Word Prompt – PEKALACH – Shlomo Zuckier

It’s such a versatile word, from the literal to the figurative, from the happy to the sad.

On Simchas Torah, many of us may remember collecting pekalach in our shuls as kids. And, at the same time, there’s the old expression that “everyone has their own pekalach,” their package of troubles.

According to one book on Yiddish, one can even (quite indelicately) describe a hunchback by saying that he “always carries his pekel with him.”

For such a complex word, it has a real simple etymology – it comes from the word pack, which means… pack! Add a diminutive, pluralize it, and you get pekalach!

But we have a problem – the word pekelach is quickly getting erased.

People are talking nowadays about giving out “goody bags” or “candy bags” to the kids on Simchas Torah.

And of course, there’s the classic question if anyone has room to take a “small package” to Israel instead of asking about taking their pekalach. SAD!

We should not be so quick to give up our pekalach!