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Cilibi Moise — Sayings & Proverbs
Editor’s Note:
My great-grandfather, Leon Kupperman (1883–1942), the author of this article, was a remarkable man: fluent in six languages (Romanian, Yiddish, French, German, Hebrew, and English), he studied sculpture with Auguste Rodin, wrote original works in Yiddish, translated literature from Romanian into English, and from German into Yiddish (including a 2-volume translation of Goethe’s Faust), was for many years the theater critic of the New York Yiddish-language newspaper, Der Tog, and taught sculpture to young people under the WPA program in the 1930s. His article on Cilibi Moise (1812–1870) is, to my knowledge, the only essay in English on this Romanian-Jewish folk philosopher, whose name and aphorisms are still well known in the land of his birth.
Folklore is that great store of culture which comprises the literary and musical expression of the people — its aspirations, dreams, hopes, and reflections on life, the product of its long experience in contact with daily existence. In short, folklore is a nation’s creative and contemplative genius. Only at extremely long intervals do we come across the name of a man who helped in the creation of folklore, and whose genius refuses to remain unknown. This rare specimen in Romanian folklore was a Jew, Cilibi Moise.
