יאַרמלקע

jeu, 03/05/2015 - 19:39

Does anyone know what a שאַרפֿע יאַרמלקע would mean? (Chaim Gravitser Vol 1 p89 (context doesn't help too much). It's a description of an old shoykhet -- his emotional role in the community dynamic, somehow.

Commentaires

ven, 03/06/2015 - 08:52

My guess is that יאַרמלקע here is a metonym ("container for the thing contained" ;-) for קאָפּ, which is in turn a metonym for "intellect".
In other words שאַרפֿע יאַרמלקע could be a humorous way to say "smart fellow".

I found only one literary citation; not very revealing, but compatible with this interpretation.

dim, 03/08/2015 - 04:24

Thanks. I also found more sources since posting, and am wondering if it's something closer to "khutspedik."

I found this (upper lefthand corner) http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_15657_27.pdf

and this (bottom chunk) http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_15745_154.pdf (which is the one that tipped me off that it might be closer to khutspedik -- though I feel like I don't fully understand the joke).

dim, 03/08/2015 - 04:26

Also, there is a footnote in the Hebrew translation of Chaim Gravitzer that sources it to "פלפלא חריפא" in Talmud -- an Aramaic folk saying -- "Better a sharp pepper than a basket full of gourds." That would be closer to the "intellect" interpretation -- but I also am not convinced that that's the source -- from sharp pepper to sharp yarmulka seems like a big leap.

dim, 03/08/2015 - 04:28

And it is interesting that all sources that I've found are chabad sources.

dim, 03/08/2015 - 08:14

mentioned in Yidish Shprakh
see item 106 here:
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_43592_64.pdf

glossed as "hot a teve zikh tsu krign", i.e. "argumentative".

mer, 03/25/2015 - 20:09

That is awesome, thank you so much. How did you find that?