The Book Expo was a ball! People like to kvetch and stretch and schmooze with me for hours. But it's good to be home and back in my yoga routine. Next stop: The American Library Association Conference in Chicago, the windy city. But not until July.
Om shalom,
Ruthie
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMe too, I was there, at this Book Expo in The City That Never Lets You Sleep. I was looking for this book, maybe you've heard of it, "A Course In Schmearacles" Also I was looking for a translation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" into Yiddish, titled "King Schmear". Nothing of Yiddishkeit did I find, bupkis, until someone, hearing how it is I talk the English, told me I should go to this darling splendor of a person at the Newmarket Press exhibit who was giving away bagels with a schmear and talking about something Yiddish. What I heard, I would never have expected, in all my years, I don't know that there's such interest in making with the Yiddish a kind of way to make Shalom in the mind by exercising the body. And, this Yiddish Yoga, that's the title of this lovely Ruthie's book, it has that old-time Yiddish humor about life and death, about suffering and joy. The bagel wasn't bad either!
ReplyDeleteHi, Ruthie! Maybe you remember we met and talked at the Expo. I told you how much you remind me of my own grandmother, Esther. We call her "Bubby Esther". I'd like her to get interested in what you do, and I'm looking forward to when your book is published so I can give her a copy. My grandfather recently died. Remembering and moving on at the same time is difficult, isn't it? I wish you could talk with my grandmother, but hopefully your book will get her to laugh and to try something different in her life (even if it isn't yoga!).
ReplyDeleteI love the title of your book! The more I think about it, the more it makes me think, if you know what I mean. Can't wait for the book to be published. Best of luck to you, and I hope we meet again!
-Sid Templemann
Dear Ruthie,
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you have this Blog! I so enjoyed meeting you at the Expo. You were the one person who left me laughing. I told you that I am a Phd student researching the history of Jewish immigration to the United States and the interactions between immigrant Yiddish culture and American culture. There's so much humor in Yiddish culture, talking to you I realized I need to iighten up a bit! One theme, I think I told you this, that I am trying to write about for my Phd is that in Yiddish culture there is a 'secret' of how to familiarize the 'strange' or the different without losing one's own difference. In your book, you told me you talk about how yoga practice got you interested more in your own Yiddishkeit. That's fascinating! I'm sorry I didn't have more time to talk with you about that, but I feel encouraged in my work by what you are doing.
Would you allow me to interview you, some time, for my research? I look forward to talking with you some more soon! Take care, Ruthie.
Robben Gardner
Ruthie, hello to you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robben, it's great that you have this Blog to stay in touch. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wished he had more time to talk with you at the Expo. Did you happen to see the cover article in New York magazine, a few weeks, ago, about Larry David and Woody Allen and the 'end of Jewish humor' (or something meshugah like that)? I saw the article the same day I met and talked with you, and I laughed thinking what you might have to say about it.
Will you be doing more appearances in the area (New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey)? I hope the book is out soon. I told my friends and my family about it, and they all think it sounds delightful and want to read it. I've done some yoga myself but Yiddish stuff I've never really paid any attention to. I told my grandmother about your book, and she said 'Maybe now you'll get a little interested in what's your Yiddish background.' Lol. Well, I think I will!
Be well, Ruthie, and may you have more adventures to write and to make us laugh about.
best wishes,
David Gelb
Hi Binyamin,
ReplyDeleteTell your Bubby Esther it's never too late to start yoga! She will feel terrific after the first class.
Why don't you give a gift of a year of yoga like Stephanie, my own granddaughter did for me!
best to you bubbele,
Ruthie
Robben my scholar, of course you can interview me any time. And I'm glad my book made you laugh. As you know from Yiddish Yoga, I like to learn something knew every day. Now I'm studying hebrew.
ReplyDeleteRegarding strangeness Robbe, you just be yourself and live your life with humor and compassion and wisdom.
I hope to see you on my tour!
love,
Ruthie
David,
ReplyDeleteI did see that article in New York Magazine about Jewish humor and Larry David and Woody Allen. I was upset that my beloved Sandra Bernhard wasn't in their little history of Jewish humor.
Let's talk again once I go see the movie.
To think when Allen was making his films I thought I was old then!
Now I'm 72 years young!
best,
Ruthie
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Ruthie,
ReplyDeleteI heard about you and your book from a librarian friend who met and talked with you at the Expo. I am from an Orthodox Jewish background and, as a Jewish woman, I have had to make a way both 'outside' and 'inside' my own upbringing. There have been so many expectations of me and no chance for me to learn what I expect from myself!
I know your book is a 'lighter' story than this 'heavy' kind of subject. And there are other books, stories, about how to go beyond our past without losing that past or what we are because of it. Not sure, really, what I want to say here.
My librarian friend said your book has a sense of how urgent it can be for a person to become "differently one's self", is how she put it. The sources of my own heritage, orthodox, hasid, have so much laughter in them, so I wonder how, for us, it all got so mean and narrow. Where is the light and warmth of our Baal Shem? Anyway, I think about these things, though this is probably not the forum for them.
I love a good story, that makes one think and laugh, and I look forward to thinking and laughing with your book. I had a grandmother like you, Ruthie, who understood me when I needed it most. Mazel tov on your good fortune! Keep writing!
Shalom,
Soshana Gelah
Shalom Soshana,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your heartfelt letter. I'm old-fashioned so I call these virtual missives letters. It sounds like you are wrestling with many voices inside you. . . very much in our tradition, this struggle to find one's place in this meshugeneh world.
In my story that begins with the death of my beloved Harry, I do try to find the lightness, and the humor. Our own Yiddish heritage bursts with humor, wit, and grace.
You ask such good questions. . .. as the poet Rilke said, live the questions now. . .
I only wish mazel and simcha for you.
love,
Ruthie
Dear Ruthie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for lovely reply! You have the Yiddishe heart, I can tell. Readers will feel that in your book, I am sure.
I have not read, I guess, as much or as widely as I should. You mention a poet, Rilke, whom I have not heard of. What he says about questions, it interests me very much. In what books of his may I read about this?
Yes, wrestling, I am wrestling, as you say. It is nice to have you as a 'coach'!
Shalom,
Soshona
Hi Soshona,
ReplyDeleteThe Rilke comes from his slender volume, Letters to a Young Poet, where he engages in a conversation and offers advice to a young poet in the early 20th century.
Isaac Balshevis Singer is another writer you might want to read.
Are you familiar with Rebbe Nachman's stories -- mid to late 1800's, which were originally told in Yiddish.
Reb Zalman Schacte's Wrapped in a Holy Flame and anything by Eli Wiesel.
I'm so thrilled to have a pen pal!
Be well -- zei gezund.
Ruthie
Dear Ruthie,
ReplyDeleteThere is so much I want to read, so many books. I don't know if you are familiar with the kind of background from which I come, but, most unfortunately, it excluded me from much of the world's best literature. I am very hungry for it now. The Rilke, thank you for introducing me, I will add to reading list.
Rebbe Nachman, yes, I have heard of his Tales, but I was told they are especially for Bratzlavers and that they are full of difficult teachings. I read them on my own and now I know different, that Rebbe Nachman wanted everyone to hear and enjoy his tales. He said (I read this): "Make my stories into prayers." Did you know he was the great-grandson of our Baal Shem?
Rabbi Zalman Schacter, I think I'm ready for books only now, though I have heard about him for years.
Anyway, I think you, Ruthie, make some of our prayers into stories.
The best of health and life to you,
Shoshona
Hi, Ruthie!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your reply. 'A history of Jewish humor', that might be synonynous with 'Jewish history' itself! Myself, I'd like to see someone do a one-person performance as Freud doing a stand-up comedy show. The 'unconscious' is such a comedian, after all!
Yes, let's talk after we've seen the new Woody Allen movie.
Eagerly awaiting the release of the your book. Will it be soon?
Be well,
David
Hi David!
ReplyDeleteI just saw a funny show at the Wilma Theatre called Hysteria -- where Freud meets Salvador Dali! Very clever.
I'm eagerly awaiting the book release too.
August, August -- I hope you pre-ordered a few copies!
best,
Ruthie
Ruthie, hi!
ReplyDeleteI hope this finds you well. With all the scholarly and academic reading I have to do for my dissertation, I'm really looking forward to reading your book. I need the humor and the Yiddishe warmth! Academics can be quite 'chilly'. I've got copies of Yiddish Yoga pre-ordered for myself, family, and a few friends. Write on!
I really appreciate that you agree to be interviewed! If it's not uncomfortable, or too personal, for you, may I interview you here on your Blog? I think others of your readers would enjoy it as much as I will.
Thanks again for helping me get through the anxieties of a Phd. All these hours alone in a the libary, oy!
best to you,
Robben
HI Robben,
ReplyDeleteYou are a scholar and I admire that. Of course you can interview me, bubbeleh. I will always make time for you.
Thank you for ordering my book -- it's a blessing, really.
Everyone should share her story -- it feels good to connect with other people from all over.
You be well, and get enough rest. Rest your mind with some yoga!
best wishes,
Ruthie
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA mind at rest? Nice work if you can get it! Mine is still upon the flood waters. I'll have to send out a dove to see if the land of rest is near...
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, again, for inviting me to interview you. Here's my first question (an 'easy one' to start with lol):
What is Yiddishkeit mean to you, what does Yoga mean to you, and what the heck are they doing together?
I look forward to your reply. This is a 'serious' interview, but serious should be funny too, so speak your mind, please.
All best to you,
Robben
Ruthie, I wish you many more pleasant rides on your magic carpet. Yours is a story of inspiration and I can't wait to hear more of it. All that "sip the air" business is a little fachadick if you ask me, this ramen would prefer a nice cocktail in place of some air anyday. I suppose that's why we go to yoga then, we live, we learn, stretch a bit and then have some brunch after those early classes because those twigs wouldnt be twigs if they knew how to put out a spread.
ReplyDeleteShalom Tadasanaramen!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your funny, smart comment. I wholeheartedly agree with
you regarding the "sip the air" nonsense. Next thing you know they will be telling me to sup on the air. I'd prefer a big bowl of matza bowl soup! (See my recipe for Mulligatawny matzo ball soup in my book!)
I am going on a national tour in the fall -- I hope to meet you in person!
love,
Ruthie
Hi Ruthie
ReplyDeleteWe met a while ago, I live in WPB and teach yoga. So good to see you are doing so well!! I have just started this whole blog-world thing myself. Hope to see you in South FL again.
peace,
Andrea
gratitude-ap.blogspot.com