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‘ " ;■■■?»■ V "V I I, j,n —-‘-‘tif’V 'ijffTirt ***** vw* i*,a, ~*.w.<m*-..Mfciaii 1,-71-,»■ “ini im Garage yields 85,000 folios of Yiddish ‘golden oldies’ Workers from the National Yid dish Book Center in Amherst, Mass, have recovered a treasure-trove of almost 85,000 folios of out-of-print Jewish music from a garage in Boro Park, Brooklyn. The collec tion, which includes long out-of- print “hits” from the Yiddish theater, songs of the Jewish pio neers in Israel, Yiddish folksongs and cantorial scores, is believed to represent the largest single inven tory of Yiddish music anywhere in the world. Virtually all of the music was published by Metro Music, a well- known music publisher on New York’s Lower East Side. When Metro Music went out of business in the early 1970s, its entire unsold stock was purchased on specula tion by a group of private inves tors. The Metro Music building was eventually demolished, and the collection of sheet music was stored in a succession of New York City locations. As it turned out, the investors were ahead of their time: wide spread revival of interest in Yid dish culture had not yet begun, and commercial outlets for the sale of Yiddish music were limited. Even tually, ownership of the materials passed to Sidney Rimmer, a part- time cantor who works as a com puter auditor for the City of New York. Rimmer believed that pres ervation of the music was a mitzva, regardless of its commercial value. With the help of friends he cleared out the two-car garage behind his home in Boro Park, a primarily Hasidic section of Brooklyn. He erected second-hand steel shelving and carefully packed away the thousands of folios of sheet music, hoping that some day they would be of interest once again. The materials remained in Rimmer’s garage for 13 years. Oc casionally local Orthodox and Ha sidic cantors would hear of the col lection and come to Rimmer in search of a particular piece of liturgical music. For the most part, however, the existence of the 85,000 folios remained largely unknown. Last month, news of the treasure reached Rabbi Aryeh Gotlieb of Paramus, N.J. A long-time lover of Yiddish and cantorial music, Gotlieb traveled to Boro Park to investigate. He took one look at Rimmer’s garage and immediately recognized the historical signifi cance of the long-lost collection. Gotlieb phoned Aaron Lansky, executive director of the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. The center is a non-profit organi zation which has attracted world wide attention for its campaign to rescue unwanted and discarded Yiddish books and return them to active use. Lansky, 31, immediately Torah thoughts Made to order Adapted from the works of Rabbi Menachem M Schnecrson. the I ubavitcher Rcbbe, by Rabbi Yossi New. Chabad of Georgia Rabbi Schneerson Moshe reminds Israel that it was the Almighty "...Who led you through the great, terrifying de sert...When there was no water, it was He Who provided you water from the flinty rock.” A cardinal Jewish belief is hash gacha pratiss, G-d’s particular providence. An insight into the workings of this Divine providence is provided by the verse “(Give thanks) to Him Who alone per forms great wonders for His kind ness is (I’olam) eternal.” The ex pression “is eternal” is the simple idiomatic translation of the Hebrew I’olam. However, I’olam is more literally rendered “for the world” (...His kindness is for the world). The Almighty, through hashgacha pratiss, takes care first and fore most of Israel’s needs; but in doing so He also provides a kindness for the world. Supplying water in the desolate wilderness was, obviously, not a natural occurence but G-d’s “great wonder” performed specifi cally for His people Israel. But there was a “kindness for the world” too: Being able to drink water in the desert enabled the Jews to con tinue serving G-d—.thereby elevat ing, refining and spiritualizing their worldly surroundings. G-d’s providence is in effect not only in the ancient desert but every where, including the 20th century urban setting. Picture the scene: A thirsty little boy is walking down the street on a hot summer’s day on his way to cheder. He knows he will be able to study his Torah les sons much better if he can have a drink. At that moment an ice cream truck—which happens to carry kosher cold drinks—turns into the street. Sheer coincidence?—No!— hashgacha pratiss. The Almighty set in motion an intricate train of cause-and-effect—the truck driver to get up in the morning at a par ticular time, to leave on his route at a particular time, to follow a par ticular route which would take him past the cheder child etc.—all in order that this child should have a drink and be able to pursue his Torah studies with a clear head! Indeed, a “great wonder;” but where is the “kindness to the world?” The street corner at which the child now pronounces the bracha before drinking may have waited thou sands of years—perhaps since cre ation—for a Jewish child to bless G-d—elevating and sanctifying that place, fulfilling the purpose of creation, and “bringing joy and pleasure” (so to speak) to the Creator. phoned Rimmer and arranged for the entire collection to be donated to the center, where it could be properly stored and catalogued. “This is one of the most extraor dinary discoveries in the center’s history,” said Lansky, upon review ing the collection. “During the last seven years the Yiddish Book Cen ter has rescued almost a half mil lion Yiddish books, but we’ve found less than 200 folios of Yiddish sheet music. Until we actually saw Mr. Rimmer’s garage, we were afraid that Yiddish music was lost forever. These folios will be an incomparable boon to students, scholars and lovers of Jewish music around the world.” Workers at the Yiddish Book Center are now sorting the music, entering titles and inventory into a computerized data base. Although cataloguing is not complete, hun dreds of titles have already been identified. They include favorites from the Yiddish theater such as “Roumania, Roumania,” made fa mous by Aaron Lebedeff, “Rei- zele,” “Rozhinkes mit mandlen (Raisins and Almonds)” and “A Yidish meydl darf a yidishn boy (A Jewish Girl Needs a Jewish Boy).” JEWi3K DACinG flECWHK A Nice Way to Meet Nice People. Sherry and Rae (404) 252-0251 BSuper Saturday - M miiim 10-2 all you can play PGD'ff'iMPQD'inr Golf and Video games m plus Hot Dog and Coke ® $3 95 GWMErS y 3382 Shallowford Rd. Chamblee 458-0888 TT'inrn hhihiiiithtitt M M M Sue Winner — — Sincerely, Sue Winner Invitations & Stationery — 15% discount Calligraphy — Discount Bridal Service, Inc. Bridal, Bridesmaids, and Mother's gowns 20 to 40% discount — Bridal Consulting Specializing in the Jewish Wedding 255-3804 -> FACTORY JEWELRY OUTLET I Atlanta’s First Fashion Jewelry “SUPER STORE” GRAND OPENING August 28th Labor Day—September 1 Open to the public 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Prices from 99C to $ 9.99 Discounted Up To 75% -Over 30,000 Pcs.-Direct From Factory- -Free Gift With $ 5.00 Purchase- - Grand Opening Specials- -New Arrivals Weekly- FACTORY JEWELRY OUTLET 3898 N. Druid Hills Rd. Shamrock Plaza Near N. DeKalb Mall (corner of Lawrenceville Hwy. & N. Druid Hills Rd.) y= OPEN: Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a m.-6 p.m. 320-9696 Wholesalers-Retailers Flea Market Inquiries Invited on MONDAYS ONLY. J PAGE 11 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE August 29, 1986