קולטור

Dogs

In the traditional Yiddish-speaking world of Eastern Europe, dogs carried mostly negative associations. In different instances, a dog might represent cruelty, selfishness, or wanton destructiveness.

A canine character appearing in Yiddish literature would generally be depicted as antagonistic. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, influence from other European cultures sparked a greater interest in the natural world, and specifically, we see for the first time the appearance of the benevolent dog in Yiddish literature -- the good, clever dog who is sensitive to the needs of its owner and comes running when needed.

Labzik, for example, is such a dog – the hero of the children’s book Labzik (1935) by Khaver-Paver (pseudonym of Gershon Einbinder). The story takes place in New York at the time of the Great Depression. Labzik and his family (a father, a mother, a boy, and a girl) have charming and exciting adventures that convey the values of leftist politics. A second book by Khaver-Paver, Vovik, tells the adventures of Labzik’s youngest puppy. Vovik’s stories focus on family life and are just as charming as Labzik’s, but less political. In 2021 a puppet show was created based on the Labzik stories; here is a song from the performance. Extracts from Labzik and Vovik are included in the anthology of Yiddish Children’s literature Honey on the Page, edited and translated into English by Miriam Udel.

The negative and positive associations that Yiddish speakers had with dogs are reflected in the following synonyms:

hunt (הונט)— This is the most neutral term, which can be used in any situation, not expressing any special emotional attachment to the creature. This is the word which is found in most of the sayings and expressions in Yiddish which mention dogs (the majority of them in a negative light).

keylev (כּלבֿ)— A word for a malevolent dog, which is unpleasant or dangerous to encounter. The same word can be used to refer to a mean or evil person.

hintl (הינטל) — The diminutive form of the first word: this word can refer to a young or small dog, or alternatively can express gentleness, sympathy, and friendliness. That is why we chose to use this word to refer to the gentle, friendly dog of this lesson’s movie.

It is interesting to note that we know of no dog character represented in the Yiddish film industry, which had its heyday in the 1930s. Therefore, Moby’s Pintl may well be history’s first on-screen Yiddish hintl!