Schlemiel

Schlemiel (Yiddish: שלומיאל‎; sometimes spelled shlemiel or shlumiel) is a Yiddish term meaning "incompetent person" or "fool".[1] It is a common archetype in Jewish humor, and so-called "schlemiel jokes" depict the schlemiel falling into unfortunate situations.[2]

Meaning

The inept schlemiel is often presented alongside the unlucky schlimazel. A Yiddish saying explains that "a schlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup and a schlimazel is the person it lands on".[3] The schlemiel is similar to the schmuck but, as stated in a 2010 essay in The Forward, a schmuck can improve himself while a schlemiel is "irredeemably what they are".[4]

While the etymology of the term is unknown, one popular theory is that it comes from the Hebrew term shelo mo'il, meaning "useless".[5] Another theory is that the word is derived from the name Shelumiel, an Israeli chieftain.[6] Others claim that the term originated with the character Peter Schlemihl, the main character of a novella by Adelbert von Chamisso.[7]

According to Harvard University literature professor Ruth Wisse, the schlemiel as a type emerges in the Yiddish literature of the period of Jewish emancipation.[8]

In film and television

• The theme song "Making Our Dreams Come True" in the opening montage in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983) was preceded with the title characters chanting, "Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"[9]
• In a 1944 essay, Hannah Arendt argues that Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character is a schlemiel whose only comfort is "the kindness and humanity of casual acquaintances".[10]
• Many of Woody Allen's films feature Allen portraying a schlemiel type, particularly in his relations with women.[11]
• Larry David's character on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm serves as a modern schlemiel, encountering "problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews".[12]
• In the sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza "follows the pattern of the classic schlemiel", with Jerry Seinfeld's character serving as his schlimazel.[13]
• The 1995 Israeli-European animated feature The Real Shlemiel centers of a village of schlemiels, with its rabbi even taking it as a given name.
• The titular character of the 2004 comedy film Napoleon Dynamite embodies the traits of the schlemiel, according to researcher David Buchbinder.[14]
• In the drama series The O.C. (2003–2007), Seth Cohen's personality "is self-deprecating and in line with that of past schlemiels".[15]
• In the 2009 film A Serious Man directed by the Coen brothers, the character of Larry Gopnik is depicted as a schlemiel.[16][17]
• In "Park Safety", a 2010 episode of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson states that his clumsy coworker Jerry "is both the schlemiel and the schlimazel".[18]

See also

• Schmuck (pejorative)
• Schnorrer
• List of English words of Yiddish origin

References

1. Harkavy, Alexander (1925). Yidish-English-Hebreyisher Verterbukh (in Yiddish). New York City: Alexander Harkavy.
2. "Schlemiel Jokes | My Jewish Learning". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
3. Kibrick, Barry (2015-11-09). "Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
4. "Etiquette for Schmucks, Schlemiels, Schlimazels and Schmendriks". The Forward. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
5. "shlemiel". www.balashon.com. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
6. "Shelumiel – The First Schlemiel?". The Forward. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
7. Zeldner, Max (1953). "A Note on "Schlemiel"". The German Quarterly. 26 (2): 115–117. doi:10.2307/401795. JSTOR 401795.
8. The Shlemiel as a Modern Hero, by Ruth Wisse, University of Chicago Press, 1971. Review: Avni, Abraham. Comparative Literature, vol. 25, no. 4, 1973, pp. 361–363. JSTOR 1769513
9. Kimberly Potts. "Schlemiel, Schlimazel: 25 Things You Never Knew About Laverne & Shirley". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
10. Arendt, Hannah (1944). "The Jew as Pariah: A Hidden Tradition". Jewish Social Studies. 6 (2): 99–122. JSTOR 4464588.
11. Feuer, Menachem (2013). "The Schlemiel in Woody Allen's Later Films". In Bailey, Peter; Girgus, Sam (eds.). A Companion to Woody Allen. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 403–423. doi:10.1002/9781118514870.ch19. ISBN 9781118514870.
12. Gillota, David (2010-11-22). "Negotiating Jewishness: Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Schlemiel Tradition". Journal of Popular Film & Television. 38 (4): 152–161. doi:10.1080/01956051003725244. ISSN 0195-6051.
13. Johnson, Carla (1994-07-01). "The Schlemiel and the Schlimazl in Seinfeld". Journal of Popular Film & Television. 22 (3): 116–124. doi:10.1080/01956051.1994.9943676. ISSN 0195-6051.
14. Buchbinder, David (Summer 2008). "Enter the Schlemiel: the emergence of inadequate or incompetent masculinities in recent film and television". Canadian Review of American Studies. 38 (2): 227–245. doi:10.3138/cras.38.2.227.
15. Olson, Tamara. "Popular Representations of Jewish Identity on TV: The Case of The O.C.". Digital Commons at Macalester College.
16. Denby, David (2009-09-28). "Gods And Victims". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
17. "J. Hoberman Reviews the Coen Brothers' 'Inside Llewyn Davis'". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
18. Garber, Megan. "The Downtrodden Jerry Gergich Is the True Hero of Parks and Recreation". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-11-17.