1,083: Shep'n Nachas (שעפּן נחת)

Kurt Franklin Stone Shep'n Nachas

For all those who believe that Yiddish is nothing more than Jewish jargon or slang, I’ve got news for you: it’s a real, honest-to-God, living, breathing language . . . it’s even taught at all 8 Ivy League schools. Such diverse writers and poets as Émile Zola, Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, and the Scandinavian writers Ibsen, Strindberg, and Knut Hamsun have all been translated into mama loschen (Yiddish for “the mother tongue”). Writers of classical antiquity, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, as well as Aesop’s Fables (משלים פון עסאפ - m’shalim fuhn Aysaf), have long been available in Yiddish translation, as well as important nonfiction works like Darwin’s Origin of Species, Nietzsche’s Also sprach Zarathustra, a few volumes of Freud, and countless volumes of socialist and communist theory—usually bound in red.

But a mere jagon? Not on your life.

Whether you know it or not, most English speakers make use of Yiddish words daily without batting an eyelash. Who, as an example, doesn’t have such words as kvetch (complain), kvell (beam with joy), gonif (thief), kosher (proper, or apt), goy (a non-Jew), or kibitzer (one who gives unsolicited advice) in their vocabulary?

(n.b. It is not well known that the popularity of the term “kibitzer” likely dates back to the late 1920s; in 1929, future motion picture superstar Edward G. Robinson [Emanuel Goldenberg] starred in a well-received Broadway play entitled “The Kibitzer,” which Robinson had also written. It was made into a motion picture of the same name in 1930; That long-forgotten film starred the equally long-forgotten Harry Green [Blitzer]). Almost immediately, expressions like “don’t be such a kibitzer” or “all she knows how to do is kibitz” entered the glossary of possibilities.)

There is another Yiddish expression that has been getting a major workout the past couple of days: שעפּן נחת (pronounced Shep’n nachas). The first word (shep’n), which is an infinitive, literally means either “to scoop” or “to shovel”; while nachas, which comes from the Hebrew (where it is pronounced “nachat,) means “quiet joy.” So, when one translates the term shep’n nachas, through דער קאָפּ (der kopf - “the head”), it literally means “scooping quiet joy,” which is linguistically impenetrable. Ah, but when translated through the די קישקעס (kishkes - “the guts”) it takes on the feeling of “reaping limitless joy.”

“The Boss” dings “Land of Hopes and Dreams”

Watching the live broadcast of the Obama Presidential Center dedication this past Thursday has had me shepping nachas ever since. Listening to the brilliant, humble, almost sermonic remarks of the President and former First Lady; seeing the obvious love the two share with one another; watching a real A-list of world-class performers like “The Boss,” Stevie Wonder, U-2’s Bono and The Edge, John Legend, and The Roots tear up the stage (while the camera was all along panning Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha singing along) brought tears to my eyes, a bounce to my step and hope to my heart. Indeed, it was precisely what the good doctor ordered. The entire event, from start to finish, was, in short, that which fuels nachas, makes us want to live and act with greater purpose, makes us want to look to the future with greater hope. . . . and points out in stark detail how great a role intelligence, classs, literacy, modesty, decency, humility, and just plain kindness can and should play in our leaders lives’. And by this I mean in both public and private.

As someone who has written more than his fair share of political speeches for others, it has never ceased to amaze me just how great the Obamas are on the podium. Rarely do you hear the word “I” in their addresses. They can easily turn a terrible truth into a breath of fresh air, while leaving those who despise them and/or wish them ill wondering what in the world they just heard. Hebrew sums up this profound skill in a mere 2 words: ha-maskeel ya-veen (המשכיל יבין), namely “The wise/understanding one will understand.

Ever since then-Illinois State Senator Barack Obama was chosen to address the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2004, political cognoscenti knew that this was a truly special man; someone who had an unlimited future. At that speech 22 years ago, he said something that could have easily been said last Thursday: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America—there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America—there's the United States of America." He was just as electrifying then as he was last Thursday. The message on that summer’s evening in 2004 was just as powerful and persuasive then as it was last Thursday: that hope is the greatest fuel there is.

I have to wonder what would have happened in the intervening 22 years if it had been Michelle Obama, not Barack, who had given that convention speech; for like her husband, she is a gifted and truly remarkable communicator. Like her husband, she is brilliant, humble, charming, and self-confident . . . without needing to - in the memorable title of Norman Mailer’s first autobiography, write "Advirtisements for Myself.” Just watch and listen:

Those watching the former FLOTUS’s speech (or watched it live), will no dubtt recognize that both she and her husband made obvious and telling references #45/#47 on innumerble occasions without once stating his name; a perfect example of what it means to possess class, forswear retribution as a modus operandi, and understand the meaning of ha-maskeel ya-veen (“the wise one will understand.”)

In his speech, President Obama dealt more specifically with the purpose and nostalgic underpinnings of the Center. It is, after all, unlike any other presidential “library” ever built. It is not some kind of “Egyptian crypt” meant to serve as a hagiographic gathering spot for a leader few still remember. (According to the National Archives, the majority of these presidential libraries stand empty more than 90% of the time.) No, Barack and Michelle Obama purposefully designated this spot a "center,” rather than a "library.” It celebrates the American people far more than a presidential family. Where Melania Trump replaced Jacqueline Kennedy’s Rose Garden - once festooned with vibrant floral beds of subdued pastel roses - with paved limestone walkways, the Obama Center now has rose gardens where citizens themselves can come in and plant roses to their heart’s content - all under the watchful eyes of professional gardeners. Where IT built a gigantic octagonal cage for bloody MMA fights on the White House Lawn, the Obama Center has a full-sized basketball court for normal people to engage in the former president’s favorite athletic pastime (well, he is the only president who has a 6’8” college basketball coach as a brother-in-law). Within its 19 acres, the Obama Presidential Center has outdoor picnic areas, walking paths for hand-in-hand strolls. The main structure is built of concrete, a material that will last for untold centuries. In short, the Obama Center, far from being a place to learn more about him, his family, and his presidency, is a place for all of us to learn more about ourselves and the country we call home. It is a place for shep’n nachas.

For those who somehow missed President Obama’s masterful speech, check it out:

One wonders what was going on in the mind of the current POTUS as he watched and listened to his predecessor’s speech. One cannot imagine how much ego pain he felt at seeing all 4 living ex-Presidents and First Ladies sitting behind him and the current First Lady. Did the size and heartfelt merriment of the guests, musical superstars, and just plain Southside folks get to him?

The Bidens, Obamas, Bushes, and Clintons

In short, how could The Fondling Father go through a day that was so overwhelmingly not about him? Especially one in which a former president - one who actually was and is a happily married self-made man with an obviously loving family - was standing there giving this wreck of an eighty-year-old man a powerful masterclass in leadership, democracy, and American values. As the current POTUS watched, listened, and stewed, his younger, far more beloved predecessor summed up the American experience in precisely 114 words:

“A belief in the intrinsic dignity and worth of all people and that no one is above the law or beneath its protection. A belief in … accountability that comes with an independent judiciary and a robust free press. A belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance not to any president or political party but to the people and our Constitution.

“A belief in the peaceful transfer of power after the people have spoken in fair and free elections … And a belief that qualities of character – honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion, a sense of duty and honor – those things matter in our public dealings just as they do in our private lives.”

Is it any wonder that so many Americans and friends around the world are shep’n nachas? For the first time in quite a while, we have been reminded that class and compassion. energy and empathy, integrity and intelligence can actually beat in the heart of a leader . . . along with a great sense of humor!

And best wishes for a slightly belated Happy Father’s Day.