The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish (Complete Idiot's Guides (Lifestyle Paperback)) - Softcover

Blech, Rabbi Benjamin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0028633873 ISBN 13: 9780028633879

Publisher: Imprint Unknown, 2000

Synopsis

You're not idiot, of course. You can serve up a mean s'il vous plait in a French bistro, live la vida loca for a night of margaritas, and manage a sayonara! after sushi, sake, and karaoke. But when it comes to throwing around a little Yiddish, you feel like a total nebbish! Don't throw your hands in a helpless "Oy, vey" just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish is your guide to this unique tongue, whether you're tackling rules of grammar or just throwing around some key phrases so you sound a little less goyish. In this Complete Idiot's Guide you get a fascinating explanation of how and why Yiddish developed, an easy introduction to the Yiddish alphabet, as well as the distinctive sound of Yiddish, and all the Yiddish you'll need for communicating with family and friends or for bargain-hunting on New York's Lower East Side. This book contains a treasury of Yiddish words and phrases for every occasion.

About this title

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 humour 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 a great and ancient culture a little bit better, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish will make you a maven.--Rob Lightner

About the Author:

BENJAMIN BLECH, a tenth-generation rabbi, is a nationally recognized educator, religious leader, author, and lecturer. He is associate professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University in New York City and rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Oceanside congregation in Oceanside, New York. The author of Understanding Judaism and many other books, Rabbi Blech has appeared frequently on national television and has written for a host of national magazines and scholarly journals. He resides in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Imprint Unknown
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0028633873
• ISBN 13: 9780028633879
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352