Friday, February 01, 2008

When Monopoly meets Chassidic Fundamentalism...

Blog in Dm brings us this Yiddish "version" of Monopoly, called Handel Erlich (deal fairly). The game purports to teach Torah values to children. I'll skip over the obvious paradox of teaching Torah values by violating patent law. What I found hysterical were some of the cards (meant to duplicate the Chance and Community Chest) that are included in the game. Here are some of the gems (translation and transliteration by Blog in Dm):

"Yiddishe tokhter! Du hust dikh gerukt in a zayt ven a mans perzon iz gekumen antkegen" (Jewish daughter! You moved to the side when a man was approaching." "A tzniyusdike gefil un a khoshevkayt fun di neshome."

"Yiddeshe Tokhter! Du host aroys gelakht ven mener hoben gehert! Zeyer a groyse pritzus! Shtel dokh in 'mikhutz lamakhane' un blayb aroys 3 gang." (Jewish daughter! You laughed when men could hear you. Very immodest! You're excommunicated! Lose three turns.)

"Geredt English tzuvishin zikh! Yiddish redn taylt up fun di goyim! Shtel dokh in 'mikhutz lamakhane' un blayb aroys 3 gang." (You spoke English amongst yourselves. Speaking Yiddish separates us from the Gentiles! You're excommunicated! Lose three turns.)

"Getantzt mit shtrik in gas! Vi iz dayn gefeel fun tzniyus? Batzol shtrof $50 un blayb aroys a gang." (You jumped rope in the street! Where is your modest sensibility? Pay a $50 fine and lose a turn.)

"Geleynt a treyfene bikhl! Tomey, Tomey! Arayn in Gehenom un blayb aroys 2 gang."Ungevoren di 2 tayereste pletzer vos du host." (You read an unkosher book. Unclean, unclean! Got to Hell and lose two turns. Lose your two most valuable properties!)

"Geholfen di Tziyonistishe medinah! Fun a shaykhes tzu reshoim kumt keyn guts nisht aroys! Nor shoden! Tu teshuvah! Zitz in a yeshivah 2 geng, un tzol far di yeshiva vifel es kost far yededn aroys gebliben gan $50 far tzedokoh!" (You helped the Zionist country! No good can come out of an association with evil people, only bad! Repent! Sit in a yeshivah for two turns, and pay $50 tuition per day to charity).

Oh yeah, and there are spaces for "michutz lamachane" (outside the camp) and Hell. No, I kid you not!

Go over to Blog in DM where he has the entire rule set, the cards, a good photo of the board and far more "gems" on this game.

The Wolf

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I played this game with friends when we were learning Yiddish! My family still doesn't believe me when I tell them about some of the rules, spaces, and "Chance/Community Chest" cards. It was fun to laugh at as outsiders, but it's pretty scary (and sad) that these are the lessons and values being taught in that community.

mother in israel said...

It's admirable that the other players kick in with tzedakah when you go bankrupt, but there's no incentive to keep your books balanced. . .

BBJ said...

Jumping rope is immodest? I mean for me, maybe, but for the age that usually jumps rope?

Lemme see, no laughing around men, no jump-rope, and get out of the way when a man approaches. This sounds like one heck of a religion. Interestingly, it does not sound like one anyone in my family has ever practiced. One wonders.

Anonymous said...

Forgive me if I just don't see it in the picture. But I see Montreal, Monsey, Krakow and several other European cities. I don't see Yerushalayim or any other city in Eretz Yisrael.

Anonymous said...

This is not a patent law violation, nor is it a violation of any other form of intellectual property law (such as patent or trademark). Generally, the standard for such violations is that two products have to be so similar that consumers might be confused. There is no danger of any consumers believing this game to be Monopoly or produced by the Monopoly game's creators.

Anonymous said...

Is there a card, "get out of Hell free" ?

Sanegor said...

It's remarkable how most people who commented on this here or elsewhere seem to have a total lack of any hint of sense of humor ...

BrooklynWolf said...

The issue, Sanegor, is that it *is* funny, but only in the limited sense that it is also sad. I don't think the game was produced as a Monopoly parody, which would make it truly funny.

The Wolf