Read by the tongue
פֿון דײַן מויל אין גאָטס אויערן אַרײַן
fun dayn moyl in gots oyern arayn
A Yiddish phrase that turns someone's hopeful words into a prayer — and how Arabic and Irish blessing traditions circle the same impulse from different directions.
אַ האַלבער אמת איז אַ גאַנצער ליגן
a halber emes iz a gantser lign
Why Yiddish insists that a half-truth is a whole lie — and how German, Spanish, and Russian arrive at the same verdict by very different routes.
מענטש טראַכט, גאָט לאַכט
mensch tracht, gott lacht
Why Yiddish wisdom says God laughs at human planning — and how Latin, English, and Arabic each find a different tone for the same admission of limit.