I'm one of these!
Sep. 21st, 2012 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaA couple of weeks ago, LanguageHat posted about a "Yekkish" dictionary, documenting the modified German used by German Jews, or Yekkes. Not only do I remember my father using that word, but all the vocabulary mentioned is familiar to me, overheard when my parents spoke with older relatives during rare visits.
I also recognize my tribe in a priceless comment on the LanguageHat post, "One of the less probable etymologies of Yekke is the Hebrew acronym "Yehudi ksheh havana" which can be translated as "a Jew who is difficult to accomodate" [sic]."
The Wikipedia entry on Yekke includes:
So maybe being detail-oriented, critical, discerning isn't all bad. Maybe it's a link to where I come from.
The Wikipedia entry mentions in passing, "Today, very few original Yekkes are still German residents," but elides the Holocaust entirely. I grew up knowing that a couple of my relatives were killed in the Holocaust, and that the rest are scattered around the planet because of the Holocaust, and therefore I grew up far from relatives and roots, but I hadn't thought specifically about how my tribe, the group of people I come from, was largely exterminated in the Holocaust. Maybe that's part of my ongoing longing for tribe and sense of being the odd one out.
A few months ago, I was talking with an Indian friend who immigrated to this country around the same time my parents did. I told her about feeling alienated as a child of immigrants. She was puzzled and said her children feel at home here. I think this is at least part of the difference. Their roots are undisturbed in India, and they can go back and visit. Also their family is much more functional than my family, which might also be related.
I also recognize my tribe in a priceless comment on the LanguageHat post, "One of the less probable etymologies of Yekke is the Hebrew acronym "Yehudi ksheh havana" which can be translated as "a Jew who is difficult to accomodate" [sic]."
The Wikipedia entry on Yekke includes:
A classic example of how exacting and detailed oriented Yekkes can be, is in the following parable: A Yekke says to his wife on the evening of 4 December, "I'll be home from synagogue services a little late tonight." Explanation: at the evening prayer on the 4th of December, the words "Tal U'matar" (dew and rain) are added to the prayers for the upcoming winter season. The addition of these two words causes the Yekke to be "late" coming back home.
So maybe being detail-oriented, critical, discerning isn't all bad. Maybe it's a link to where I come from.
The Wikipedia entry mentions in passing, "Today, very few original Yekkes are still German residents," but elides the Holocaust entirely. I grew up knowing that a couple of my relatives were killed in the Holocaust, and that the rest are scattered around the planet because of the Holocaust, and therefore I grew up far from relatives and roots, but I hadn't thought specifically about how my tribe, the group of people I come from, was largely exterminated in the Holocaust. Maybe that's part of my ongoing longing for tribe and sense of being the odd one out.
A few months ago, I was talking with an Indian friend who immigrated to this country around the same time my parents did. I told her about feeling alienated as a child of immigrants. She was puzzled and said her children feel at home here. I think this is at least part of the difference. Their roots are undisturbed in India, and they can go back and visit. Also their family is much more functional than my family, which might also be related.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-24 01:40 am (UTC)I'm sorry. I actually know people working on rescuing the knowledge of Yekke Culture, including how they chanted Torah (different trope melodies!) and other things.
as to feeling alone viz immigration? My mother was a first generation American. She could tell me her parents and grandparents names, and that was it. It's all lost. Not only is the knowledge lost, but the very land on which they lived gone. It's hard to explain to people how disorienting it is not to have a place to call home, or know how to find out more about family. I had a tiny shot of knowledge in March when I was at Yad VaShem in Jerusalem, but that only confirmed that the stories we thought were true about our family actually are true; it didn't give me even a single name or picture or story to carry away with me.
lonely feeling, that.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-24 04:55 pm (UTC)Okay, the Yekke article mentions Kristallnacht a little further along, but still. This may push me to get a Wikipedia login and add "Because of the Holocaust," at the beginning of that sentence.
In the Wikipedia Holocaust/Shoah page, I saw something I had confused. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews PLUS Gypsies, etc?! I thought it was 6 million people killed total. *shakes head, feeling sick*
I wonder if there's been psychological work done around those who escape genocide, and their children. I find it comforting to at least name that tribe I belong to, and know I'm not alone in feeling alone and rootless.