טרפֿה־מדינהtreyfe-medine meaning in Yiddish
the unkosher land (America, to the old-world eye) · noun phrase (set expression)
Also spelled in English: treife medina, treyf medina, trayf medina
A mother on the dock, a son halfway up the gangplank with his ticket, and her last word to him: you're going to the treyfe medine. She meant all of America, from Ellis Island to Chicago.
זײַן טאַטע האָט אים געוואָרנט: אין דער טרפֿה־מדינה וועסטו פֿאַרגעסן אַז ס'איז דאָ אַ שבת.
“His father warned him: in the treyfe medine you'll forget there's such a thing as Shabbes.”
What place in your own life would you jokingly call a treyfe medine?
Yiddish words from Jewish life and tradition
Published 29 October 2026