DER YIDDISH-VINKL April 9, 2004

To regular readers of this column, the timely, lighthearted and clever poems by Stanley Siegelman in Yiddish and English are by now well-known. As might be expected, he was unable to pass over Passover. So, here’s his latest:

Bay Dem Seyder Zingt Ayeder

A gliklekher ovnt Pesakh nakht

S’iz ven der seyder vert gemakht.

M’fayert es arum der velt

Avi s’iz heys, avi s’iz kelt.

Far “communists” a gute tsayt

Zey lign oyf der linker zayt!

(Far zey es hot a Yidish-tam,

Di mayse fun dem roytn yam.)

Un far shikurim epis fayn

Zey zaynen fray tsu trinken vayn!

Far kinder, likhtikayt in ponim,

Matones “via” afikomen!

Far Demokratn: Dom*! S’iz gut!

Zey denken fun Al Gore un blut!

Far oysgelasene: Oy! A glet

Zey trakhtn fun der Hes-a-bet!

(Far milkhike hobn zey nit kheyshek,

Zey hobn lib in gantsn fleyshik!)

Far Gibson (Mel) a “gutn yor”;

Zol nor er shlingn gal (Moror)!

Mit’n letstn “couplet,” mit fardrus

Mir denken fun dem Exodus!

*In Hebrew, “Dom” stands for “blood,” the first of the Ten Plagues.

At the Seder, Everyone Sings

Passover is the time for all

To have a festive (matzo) ball!

The Seder blooms around the globe

Unnerving the Judeophobe.

It gives to communists a treat

They love to leftward lean (and eat)!

They also like the history

The parting waves, the “red”-named sea.

To boozers, Seders are just fine

Because the Seder mandates wine.

To children, joyfulness comes swift

Each afikomen means a gift!

For Democrats, the plagues are core:

Reminding them of blood, called Gore.

For people sexually inclined,

The “Heys-a-bed” leaps first to mind.

(For them all, dairy food is waste

Carnivorous describes their taste.)

Mel Gibson, these directions follow:

Just chew some bitter herbs — and swallow!

Your “passion” strikes this chord in us

We’re struggling still with Exodus!