DER YIDDISH-VINKL February 27, 2004
Der Yiddish Vinkl received two of Stanley Siegelman’s inimitable witty poems written in reaction to current events. To prevent readers from misinterpreting the following poem as a snide Jewish poke at a Christian denomination, they are asked to read next week’s Vinkl as well, “Hooray, Hooray, der Rebbe iz Gey.”
Oy Vey, Oy Vey, der Bishop iz Gey
Der nayer bishop — er iz gey!
“Nor zorg zikh nit — es iz okey!”
— Azoy derklert, mit groys “élan”
Di Kirkh Episcopeylian.
Galokhim mit zeyer bishop-boss
Dertseyln goyim, “Don’t be cross.
A naye tsayt iz mit undz yetst
Zoln ale congregants be blessed.”
Vos nokh? A blumbe makhn zey
Vos zogt, “Okey tsu zayn a gey.”
Di blumbe (sha! gib nit a lakh)
Makht zaynen gey a koshere zakh!
Di feygelakh arum der velt
Vern lebedik. Der bishop kvelt!
Nur epes kukt oys zeyer mies
Tsu khevre in der diocese:
“Nisht kosher,” shrayen zey, gants “pissed,”
“Azoy zogt undzer Yeyzes Krist!”
Der bishop’s heylik vi a malekh
Er iz a guter, fayner galekh.
Eyn kleyne zakh (zog nit “oy oy”)
Er libt a man, un nit a froy,
Zayn “tsimer meyt” iz nisht a “gal.”
Zi’s take zayn “Episco-pal.”
A “schism” vegn vos er meg
Kumt yetst — a tseylem in dem veg.*
Mir vintshn im parnose, glik
Vayl er khapt on der bishopric
“Gey” un “galekh” — aza “mixture”!
S’iz verbotn in di “scripture”?
Der entfer veyst nor Got aleyn
Zoln ale zogn yetst “Omeyn.”
*“Tseylem” means “cross,” and “veg” means “way.”
Hence, the line refers to a “crossroad.”
Oy Vey, Oy Vey, the Bishop is Gay
The bishop just installed is gay!
“No need to fret — it’s quite okay,”
Asseverates, with great élan,
The church Episcopalian.
The clergy, with their bishop-boss,
Tell congregants, “Do not be cross.
The times are altered, for the best,
May all parishioners be blessed.”
What’s more, they have devised this seal:
“Guys can be gentile and genteel.”
(The purpose is to guilt-suppress
And make things kosher, sans distress.)
To sympathizers round the world
A battle flag has been unfurled.
But something feels so very queer,
The diocesan critics sneer,
And charge the situation’s treyf,
Un-Christian, wicked and unsafe.
A clergyman of great success,
The bishop brims with holiness.
One little item mars the paean:
He loves a man. Is that obscene?
His roommate, un-canonical,
Is truly his Episco-pal.
Will “schism” now divide the church
And leave our bishop in the lurch?
We wish him well, this maverick,
As he takes on the bishopric.
“Gay” and “priest” is quite a mixture
That may be proscribed by scripture.
The answer lies with God, not men.
Let’s hold our peace and say “Amen.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
