Amusing miscellany

This page contains translations of often amusing, or at least interesting, small items published in the press written about Sam, or that reference him in some way.

1920-11-19

Sha, Sam Kasten speaks out1. The lively comedian’s New York patriotn2 are despondent. Sam Kasten left to perform in the Arch Street Theater in Philadelphia3, and without him their joy has all dried up4.

Now, Reb Sam speaks out. He sent a letter to his patriotn stating that he had a good night’s sleep in Philadelphia, and now he’s starting to get up and get active. He’s going to be Shakespeare. He’s going to shake things up in Philadelphia with a benefit performance, during which he’ll appear in Kalmanowitz’s play, Shekspier der tsveyter (Shakespeare the Second).

This will be on December 7th, indeed in Philadelphia.

Link to article in the Forverts .

1945-04-01

What is “korech”5?

It’s story, origins, and role in today’s world

A lesson from Dr. Gibatsenerl6

Ladies and gentlemen!

It has been established that the invention of the “Hillel sandwich” - the same Hillel of “Beis Hillel”, the tane7 Hillel with a deep soul and exceptional love for his fellow man. Hillel invented the sandwich as a gift for all mankind…

Hillel held that man can learn the whole Torah on one foot. Well, the Torah sure, but why stop there - why shouldn’t we also eat on one foot? Nu, so he invented the “korech,” which Americans call a “sandwich.”

In happier times, you knew what to expect from a sandwich: two pieces of bread and a lot of meat, or cheese, or sardines…

Or there’s the “double decker” and the “Sam Kasten stage-sandwich”8, three stories high…

But now during war time9, the sandwich has lost its “essence,” its “innards”, its contents. All that remains is just two pieces of bread, nebech10….

11There are restaurants where people don’t cram your sandwich with Ibsen brand’s “gor”….but with “gornisht”12… There are restaurants that put the “great check”13 in between two pieces of “toast”…

All in all, these days there are only two kinds of sandwiches - a meat sandwich without a trace of even a sardine, and a cheese sandwich with but a sliver of tomato instead of cheese.

In short, all that’s left of the sandwich is its name, a tombstone of the great invention.

Link to article in Der Morgen Zshurnal.

Footnotes

  1. “let’s himself be heard”↩︎

  2. his group of ardent fans/followers↩︎

  3. See a timeline of Sam’s whereabouts↩︎

  4. I was unable to translate this, but I believe the meaning is preserved; אויס, ניטאָ איהם, וויא אין וואסער אריין↩︎

  5. korech refers to the so-called “Hillel sandwich” eaten at the Passover seder: maror (bitter herb, often horseradish) between two pieces of matzah↩︎

  6. This is definitely joke pseudonym name - “give a tenner” (like a ten dollar bill); דר. גיבאצענערל↩︎

  7. rabbinic sages who contributed to the Mishnah↩︎

  8. In this joke article, we learn that Sam apparently had a well-known very large sandwich named for him!↩︎

  9. This article was printed during World War II↩︎

  10. “What a pity”↩︎

  11. These two sentences are full of idioms, and translations may not be fully accurate.↩︎

  12. absolutely nothing↩︎

  13. טשעק הגדול↩︎