tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657662925997069756.post5504135761004658935..comments2019-03-04T23:30:14.349-08:00Comments on Michael Gruber's Blog: Halvah scholarshipMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09730968556503210340noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657662925997069756.post-2440387105568709542012-08-12T11:16:44.706-07:002012-08-12T11:16:44.706-07:00--It’s often equally interesting to follow up on r...--It’s often equally interesting to follow up on referenced items at the end of Wikipedia entries, e.g. the following, taken from reference 3 cited in the Wikipedia entry The Story of Halvah (excerpted above):<br /><br /> The term "halva" came into popular usage in the 1930s. The Dictionary of the Way People Talk (needs citation) noted that during the Great Depression (1929-193?), when even basic staples such as bread were scarce, women would often press available foodstuffs such as ground liver and/or chicken, which they would run through a food mill, into the popular ‘loaf’ pans, leaving them to set in the icebox by virtue of inherent natural fat, which had a thick, viscous quality when chilled. However, the result often resembled a particularly unpalatable version of the ultrasweet confection and was so distasteful that the phrase “halva loaf is better than none” sprang into the common lexicon, albeit with a deeply ironic meaning and sarcastic tone. <br /> Likewise, many would be surprised to know that the folk song “Hava Nagila,” typically heard at Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, began life not as the Hebrew translation of “let us rejoice” but as “Halva Nagila,” halva from the Arab word meaning “sweet,” thus “sweet rejoicing,” although the word form “rejoicing” is incorrect . (The sound of "hava" to English-speaking ears being barely distinguishable from the English phrase “have a,” however, led to the now-common parting phrase, “have a nice day,” literally, “let us nice day,” but with the intended meaning, “let us have a nice day.”) The melody, which uses the Phrygian dominant scale and is a variation of the moderately lascivious “hora” circle dance, is most beloved by non-Jewish people (who as such have little opportunity for repeated hearings) as well as those who revel in semi-nasal harmonies.<br /><br />Who knew?MErhardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07354481696923980951noreply@blogger.com