Michael Wex
By Michael Wex
-
Books Old and Grey and Only in the Way
Earlier this week, Michael Wex, author of “The Frumkiss Family Business,” wrote about writing about intermarriage and being the kvetch guy. His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog series. For more information on the series, please visit: I…
-
Books Being the ‘Kvetch’ Guy
On Monday, Michael Wex wrote about the birth of his idea for his new novel “The Frumkiss Family Business.” His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog series. For more information on the series, please visit: It’s nothing to…
-
Books Birth of a Family Business
Michael Wex is the author of “Born to Kvetch,” and the new novel “The Frumkiss Family Business.” His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog series. For more information on the series, please visit: A couple of years ago,…
-
Culture Et Tu, Brute?
At least once a month, someone, usually a business acquaintance who doesn’t know much about my private life, will ask what my 14-year-old daughter is up to at her Hebrew day school, and then go on to let me know in no uncertain terms that I am a traitor to every aspect of the Yiddish…
-
Culture To Bug and Be Bugged
Annoyance and botheration are never as well expressed as in Yiddish. Here are a few useful idioms. HAK MEER NISHT KA’ TSHAYnik Don’t knock me a tea kettle [i.e., stop rattling on like a kettle that’s boiling dry]. VOOS DRIKstee MEER A KRIZH FIN DAIM? Why are you pressing me in the small of the…
-
Culture Just Say ‘Nu?’: Manners Maketh the Mensch
Our previous installment looked at how Yiddish will often use the third person as a sign of respect. Day-to-day use of the third person in addressing male strangers is pretty much restricted to der yeed, “the Jew,” which is sometimes used instead of reb yeed, “Mister Jew,” in addressing strangers. IKH MIZ BAITN BEI DAIM…
-
Culture Just Say ‘Nu?’: I Remember Mameleh
It all starts with TAteh MAmeh Dad pa Mom ma If the tateh and mameh are yours, and you’re a kid, they’re usually TAteshee/TAtesheh Daddy MAmeshee/MAmesheh Mommy If you’re using any of these as titles in direct address, you use them exactly as they appear above: TAteshee, TAtesheh, LOZ MIKH NISHT aLAYN Daddy, daddy, don’t…
-
Culture Just Say ‘Nu?’: Bottoms Up!
FOOD AND DRINK, PART 4 Alcohol It’s a case of life imitating rhetoric. The original meaning of the phrase “Jews don’t drink” was not that Jews abstain. It didn’t even mean that Jews don’t get drunk. It meant that Jews don’t stay drunk: they don’t drink to the exclusion of all else, and such drinking…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
News Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes admits ‘at least 6 million’ Jews were killed in Nazi Germany
- 3
Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
- 4
Opinion Americans are waking up to right-wing antisemitism. We’re still ignoring the root problem
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion The call of this Hanukkah moment remains simple and urgent: Light candles everywhere. Even when we’re under attack.
-
Opinion Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel
-
Fast Forward These are the victims of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration shooting in Sydney
-
Opinion The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
