Work Text:
Translations! These will be a little longer, with more explanation than the pretty brief mouse-over text. I really love talking about Judaism, so if you have any questions, comments, or corrections at all, please do share! Without further ado, in order of appearance:
Ani L’Dodi: Hebrew meaning, “I am my beloved’s.” It is the first half of the line, "ani l’dodi, v’dodi li" (“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”), a quote used in nearly all Jewish weddings. It’s actually in my parents’ ketubah, or “marriage contract." This phrase is from the Shir HaShirim, the “Song of Songs,” a deeply romantic, sexual, and spiritual composition which has been interpreted as either a love song between two young lovers or a romantic tribute to the relationship of G-d to the Jewish people, the Jewish people to the Sabbath, etc. A good translation (albeit with some very outdated language… gentle yikes?) can be found here (http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16445/jewish/Chapter-1.htm). Interesting fact I learned today: at least one of the lovers is described as unambiguously dark-skinned and handsome, and asks the reader, “Do not look upon me [disdainfully] because I am [dark-skinned], for the sun has gazed upon me.” Food for thought in our modern age.
Zayde: Yiddish for “Grandfather”
Yingele: Yiddish endearment for “little one” or “youngling”
Ya’akov: Hebrew name meaning “one who grabs by the heel” after the Biblical story of Ya’akov’s birth. The English version is “Jacob” -- hence Ya'akov's English name, Jack.
Chutzpah: Yiddish word meaning “guts, nerve, audacity.” Can be positive or negative; the kind of person who asks the waiter if they can take the bread basket home with the bread, or the kind of person who brawls in back alleys with bullies twice their size to do what’s right (*cough, cough, Steven Grant Rogers, cough*).
Kemfer: Yiddish word meaning “fighter, but one who fights for an ideal; an activist” (I saw this word while studying Yiddish, and the BUCKY AND STEVE alarm bells went off instantly in my head… to be honest, their characterization throughout this entire fic is basically inspired by this one word.)
Mitzvah: Hebrew word meaning literally, “a commandment [from the Torah].” More colloquially, it often refers to “a good deed,” whether or not it’s directly related to one of the 613 commandments in the Torah/Hebrew Bible.
”-nochmal. Was ist-”: German for “-again. What is-”
”Nokh a mol, nokh a mol. Vos iz…” Yiddish for “Again, again. What is…”
Judah Berel: A Yiddish name basically meaning “Jew” and “Bear.” Both were common names for Jewish boys. “Judah” comes from the name of the Kingdom of Judah/Judaea, which ultimately comes from the name of one of the twelve tribes, originating in the name of Judah, Jacob and Leah’s fourth son. Incidentally, this is where the word “Judaism” came from, so the meaning of the name evolved over time in the ancient world from “This is my son, he is named after one of Jacob’s sons/one of the twelve tribes” to “This is my son, we live in/are descended from inhabitants of Judaea” to, in the more modern age, “This is my son, he is a Jew.”
“Berel” means “bear,” and was also a frequent Yiddish name for boys, especially as a second name (see historical notes).
Yehuda Dov: The original Hebrew version of the Yiddish name “Judah Berel,” also essentially meaning “Jew” and “Bear.”
Goyim: Hebrew and Yiddish word for people who aren’t Jewish, literally meaning "nations." There has been some debate recently about whether the word has a negative connotation, but especially for a native Yiddish speaker in the ’20s or '30s, it would have been simply the word available, with any connotations depending on the context.
Tallis: Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew “tall-EET,” a prayer shawl. Most often white with blue stripes and knotted strings at the corners.
Tefillin: Hebrew and Yiddish word for phylacteries; long leather straps attached to boxes containing Hebrew prayers written on tiny parchment scrolls. One box is placed on the forehead with the strap tightened around one’s head, and one box placed on the upper arm of the non-dominant hand, with the strap wrapped tightly around the arm and hand in a specific fashion.
Bar Mitzvah: Hebrew phrase literally meaning “son of commandment[s].” A coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish boys when they turn 13, marking their entrance into adult Jewish life. There is also a coming-of-age ceremony called a Bat Mitzvah for Jewish girls, held at age 12 or 13, depending on denomination.
Shul: Yiddish word for “synagogue.”
Pogrom: Yiddish word for a raid or attack on Jewish villages or ghettoes, often involving robbery and arson of Jewish homes, as well as rape and murder of Jewish civilians.
Golem: A creature in Jewish folklore which is shaped out of clay and brought to life through mystical, Kabbalistic magic in order to protect a Jewish community from some kind of harm (usually specified to be blood libel or an imminent pogrom). A golem has no free will and will follow any order given by its maker, occasionally to humorous or terrible ends.
Shabbos: Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew, “Shabbat,” or the Jewish Sabbath. A day of rest lasting from Friday evening at sundown until Saturday night, when three stars are visible in the sky. The beginning of Shabbos is celebrated weekly with special songs, joyous dancing, lighting of candles, blessing of wine, and eating a delicious braided bread called “challah.”
South Jersey Star: A newspaper which came out weekly in the early 20th century. The reason I'm kicking myself over the small details here is that, at least according to the directory of the New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers, the South Jersey Star was last available in 1923. According to the timeline of this fic, Bucky and Steve meet in October 1925, two years after the last edition of the South Jersey Star -- unless the newspaper continued through 1925 and the "New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers" website doesn't list it, it's impossible for Bucky to have found a 'week-old' edition for Steve to wear inside his shoes.
That all said, I chose it because it has "Jersey" in the name, facilitating Steve's joke about betraying Brooklyn for New Jersey. It also sounds like a newspaper title of that era, and it is, at least, from the same rough time period. If newspaper timeline accuracy is a big deal to you, then... sue me? Also, please feel free to make fun of me for looking up 1920's newspapers extensively enough to find the "New Jersey Online Historical Newspapers" website, and then agonizing over a two-year gap in historical accuracy when it comes to fictional characters who may or may not have worn newspapers in their shoes, or had access to newspapers from Southern New Jersey at all, just to make a joke in a fan fiction. Friends, it's official: I may be in too deep.
Historical Notes:
Names: It was very common for Ashkenazi (Eastern and Central European Jewish) children to be given two names, especially since people in small Jewish villages were more likely to know themselves as “Yitzchak, son of Israel” or “Sarah, daughter of Chana” than by the assigned last names given to many European Jews after their emancipation (granting of citizenship) in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the pool of common names was pretty small, and even in small villages there could be several “Yitzchak, son of Israels,” many babies were given two names to differentiate them (for example, Zisa-Sarah, daughter of Chana-Leah). Sometimes, double names in Hebrew and Yiddish would be given (for example, Dov Berel was not uncommon). Additionally, separate Hebrew names were (and remain) a very widespread custom. Most Jewish children born in the Diaspora are given both a Hebrew name and a name common to or influenced by the Diasporic country, and many parents try to match the names in either sound or meaning (for example, Elliott -> Eliash, or Rose -> Shoshanah, which is Hebrew for “rose”). So, if a Judah Berel were to be given a Hebrew name, it might very likely be “Yehuda Dov.”
Dog Tag Info: Between November 1941 and July 1943, during which time it seems Bucky was most likely to have been drafted, the standard information included on dog tags was:
first name of soldier, second initial, surname
army serial number, tetanus vaccine year, tetanus-toxoid vaccine year, blood type
name of the next of kin
address of next of kin
city, state of next of kin + soldier’s religion
During World War II, the three given choices really were P for Protestant, C for Catholic, and H for Hebrew (Jewish). There are some reports of X for None and Y for Other/Choose Not to Say, but it is unclear how widespread this was. Many Jewish soldiers serving in World War II, knowing that they would likely be killed on the spot, sent to a concentration camp, and/or marked as “Jewish” rather than “Allied POW,” chose not to identify themselves as Jewish on their dog tags. Those that did, when captured, were often singled out for persecution. However, there are also many reports of Jewish soldiers (or their heroic platoonmates) ‘losing’ their dog tags or damaging them so as not to be legible when captured. (Source for dog tag info: https://www.med-dept.com/articles/u-s-army-ww2-dog-tags/)