Category: Context/Translator’s Comments
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Translator’s Comment on Chapter 22, and Thanks
As a Yiddish language learner in adulthood, I originally began translating my grandfather Solomon Simon’s books in order to read them. A rough translation of Medines Yisroel and Erets Yisroel existed at least six years ago, when I used it to apply (unsuccessfully) for a translation fellowship. I also ran…
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Comment on Chapter 16: The Tables Turned
In Chapter 15, Simon writes briefly about an orthodox school, and then about his visit to the Kibbutz Chofetz Chaim (a transliterated name, so spelling varies depending on whether a Yiddish or Hebrew system is being used). By coincidence, this religious kibbutz was named after the man who headed the…
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Comment on Chapters 11 and 12 – Kibbutzim
Chapter 11 marks something of a shift in tone. It’s true, there is more on the themes he has already been developing – his amazement at the Biblical landscape come to life, his discomfort with the Israelis’ militarism, with their cavalier attitude towards the Arabs who were just displaced and…
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Comment: On a Pair of Hebrew Words in Yiddish
Throughout the book[1], Solomon Simon uses Hebrew in two different ways. The first is when he quotes the Jewish source texts: Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, Talmud or the Medieval commentaries. Sometimes he quotes these sources in his own Yiddish translation. But in many cases, he cites the original Hebrew…
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Comments on Chapter 6
Just a few comments about Chapter 6. First, I am not only Solomon Simon’s translator, but also his grandson. But it follows that I am also his wife’s grandson, and I want to put in a word here on her behalf. In the scene in Mea Shearim, the author uses…
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Comment on Chapter 5
I did not comment on Chapters 3 and 4. There are two reasons. First, Solomon Simon (may his memory be a blessing) was not a man to keep his mouth shut. And yet, he let his hosts go on and on in Chapter 3, while he just listens. His amazement,…
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Orientation, Chs 1 & 2
This site’s posts are divided into two kinds of content. The Main content is the text of Solomon Simon’s book Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel, translated into English as “The Nation State and the Promised Land: An American Yiddish Writer in Israel, 1949.” Each English chapter is accompanied by a…
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In Serial Installments
The book Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel was first published in installments, in the Buenos Aires newspaper Di Prese. The first installment appeared on December 31, 1949, and the last on August 16th of 1950. Given our world today, I promise not to take 8 months to share the translation…
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Reviews from 1950
Here are some reactions to the book Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel from Yiddish language writers and critics at the time: “Simon’s book, Medines Yisroel un Erets Yisroel is a true colorful kaleidoscope of encounters. Few observations of nature, but many of humans. His meetings with children are particularly important.…
The Nation State and the Promised Land 