# Green Eggs and Ham. In Hebrew **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414 "2010-07-12T16:43:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/1 "2010-07-12T16:43:26Z")
I saw a copy of this on Saturday. The title is translated as “I’m not Hungry and I don’t Like It”, which seemed weird until I realized that observant little Hebrew speakers probably wouldn’t be eating Ham, anyway. > **[Amazon.com: Green Eggs and Ham (Hebrew) Lo Ra-ev Velo Ohev (Hebrew Edition):...](https://www.amazon.com/Green-Eggs-Hebrew-Ra-ev-Velo/dp/9652294667)** > > Amazon.com: Green Eggs and Ham (Hebrew) Lo Ra-ev Velo Ohev (Hebrew Edition): 9789652294661: Dr. Seuss: Books Seuss’ drawing is obscure enough (It’s a blob of stuff on a tray) that you could get away with ignoring the nature of the stuff, which isn’t named in the book. The guy who had this had an entire collection of translated “Green Eggs and Ham” books from other languages, including _Virent Ova! Viret Perna!_, the Latin version I have. In the Hebrew version, Sam’s name is rendered as a form of Shmuel. In Latin, he’s called _Pincerna_, which means “Waiter” or “Butler” > **[Virent Ova! Viret Perna!! (Green Eggs and Ham in Latin): Dr. Seuss, Guenevera...](https://www.amazon.com/Virent-Viret-Perna-Green-Latin/dp/0865165556)** > > Virent Ova! Viret Perna!! (Green Eggs and Ham in Latin) \[Dr. Seuss, Guenevera Tunberg, Terentio Tunberg\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Virent Ova! Viret Perna!! (Green Eggs and Ham in Latin) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/2 "2010-07-12T17:17:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I saw a copy of this on Saturday. The title is translated as “I’m not Hungry and I don’t Like It”, which seemed weird until I realized that observant little Hebrew speakers probably wouldn’t be eating Ham, anyway. You’re overestimating the observancy level of most kids whose parents are going to be reading them Dr. Seuss books. I doubt anyone would particularly care. BTW, “sus” means “horse” in Hebrew, and an Israeli-American friend of mine once told me that she conflated the two for years and years and didn’t realize until she was an adult that his name wasn’t Dr. Horse. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/3 "2010-07-12T17:22:46Z")
I’m pretty sure most young Hebrew-speakers would have no idea what ham (in Hebrew: pig-thigh) was. It’s a foreign food they’d unlikely to have ever encountered. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/4 "2010-07-12T17:25:33Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re overestimating the observancy level of most kids whose parents are going to be reading them Dr. Seuss books. Not really. We had Jewish friends over for Easter dinner. We served Ham. Their idea. But still, the idea of a Hebrew “Green Eggs and Ham” is a bit like “Let’s Eat Steak on Good Friday” for Catholics. It’s not forbidden, but it raises eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/5 "2010-07-12T19:06:42Z")
Or they could just tack on the [alternate ending](http://jewishjokes.tripod.com/kosher-green-eggs-ham.htm) that’s been floating around the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/6 "2010-07-12T20:48:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But still, the idea of a Hebrew “Green Eggs and Ham” is a bit like “Let’s Eat Steak on Good Friday” for Catholics. It’s not forbidden, but it raises eyebrows. Well, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. **Alessan** , you’re ruining my image of Tel Aviv as a center of sin and corruption. I thought everyone walked around in bikinis while eating bacon cheeseburgers all the time? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/7 "2010-07-12T20:59:26Z")
But they do! Bacon is readily available; ham, OTOH, is virtually unheard of. I think there just isn’t a niche for it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/8 "2010-07-12T21:00:43Z")
This reminds me of another Dr. Seuss book altered for Jewish readers: _“One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Gefilte Fish”_ ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/9 "2010-07-12T21:11:20Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But they do! > > Bacon is readily available; ham, OTOH, is virtually unheard of. I think there just isn’t a niche for it. Ah, okay. My vision of Tel Aviv is restored. The world is once again in balance. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/10 "2010-07-13T02:33:17Z")
Bear in mind that he _does not like it_ and _will not eat it_. Now what rhymes with “meshuggenah”? ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/11 "2010-07-13T03:51:35Z")
‘I am not hungry and will not eat it’ is a short, snappy, and rhyming phrase in Hebrew, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/12 "2010-07-13T13:08:56Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Bear in mind that he _does not like it_ and _will not eat it_. > > Now what rhymes with “meshuggenah”? I’m snug as a bug in a Rug–but _meshuggenah_. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/13 "2010-07-13T14:59:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’m pretty sure most young Hebrew-speakers would have no idea what ham (in Hebrew: pig-thigh) was. It’s a foreign food they’d unlikely to have ever encountered. Really? I know a fellow who lived in Israel in the seventies, and he’s commented that pork was readily available back then as “white steak.” Not so? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/14 "2010-07-13T15:24:17Z")
My dad tells me he was once at a wedding, and the waiter was serving chicken. Dad said he wanted the white meat (_basar lavan_) and everyone looked agast. Turned out that in Israel, pork isn’t the _other_ white meat. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-eggs-and-ham-in-hebrew/546414/15 "2010-07-13T15:26:58Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Really? I know a fellow who lived in Israel in the seventies, and he’s commented that pork was readily available back then as “white steak.” Not so? My knowledge of pig parts is sadly limited; I have no idea whether “white meat” is ham or some other pork-related product. It’s sold in stores as steaks, and not as those big triangular things, so there’s that.