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{{Short description|Term describing a Jew of German-speaking origin}} |
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{{Expand German|topic=cult|date=April 2023}} |
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{{Infobox ethnic group |
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|group=German Jews in Israel |
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|population= 70,000 (2012){{citation needed|date=April 2023}} |
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|popplace=[[Jerusalem]], [[Tel Aviv]], [[Haifa]], [[Netanya]], [[Ashdod]], [[Beersheba]] and many other places |
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|rels= [[Judaism]] |
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|langs= [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[German language|German]], [[Yiddish]], [[Israeli Sign Language|Shassi]] |
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}} |
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A '''Yekke''' (also ''Jecke'') is a [[Jew]] of [[Jews of Germany|German-speaking origin]].<ref name=Haaretz>{{cite web |
A '''Yekke''' (also ''Jecke'') is a [[Jew]] of [[Jews of Germany|German-speaking origin]].<ref name=Haaretz>{{cite web |
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| url=https://www.haaretz.com/take-a-biss-of-this-book-1.5157905 |
| url=https://www.haaretz.com/take-a-biss-of-this-book-1.5157905 |
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| last=Aderet |
| last=Aderet |
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| date=2012-09-07 |
| date=2012-09-07 |
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| work=[[Haaretz]] |
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| access-date=2019-10-01}}</ref> |
| access-date=2019-10-01}}</ref> |
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== Etymology == |
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| ⚫ | The wave of [[aliyah|immigration to British Mandatory Palestine]] in the 1930s and 1940s known as the [[Fifth Aliyah]] had a large proportion of Yekkes, around 25% (55,000 immigrants). Many of them settled in the vicinity of Ben Yehuda Street in [[Tel Aviv]], leading to the nickname "Ben Yehuda Strasse." Their struggle to master [[Hebrew]] produced a dialect known as "Yekkish." The ''Ben Yehuda Strasse Dictionary: A Dictionary of Spoken Yekkish in the Land of Israel,'' published in 2012, documents this language.<ref name=Haaretz/> |
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There are a number of theories regarding the etymology of the word. The best known is that it originates from the cultural differences in dress that developed between the more westernized Western European Jews who wore shorter "jackets" ("yekke", cf. German ''Jacke'' with an initial [[Palatal approximant|y-sound]] instead of the English [[Voiced postalveolar affricate|j-sound]]) from the traditional longer coats while the outer clothing worn by the Eastern European Jews was typically longer. |
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| ⚫ | A significant community escaped [[Frankfurt]] after [[Kristallnacht]], and relocated to the [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]] neighborhood of New York City, where they still have a synagogue, [[Khal Adath Jeshurun]], which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies.<ref>{{cite book |
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Another theory is that the word derives from "Yekkef", the Western European pronunciation of the name "Jacob" or "James", which differs from the Eastern European pronunciation, "Yankef" or "Yankev" (also see German ''Jäckel'', pronounced "yekkel", the German diminutive form of Jakob). |
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Furthermore, since [[Yiddish]] is derived from [[Middle High German]], German sources occasionally note that Yiddish ''yekk(e)'' is largely [[homophone]] with ''jeck(e)'', the Rhenish dialectal form of [[Standard German]] ''Geck'' of uncertain origin but in contexts relating German ''jeck(e)'' to Yiddish ''yekk(e)'' attributed to patriarch [[Jacob]] in the Bible as does above-mentioned ''Yekkef'' theory. |
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Rhenish ''Jeck(e)'' as a noun denotes a "fool", "jester", or "crazy person" (both in a general sense, and in particular in association with the [[Carnival in Germany, Switzerland and Austria#Rhineland|Rhenish carnival]] where the term describes a traditional folkloric stage figure akin to the Italian [[harlequin]] as well as merely a reveler celebrating the carnival season in a "foolish" manner due to ebriety) and as an adjective means "crazy", "mad", "insane", whereas the dated High German word ''Geck'' originally meant a "fool" as well but later transformed to particularly signify a "dandy" or "fop". |
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However, the broader usage of the Rhenish noun ''Jeck(e)'' in the Rhineland area has given the term a general meaning resembling "person", "(mere) mortal", or "humble sinner" with a particularly (self-)ironic connotation, such as in the common saying ''Jeder Jeck is anders'' (lit. "Every fool is different", with an idiomatic meaning of "Different strokes for different folks" or "Live and let live"). From there, a transformation into an [[ethnonym]] such as for Jewish people would be akin to the fate of similar terms such as [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ''[[man (word)]]'' and ''[[theodiscus|*þiuda-]]'', and the equivalent words for "person" or "human being" in many other languages around the world. |
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== Usage == |
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The term is often used in a slightly derogatory or cynical manner, although it is also used as a compliment. It is used mainly in reference to the German Jews’ legendary attention to detail and punctuality. This sense for detail extends into the strict adherence to ''[[minhag]]im'' (religious customs, especially when pertaining to the [[Jewish services|synagogue service]]). ''[[Oberlander Jews|Oberlander]]s'' — Jews originating from the northwestern part of the former [[Kingdom of Hungary]] — are often confused with yekkes due to similar [[minhag]]im. |
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| ⚫ | The wave of [[aliyah|immigration to British |
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==Yekke minhag== |
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| first=Steven M. |
| first=Steven M. |
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| last=Lowenstein |
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| isbn=978-0814323854| title-link=Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson |
| isbn=978-0814323854| title-link=Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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A group of Yekkes established [[kibbutz]] [[Hafetz Haim|Chofetz Chaim]] in the Gedarim region of [[Israel]] just south of [[Tel Aviv]]. Recently a few new Yekkish communities have been started in Israel by "Machon Moreshet Ashkenaz," and one of the leading communities is K'hal Adas Yeshurun of Jerusalem, which is running a "Nusach Project", a project of preserving the special Yekkish melodies. |
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The short film ''[[Chaja & Mimi]]'' focuses on the ambivalent relationship of two Yekkish Israeli women to the city of their birth, Berlin. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{Cite journal|last=Gold|first=David L.|title=The Etymology of Yiddish Yeke|journal=Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|language=de|volume=48|number=1|date=1981|pages=57–59|jstor=40502725|ref=none}} |
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* {{Cite journal |
* {{Cite journal |
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| title=No Milk and No Honey: The Yekkes and the Ostjuden |
| title=No Milk and No Honey: The Yekkes and the Ostjuden |
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| pages=25–30 |
| pages=25–30 |
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| url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705191| doi=10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705191 |
| url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705191| doi=10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705191 |
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| doi-broken-date= |
| doi-broken-date=12 September 2024|ref=none |
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}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [https://moreshesashkenaz.org/en/ Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz] |
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* [https://seforimblog.com/2016/09/the-american-yekkes/ The American Yekkes] (Yisrael Kashkin, 2016) |
* [https://seforimblog.com/2016/09/the-american-yekkes/ The American Yekkes] (Yisrael Kashkin, 2016) |
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* [http://kayj.net/nusach K'hal Adas Yeshurun of Jerusalem Nusach Project] |
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{{Jews and Judaism}} |
{{Jews and Judaism}} |
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[[Category:Ashkenazi Jews topics]] |
[[Category:Ashkenazi Jews topics]] |
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[[Category:Jewish Austrian history]] |
[[Category:Jewish Austrian history]] |
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[[Category:Jewish German history]] |
[[Category:Jewish German history]] |
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[[Category:Jewish Swiss history]] |
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Latest revision as of 13:04, 12 September 2024
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (April 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 70,000 (2012)[citation needed] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Netanya, Ashdod, Beersheba and many other places | |
| Languages | |
| Hebrew, German, Yiddish, Shassi | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism |
A Yekke (also Jecke) is a Jew of German-speaking origin.[1]
Demography and history
[edit]The wave of immigration to British Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s known as the Fifth Aliyah had a large proportion of Yekkes, around 25% (55,000 immigrants). Many of them settled in the vicinity of Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv, leading to the nickname "Ben Yehuda Strasse." Their struggle to master Hebrew produced a dialect known as "Yekkish." The Ben Yehuda Strasse Dictionary: A Dictionary of Spoken Yekkish in the Land of Israel, published in 2012, documents this language.[1]
A significant community escaped Frankfurt after Kristallnacht, and relocated to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, where they still have a synagogue, Khal Adath Jeshurun, which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies.[2]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Aderet, Ofer (7 September 2012). "Take a Biss of This Book!". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ Lowenstein, Steven M. (1989). Frankfurt on the Hudson: The German-Jewish Community of Washington Heights, 1933–1983, Its structure and Culture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0814323854.
Further reading
[edit]- Gold, David L. (1981). "The Etymology of Yiddish Yeke". Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik (in German). 48 (1). Franz Steiner Verlag: 57–59. JSTOR 40502725.
- Weinbaum, Laurence; McPherson, Colin (2000). "No Milk and No Honey: The Yekkes and the Ostjuden". Jewish Quarterly. 47 (3): 25–30. doi:10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705191 (inactive 12 September 2024).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)
External links
[edit]- Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz
- The American Yekkes (Yisrael Kashkin, 2016)
- K'hal Adas Yeshurun of Jerusalem Nusach Project
