YIVO Library Intern: Netalie Matalon

YIVO’s newest library intern, Netalie Matalon, a former student of Hebrew and English literature, compares her work environment to “a unique Amish quilt-making place, with a lot of updated technology -- like Google, only --YIVOOGLE. Everything here is an art. Every small step is an art and I really love that.” Her job includes assisting with cataloging and the preservation and conservation of old and rare books and periodicals.

Netalie was born and raised in Riverdale, New York, and attended both Jewish and public schools before being accepted to Stuyvesant High School, one of the top academic high schools in New York City. A course in Jewish history in her senior year set her on a new path.

“I wanted to know who I was and I wanted to know who my parents were. My parents are Israeli Jews who immigrated to America. My father’s parents immigrated to Israel from Iraq. My maternal grandfather Yaakov Korman came to Israel from Poland, and my maternal grandmother is from Egypt.”

Her family visited Israel every summer and her grandfather would sing Yiddish songs to her. “That’s where I have my love and interest for Yiddish from: collecting pine nuts amidst the scent of pinecones with my grandfather in Haifa, and hearing him sing songs in Yiddish, about a girl named Masha who burned her porridge while dancing with soldiers.”

Netalie moved to Israel and studied Hebrew and English literature at Tel Aviv University. She found herself intrigued by authors like Yoel Hoffman, who weaves words in Yiddish and Arabic into Hebrew texts, challenging the binary opposition between marginality and mainstream text. She fondly recalls classes in which passages by author Henry Roth were read in a Jewish-American Yiddish accent, and attempting to enact different dialects when studying for exams with friends.

When overcoming the personal loss of a loved one, Netalie found a deep layer of life force in Yiddish. “I enrolled in the Tel Aviv University summer program in 2012 and realized the strength that is a mekhaye [refreshment], of continuing to speak, to sing, and to love.”

First Week Interning at YIVO
by NETALIE MATALON

Rare words
the dictionary has what to learn,
words of the best sort,
traced the letters and sounds of them on paper
headlines, titles, dates 1902
illustrations retain mystery and charm
portrait of woman named Frumeh Frumnik- in print, on an old crumbling page
some parents find grace in alliteration… glad they do,
it never fails to bring laughter.
Studying for an exam
blurting out
rare words
to keep the stress level manageable
fond memories of people
of friends
cannot be erased
oh words!
to be in their presence.
keeping track of the catalog, the call number of the books,  if they already exist in the archives...  is so so much more
a whole world
quiet
time
the scent of books
precision
sense of windows
desks so neat
books so telling
paper-cutting professional lever knife and drafting board
tea machine - measures the particular size of each cup before assuming how much hot water to dispense
a wonderful personal touch- like the singer hand panel sewing machines, which used to belong to my Safta Marcelle
This place is like Google, only more authentic- YIVOOGLE
Enter and see the world differently.
wonder and retain the sense of wonder
Two words made the same sound, in different languages, the other day
...although they looked completely different... it was indeed in the catalog...maybe one is in Ukrainian and the other in Polish...
Fostering great feeling of relation
As lost means found...
bridging two universes while not even having known of their dimensions...
three totally different worlds come together for a moment,
through the medium of the reader
cataloger
unaware of having meant to do so,
and yet aware it has happened
Like secret elevators through the building
Passageways from page to culture to mind
Do you really know to what part you intend to go?
use stairs in case of a fire-
use stairs in case of transliteration-it's none short-cuttable
the freedom to be
lost and found in the calming task…
this is
what
bliss is,
hello good morning
kind smile
kind eyes
stack of books
set my own pace
per
word.

YAY!