My Yiddisha momma would often speak Yiddish with my dad, and they always spoke Yiddish when they didn't want us kids to know what they were saying, so I grew up knowing a few key words, but not the whole enchilada. So when I talk sometimes a Jewish word will just slip out because, well, it's a really good word for what I want to say, like "mensch" or "schlep" for examples. There is just no one single word in English that conveys what these chock-full-o'-nuts words do in one quick bite. And when I'm reading the papers or magazines, even in fancy articles like in the Book Review section of the New York Times, suddenly I'll come across one of these wonderful words tossed in out of the blue, like tchotchkes! So why do all these smart writers, even the goyum, like to pepper their writing with these salty Yiddish words? Because they are really great words--in fact, they are perfect words for that very special je-ne-sais-quoi one is trying to express. So I says to myself, why not put all these perfect words into one spot where everyone can see them, and voila! the Yiddish Guide to the Perfect Word t-shirt was born. And when you do find the perfect word, you know, it's...it's…a micaiya!

(Hmm, maybe a French Guide should be next).