Yiddish Word of the Week: Gezunt

Gezunt - געזונט \ge-ZUNT\ Adjective: Healthy, well, strong, buxom, wholesome, robust.

Synonyms: kreftik (קרעפטיק), mit alemen (מיט אַלעמען), yoderdik (יאָדערדיק).

German equivalent: gesund.

Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “gesunt,” from Old High German “gisunt,” from Proto-Germanic *gasundaz, *sundaz, themselves from Proto-Indo-European *sunt-, *swent- ‎(“vigorous, strong, active, healthy”).

Expressions with gezunt:

• Gezunt kumt far parnose (געזונט קומט פאַר פּרנסה) - Health is more important than income (on which, see Rabbi Dovid Cohen). Similarly, Gezunt un parnose iz di beste bakoshe (געזונט און פּרנסה איז די בעסטע בקשה) - Health and earnings are the best yearnings
  

• A kapore dos gelt, dos gezunt iz liber (אַ כּפּרה דאָס געלט, דאָס געזונט איז ליבער) - Who cares about money? Health is preferable
  

• Gezunt iz beser fun gelt (געזונט איז בעסער פון געלט) - Health is better than wealth

• Beser a gezunter oreman eyder a kranker oysher (בעסער אַ געזונטער אָרעמאַן איידער אַ קראַנקער עושר) - Better poor and healthy than sick and wealthy
  

• Az men iz nor gezunt, iz men shoyn raykh (אַז מען איז נאָר געזונט, איז מען שוין רײַך) - If one is healthy, one is already wealthy
  

• Az der mentsh iz gezunt, hot er a sakh dayges; az er vert krank, hot er eyn dayge (אַז דער מענטש איז געזונט, האָט ער אַ סך דאגות; אַז ער ווערט קראַנק, האָט ער איין דאגה) - When a man is healthy, he has many worries; when he is sick, he has only one worry
  

• Far gelt ken men koyfn fargenigns, ober nisht keyn glik; bakantshaftn, ober nisht keyn fraynd; meditsinen, ober nisht keyn gezunt (פאַר געלט קען מען קויפן פאַרגעניגנס, אָבער נישט קיין גליק; באַקאַנטשאַפטן, אָבער נישט קיין פרײַנד; מעדיצינען, אָבער נישט קיין געזונט) - With money, one can purchase pleasures, but not happiness; acquaintances, but not friends; medications, but not health.

Comparisons with gezunt:

• Gezunt vi (a shtik) ayzn (געזונט ווי [אַ שטיק] אײַזן) - as healthy/strong as (a bit of) iron

• a ber (אַ בער) - a bear

• a bufloks (אַ בופלאָקס) - a buffalo

• a boym (אַ בוים) - a tree; a demb (אַ דעמב) - an oak

• a ferd (אַ פערד) - a horse

• a furman (אַ פורמאַן) or a shmayser (אַ שמײַסער) - a coachman

• a goy (אַ גוי) or tsen goyim (צען גויים) - a non-Jew, or ten non-Jews

• a katsap (אַ קאַצאַפּ) - a Russian (pej.)

• a leyb (אַ לייב) - a lion

• a moyar (אַ מויער) - a wall

• an oks (אַן אָקס) - an ox

• a poyer (אַ פּויער) - a peasant

• a riz (אַ ריז) - a giant

• a shteyn (אַ שטיין) - a stone

• a yishuvnik (אַ יישובניק) - a rural Jew

• a yurke (אַ יורקע) - an oaf; eysev (עשו) - Esau

• golyes haplishti (גלית הפּלשתּי) - the Philistine Goliath

• oyg melekh haboshn (עוג מלך הבשן) - Og King of Bashan

• shimshen hagiber (שמשון הגבור) - the hero Samson

Blessings with gezunt:

1. Tsu(m) gezunt! (צו[ם] געזונט) - God bless you, gesundheit (after a sneeze), you’re welcome (in response to thanks), may it do you good (in administering medicine) (on the derivation of Modern Hebrew la-beri’ut from this phrase, see Gold)! Similarly, Vaksn zolstu tsu gezunt! (וואַקסן זאָלסטו צו געזונט) - May you grow to health (after a sneeze)! (To someone sneezing three times:)
   

2. Es gezunterheyt (עס געזונטערהייט) - Bon appétit; For gezunterheyt (פאָר געזונטערהייט) - Have a nice trip, bon voyage; Trog/Tserays es gezunterheyt (טראָג/צערײַס עס געזונטערהייט) - Wear it well, enjoy wearing it; Shlof gezunterheyt (שלאָף געזונטערהייט) - Sleep well.
   

3. Zei gezunt (זײַ געזונט) or Zei mir dervayl gezunt (זײַ מיר דערווײַל געזונט) - Farewell, goodbye, see you later, so long (on the derivation of Modern Hebrew tihyeh bari from this phrase, see Farstey [for those with a subscription to Brill online publishers]).
   

4. A gezunt in dayn kop/kepele (אַ געזונט אין דײַן קאָפּ/קעפּעלע) - Health to your little head (said to a clever child); A greptsele aroys, a gezuntele arayn (אַ גרעפּסעלע אַרויס, אַ געזונטעלע אַרײַן) - A little burp will bring you a little health (lit., A little burp out, a little health in; said when burping baby); A hemdele aroyf, a hemdele arop - a gezunt dir in kop (אַ העמדעלע אַרויף, אַ העמדעלע אַראָפּ - אַ געזונט דיר אין קאָפּ) - One shirt off, one shirt on - health be on your head (said by a mother while changing her child’s shirt or blouse).
   

5. Gezunt zolstu zayn (געזונט זאָלסטו זײַן) - God bless you!, iron., just a minute! what are you thinking?; A gezunt tsu dir (אַ געזונט צו דיר) or A gezunt in dayne beyner (אַ געזונט אין דײַנע ביינער) - Well done! Bravo! (lit., health upon you/in your bones). For more on blessings with gezunt, see Matisoff, esp. pp. 32-40.

Curses with gezunt:

1. Gezunt un shtayf zolstu zayn (געזונט און שטײַף זאָלסטו זײַן) - May you be healthy and stiff (a play on Gezunt un shtark zolstu zayn [געזונט און שטאַרק זאָלסטו זײַן] - May you be healthy and strong).
   

2. Gezunt un shtark zolstu zayn vi ayzn, zolst zikh nisht kenen aynbeygn (געזונט און שטאַרק זאָלסטו זײַן ווי אײַזן, זאָלסט זיך נישט קענען אײַנבייגן) - May you be healthy and tough as iron, so much so that you cannot bend over.
   

3. A gezunt dir in boykh, a zalts in di beyner (אַ געזונט דיר אין בויך, אַ זאַלץ אין די ביינער) - Health to your stomach, salt to your bones (a play on A gezunt in dayne beyner).
   

4. Gezunte zoln dikh trogn (געזונט זאָלן זיך טראָגן) - May healthy people carry you off (a play on Gezunterheyt zolt ir es trogn [געזונטערהייט זאָלט איר עס טראָגן] - May you wear it well; for a Holocaust-era-related application of this curse [to a German officer], see Blumenthal).
   

5. Got zol dir helfn, zolst shtendik zayn gezunt un shtark, un shtendik fregn vos far a veter es iz in droysn (גאָט זאָל דיר העלפן, זאָלסט שטענדיק זײַן געזונט און שטאַרק, און שטענדיק פרעגן וואָס פאַר אַ וועטער עס איז אין דרויסן) - May God help you that you should always be healthy and strong, and always be asking what the weather’s like outside (on which, see Wex).

Gezunt in Jewish culture:

As you can clearly tell from the lengthy discussion below, health was considered an extremely valuable asset in Eastern European Jewish society, and the lack of it, a terrible liability (a point made by Alan M. Kraut in his book chapter, “Gezunthayt iz besser vi Krankhayt: Fighting the Stigma of the ‘Jewish Disease’”).

The sheer number of expressions and wishes concerning health testifies to this. Indeed, perhaps the best blessing one could wish the parents of newlyweds is expressed with the acronym gefen (גפן): gezunt, parnose, nakhes (געזונט, פּרנסה, נחת) - health, wealth, and delight (see Rivkind).

From the other side, sickness was feared so much that it was referred to as euphemistically as possible. Here is what Weinreich has to say on the subject (p. 190):

“The linguistic effects of taboo … go much further than merely refraining from uttering God’s name […] In the Yiddish vernacular of Vilna it was not “meet” to say er iz krank (he is sick); er iz nit-gezunt (he is unwell) was preferable. And if the illness was serious, er iz shtark nit-gezunt (he is seriously unwell) is still preferable […] Krank (sick), or es brent (fire!) is very bad; nit-gezunt (unwell) or es netst (it is leaking) is tolerable, if there is no way out […]

In our time (2021), in Yiddish-speaking communities, the word Cancer is rarely uttered. Rather, the disease is referred to as the “Machala” disease or plague.

Are there physical or mental health topics or words that were taboo in your family? What were they?

In Honor of Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller wordoftheweek.tumblr