Better a mensch than a schmuck

Who wouldn’t get a geshmak feeling after seeing this zisse video of senior citizens at the Los Angeles Jewish Home explaining common Yiddish words and expressions?

Forget consulting a Yiddish-English dictionary to discover the meaning of words like mensch, zaftig, plotz, and schvitz. It’s far more enjoyable to watch and listen as these elderly Jewish men and women take turns at translating them.

Think again if you thought that mensch simply means a decent person. Yetta Dorfman, with her silver pixie haircut, is quick to explain that a mensch is someone who is “a polite person who doesn’t take with his hands to eat, but uses whatever silverware or utensils are available… as an example.”

Yetta and Charlotte Seeman have a bit of a disagreement over the meaning of zaftig. Yetta takes issue with Charlotte’s defining the word as a woman who is “a little bit on the heavy side.” Yetta prefers to translate the word as “plump,” which she claims is not quite the same thing.

The trim Esther Berlin doesn’t care if zaftig means heavy or plump. She just thinks “it’s a shame because they don’t take care of themselves. They should do something about it,” obviously referring to women who pack quite a few more pounds than she.

Irving Rubinstein doesn’t care what the ladies think. With his comment that zaftig refers to a “kind of sexy, plump, attractive woman,” it’s clear he doesn’t go for the heroin chic look.

As the seniors sweat out a discussion about whether “schvitz” is a verb or a noun, Charlotte gets nostalgic and remembers that her father “used to go to the schvitz every Friday before Shabbos.”

Schmuck and tuchus, both which refer to private body parts, elicit the most embarrassment, as well as the most excitement, from the elderly interpreters.

“I don’t think I’d like to be friends with a person who’s a schmuck,” says the dour Esther.

Irving doesn’t mince words in explaining what a tuchus is. “Ass. It’s an ass,” he says.

And without getting out of her chair, Charlotte demonstrates a Yiddish expression about shaking one’s behind.

“She shakes it back and forth when she goes,” she laughs.

Expect to learn the meaning of more Yiddish words from this amusing gang, as the description for this fundraising video indicates that this is just the first in a series.

And if after watching this video you think these endearing Jewish Home residents look familiar, rest assured you are not mistaken. It’s hard to forget a punim like Yetta’s or Esther’s.

In fact, Yetta, Esther and many of the other residents are practically Internet sensations, what with several humorous Jewish Home fundraising videos having come out in recent years.

Clips titled “Matzo Ball Soup: Everyone Has An Opinion,” “Los Angeles Jewish Home Sweethearts,” “Happy Hanukkah From The Jewish Home,” and “Jewish Mothers —What’s New?” each have tens of thousands of views.