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Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Ukrainian Yiddish Song from the Shtetl - and a shetl in a Jewish Museum


The Yiddish word shtetl means town, little town, or market town. I thought it meant village. It has nostalgic and romantic associations, unlike ghetto, which was an area of forced confinement, like the ghetto or ironworks area in Venice which was the origin of the word ghetto. Shtetl evaokes nostalgia, like the work kampong in Malay. 

You may have see reproductions of a Shtetl in the film Fiddler On the Roof, written by Shalom Aleichem. (Shalom Aleichem a nickname or penmame meaning peace to you in Yiddish. Shalom, or salaam in Arabic, means peace, as in the name of the city, Jerusalem, meaning city or place of peace. You might also remember the words Shalom Aleichem from the song, Havenu shalom aleichem, we bring you or wish you peace, which is the chorus endlessly repeated until you know it by heart.

South Africa and Lithuania
You can see reproductions of a shetetl street and the one room living dining room of a shtetl house in Cape Town's Jewish museum in South Africa, which reproduces a shtetl in Lithuania, and which you can see in Wikipedia. (I went to the Cape Town Jewish museum and was agreeably surprised to see that the Jews of South Africa had supported the later hero Nelson Mandela, even buying a farm where he could hide out before he was eventualy captured.

I am sorry that the Ukrainian song does not have the word in transliteration. If I find it later I shall add it. If you know it, please add a link in a comment and/or send it to me. I hope you enjoyed the songs and catchy music.

Regarding Lithuania, the capital is Vilnius, and it has monuments and a trail to the famous Vina Gaon,  meaning Vilna guru, genius, leader.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shtetl
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/shtetl-word-holds-special-place-hearts-and-minds

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