INTRODUCTION

My grandparents were born and raised in the Jewish Pale of Eastern Europe. This was a restricted area where Jews had to live. Their towns were called shetls or market towns. They emmigrated to the United States early in their lives, taking with them the culture and the language of their original home. The language that they spoke was and is called "Yiddish."

Yiddish is a language spoken by Jewish people around the world. The language originated among Eastern European Jews, and can be traced back to the 10th century. Yiddish is written using the Hebrew alphabet, though the language is basically Germanic. The word Yiddish is traced to the l8th century. "Jewish" refers not only to a religion, but to a culture. Often, the Jewish culture associated with the Jews of the " Jewish Pale" has been and still is called Yiddish culture.

The villages and the Jewish people of Eastern Europe
were destroyed during World War II. This story is written in what I think is a Yiddish folktale style. Many of the traditional stories typified the Yiddish sense of humor.

There are yiddish words included which can be clicked for definitions.
click