Vaysrusland:
“Zion at Belarusian hills”
How Yiddish and Ashkenazim enriched Belarusian culture
I still have something to tell about Yiddish Raysn, or Vaysrusland, or Belarus — very dear and home land of mine…
A Yiddishe dream
A famous Jewish Belarusian poet and prose writer Źmitrok Biadula (his Jewish name was Shmuel Plavnik, born in 1886), was one of the first political activist in the Belarusian independence movement. In fact, he was a die-hard Belarusian nationalist! He was fluently speaking Belarusian, Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew, but most part of his works were written in Belarusian, though he also translated from Yiddish to Belarusian some novels of Sholom-Aleykhem.
In 1918 Zmitrok published his pamphlet on relationships between Jews and Belarusian nationalists, “Zhidy na Belarusi” (Jews in Belarus), that I’ve already mentioned earlier.
“The Jews, who three times a day remember Zion in their prayers, were visualizing the Zion in the form of some hills, highlands, that are surrounding them here, in Belarus. Jewish kid, who spends all his calf years grinding at Torah in a heder, could see an “alive Bible” of Belarusian tillers and farmers, Torah of Belarusian calm and quiet land with forests, rivers and meadows. If they had never seen Belarusian nature, that had held them since their birth in thrall, they would not be able to visualize Palestine. They are envisioning Eretz-Isroel, seeing Belarusian land in reality”, — Źmitrok Biadula affirmed in his patriotic article.
Biadula was one of the first researchers of the Jewish-Belarusian ethnography phenomenon. He is quoting lyrics of a national Belarusian song, that included Hebraic words and, moreover, its musical theme was based on an ancient Chassidic melody!
Batska, Batska (Father)
Bats’ka, bats’ka, bats’ka, bats’ka, (Father, father, father, father)
Vybuduy ty nam nashu khatku (Build for us our house) House = Palestine
Vykupi ty nam nashu matku (Redeem our mother for us) Mother = People
Byaz khatki nya budzem, (We will not live without home)
Byaz matki zabludzim. (We will be lost without the mother)
Auromulyu, Auromulyu, (Avrumele, Avrumele)
Starushak ty nash. (Our old-fellow)
Chamu zha vy nya khodzitsie? (Why don’t you go?)
Chamu zha vy nya prositsie? (Why don’t you ask?)
Chamu zha vy nya molitsiesia Bohu za nas? (Why don’t you pray God for us?)
Kab zha nas asvabadzili, (If only we could get freedom)
Da iz Golas vyvadzili, (And could be drawn out of Golas / Galut)
Leyartseynu pravadzili, (Lead to our land)
Leyartseynu…
Entfert men im fun eybn!
Nya plach, synok, synok, synok, (Don’t cry, son)
Nya kroy svayo sertsa, sertsa, (Don’t tear at your heart)
Budzie khatka vystrayena, (The house will be built)
Budzie matka vykupliena. (The mother will be redeemed)
Chakay kantsa, veynemar lefonav (Wait for the end…)
Shiro khadasho, halleluyo.
Hallelu, hallelu, halleluyo.
If you are curious about mutual musical interaction between Belarusians and Jews (Litvakes), who lived in Belarus, I advise you to listen to this awesome band, Litvakus, whose debut album Raysn: The Music of Jewish Belarus was released last year in New York.
They perform Jewish songs influenced by Belarusian culture and Belarusian songs, that sound surprisingly “very Jewish”. It’s not a common klezmer, it’s a really unique music, give it a try!
‘Better take care of your shwants’
Belarusian peasants-residents of shteytleh, could speak Yiddish: this fact was confirmed by Belarusian writer Grakhovsky, who described the following scene from real life:
“Matrona meets Gryshka on the porch and opens yap at him in Jewish language, though, in a quite placable way. They often talk to each other and say curses in a Moses language, using lots of obscene words”
Sokrat Yanovich, resident of the shteytleh of Krynky, provides a vivid example of “yidishized” Belarusian language:
“Everyday speech [of Belarusian residents of Krynky] is densely filled with words of Yiddish origins. Always horny dude, who likes to “cat around” and harass young women, was called “małady švanc” (young shwants, dick). A grumpy person is a “feki čałaviek” (feykeh man). Pirated goods — “šajs” (shayse). A schemer is a “šancoŭnik” (shantseh). Great talkers, dodgers are called “mechłiar” or “fuks” (fox). To play off, tell stories is a “duryć majsami” (to goof with maises).
As the result, their usual speech looked like the following example:
«Čaho hety fuks ad ciabie choča, ha? — What does this fox want from you, huh?
Jaki heta šajs jon tabie prynios? — What the counterfeit did he bring to you?
Oj, feki čałaviek! Majsami duryć hałavu. — Oh, he is so grumpy. He just tells you stories.
Chaj pilnuje łiepiej svajho maładoha švanca, jakomu sałodkaja Fełia zrobić hievałt! — Let him better take care of his young shwants, who will get into a mess with a sweetie-Felia — she would raise a hwalt!”
