Hesped in Memory of Sheyndl Lieberman-Reich
This week we mourn the sudden passing of Sheyndl (Sheila) Lieberman-Reich, a long time Yiddish teacher and caring soul in the Los Angeles community. Our friend Shulem Londner wrote this eulogy in transliterated Yiddish and English. You can listen to a recording of her in Yiddish here on the Yiddish Voice radio show.
Hesped (oyf yidish)
Ikh ken Sheila far mer vi a fertl yorhundert un bshas di gantser tsayt hob ikh nisht afile eyn mol gerufn ir mit yenem nomen. Ikh hob nor gevust fun Sheyndl. Nor bay ir akhtsiker yor geburtstag hob ikh oysgefunen as tsu ale anderer layt heyst zi Sheila.
Yorn lang iz Sheyndl geven a yiddish lererke in farshidener institutsies in Los Angeles.
Ikh alayn hob nisht keyn mol genumen kayn klas bay ir, ober mayn vayb Tema iz bay ir oft geven a talmid. Alts a lererke, iz zi geven gor bazunder. In a tipisher klas zenen di studentn geshtanen oyf farshidiner nivos, fun kmat absolut onheyber biz advantsiert, dokh, hot zi gekent opgebn zikh mit yeder eyner. Tsu yeder eyner hot zi zikh tsugepast tsu zayer nivo un yeder eyner iz avekgekum mit zayer yidish farbesert.
Vi ikh aleyn iz zi geven a kind fun Sheyris Hapleytim vos hot geredt yidish in der heym. In der emes, far undz bayder, iz dos geven di ershter sprakh. Tsen yor tseshprayt, in mayne oygn iz zi geven di eltere shvester vos ikh hob nisht keyn mol gehat. In undzere fil shmuesn hob mir nor geredt oyf yidish, oyf mame loshn. Khas vkhalile mir zoln redn oyf der goyisher sprakh! Azoy vi ikh, hot zi gekent tsenliker oyb nisht hunderter yidisher oysdrukn, sprikhverter un khokhmes. Bshas a tipishen shmues flegn mir klugn zikh mit zey. Mir hobn zikh gekhidisht eynts anderer bay di vos mir hobn gekent un di vos mir hobn nisht gekent.
Tsenliker yorn lang, iz zi geven a mitglid fun a leyenkrayz. Trots dem az zi iz geven a yidish lerer hotzi nisht keyn mol gehaltn zikh hekher fun undz. Zi hot lib gehat tsu zayn a pusheter mitglid azoy vi di resht fun undz. Oyf aza shteyger hot zi zikh gehaltn.
During the leyenkrayz she loved telling us clever, funny or “spicy” expressions in Yiddish.
Here are a couple:
Lo Yirkhats gelt --- hush money, derived from the biblical phrase “the dog will not bark” becauseduring the exodus from Egypt, God promised Moses that the dogs wouldn’t bark so as not to give up the Jews escaping.
Zumer un Vinter ligt im in moyl – He only tells lies twice a year, summer and winterIn other words, the only time he tells the truth in in the spring and fall.
Kush vokh --- Honeymoon. literally this translates as “kiss week”. Isn’t that charming?
And finally here’s a spicy one:
Glanst azoy vi bay a kuter di eyer --- Shiny as a tomcat’s cojones.It is used to describe something that is excessively clean, polished, or shiny—often to an almost comical degree, like a person wearing a very flashy shiny suit.
Sheyndl was an eyshes khayl --- a woman of valor but with a twinkle in her eye.I along with her friends in our leyenkrayz and the multitude of students she taught over the years will miss her greatly.
Kovid ir Ondenk --- may we all honor her memory
Hesped (oyf English)
I’ve known Sheila for more than a quarter of a century and during that entire time I never once called her by that name. I always knew her by her yiddish name Sheyndl.
In fact it was only by attending her 80th birthday that I realized everyone else knew her as Sheila.
Sheyndl was for many years a Yiddish teacher in various institutions in Los Angeles.
I never took a class from her, but my wife Tema took many classes with Sheyndl as teacher.
As a teacher, she was an extraordinary. In a typical class the levels varied from almost rank beginners to advanced students, yet Sheyndl could engage everyone. She met each student at their level and each of those students would come away with their Yiddish farbesert.
Like myself, she was a child of survivors who spoke Yiddish at home. In fact for both of us, it was our first language. We were 10 years apart in age and I always considered her as the older sister I’d never had. In our many conversations, we only spoke in Yiddish, the mother tongue. God-forbid we should speak in English! As did I, she knew dozens if not hundreds of yiddish folk saying, aphorisms, and expressions. During a typical conversation, we would throw out many of these at each other. We both surprised each other, by those we knew or didn’t know.
For many decades, she was a member of a Yiddish leyenkrayz or reading group. Despite being a Yiddish teacher, she never lorded this over us, prefering to be just one of the mitglider like everyone else. She was very humble that way.
During the leyenkrayz she loved telling us clever, funny or “spicy” expressions in Yiddish.
Here are a couple:
Lo Yirkhats gelt --- hush money derived from the biblical phrase “the dog will not bark” because during the exodus from Egypt, God promised Moses that the dogs wouldn’t bark so as not to give the Jews escaping.
Zumer un Vinter ligt im in moyl – He only tells lies twice a year, summer and winter
In other words, the only time he tells the truth in in the spring and fall.
Kush vokh --- Honeymoon. Literally this translates as “kiss week”. Isn’t that charming?
And finally here’s a spicy one:
Glanst azoy vi bay a kuter di eyer --- Shiny as a tomcat’s cojones.
It is used to describe something that is too clean, polished, or shiny—often to an almost excessive or comical degree, like a person wearing a very flashy shiny suit.
Sheyndl was an eyshes khayl --- a woman of valor but with a twinkle in her eye.
I along with her friends in our leyenkrayz and the multitude of students she taught over the years will miss her greatly.
Kovid ir Ondenk --- may we all honor her memory.