Yiddish or German Saying

Foofie, in your understanding,
for the most part, do Jews consider themselves to be surrounded by ill will ?


David

Really foofie? That's close to the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Foofie wrote:

I would guess that the origin of the expression was to dissuade people from buying at a store that had discounts. Perhaps, its origins were not based on philo-Semitic feelings, since Jews were known to attract customers that are looking for a discount? Otherwise, many a customer would not go to a Jewish owned store.

So you are familiar with this saying?

A guess about an expression with was either Yiddish or German. Okay. But a bit meschuggo (in German meschugge, in English Yiddish meshuggah) as well.

Phooey is yiddish? Live and learn..

Today there are people calling for a boycott of all Israeli goods (aka, Jewish owned businesses), and the fact that a similar situation might have existed in Europe only within the past 70 years or so, adds emphasis to the climate that allowed the Holocaust to occur. Isn't it better to think that such thinking was just a bit crazy? So, in a few hundred years, will the real intent of the sign, "Arbeit Macht Frei" be understood correctly?

Yiddish incorporates many Eastern European and Russian word/phrases/dialects. It's main purpose was for Jews to be able to communicate where ever they were. It was particularly important because as far back as history can document, Jews have been forced off lands, denied citizenship, not allowed to own farming animals and the list goes on. Yiddish provides a method for Jews to communicate with each other. I'm not making a political statement, it's just what has happened and they have developed coping skills in order to survive.

You can look thru the Yiddish phrases and see many that are not originally coined by Jews, but are familiar to every culture. Too soon old, too late smart, I can't swear to it, but I think everybody has heard some version of this. What I'm trying to say, awkwardly, it that all cultures borrow from all other cultures. I have no idea if the chicken or egg came first, and I'm not interested in trying to argue either one. Language is fluid, and even English speakers don't agree on spelling of English words.

The humorous phrase, "I threw my mother from the train a kiss," may be from an eastern European language. I won't claim Yiddish. I often hear sentences with the wrong syntax for written English, since many people do not speak a correct English.

"Mama From the Train" — also known as Mama From the Train (A Kiss, A Kiss) — is a popular song. written by Irving Gordon and published in 1956. The song is about memories of a now-deceased mother, whose Pennsylvania Dutch-influenced English leads to quaint phrasings.

Foofie wrote:

Today there are people calling for a boycott of all Israeli goods (aka, Jewish owned businesses), and the fact that a similar situation might have existed in Europe only within the past 70 years or so, adds emphasis to the climate that allowed the Holocaust to occur. Isn't it better to think that such thinking was just a bit crazy? So, in a few hundred years, will the real intent of the sign, "Arbeit Macht Frei" be understood correctly?

Well, this would imply that said saying is just about 70 years old.
Then it hardly would be Yiddish. But definitely, there's nothing similar to it in German. (All referring to the original poster's question.)

Be assured that I know that.
And certainly I know as well that this term was used since about 1850 in various (French [ L’Europe en 1848 by Jean-Joseph Gaume] and) German publications.

But I can't get why this is related to said Yiddish or German proverb or saying.

OmSigDAVID wrote:

Foofie, in your understanding,
for the most part, do Jews consider themselves to be surrounded by ill will ?


David

Well, the Holocaust proved, in my opinion, that Jews in Europe were mostly considered "perennial outsiders that were dispensable."

Jews in America still make make many people uncomfortable in a social situation. But, America being so diverse, and Jews being here for a length of time that's considered long for this country, and they have tended to find a useful niche in society, many people might find them a useful addition to the fabric of society. That doesn't mean they meet a welcoming mat wherever they go. People like to be amongst their own oftentimes, and the popular culture is that "Jews are just different." I said popular culture, since those in the best colleges do meet a fair number of Jews, and find them interesting, if not down right nice to know.

If Jews (secular I mean) are different, it might just be that their cultural emphasis on education and goal direction puts them more often in the center of the bellcurve. Therefore, more of them being "average," they might be perceived as acting superior, since they then meet humanity on the left side of the bellcurve so often?

Yiddish incorporates many Eastern European and Russian word/phrases/dialects. It's main purpose was for Jews to be able to communicate where ever they were. It was particularly important because as far back as history can document, Jews have been forced off lands, denied citizenship, not allowed to own farming animals and the list goes on. Yiddish provides a method for Jews to communicate with each other. I'm not making a political statement, it's just what has happened and they have developed coping skills in order to survive.

You can look thru the Yiddish phrases and see many that are not originally coined by Jews, but are familiar to every culture. Too soon old, too late smart, I can't swear to it, but I think everybody has heard some version of this. What I'm trying to say, awkwardly, it that all cultures borrow from all other cultures. I have no idea if the chicken or egg came first, and I'm not interested in trying to argue either one. Language is fluid, and even English speakers don't agree on spelling of English words.

You can start with borrowing religion, and work your way up to language.