Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories (55 page)

18
Khus verakheym oleynu
—“Have mercy and pity us”; also from the sixteenth benediction.

19
Retsey—“Accept
Thy people Israel, O Lord, our God, and hearken to its prayers, and restore its worship to Thy holy temple”; from the seventeenth benediction.

20
Hamavdil beyn koydesh lekhoyl
—“Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe,
who separateth the holy
[Sabbath]
from the profane
[week]”; from the
havdalah
, the prayer formally ending the Sabbath that is said on Saturday night. Tevye’s comic rhyme implies that God not only keeps the Sabbath and the rest of the week well apart from each other, but also does the same with the rich and the poor.

21
Bemokoym she’eyn ish—“In a place where there are no men
[of moral or religious stature], try to be a man”; from
The Ethics of the Fathers
. Tevye’s rhyme stands this adage on its head: whereas the original quotation means that in a place where ideals of conduct are disregarded one must nevertheless try to live up to them, he himself is saying that when the reality falls short of the ideal, one makes do with what there is.

22
Vehayeled eynenu
—“And he returned unto his brethren and said,
‘The child is not’
”; Genesis, 37:30.

23
Yom
Kippur songs—Being a penitential fast day, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, does not have festive songs, though some of its prayers are sung in the synagogue. Tevye’s choice of these inappropriate melodies reflects how drunk he is.

24
“King Solomon wasn’t joking”—Tevye is referring to the verse in Ecclesiastes, 7:28, “One man among a thousand I have found; but a woman among all those have I not found.”

25
Koyl oyreyv lemineyhu
—“Every raven after his kind”; Leviticus, 11:15.

26
Raboys makhshovoys belev ish
—Proverbs, 19:21.

27
Kulom ahuvim, kulom brurim—“All are beloved, all are elect
, all are intrepid, all are holy, all perform the will of their Maker in awe.” From a description of the angelic hosts in the morning prayer.

28
Yehalelkho zor—“Let another man praise thee
, and not thine own mouth.” Proverbs, 27:2.

29
Odom yesoydoy mi’ofor
—“Man is but dust.” From the High Holy Day prayer.

30
Hakoyl hevel—
“All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes, 1:2.

31
Koyl dikhfin yeysey veyitzrokh
—Tevye is jokingly misquoting the opening line of the Passover seder ritual. According to the Haggadah, the seder liturgy, Jews sitting down to the ceremonial meal begin by inviting the homeless and hungry to join them, saying,
Koyl dikhfin yeysey veyeykhul; koyl ditzrikh yeysey veyifsakh
—“Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are needy come and observe the Passover.” Tevye’s version, however, means, “Let all who are hungry come and be needy.”

32
“If you don’t mind my quoting King David”—Tevye is clowning, for he knows perfectly well that this verse from Ecclesiastes is attributed to King Solomon, not to King David, who is traditionally considered to be the author of Psalms.

33
Akudim nekudim uvrudim
—“And behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were
streaked, speckled, and grizzled.”
Tevye likes these words from Genesis 31:10 because of their rhythm and internal rhyme, and uses them to refer a series of something without being overly pedantic about their literal meaning.

34
Begapoy yovoy uvegapoy yeytsey—“If he comes
[to his master]
with nothing, he shall depart with nothing.”
Exodus, 21:3, from a passage dealing with the Israelite laws of slavery and manumission.

35
Rashi The “commentary” on the verse from Exodus attributed to him by Tevye is, of course, Tevye’s own

36
“I’m talking Purim costumes and you’re talking Hanukkah candles”—On Purim, the holiday celebrating the foiling of Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, it was a custom in parts of Eastern Europe to dress in costume and go mumming; on Hanukkah, which celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, candles are lit on each of the eight nights of the holiday.

37
Hazoyrim bedimoh berinoh yiktsoyru
—“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Psalms, 126:5. Tevye’s misattribution of the verse to Abraham is again deliberate buffoonery.

38
Lav akhboro ganvo—“It’s not the mouse that’s the thief
, but the hole [that beckons to it].” A Talmudic proverb.

39
Revakh vehatsolohya’amoyd layehudim
.

40
Vayisu misukoys—“And they journeyed from Succoth
and encamped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.” Exodus, 13:20.

41
Oylim veyordim
—“And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth … and behold the angels of God
ascending and descending
on it.” Genesis, 28:12. Tevye seems to be associating the words either with the rotary motion of wheels or with the coming and going of supplicants to a rich man’s house.

42
Eyn oymer ve’eyn dvorim
—“Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor utterance
where their voice is not heard.” Psalms, 19:3.

43
Vehayeled eynenu
.

44
Vayivrakh Ya’akoyv—“And Jacob fled
with all that he had.” Genesis, 31:21.

45
Ka’asher ovadeti ovadeti
—“If I perish, I perish.” Esther, 4:16.

46
Loy dubim veloy ya’ar
—Literally, “neither bears nor woods”; a rabbinic expression (based on the story of the prophet Elisha and the bears in Kings II, 24) that means, “There’s neither hide nor hair of it,” “It’s a figment of the imagination,” etc.

47
Lekhayim veloy lamoves—“For life and not for death
, for a blessing and not for a curse.” From the prayers for dew and rain.

48
Altis’haleyl beyoym mokhor—“Boast not of tomorrow
, for thou knowest not what today may bring forth.” Proverbs, 27:1.

49
Vetso’akoh hane’aroh
—“For he found her in the field [and abused her]
and the maiden cried
, and there was no one to save her.” Deuteronomy, 22:27.

50
“The
Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away”—Job, 1:21.
341 Li hakesef veli hazohov—“The silver is mine and the gold is mine
, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Haggai, 2:18.

51
Be’al korkhekho atoh khai
—“Regardless of thy will thou art conceived, and regardless of thy will thou art born, and
regardless of thy will thou livest
, and regardless of thy will thou diest.” From
The Ethics of the Fathers;
a favorite quote of Tevye’s.

52
Koyl ha’odom koyzev
—“I said in my haste,
all men are liars.”
Psalms, 116:11. Apparently Tevye is referring to the bill of goods that Menachem Mendl has sold him—unless he is confusing the verb
koyzev
, “lie,” with
koy’ev
, “hurt.”

53
Bonim gidalti veroymamti—“I have nourished and brought up children
, and they have rebelled against me.” Isaiah, 1:2.

54
Loy mi’uktsokh veloy miduvshokh
—“Neither from your sting nor from your honey”; a rabbinic expression meaning, “Just do me no harm and I’ll gladly do without your favors.”

55
Askakurdo dimaskanto dikarnaso difarsmakhto
—This is a sheer nonsense phrase, although one whose Aramaic prefixes and suffixes give it a Talmudic sound.

56
Odom koroyv le’atsmoy
—“A man is closest to his own self”; a rabbinic saying.

57
Im eyn kemakh eyn Toyroh
—“If there is no flour, there is no Torah”; from
The Ethics of the Fathers
, meaning that before one can study, one has to eat.

58
Rashi Here again Tevye is putting his own words in the commentator’s mouth.

59
Rokheyl mevakoh al boneho
—“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping;
Rachel weeping for her children
, refusing to be comforted for her children, for they are gone.” Jeremiah, 31:15.

60
Gemara—The larger and more difficult part of the Talmud, consisting of lengthy and involved Aramaic commentary on the shorter and simpler Hebrew Mishnah.

61
Haggadah

62
Haneshomoh lokh—“The soul is thine
and the body is thine.” From the penitential prayers said before the High Holy Days. For the sake of the witticism, Tevye overlooks the second half of the verse.

63
Tsoholoh vesomeykhoh
—“And the city of Shushan
rejoiced and was glad.”
Esther, 8:15.

64
The
hallel
prayer—A prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God, composed of Psalms 113–118, that is recited in the morning service on major holidays. All Tevye’s quotations on this and the following page are from it.

65
Hashomayim shomayim ladoynai
—“The heavens are the Lord’s.” Psalms, 115:16.

66
Veha’orets nosan livney odom
—“But the earth He hath given to the children of men.” Psalms, 115:16.

67
Loy hameysim yehallelu yoh
—“The dead praise not the Lord.” Psalms, 115:17.

68
Ve’anakhnu nevoreykh yoh
—“But we will bless the Lord.” Psalms, 115:18.

69
Ohavti ki yishma—“I love
[the Lord],
because He hath heard
my voice and my supplications.” Psalms, 116:1.

70
Ofafuni khevley moves—“The sorrows of death compassed me
, and the pains of hell got hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.” Psalms, 116:3.

71
Ani omarti bekhofzi

72
Koyl ha’odom koyzev
—“…  all men are liars.” Psalms, 116:11.

73
Oydkho ki anisoni—“I will praise Thee, for Thou hast answered me
and art become my salvation.” Psalms, 118:21.

74
Hakoyl hevel

75
The Four Questions—At the beginning of the Passover seder the youngest child present customarily asks four questions about the nature of the occasion that are designed to elicit from those present the recital of the story of the exodus. The Four Questions begin with the words
ma nishtanoh
—“how is this [night] different?”

76
Solakhti kidvorekho
—“And the Lord said,
I have pardoned according to thy word.”
Numbers, 14:20.

77
Vehashtiyoh kedos
—“And the king made a feast … 
and the drinking was according to custom”
Esther, 1:5,8.

78
Borukh shelo osoni ishoh
—“Blessed be [God] that hath not made me a woman”; a blessing in the morning prayer, recited by males.

79
Bonim gidalti veroymamti

80
Veheym poshu vi
—“And they have rebelled against me.” See note to
this page
on
bonim gidalti veroymamti
. Here Tevye supplies the second half of the verse that he omitted at the beginning of the story.

81
Odomyesoydoy mi’ofor vesoyfoy le’ofor
. Tevye completes the quote here by adding the words
vesoyfoy le’ofor
—“and dust is all that remains of him.”

82
Kabdeyhu vekhoshdeyhu
—A rabbinic adage meaning literally, “Respect him and suspect him,” i.e., some people must never be trusted even though you honor them.

83
Haneshomoh lokh vehaguf shelokh
.

84
Kitoyvas mar’eh hi
—“For she was fair to look on.” Esther, 1:11.

85
Kulonu khakhomim, kulonu nevoynim
—“And even though
we allarewue, we all are learned
, we all are versed in the Torah, we are commanded to recite the story of the exodus from Egypt.” From the Passover Haggadah.

86
Al tishlakh yodkho
—“And he said,
lay not thine hand
upon the lad.” Genesis, 22:12 (see Introduction,
this page
).

87
Vesomakhto bekhagekho
—“Thou shalt observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days … 
and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast.”
Deuteronomy, 16:13–14.

88
Vayehi hayoym
.

89
“Help the jackass of your neighbor”—“If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden … thou shalt surely help him.” Exodus, 23:5.

90
Vaya’as eloyhim—“And God made
 … every thing that creepeth on the earth.” Genesis, 1:25.

91
Kulom ahuvim, kulom brurim
.

92
Bekhoyl levovkho uvekhoyl nafshekho
—“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul
, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy, 6:5.

93
Vehayeled eynenu
—See note
this page
.

94
Vayehi erev vayehi voyker
—“And there was morning and there was evening.” Genesis, 1:5 and passim.

95
Revakh vehatsoloh ya’amoyd layehudim mimokoym akher
—See note to
this page
. Here Tevye completes the verse by adding
mimokoym akher
, “from another place.”

96
Akudim nekudim uvrudim
.

97
Yo’oh aniyuso leyisro’eyl
—“Poverty is becoming to Israel.” The Talmudic adage implies that God gave the Jews poverty as a gift because it is spiritually good for them, but Tevye reverses its meaning.

98
Im eyn kemakh eyn Toyroh
.

99
Loy bashomayim veloy ba’orets
—“Not in heaven or on earth.” While the phrase
bashomayim uva’orets
, “in heaven and on earth,” occurs in the Bible and other Jewish sources, its formulation in the negative is Tevye’s own.