Opuscula Some Jewish Pejoratives1

Am HaAretz

Goy

Shiksah and Shagetz (y)

Swartz in all its variations

Used by a Jew in the 20th and 21st centuries, all of the above are pejoratives.

Two are direct from Hebrew, the others via Yiddish.
But not all used to be (pejoratives).

Anyone who has spent time with the Talmuds (Bavil and Yerusalmi) should know that “am ha’aretz” once referred to ruling committees, vads (vadim).

Given the literal meaning of the word, People (am) of the (ha) land (aretz) it is probably that the people known as “Am HaAretz” were landed gentry.

According to mi yodeya², In Tana'ch, the term "am ha'aretz" meant either "the tribal counsel" as we see when Abraham wanted to purchase the Cave of Machpela, he bowed down to the "am ha'aretz". It also meant "the nation" or "people of the land" as we see this term used in Yeshayahu among other places in Tana"ch. In the mishnah and gemarah (Avot, for example), the term "am ha'aretz" means "ignoramus".

How did the meaning change?

I might speculate that when Ezra brought Jews back from Bavil he found a people who were, in the eyes of the returnees, “beneath them.”

This is human nature; usually new immigrants are considered the “unwashed masses.” This was true of the established Sefardim (Spanish/Portuguese Jews) when the German Jews first arrived on America’s shores, and of the Germans who were embarrassed by the shtetel Jews who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s from eastern Europe.

Goy is used, repeatedly in the Torah to mean “nation.”

It is a Hebrew word, not a Yiddish word, albeit Ashkenazi Jews who know zero Hebrew use it freely in its negative sense.

HaShem promised Abram (Genesis 12 2) “I will make of thee “a great nation” — אעשך לגוי גדול .

All translations to English are from the Hertz/Soncino humash unless otherwise noted.

In Genesis (21 13) HaShem tells Abraham that He also will make Ismael “a great nation” — וגם בן האמה לגוי אשימנו .

Abraham was not the only patriarch told he would be a father to a great nation.

HaShem told Jacob/Israel (Genesis 46 3) אל-תירא מרדה מצרימה כי-לגוי גדול אשימך שם — “fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I will make of thee a great nation.”

In Isaiah (43 9) we read “כל הגוים נקבצו” — “All the nations are gathered...”

In the Pesach hagadah, we recite “Pour out Your fury on the nations [goyim] that do not know You.”. (When raising the Cup of Elijah just before Hallel in a traditional hagadah.)

Perhaps the context — the nations [goyim] that do not know You — that was added to the story in the so-called Middle Ages³ put the term “goy” in a (justifiably) negative connotation.

There IS a word (or several) in Hebrew to identify a person as a non-Jew: the word: nokar (m)/nokaret (f)/nokarim (p) — נוכר\נוכרת\נוכרים. The word literally means “foreigner” or “not one of us."

Nokar, because it is Hebrew and less known to European Jews, never took on the pejorative status of “goy.”

Cushie never was a pejorative until American liberals descended on Israel around 2005.

Ethiopian Jewish tradition identifies the land of Cush with their land of origin, but there are other ancient traditions that identify Cush with different locations in the ancient world.⁴

In any event, dark skinned Jews were known as “Cushim” before American liberals determined “Chushie” was not politically correct. To be politically correct, the Americans contend, black Jews must be called “she’hor’im” — “blacks.

שחור = black, but not to be confused with שיכור = drunk.

Was Malkat Sheba a Cushite? If she was, that certainly did not bother David, except perhaps when she returned to her own country.

Swartzah/Swartzer are Yiddish for a black person. It should NOT be a pejorative, but its use, almost always with a negative or condescending connotation, makes it so.

Perhaps the American liberals who insist on calling Cushim “she’hor’im” are thinking “swartzah” and “swartzer” but can’t admit it even unto themselves.

I recall a sweet young thing in 9th grade chorus who whispered into my ear “Swartz means black.” Swartz, German for black, was borrowed by the Yiddish-speaking Jews. I could not bring myself to call her “Carol Cushie” or “Carol Sha’hor.” Not even “Carol Black.” (I’m certain Ms. Swartz from my 9th grade chorus class long ago changed her name under the huppa. Mazel tov.)

Shiksah and Shagetz are Yiddish terms for nokarim – shiksah for females and shagetz for males. Unfortunately, too many non-Yiddish-speaking Jews have adopted the pejoratives, especially when their son or daughter is entranced by a non-Jew.

Hebrew is replete with pejoratives, but the pejoratives are not, unlike English, obscene. How can a word be obscene if it appears in the Torah?

That doesn’t mean casting aspersions on a person’s forebears won’t result in a bloody nose, or worse, but at least the person isn’t being obscene or profane.

Sources

1. Pejorative: https://tinyurl.com/ydb6l39o

2. Am HaAretz: https://tinyurl.com/r2zwfae

3. Goy in Hagadah: https://tinyurl.com/yxyf47rv

4. Cush: https://tinyurl.com/uq658gj

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.
Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.
 

Jewish Pejoratives

CHUTZPAH !

When I was young, just after The Flood, I was taught to not only respect my elders but to show them that respect.

Yes sir, no sir; yes mam, no mam.

Never, never presume to call an adult by their given name unless specifically invited to do so by the adult. Maybe Uncle Joe wanted to be called Uncle Joe, but unless the lady at the corner market asked to be called Carol, it was Miz Swartz.

In the pseudo-military of the U.S. Air Force, back when Wilber and Orville were taking to the air, peons – of which I was one – were obliged to salute shave tail second lieutenants who, as every sergeant knows, are lower than new recruits. We had to address them as sir or mam; in fact, everyone with more rank than E-1 – there was nothing lower – had to be shown respect; sir or mam.

We were told we didn’t have to like the person we were addressing; we had to show respect for the rank, and yes, Virginia, some of those people were pretty “rank.”

But, as Robert Allen Zimmerman told us, “Times they are a’changin.” (http://tinyurl.com/23xbawo). He should know; he and I are contemporaries if not contemporary.

I’m a grey beard; I look my age. Living this long certainly beats the alternative.

I take umbrage when some “whipper snapper” takes liberties and addresses me, a total stranger, by my given name. As I made an appointment for an eye exam the Sweet Young Thing at the desk, using my given name, told me my appointment was set. When she said my name I quietly corrected her: It’s Mister Glenn.

I don’t know the child – she looked to be in her 20s – and I don’t care if she wore a name tag with her given name on it – remember, I was scheduling an eye exam so maybe I just failed to see the name tag.

This buddy-buddy approach is fostered by management to make the customer – be the product spectacles or Cadillacs – think he or she is among friends. Nonsense! The customer is among people who are after the customer’s money.

Until I give someone leave to address me by my given name, don’t do it, unless, of course you either (a) are older than me or (b) wish me to address you in a similar manner. Rabbis, doctors, judges, and the like beware.

My “junior” surgeon is younger than me – my “senior” surgeon is my age; neither invites me to call them by their first names although I confess to taking liberties with the junior’s surname; it’s Hertz and I refer to him as “Painless” since I never needed even an aspirin following his work at the table.

I don’t normally call a rabbi by his given name, even if I am very much the youngster’s senior. (I often feel sorry for rabbis and doctors who lack “first name” friends. In some Latin countries, titles are prefixed to names of engineers, lawyers, and other professionals.)

I am a curmudgeon, no doubt about it. But I firmly believe this would be a better place if minimal courtesies were restored; start with addressing your elders by title, if only Mister, Miss, Misses, or even Miz; children should – gasp! – stand when a teacher enters the classroom. Let’s put hands over the heart during the U.S. National Anthem – ever watch the players at a sports event; maybe one in five or 10 doff their hats and place them over their heart. Heck, I’m not even sure our elected officials, from POTUS down, show respect to the flag and anthem. (Yes, I see their little flag lapel pins; it’s simply not the same.)

Who knows what a modicum of courtesy might generate. Perhaps less road rage? Less cutting in lines? Gentlemen holding the door for ladies – or have both gone the way of dinosaurs?

Go on, as Mr. Clint Eastwood famously said, “make my day” (http://tinyurl.com/cfm9mqd) and “call me mister” (http://tinyurl.com/cupa9q7 and http://tinyurl.com/3xbcc4u).

As I “researched” the origin of “Call me Mister,” the first URL I visited referred to a play of that name revolving around, according to Wikipedia, returning soldiers (from WW II) who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank.

I recall how surprised I was when, as a just out of the Air Force civilian someone addressed me as “Mister Glenn.” I almost went into shock – that would have been OK since I was working at a hospital. That incident occurred (c 1963) before many readers of this rant were born.

To paraphrase the late Mr. James Francis Durante, “goodnight, Ms. Swartz, wherever you are.”