From learning Yiddish to the chuppah

The other day I came across a song about Mashiach which began with the folllorwing words.
Strings of pearls, and banners made of gold
Mashiach Ben David is coming we are told
Holding a goblet in his right hand
Making a blessing, blessing all the land
Shneeraleh, peraleh, gildeneh fohn
Ma'shiach ben Dovid, ehr zitzt oybn ohn
Halt ehr a becher in der rechtin handt
Macht ehr a b'rucheh
Oyfn gantzen landt
http://www.chazzanut.com/songs.html#song10
I thought that the lyrics sounded nicer in Yiddish.
This morning a NYT wedding announcement caught my eye.

...Yiddish still holds the power to bring people together and start romances, and, in the case of Yael Kornfeld and Avram Mlotek, a marriage.
“Theirs is a story of the vibrancy and tenacity of Yiddish, the passion that Yiddish can inspire,
...The actor Fyvush Finkel, a star of the Yiddish theater before taking on Hollywood, attended one Manhattan gathering — his first ever — in honor of the bride and bridegroom.
“In Hollywood they don’t have sheva brokhes,” he told them. “In Hollywood, you’re lucky if the marriage lasts seven days.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/fashion/weddings/27VOWS.html?ref=weddings

So, let's begin our Yiddish lessons with a few words defined in an article titled The joy of Yiddish by Michael Bywater.

Babkes Lit. beans. Fig. nothing. "What did he give me? Babkes, he gives me."

Bissel A bit, usually large. "What harm can a bissel fruit cakeleh?"

Lig in drerd Lit. lie in the earth. Fig. die, G*d forbid.

Meshuggener A crazy person.

Nu The most useful of words. Lit. "now". Fig. so; so what; and?; yes?; what am I supposed to do about it?; therefore?; etc etc.

Schmendrick Low down in the pantheon of klutzes, one up from the schlemiel. Look: a schlemiel, a schlemazl and a schmendrick go for a drive. The schmendrick crashes the schlemazl's car and the schlemiel apologises.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-joy-of-yiddish-523375.html