<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">L O W L A N D S - L - 19 January 2008 - Volume 08
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">=========================================================================</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">
Mark Dreyer</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:mrdreyer@lantic.net">mrdreyer@lantic.net</a>></span></span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">LL-L "Etymology" 2008.01.20 (03) [E]<br><br></span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Dear
Ron:</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: L-Lowlands
"Etymology"</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Ron, over the Long
Ages there has been a drift of meaning to the Hebrew word 'mazal'. Once it
meant 'destiny' - specifically 'celestial destiny'. & at that time they
coined the apothegm 'Eyn mazal l'Yehudim', meaning 'Jews are not subject to
fate." - (pray, & God may change it: See the Book of Jonah). There was no
point in casting augeries or looking 'in the stars'. The Greeks thought this was
bizarre & the sign of a capricious God - & alas, these 'atheists'
(atheoi) had only that one!</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Later it drifted to
mean just luck (in the popular mind), & now the same expression is
taken to mean 'Jews have no luck'. This is the foundation of the application of
the term "sheloh Mazal" in Hebrew & "shlemozzel" in Yiddish (He who has
<b>no</b> luck). The concept is of course 'popular'. It has no
foundation in doctrine (Jews are not supposed to believe in Luck).</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">There is the tale
succinctly explaining three characteristic 'types' in society, epitomised in the
terms Shlemozzel (already discussed), Shlemiel ("sheloh miEl (That which is
<b>not</b> from God)),& Nebbish (that you might be able to help me
with, Ron. I think it is Russian, & as the Yid applies it, refers to an
<b>ineffectual</b> twerp).</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Herewith the
tale:</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The waiter
carries a big tureen of hot soup to table. The guest, the shlemiel, has his
legs stuck out & causes him to trip & spill it in the lap of
the diner, the shlemozzel. Without due warning or even asking
permission the waiter, the nebbish, takes his little napkin & tries to wipe
it out of the victim's lap. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Ron:</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="Ih2E3d">By the way, there
have been various theories as to the origin of Yiddish שלימזל <i>shlimazl</i>. The component מזל <i>mazl</i> is clear: Hebrew מַזָל
<i>mazâl</i> 'fortune', 'fate' (also used in
the colloquial Dutch greeting as <i>de mazzel</i>). The most plausible
explanation seems to be that <i>Schlamassel</i> goes back to early Judeo-German
שלים מזל <i>shlim
mazl</i> where <i>shlim</i> is a cognate of German
<i>schlimm</i> 'dire', 'seriously bad'.
<br><br>Regards,<br></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Mark<br><br>----------<br><br>
From: R. F. Hahn <</span><a style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: Etymology<br><br>A sheynem dank, tayerer fraynd, Mark.<br><br>The hypothesis of שלא מזל </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">shelo </i>
<i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">mazâl</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> is the one I learned about first, donkey years ago. In the meantime the grapevine has it that this is considered debunked at least in some quarters, apparently because שלימזל
<i>shlimazl</i> or שלימ מזל <i>shlim mazl</i> occurred in early (Old Yiddish) in Germany. I don't know this for a fact, though. Well, in favor of it we can say that on the basis of שלא מזל </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
shelo </i><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">mazâl</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> we should expect something like<i> *shlomazl</i> or <i>*shlumazl</i>.<br><br>Cheers!<br>Reinhard/Ron
<br><br></span>