I’ve often wondered why the Friday following Thanksgiving is referred to as “Black Friday.” Although I am neither an educated consumer nor a savvy businessman, I feel that the Friday following Thanksgiving should be referred to as “Green Friday,” given the amount of greenbacks that leave the hand of the American consumer for “metziahs” (bargains) that are “too good to pass up.” Want to speak about black? I’ll give you black. But I’ll do so on my terms. I’ll do so in Yiddish! Below are five terms with the Yiddish word shvartz:

Shvartz Yohr (black year). Sometimes it’s good to be able to employ an imprecation without having to resort to off-colored words. In addition to its literal meaning, shvartz yohr is synonymous with the devil. As such, “Ah shvartz yohr oif imm” is the precursor of “The devil take him!” In no way does this imply that a vays yohr (white year) is the antidote to a shvartz yohr. Wishing someone a goot yohr is quite adequate.

Shvartzen dem grennetz (blacken the boundary/illegally cross into another country). Gahnvennenen dem grennetz (stealing the border) is also used. In more than a few instances, those of us with Eastern European ancestry descend from forebears whose odyssey to the Goldeneh Medinah (the Golden Land) involved shavrtzen dem grennetz from one European country to another. Nor was shvartzen dem grennetz limited to Europe. There are those in this country whose parents and grandparents crossed over illegally from Canada and settled in major American cities. All that was necessary was to know someone who knew someone who worked in government offices where names could be mysteriously entered into official ledgers.

Shvartzarbett (black work/unskilled labor). Immigrants, legally landed in this country or otherwise, rarely turn their noses up to shvartzarbett. Despite the level of unemployment that exists in this country at any given time, there are plenty of jobs available. For the native-born American, ess shtayt zay nisht onn (it’s beneath them) to serve as a chambermaid, clean offices or work in a car wash. For the newly landed immigrant, work is work. Typically, newly landed immigrants are colorblind and do not regard any type of arbett as shvartzarbett.

Shvartzzeh’ehr (pessimist). A shvartzzeh’ehr (literally a black seer) is one who possesses the attitude “If I were to begin selling umbrellas, it would never rain.” It was the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Rebbe of Lubavitch, who said “Trahcht goot, ess vet zein goot.” (Think good, it will be good.) It was the partisan Hirsch Glick who left as his legacy “Zogg nisht kaynmoll ahz doo gayst dem letzten vegg!” (Never say that you are going down the last road). A shvartzzeh’ehr is antithetical to Judaism.

Shvartzahpple (black apple). Every healthy newborn comes into this world with a set of shvartzepplech. Only we refer to a shvartzahpple as the pupil of one’s eye. One of the most moving Holocaust short stories I have read describes Nazis rounding up Jewish children, literally snatching them from their parent’s arms. “Heet imm vee doss shvartzahpple foon oyg!” (Watch over him as though he were the pupil of your eye) cries out a Jewish mother to her 6-year-old daughter who was abducted together with her 3-year-old brother.

Call me a shvartzzeh’ehr if you must, but I remain a firm believer that many of us possess more belongings than we will ever need. Accordingly, I say “Ah shvartz yohr” to credit card companies for making it so easy for us to purchase items that we can ill-afford and don’t really need. A little over a week ago, as I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, I thought of my grandparents who bravely undertook shvartzen dem grennetz to begin their lives on this side of the Atlantic. Upon arriving, they accepted shvartzarbett so that decades later I would come into this world surrounded by democracy and liberty. These are two blessings that I see as essential as the shvartzahpple foon oyg.

Rabbi Shawn Zell has recently returned to New Jersey, after serving at a pulpit in Dallas. He possesses certification in teaching Yiddish. Rabbi Zell is the author of three books.