
the essence of Jewish swearing is
that it is essentially humorous,
and highly flavored with origi
nality.
be sure, there are among
Jews too some of the usual stero
types. Such a one for instance as
“chap a chaliryeh,’’ Translated
this means, “the cholera take
you.” Very similar to the old Eng
lish, “a pox on you.” That is not
real Jewish swearing. It is rather
the product of assimilation.
An illustration of Jewish curs
ing is “geh in drerd und bak
bagel," “Geh in drerd” meaning,
“go to the earth” is more or less
a rough equivalent to “go to the
devil,” which of course is univer
sal. The curse however, is given a
Jewish twist by the addendum
“und bak bael." (and bake bagel.)
As soon as you add “und bak
bagel,” it becomes Jewish, because
it becomes humorous. Bagel are a
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor:
Our mutual friend, Rabbi Char
les Mantinband of Hattiesburg,
has called my attention to your
story on Mississippi Southern Col
lege in your Journal of a recent
edition. Also, your splendid edi
torial headed “Wanted: Jewish
College Students” and continuing
to give a writeup in your editorial
concerning Mississippi Southern
College at Hattiesburg.
For some years now the Presi
dent of this fine college, Dr. R. C.
Cook, and the Deans of Men and
Women have repeatedly invited
the local Jewish population for the
purpose of enlightening us to the
advantages of the college and
frankly asking why more Jewish
siudents, both girls and boys did
not attend.
I have seen this college grow
from a small teachers college of
some two hundred students, prac
tically all school teachers, taking
refresher courses and degrees in
education, to now with a student
body of more than 2500 from prac
tically every state in the Union
and several foreign countries, es
pecially South America.
Mississippi Southern offers one
of the finest academic courses
available and compares with any
of the Universities in the South.
It is true that the Jewish students
are few and far between accord
ing to the enrollment. Frankly, I
think that if twenty Jewish stu
dents would attend this fine col
lege either under a scholarship or
their own power that it would be
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a start. I do not think it would
be too much trouble to arrange
for a few scholarships for deserv
ing Jewish students.
Although Mississippi Southern
has recently gotten nationwide
publicity with their football team
for which we local citizens are all
very proud, I can assure you that
the excellent facilities including
the music department, pre-law,
pre-med and all the other cur
ricula should invite many students
of all faiths and especially Jewish
students who have, in one way or
another been stymied by having
to face a quota.
I am very happy to repeat that
President R. C. Cook of Mississip
pi Southern College and the en
tire faculty would be very proud
to have a representative number
of Jewish students at Mississippi
Southern.
MARCUS LONDON,
President,
Hattiesburg B’nai B’rith
Lodge No. 644.
Dear Editor:
... I take this opportunity to
congratulate you on the steady
progress of The Southern Israelite
the contents of which I enjoy very
much indeed. I deem it a pleasant
duty to comment on the “Presi
dent Visits a Succah” by David
Schwartz which is a masterpiece
and fit for the pen of a “Sholem
Aleichem.” The material is now
making the rounds over the city
kind of unsweetened doughnut
which one eats with lox. Why
should anyone curse another by
telling him to go to the devil and
bake unsweetened doughnuts?
Plainly, the whole thing is no|j ma
licious. It is humorous.
Or take the Jewish curse, Soil
ihm dunneren in die zehen az men
meinen er knackt nees. (May his
teeth chatter so people will think
he is cracking nuts.) This is ludi
crous, of course.
More malicious—one usually
reserved for leading anti-Semites
is “may he lose all his teeth, save
one for a toothache,” This is pret
ty mean, but what is the reaction
as we listen? It is to laugh.
This characteristic is so strong
in Jewish cursing that we might
almost say that those cursing are
deliberately trying to be humor
ous above all else. Consider:
Zehn schiffen mit gold soli er ver-
mogen und die ganze soli er ver-
renken. (May he have ten ships
full of gold and have to spend it
all on doctor bills.)
The last mentioned shows one
other very original characteristic
of Jewish cursing: The beginning
of the curse instead of wishing the
one hated evil, wishes him good.
It is only at the end that the good
becomes evil. The art of Jewish
cursing here reveals its penetra
tion, for the worst of all fates is to
have some blessing turned into
misfortune. Then the pain Is
heightened by contrast.
A superlative example of this
type of curse is “Hundert hauser
soil er haben, in yeder haus hund
ert zimmern und in yeder zimmer
zwanzig betten und die kadoches
soli ihm varfen from ein bet zu
der zweite.” (May he have a hun
dred homes and in each home,
hundred rooms, and in each room
twenty beds and may the yellow
fever toss him from one bed to the
other.)
A veritable symphony of agony
is here conceived. Think of the
man tossing through these hun
dreds of beds, but the sheer fan
tasy of the concept somehow robs
it of maliciousness and turns it in
to humor. It may be noted here too
that the humor of this curse is ob
tained by exaggeration, a device
frequently employed by the most
gifted of Jewish cursers.
Another characteristic of Jew
ish cursing is its high literate
quality, frequently invoking Bib
lical or historical allusions. Thus,
“Er soli haben Pharapah’s Makkes
und Jobs kretz.” May he have the
plagues of Pharoah and the itch
which tormented Job.
These illustrations will suffice I
hope, to prove that Jewish swear
ing is markedly original and
therefore fully entitled to receive
if not our approval, at least our
consideration as an art form.
Israel Army Head Aboard §. S. Jerusalem
of Williamanic, my new home. I
understand it will be read at the
next Oneg Shabbot at a local
synagogue.
J. L. FRIEND.
It is always nice to hear from
our subscribers, especially to re
ceive a bouquet. David Schwartz
will also appreciate the praise. Mr.
Schwartz incidentally is a former
Georgian. He is the author of a
book a volume of fascinating es
says, “Bitter Herbs and Honey.”
Mr. Friend is himself a writer,
having authored several articles
for The Southern Israelite and
other publications.
BERGER STEEL —BINS & SHELVING
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Phone: AT. 3891
Relaxing aboard the S. S. Jerusalem on a recent Mediter
ranean cruise is General Mordecai Maklef, Commander-in-Chlef
of the Israeli Army, shown above (left) with his young son and
Capt. Eliezer Axcel, skipper ofthe Zim-Israel Line’s trans-Atlantic
passenger liner. In the background is Brig. Moshe Dayan. The
S. S. Jerusalem is scheduled to sail on November 13th from New
York to Haifa, inaugurating regularly scheduled sailings between
th United States and Israel.
BETWEEN US
by Boris Smolar
ISRAEL TIDES:
Leaders of major American
Jewish organizations and of many
Jewish Federations and Welfare
Funds have received personal in
vitations from Israel’s Prime Min
ister David Ben Gurion to come
to Jerusalem for an extraordinary
conference. . . The gathering,
which will open on October 25,
will last for a few days. . . It will
also be attended by representative
Jewish leaders from the British
Commonwealth, South America,
and Western Europe. . . In the
United States, the invitations were
sent out by Ambassador Abba
Eban. . .
Participants at the gathering
will, it is understood, spend two
days on an intensive study tour
of the country’s economic devel
opment. . . They will then meet
for two days of report sessions at
which a detailed account of the
past three years will be reviewed.
The Government and Jewish
Agency leaders will reyiew the
concrete economic plans envisaged
for the years ahead to put Israel
on its feet. . . No new financial
schemes are to be considered nor
any organizational questions . .
The gathering will not result in
resolutions but will give people,
who have been laboring long and
hard for Israel in recent years, a
clear perception of what their
wor khas accomplished and of the
tasks still ahead. . . These schemes
to be in line with the general need
for less slogans and more of a
sustained approach grounded in a
complete understanding of all the
factors involved. . .
The character of the gathering
will also accord with the new
spirit in Israel where economic
conditions are incomparably more
stable than when the first Jeru
salem conference was held in Sep
tember 1950. , . Estimated at
tendance from the United States
at nearly 100 is indicative of the
spirit of responsibility which ex
country’s economic progress in the ists.
A GREAT NOVEL BY A GREAT WRITER
A PASSAGE IN THE NIGHT
by Sholem Asch
Isaac Grossman, son of poor but devoutly religious immigrants,
won worldly success as a builder and made a great fortune.
How he eventually found renewed strength in the faith of his
fathers and purged himself of his sin provides a powerful climax
for one of Mr. Asch’s finest books.
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY, $3.75 (plus 12c tax)
COKESBURY BOOK STORE,
72 BROAD ST., N.W., ATLANTA, GA.
Please send me copies of a PASSAGE IN THE NIGHT.
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