'A word and an arrow are the same -- both deliver with speedy aim.' From this saying comes the title of this entertaining collection of lively and engaging adages, bons mots, maxims, and proverbs -- an attractive sampling of the accumulated wisdom of the past.

The timeless Yiddish sayings in this volume -- some 1800 of them -- paint a verbal picture of the long and varied experience Jewish life in Eastern Europe and later in immigrant North America. They reflect religious, moral, and political concerns as well as the daily struggle for survival. They range from statements of the obvious to profound commentaries on subjects as varied as arranging a marriage, bearing and raising children, education them, earning a living, growing old, and dying.

In her introduction Shirley Kumove provides a concise description of the Yidding language and its development, the historical and social context in which these folk sayings were created, and an explanation of folk sayings as a form of education as well as encapsulated philosophy.

More than 50 delightful illustrations by Frank Newfeld accompany the text which is presented in Hebrew letters, in transcription for those interested in the sound of Yiddish, and in English translation.

Frank Newfeld received his art education in England, at the Brighton College of Art, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. Educated in England, Frank Newfeld immigrated to Canada in 1954. Once here, he founded his own design company in a studio on Spadina Avenue in Toronto.

In 1956 Newfeld, Frank Davies, Leslie (Sam) Smart and John Gibson founded the Society of Typographic Designers of Canada (TDC). Frank's Spadina Avenue studio which was often the meeting place for the Society in its formative years. He was elected President of the Society in 1959, the year that it received its Ontario charter. In 1963 Frank joined the firm of McClelland & Stewart as an art director, and within six years he was to become Vice-President, Publishing and a member of the board of directors.

Over his career Frank Newfeld has designed well over 650 books for publishers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. Canadian publishers include Douglas and McIntyre, Groundwood, Longmans, MacMillan, Nelson, Oxford and UofT. Authors he has worked with include Berton, Cohen, Davies, Gottlieb, Laurence, Layton, Mowat, Newman. He has won over 167 awards, including three medals from the prestigious Leipzig Book Show, two Hans Christian Anderson awards, and two from Typomundus 20. Other awards include the Canada Centennial Medal, the Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal, and awards from the AIGA, Art Directors and Type Directors clubs of New York, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto. Frank represented Canada at the 1976 Illustration Bienale in Czechoslovakia, and his work was exhibited in Bologna in 1990. He has created two children's books, both published by Oxford University Press. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy.

For many years Frank Newfeld was associated with Sheridan College where he served as an educator, illustrator and publication designer.

Frank Newfeld's profile page

SHIRLEY KUMOVE was born in Toronto. Her first language was Yiddish and her adult life has centred around teaching the language, performing in Yiddish plays, giving readings of Yiddish poetry and literature, translating Yiddish materials into English, and speaking across the country on Jewish subjects, especially Yiddish folklore.

Shirley Kumove's profile page