“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 20
The gentleman on this page isn’t Mirka’s father, by the way; he’s her grandfather.
Mirka’s pop is traveling this week and so doing Shabbot with relatives. But he will be a character in the next “Hereville” story after this one.
I have a really hard time drawing manmade objects. The wine glass here, which I’m not terribly happy with, took me ages to draw. The candle was fun to draw, though.
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42 Responses to ““How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 20”
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This is really well done, but if Hereville if meant to be like a shtetl, they wouldn’t say Shavua Tov, they’d say Gut Vuch.
This is really well done, but if Hereville if meant to be like a shtetl, they wouldn’t say Shavua Tov, they’d say Gut Vuch.
this is the first fantasy/jewish comic I’ve ever seen, and it’s very intriguing. Wonder where it goes..
this is the first fantasy/jewish comic I’ve ever seen, and it’s very intriguing. Wonder where it goes..
Great story! I was already intrigued by the relationship between the step mother and the young girl (Im already of the opinion that the step mother is some kind of magical being), but the discription of the Sabbat celebration is fascinating. As a Christian who celebrates the “sabbath” by waking up at 8AM, dressing to the nines, getting to church early, setting up and preparing for the Worship and the Sermon, participating in the Worship and Sermon, discusing any business for the next Sunday, finding a place to eat with maybe 10+people, and maybe finally getting home by 3PM, if people don’t want to “get together and play some games”, I could certainly use one of those extra refreshing “Sabbat” naps!
Great story! I was already intrigued by the relationship between the step mother and the young girl (Im already of the opinion that the step mother is some kind of magical being), but the discription of the Sabbat celebration is fascinating. As a Christian who celebrates the “sabbath” by waking up at 8AM, dressing to the nines, getting to church early, setting up and preparing for the Worship and the Sermon, participating in the Worship and Sermon, discusing any business for the next Sunday, finding a place to eat with maybe 10+people, and maybe finally getting home by 3PM, if people don’t want to “get together and play some games”, I could certainly use one of those extra refreshing “Sabbat” naps!
Thanks for the comments, everyone! I hope you keep reading. (And tell your friends!)
Kay, it’s not a shtetl. But that doesn’t mean I got the language right; I think I’m going to be making billions of mistakes as this story goes on, unfortunately. I’d appreciate any tips you can give me. 🙂
Yehuda, I hope you keep enjoying it!
Sarah, thanks for the speculations. Fruma (the step mother) will be a major character in some upcoming stories… I wish I drew faster!
Thanks for the comments, everyone! I hope you keep reading. (And tell your friends!)
Kay, it’s not a shtetl. But that doesn’t mean I got the language right; I think I’m going to be making billions of mistakes as this story goes on, unfortunately. I’d appreciate any tips you can give me. 🙂
Yehuda, I hope you keep enjoying it!
Sarah, thanks for the speculations. Fruma (the step mother) will be a major character in some upcoming stories… I wish I drew faster!
I’ll definately keep a watch on this comic. Keep up the good work!
I’ll definately keep a watch on this comic. Keep up the good work!
I’m finding this so incredibly amusing, thanks so much for this comic! Couple questions for you though. A) Is the step-mothers name, Fruma, supposed to be a play on ‘frum’? B) Are you orthodox yourself? C) Is this comic going to stay relatively clean? I’ve got some younger orthodox friends who I think might like this.
I’m finding this so incredibly amusing, thanks so much for this comic! Couple questions for you though. A) Is the step-mothers name, Fruma, supposed to be a play on ‘frum’? B) Are you orthodox yourself? C) Is this comic going to stay relatively clean? I’ve got some younger orthodox friends who I think might like this.
Thanks, Chayim and Amelia!
Amelia, to answer your questions:
A) Wow, I hadn’t even thought of that! No,it’s just her name.
B) No, I’m not. As will probably become obvious from errors I make as I go along. 🙂
c) It will stay relatively clean, in that there will never be any nudity or sex shown. Some future Hereville storylines will have darker themes than the current story does, but I’m not planning to do anything that couldn’t get a “PG” rating if it were a movie.
The current story (which will be completely posted by the end of December) does have a couple of scary moments, but nothing scarier than what’s in many Disney kids’ movies.
Thanks, Chayim and Amelia!
Amelia, to answer your questions:
A) Wow, I hadn’t even thought of that! No,it’s just her name.
B) No, I’m not. As will probably become obvious from errors I make as I go along. 🙂
c) It will stay relatively clean, in that there will never be any nudity or sex shown. Some future Hereville storylines will have darker themes than the current story does, but I’m not planning to do anything that couldn’t get a “PG” rating if it were a movie.
The current story (which will be completely posted by the end of December) does have a couple of scary moments, but nothing scarier than what’s in many Disney kids’ movies.
So the ad told me to give this comic a try, and I have to say I’m glad I did. It’s cute, it’s interesting, it’s different…. I’m looking forward to more. Keep it up!
So the ad told me to give this comic a try, and I have to say I’m glad I did. It’s cute, it’s interesting, it’s different…. I’m looking forward to more. Keep it up!
Good job, Barry! As a real live Orthodox Jew (Petah Tikvah, orig. the US), I can attest that except for some minor points (see your email), you’re presenting a more or less accurate view of an Ortho family. And yes, that’s really the way guests happen on Shabbat and Holiday!
B’hatzlocho! (heh, heh, an exercise for the student 😉 )
Good job, Barry! As a real live Orthodox Jew (Petah Tikvah, orig. the US), I can attest that except for some minor points (see your email), you’re presenting a more or less accurate view of an Ortho family. And yes, that’s really the way guests happen on Shabbat and Holiday!
B’hatzlocho! (heh, heh, an exercise for the student 😉 )
Thanks, Chiisuchina and D’n!
(And thanks especially to D’n for the points he emailed me.)
Given how little I know, “more or less accurate” is probably the best I can hope for. But it’s to be hoped that I’ll improve as I go along. 🙂
Thanks, Chiisuchina and D’n!
(And thanks especially to D’n for the points he emailed me.)
Given how little I know, “more or less accurate” is probably the best I can hope for. But it’s to be hoped that I’ll improve as I go along. 🙂
Barry Says:
Kay, it’s not a shtetl.
I’ll take your word for it since you’re the author. 😉
But it comes across as very traditional/Old World, while “Shavua Tov” is generally said by more modern people and/or Israelis.
Barry Says:
Kay, it’s not a shtetl.
I’ll take your word for it since you’re the author. 😉
But it comes across as very traditional/Old World, while “Shavua Tov” is generally said by more modern people and/or Israelis.
So far, this comic seems really fun! I enjoy the idea of an Orthodox girl wanting to fight dragons (she sounds a lot like me). There are a few minor details, though, that seemed a bit off. Firstly, I don’t know from the first scene if you meant to imply that Mirka or Fruma believed in a pre-ordained world because while Orthodox Jews do believe God has control and that things happen for a reason, we definitely believe in free will and not in things being pre-ordained. I wasn’t sure where you were going with that discussion, so I just wanted to clarify. 😀
Also, “chassidishe” doesn’t mean “religiously observant,” rather, it is a type of Judaism known as Chassidut which focuses a lot on practicing Judaism in both a religious and joyful, soulful, spirited way. It’s hard to explain in just a few words, but it’s a certain way of practicing Judaism. The term “chassid” does get thrown around to refer to any religious Jew in a black hat with payot, but that’s not REALLY what it means.
Also, I found it funny that you called friday “sixth day.” 😀 I would have either called it Friday or Yom Shishi and then translated in one of those little boxes that Yom Shishi means “sixth day of the week, aka friday.”
Anyway, I don’t mean to nitpick! I just wanted to point out some things. 😀 Have fun doing the rest of this!
And I agree with Kay, Hereville DOES have the feel of a shtetl, but you, of course, have a better image of it than we do.
So far, this comic seems really fun! I enjoy the idea of an Orthodox girl wanting to fight dragons (she sounds a lot like me). There are a few minor details, though, that seemed a bit off. Firstly, I don’t know from the first scene if you meant to imply that Mirka or Fruma believed in a pre-ordained world because while Orthodox Jews do believe God has control and that things happen for a reason, we definitely believe in free will and not in things being pre-ordained. I wasn’t sure where you were going with that discussion, so I just wanted to clarify. 😀
Also, “chassidishe” doesn’t mean “religiously observant,” rather, it is a type of Judaism known as Chassidut which focuses a lot on practicing Judaism in both a religious and joyful, soulful, spirited way. It’s hard to explain in just a few words, but it’s a certain way of practicing Judaism. The term “chassid” does get thrown around to refer to any religious Jew in a black hat with payot, but that’s not REALLY what it means.
Also, I found it funny that you called friday “sixth day.” 😀 I would have either called it Friday or Yom Shishi and then translated in one of those little boxes that Yom Shishi means “sixth day of the week, aka friday.”
Anyway, I don’t mean to nitpick! I just wanted to point out some things. 😀 Have fun doing the rest of this!
And I agree with Kay, Hereville DOES have the feel of a shtetl, but you, of course, have a better image of it than we do.
Seems to me that Aherville (Aherville IS where they’re living, right?) is very like several communities I’ve been in, especially some Yishuvim (closed communities) in Israel. The mix of insular, highly-religious life and modern-day expressions is not as odd as some may think. Admittedly, I too thought it was a pure shtetl at first, but that didn’t really last longer than a page.
Here’s something I’ve been mulling over, and I’d like to know whether this was deliberate or not: ‘Aher’ means ‘Other’, and so ‘Aherville’ would roughly translate to ‘Somewhere Else’, while the title of the comic is ‘Hereville’ – I assume because ‘Poville’ or ‘Cahnville’ would just sound odd. Is this a hint to the general trend of the comic? Is Mirkale going to move to Israel – I mean, Hereville, eventually? ^___^
In the ay of clothes – when I was Mirka’s age, that was pretty much what I wore. There was no point in getting super-fancy when I would be running around and sitting on the floor. White stockings, a nice skirt and a white turtle-neck are definitely okay Shabbos-clothes. Fancy-shmancy gear was saved for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Maybe for older girls you’d want to get a bit more creative, but for Mirka’s age, you’ve got it spot on, from my personal experience.
One thing that’s been worrying me – is Fruma’s hair a sheitel (wig), or her real hair? Because she DEFINITELY wouldn’t be uncovering it for Shabbos, and it looks a tad messy for a sheitel; they’re usually sleek and stylish since they cost so much anyway.
Is Zayde’s hair long all around, or only his payos? That’s a bit unusual – is he a remnant of the 60’s, or simply a radical?
*rereads her comment* Wow, I didn’t expect to get so detailed – I really intended to only say that I loved it. ^___^
Seems to me that Aherville (Aherville IS where they’re living, right?) is very like several communities I’ve been in, especially some Yishuvim (closed communities) in Israel. The mix of insular, highly-religious life and modern-day expressions is not as odd as some may think. Admittedly, I too thought it was a pure shtetl at first, but that didn’t really last longer than a page.
Here’s something I’ve been mulling over, and I’d like to know whether this was deliberate or not: ‘Aher’ means ‘Other’, and so ‘Aherville’ would roughly translate to ‘Somewhere Else’, while the title of the comic is ‘Hereville’ – I assume because ‘Poville’ or ‘Cahnville’ would just sound odd. Is this a hint to the general trend of the comic? Is Mirkale going to move to Israel – I mean, Hereville, eventually? ^___^
In the ay of clothes – when I was Mirka’s age, that was pretty much what I wore. There was no point in getting super-fancy when I would be running around and sitting on the floor. White stockings, a nice skirt and a white turtle-neck are definitely okay Shabbos-clothes. Fancy-shmancy gear was saved for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Maybe for older girls you’d want to get a bit more creative, but for Mirka’s age, you’ve got it spot on, from my personal experience.
One thing that’s been worrying me – is Fruma’s hair a sheitel (wig), or her real hair? Because she DEFINITELY wouldn’t be uncovering it for Shabbos, and it looks a tad messy for a sheitel; they’re usually sleek and stylish since they cost so much anyway.
Is Zayde’s hair long all around, or only his payos? That’s a bit unusual – is he a remnant of the 60’s, or simply a radical?
*rereads her comment* Wow, I didn’t expect to get so detailed – I really intended to only say that I loved it. ^___^
I agree with Yochva, you’ve really got the clothes down pretty well, everyone is tznious. I have to admit, I originally clicked on the comic just to see how accurate you had the orthodox bit. If you had had it wrong, I was planning on e-mailing and giving some pointers. There’s already some funny ideas out there about orthodox Jews, I didn’t want more misinformation! If you do start featuring older girls, on Shabbos anyways, do mix it up. In my experience the teenage girls LOVE using Shabbos to dress up a bit. In the normal course of things, especially if you go to a religious day school, there’s not so much room to dress too much like a ‘normal’ teenager, nothing like what the girls might be seeing in teen magazines, or in ads or something. Just because they dress tzniously, doesn’t mean they don’t like to be fashionable! At the Shul I go to, it’s amazing the lengths the girls go to to still be tznious, but look really fashionable.
I agree with Yochva, you’ve really got the clothes down pretty well, everyone is tznious. I have to admit, I originally clicked on the comic just to see how accurate you had the orthodox bit. If you had had it wrong, I was planning on e-mailing and giving some pointers. There’s already some funny ideas out there about orthodox Jews, I didn’t want more misinformation! If you do start featuring older girls, on Shabbos anyways, do mix it up. In my experience the teenage girls LOVE using Shabbos to dress up a bit. In the normal course of things, especially if you go to a religious day school, there’s not so much room to dress too much like a ‘normal’ teenager, nothing like what the girls might be seeing in teen magazines, or in ads or something. Just because they dress tzniously, doesn’t mean they don’t like to be fashionable! At the Shul I go to, it’s amazing the lengths the girls go to to still be tznious, but look really fashionable.
I came across this comic not too long ago while lurking around on the internet, and I have to say that I’m quite floored. I’m Jewish myself, though I’m Conservative (with a big C! ^^) and not Orthodox so I can’t really say anything on accuracy in that respect, but I’m quite pleasantly surprised to find a comic that features not only a Jewish heroine, but an orthodox Jewish heroine and the unique background she comes from. I don’t think I’ve ever come across something even remotely like this, nor do I think I will ever see something like this anywhere else.
I’ve already read through the archives (and plan on doing so again) and I’m most certainly sticking around to see what happens because not only do I think that it’s cool that this comic is showing a pretty good representation of Judaism, I really like the art, writing, and the story thus far. ^^ I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I came across this comic not too long ago while lurking around on the internet, and I have to say that I’m quite floored. I’m Jewish myself, though I’m Conservative (with a big C! ^^) and not Orthodox so I can’t really say anything on accuracy in that respect, but I’m quite pleasantly surprised to find a comic that features not only a Jewish heroine, but an orthodox Jewish heroine and the unique background she comes from. I don’t think I’ve ever come across something even remotely like this, nor do I think I will ever see something like this anywhere else.
I’ve already read through the archives (and plan on doing so again) and I’m most certainly sticking around to see what happens because not only do I think that it’s cool that this comic is showing a pretty good representation of Judaism, I really like the art, writing, and the story thus far. ^^ I can’t wait to see what happens next!
S.Y., thanks for your comments! Yes, clearly I got the “sixth day” thing wrong; everyone has agreed on that. 🙂 When it comes up again I’ll use different language for it.
I didn’t mean to imply that Fruma doesn’t believe in free will; if anything, I think Fruma’s argument would be that it is because we have free will that we are able to make mistakes.
In “Hereville,” virtually all of the male characters are religious Jews with black hats and payot! The usage of “chassidishe†I got from a book about Crown Heights culture, but the author (who is Jewish, but not Frum) may have misunderstood.
Aherville (the town where “Hereville” takes place) isn’t a shtetl, in that the people are modern and they’re mostly pretty well-off. However, it is very isolated from the larger culture, which I think gives it a bit of that feel. Additionally, the point of view character for this storyline is an 11 year old girl; the grown-ups have much more awareness than Mirka does of Aherville as a town that’s located in a wider world.
Thanks for your comments! Please keep reading (and feel free to keep nit-picking!).
S.Y., thanks for your comments! Yes, clearly I got the “sixth day” thing wrong; everyone has agreed on that. 🙂 When it comes up again I’ll use different language for it.
I didn’t mean to imply that Fruma doesn’t believe in free will; if anything, I think Fruma’s argument would be that it is because we have free will that we are able to make mistakes.
In “Hereville,” virtually all of the male characters are religious Jews with black hats and payot! The usage of “chassidishe” I got from a book about Crown Heights culture, but the author (who is Jewish, but not Frum) may have misunderstood.
Aherville (the town where “Hereville” takes place) isn’t a shtetl, in that the people are modern and they’re mostly pretty well-off. However, it is very isolated from the larger culture, which I think gives it a bit of that feel. Additionally, the point of view character for this storyline is an 11 year old girl; the grown-ups have much more awareness than Mirka does of Aherville as a town that’s located in a wider world.
Thanks for your comments! Please keep reading (and feel free to keep nit-picking!).
Yochva and Amelia, I’m glad I got the clothes about right! I am trying to think more about clothing for the next “Hereville” story, which focuses more on one of Mirka’s older sisters. I’m not very good at drawing fashion, though, so that may be an area in which “Hereville” is always a bit deficient; we’ll see how it goes.
Yochva, a couple of online English/Yiddish dictionaries claim that “aher” means “here” or “hither”; so I thought “Aher” meant “Here,” and making “Aherville” into “Hereville” for the title isn’t nearly as clever as what you worked out! Are the dictionaries I consulted just wrong, or does “aher” have different meanings?
I’m not planning to have Mirka move to Israel (too hard for me to draw a real-world location that I don’t have regular access to), although of course she might visit it at some point.
Fruma is wearing a wig throughout the comic — in fact, more than one wig (which is why her hair does such a radical change in style between Friday and Saturday — I was imagining that she put a different wig on when she woke up on Saturday morning). Fruma’s own hair is quite short, but we haven’t seen it in the comic yet. Is that wrong, do you think? Would she go without a sheitel when she’s at home, with only the kids around, when it’s not Shabbos?
You’re the second person to ask met that this week; it’s clear that I’m not drawing the wigs correctly. I’ll work on that for the new story (which won’t start appearing until 2009). Fruma, however, is deliberately unstylish and plain in how she dresses; I imagine most married women in Aherville have more stylish sheitels than she does.
Finally, about Zayde’s hair: that is his hair, and yes, he keeps it long. In order to make it easier for me to visually distinguish between characters, the fictional Aherville will probably have a lot more variety in male hairstyles than would be realistic. (I’m surprised nobody’s asked me why Zindel’s hair is so long!)
Thank you! And I like the long comments — I’m feeling optimistic that, with the help of readers who know a lot more than I do, the next “Hereville” story can have a lot of good details in it that ring true.
Yochva and Amelia, I’m glad I got the clothes about right! I am trying to think more about clothing for the next “Hereville” story, which focuses more on one of Mirka’s older sisters. I’m not very good at drawing fashion, though, so that may be an area in which “Hereville” is always a bit deficient; we’ll see how it goes.
Yochva, a couple of online English/Yiddish dictionaries claim that “aher” means “here” or “hither”; so I thought “Aher” meant “Here,” and making “Aherville” into “Hereville” for the title isn’t nearly as clever as what you worked out! Are the dictionaries I consulted just wrong, or does “aher” have different meanings?
I’m not planning to have Mirka move to Israel (too hard for me to draw a real-world location that I don’t have regular access to), although of course she might visit it at some point.
Fruma is wearing a wig throughout the comic — in fact, more than one wig (which is why her hair does such a radical change in style between Friday and Saturday — I was imagining that she put a different wig on when she woke up on Saturday morning). Fruma’s own hair is quite short, but we haven’t seen it in the comic yet. Is that wrong, do you think? Would she go without a sheitel when she’s at home, with only the kids around, when it’s not Shabbos?
You’re the second person to ask met that this week; it’s clear that I’m not drawing the wigs correctly. I’ll work on that for the new story (which won’t start appearing until 2009). Fruma, however, is deliberately unstylish and plain in how she dresses; I imagine most married women in Aherville have more stylish sheitels than she does.
Finally, about Zayde’s hair: that is his hair, and yes, he keeps it long. In order to make it easier for me to visually distinguish between characters, the fictional Aherville will probably have a lot more variety in male hairstyles than would be realistic. (I’m surprised nobody’s asked me why Zindel’s hair is so long!)
Thank you! And I like the long comments — I’m feeling optimistic that, with the help of readers who know a lot more than I do, the next “Hereville” story can have a lot of good details in it that ring true.
I agree! I don’t want to present the Jews of Aherville as horribly backwards people, or as monsters, or as horrible misogynists — there’s too much like that out there. At the same time, I don’t want to present them as cute or quaint or perfect or without problems. I want them to be people; some good, some bad, most inbetween.
As far as misinformation goes, I’m sure I’m going to get some things wrong (I already have!), plus I’ll probably have some views that not all my readers agree with — in fact, that’s unavoidable. But I hope you’ll enjoy reading it, regardless. Thanks for your comments. 🙂
I agree! I don’t want to present the Jews of Aherville as horribly backwards people, or as monsters, or as horrible misogynists — there’s too much like that out there. At the same time, I don’t want to present them as cute or quaint or perfect or without problems. I want them to be people; some good, some bad, most inbetween.
As far as misinformation goes, I’m sure I’m going to get some things wrong (I already have!), plus I’ll probably have some views that not all my readers agree with — in fact, that’s unavoidable. But I hope you’ll enjoy reading it, regardless. Thanks for your comments. 🙂
Black Cat Goddess, thank you so much! I’m glad you’re enjoying it, and I hope you keep on reading.
I agree that there’s no other comic quite like “Hereville” out there — that’s one reason I wanted to do this idea. If you enjoy Hereville, though, you might want to try my friend Dylan’s comic Family Man (there’s a link to it on the “links” page). It’s not really like Hereville — it’s set in a different period, it’s about grown-ups, not all the characters are Jews — but I think Dylan and I share some approaches to what makes a good comic book.
Black Cat Goddess, thank you so much! I’m glad you’re enjoying it, and I hope you keep on reading.
I agree that there’s no other comic quite like “Hereville” out there — that’s one reason I wanted to do this idea. If you enjoy Hereville, though, you might want to try my friend Dylan’s comic Family Man (there’s a link to it on the “links” page). It’s not really like Hereville — it’s set in a different period, it’s about grown-ups, not all the characters are Jews — but I think Dylan and I share some approaches to what makes a good comic book.
I’m not sure which page to put this on, but this is where I’m up to and it seems as good a spot as any. Like many of the commenters, I’ve been trying to extrapolate a plausible setting for this; any place in Europe that might have fit the bill was wiped out you-know-when, which makes Israel and a rural Chassidic enclave in the U.S. (perhaps upstate New York?) the most likely contenders.
In any event, there is no circumstance in which Yiddish-speaking members of a Chassidic community would be referring to “Shabbat.” It would definitely be “Shabbos” or “Shabbes.”
Still, enjoying the story so far, looking forward to reading the rest. (I got here via the banner ad on “Save Hiatus,” should you be wondering.)
I’m not sure which page to put this on, but this is where I’m up to and it seems as good a spot as any. Like many of the commenters, I’ve been trying to extrapolate a plausible setting for this; any place in Europe that might have fit the bill was wiped out you-know-when, which makes Israel and a rural Chassidic enclave in the U.S. (perhaps upstate New York?) the most likely contenders.
In any event, there is no circumstance in which Yiddish-speaking members of a Chassidic community would be referring to “Shabbat.” It would definitely be “Shabbos” or “Shabbes.”
Still, enjoying the story so far, looking forward to reading the rest. (I got here via the banner ad on “Save Hiatus,” should you be wondering.)
Oh, and I translated “Aherville” the same way as Yochva did, as “Otherville” or “Somewhere Else,” and likewise supposed that Mirka would eventually travel to the titular city. Both of us took the “h” as being a stand-in for the gutteral “ch” of “challah,” and took “aher” as being the Hebrew word “acher,” or other. You’re correct that “aher,” with a standard “h” sound, is “over here” in Yiddish.
(I think one reason we arrived at the wrong conclusion is that “acher” can be used as an adjective, making it a more natural fit for the bilingual compound word; “aher,” not so much. But then that’s exactly parallel to “otherville” vs. “hereville” in English.)
Oh, and I translated “Aherville” the same way as Yochva did, as “Otherville” or “Somewhere Else,” and likewise supposed that Mirka would eventually travel to the titular city. Both of us took the “h” as being a stand-in for the gutteral “ch” of “challah,” and took “aher” as being the Hebrew word “acher,” or other. You’re correct that “aher,” with a standard “h” sound, is “over here” in Yiddish.
(I think one reason we arrived at the wrong conclusion is that “acher” can be used as an adjective, making it a more natural fit for the bilingual compound word; “aher,” not so much. But then that’s exactly parallel to “otherville” vs. “hereville” in English.)