http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:13:42 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/comment-page-1/#comment-24060 Joshua W. Burton Thu, 08 Apr 2004 07:51:47 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1356#comment-24060 _Just what am I supposed to do with this book?_ Take it to Bnei Brak and Kfar Habad, and to the northern belt of Jerusalem from Ramot all the way to Mea She'arim; to Lakewood, NJ and Kiryas Joel, NY; to Crown Heights and Boro Park; to Golders Green and Stamford Hill; to Hollywood, FL and Skokie, IL and mile after mile of Bathurst in Toronto.... It's amazing what a doubling time of 11 years (more like 9.5 years in Israel) will do for a small remnant population over the course of half a century. By naive extrapolation, Yiddish will be the majority language in New Jersey by about 2050, and in North America around 2130. Just what am I supposed to do with this book? Take it to Bnei Brak and Kfar Habad, and to the northern belt of Jerusalem from Ramot all the way to Mea She’arim; to Lakewood, NJ and Kiryas Joel, NY; to Crown Heights and Boro Park; to Golders Green and Stamford Hill; to Hollywood, FL and Skokie, IL and mile after mile of Bathurst in Toronto…. It’s amazing what a doubling time of 11 years (more like 9.5 years in Israel) will do for a small remnant population over the course of half a century. By naive extrapolation, Yiddish will be the majority language in New Jersey by about 2050, and in North America around 2130.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/comment-page-1/#comment-24059 Scott Martens Tue, 06 Apr 2004 16:38:26 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1356#comment-24059 "Lately there may have been a few problems assimilating the Jews of Quebec [...]" I snorted Diet Coke out of my nose on reading that. Dammit, that's my second QWERTY keyboard in a year. “Lately there may have been a few problems assimilating the Jews of Quebec [...]” I snorted Diet Coke out of my nose on reading that. Dammit, that’s my second QWERTY keyboard in a year.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/comment-page-1/#comment-24058 Theophylact Tue, 06 Apr 2004 16:37:11 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1356#comment-24058 He's working on a novel, <a href="http://olivepress.blogspot.com/2003_11_02_olivepress_archive.html"><i>Hotzeplotz</i></a>, inspired by this phrasebook. He’s working on a novel, Hotzeplotz, inspired by this phrasebook.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/comment-page-1/#comment-24057 Mr Ripley Tue, 06 Apr 2004 07:07:31 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1356#comment-24057 What Barry said. I once saw the phrasebook in question myself, and never gave it a third thought. Chabon turns it into a meditation worthy of Avram Davidson. What Barry said. I once saw the phrasebook in question myself, and never gave it a third thought. Chabon turns it into a meditation worthy of Avram Davidson.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/06/next-year-in-yisroel/comment-page-1/#comment-24056 Barry Tue, 06 Apr 2004 05:33:44 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1356#comment-24056 Thank you very much for finding this lovely essay. Thank you very much for finding this lovely essay.

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