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2024 —⟶ Page 19 “Composed for the Day of Atonement during the Prevalence of the Yellow Fever in New York in 1803,” this prayer was likely composed by Abraham Mears Isaacks (1765-1815). It was published in the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society number 20 (1911), p. 158, as submitted by Rebecca E. Mitchell, one of Isaacks descendants. . . . Categories: Tags: 19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Epidemic, Yellow Fever Epidemic 1795-1803 Contributor(s): In North Africa, a unique custom developed of reciting a Mi Khamokha v-Ein Kamokha piyyut, inspired by the famed Shabbat Zakhor work of Yehuda haLevi, on the Shabbat before a local Purim (a celebration of community’s deliverance from destruction). This piyyut, written by R. Avraham ben Rafael Khalfon, was recited on the Shabbat before 29 Tevet in the community of Tripoli, to celebrate the victory of the Karamanlid dynasty over the despotic usurper Ali Burghul (after events transpiring from 1793-1804). . . . The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, in English with Hebrew and Yiddish translations. . . . Categories: Tags: 18th century C.E., 56th century A.M., civil declarations and charters, civil rights, Constitution of the United States, Hebrew translation, Yiddish translation Contributor(s): The schedule for holiday psalm readings according to the Vilna Gaon, as recorded in the Siddur Al Pi Nusaḥ haGra published by Mossad haRav Kook. The Vilna Gaon was very stringent in reciting only one psalm per day, and as a result his practice is very complex, with different psalms being said on the same holiday depending on the day of the week. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): “A PRAYER composed and delivered by the Reverend Isaac Touro, in the Jewish Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, on Thursday the 28th Day of November, 1765, being the Day appointed, by his Honour the Governor’s Proclamation, for a general Thanksgiving in this Colony. Translated from the Hebrew.” . . . Written by future founding father Benjamin Franklin in 1755, “A Parable Against Persecution,” also known as “the 51st Chapter [of Genesis],” is an example of what is often called ‘pseudo-biblicism,’ a trend from the 1740s to the mid-19th century of writing modern events in the already-archaic style of the King James Bible. More strictly, “A Parable Against Persecution” is an example of pseudepigrapha in that it is meant to be read as part of the book of Genesis, telling a story of Abraham facing a non-coreligionist, acting rashly, and learning a lesson about religious tolerance. Already in 1755 we can see Franklin’s radically liberal religious views. . . . Categories: Tags: 18th century C.E., 56th century A.M., the Enlightenment, Hebrew translation, interfaith tolerance, liberty, pseudepigrapha, tolerance and intolerance, tolerance of difference Contributor(s): This undated 18th century prayer (before 1756) by an unknown author for “the opening of [a] lodge, etc., and used by Jewish Freemasons” was published in “Old Forms of Lodge Prayers,” The Hebrew Leader (31 December 1889), p. 4. (The Hebrew Leader regularly included news of interest to Jewish member of masonic fraternities.) The provenance of the prayer is offered in the lede: “Appended to a copy of the Constitutions of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of F. and A. Masons, published in 1801, by Bro. D. Longworth, at the Shakespeare Gallery, New York City (kindly loaned to us by R.W. Henry C. Banks), we find a number of forms which at the present day appear unique. These forms are spoken of as having been in use for a long period during the last century; and from them we extract two or three Prayers, one or the other of which it was customary to repeat, according to the religious faith of the members of the lodge’ which had assembled. We give them for the benefit of our readers.” The source for the prayer in its re-printed form is a 1756 work, Ahiman Rezon: or, a help to a brother; shewing the excellency of secrecy, … Together with Solomon’s temple an oratorio, as it was performed for the benefit of free-masons by Laurence Dermott (1756). . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The Book of Religion, Ceremonies, and Prayers; of the Jews as practised in their synagogues and families on all occasions: on their Sabbath and other Holy-Days throughout the Year (1738) by Abraham Mears (under the pseudonym Gamaliel ben Pedahzur) is the first translation of a siddur in English. . . . During the first twelve days of Nissan, there is a custom to read the portions about the twelve tribal princes who brought offerings and gifts to the holy Sanctuary. Miraculously without consulting with each other, they each brought the same gifts, but with different intentions. When we read these offerings followed by this prayer, our souls can connect to these tribes, even though we may not descend from these tribes directly (genealogically-speaking). . . . Categories: Tags: 17th century C.E., 55th century A.M., Liturgical customs of Kabbalists, Lurianic Kabbalah, Nusaḥ Ha-Ari z"l Contributor(s): This vidui prayer for those privileged to live past the age of 50 is found in Rabbi Mosheh ben Zevulun Eliezer Halperin’s Zikhron Mosheh (Lublin: 1611), siman 13. . . . This is a variation of Mipi El in Hebrew with a Judeo-Arabic translation found in the Seder al-Tawḥid for Rosh Ḥodesh Nissan, compiled by Mosheh Asher ibn Shmuel in 1887 in Alexandria. . . . Categories: Tags: 17th century C.E., 54th century A.M., acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, אין אדיר Ayn Adir, הקפה ד׳ fourth haḳafah, Judeo-Arabic, פיוטים piyyuṭim, via negativa, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): Presenting the full, somewhat short text of the Megillah of Sebastiano, telling the story of a great miracle that occurred to the Jewish community of Morocco on 1 Elul 5338, or August 4 1578 CE. On that day, King Sebastian of Portugal attempted to conquer Alcácer Quibir in North Africa — and inevitably to force the inquisition on the Jews of Morocco. But he was turned back at the last moment, protecting Moroccan independence for several more centuries. This scroll is traditionally recited in Jewish communities in the Maghreb to celebrate the repulsion of the Portuguese. . . . This is a Mi Khamokha piyyut by Yisrael Najara for Shabbat Ḥanukkah retelling Megilat Antiokhos in a lengthy fourfold acrostic with each stanza ending in בוֹ. . . . A Judeo-Moroccan Arabic (Darija) adaptation of the Passover counting song Eḥad Mi Yodeaȝ, as found in Mahzor Moȝadé Hashem. . . . A revolutionary socialist, Yiddish adaptation of Ḥad Gadya. . . . Categories: Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Aramaic translation, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, labor exploitation, parody, Revolutions of 1917–1923, socialism, Yiddish songs Contributor(s): In our timeline, the Kaifeng Jewish community had originally spoken Persian as their lingua franca, before adopting the Kaifeng dialect of Mandarin that their neighbors spoke. But just change a little and all of history could be different! This is a translation of Ḥad Gadya in a timeline where Judeo-Aramaic was a little more prevalent in eastern Persia all those years ago. In this timeline, instead of speaking Judeo-Persian before adopting Chinese, the Kaifeng Jews spoke Aramaic. And this dialect of Aramaic, like many other languages spoken in the greater Chinese cultural sphere, underwent tonogenesis! . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., alternate timeline, Aramaic, constructed languages, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, Kaifeng, נרצה Nirtsah, פיוטים piyyuṭim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): A Judeo-Moroccan Arabic (Darija) adaptation of the Passover seder song, Ḥad Gadya, as found in Mahzor Moȝadé Hashem. . . . Categories: Tags: 16th century C.E., 53rd century A.M., Arabic translation, Aramaic, Darija, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, Judeo-Arabic, Morocco, פיוטים piyyuṭim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, since the earliest evidence of Jews in England dates back to 1070, by which point Middle English was already on its way to development. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., alternate timeline, Aramaic, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, נרצה Nirtsah, Old English translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, since there is very little evidence of any Jews having lived in the Nordic countries before the Spanish expulsion, long after the end of the Old Norse era. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., alternate timeline, Aramaic, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, נרצה Nirtsah, Old Norse translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, seeing as it was written over two millenia after the Ugaritic language became extinct. But Ugaritic, closely related to the Canaanite language family of which Hebrew is a part, is worth studying for any Jewish scholar because of the light it sheds on the history of the Western Semitic peoples. So I’ve attempted a Ugaritic translation of Ḥad Gadya. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., alternate timeline, Aramaic, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, Late Bronze Age, נרצה Nirtsah, פיוטים piyyuṭim, predation, salvation, Ugaritic translation, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): | ||
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