![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
A series of ten short couplets describing the ten plagues afflicting the Egyptians in Egypt, written in Judeo-Italian and first published in the famous 1609 Venice Haggadah of Isaac Gershon. The Italian used in the Venice Haggadah lacks a lot of the most divergent aspects of the Judeo-Italian languages, sticking to a more mainline Tuscan grammatical norm, but there are enough obsolete, poetic, or dialectal forms that several footnotes have been included to explain them. Also included is an original English-language rhyming translation!
| Source (Judeo-Italian) | Transliteration (Judeo-Italian, romanized) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|
סַאנְגְוֵי לְ אַקְוַה סִי קוֹנְוֵירְטֵי אִין סַאנְגְוֵי טוּטוֹ מִצְרָיִם סוֹסְפִּירַה אֵי לַאנְגְוֵי׃ |
Sangue L’acqua si converte in sangue tutto Mizraim sospira e langue. |
Blood Into blood the water turns; all of Egypt sighs and yearns. |
רַאנוֹקְיֵי פֵּיר לַה גְרַאן קְוַאנְטִיטַה דֵי רַאנֵי נוֹן סִי דוֹרְמֵי נֵי אִינְפַּסְטַה נֵי קוֹצֶי אִיל פַּנֵי׃ |
Ranocchie Per la gran quantità de[1] A dialectal form, used consistently throughout this entire passage. In standard Italian this would be spelled di. rane, non si dorme né inpasta[2] A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled impasta. né coce[3] A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled cuoce. il pane. |
Froggies So many frogs upon Egypt did leap that none could bake their bread or sleep! |
פֵּידוֹקְיִי גְרַאנְדֵי אֶירַה לַה קְוַנְטִיטַה דֵי פֶּידוֹקְיִי גְרוֹסִי קוֹמֵי גְרָאנִי דֵי פִּינוֹקְיִי׃ |
Pedocchi[4] A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled pidocchi. Grande era la quantità de pedocchi, grossi come grani de pinocchi.[5] A Tuscan dialectal form. In standard Italian the more common word would be pinoli. This form is still relevant, though, seeing as it’s the source of the name of a well-known Italian fairy-tale character named after the nut of the pinetree from which he was carved. |
Head-lice Great was the number of lice and fleas, as big as the nuts that you get from pine trees! |
מֵיסְקוּלְייוֹ לוּפִּי אוֹרְסִי טִיגְרִי אֵי לֵיאוֹנִי אֵירַאנוֹ אִין מִצְרַיִם אִין טוּטִי אִי קַאנְטוֹנִי׃ |
Mescuglio[6] A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled miscuglio. Lupi, orsi, tigri, e leoni; erano in Mizraim in tutti e cantoni. |
Mixture Wolves, bears, tigers, lions roared throughout all Egypt in every ward. |
פֵּיסְטֵי בֵּיסְטִיאַמִי דֵי אוֹנְיִי סוֹרְטֵי פּוֹקִי סְקַאמְפַּאנוֹ דַה לַה מוֹרְטֶי׃ |
Peste Bestiami de ogni sorte; pochi scampano da la[7] In standard Italian this would be written as dalla. morte. |
Plague Livestock of every kind; escape from death few find. |
פִֿיסְטוֹלַה מֹשֶׁה סְפַּארְסֵי קַאלִיגִינֵי דִינַאנְצִי פַארַאוֹנֵי קַאסְקוֹ סוֹפְּרַה מִצְרִיִּים אֵי פֵיצֵי בּוֹנְיוֹנִי׃ |
Fistola Moscè sparse caligine dinanzi Faraone; casco sopra Mizrigìm e feze bognoni.[8] A very old-fashoned Italian word. I can’t find evidence that it’s been used much in the past three hundred years. Note also the rhyme between Faraone and bognoni which suggests some weakening of word-final vowels, a process that would also explain the usage of de. |
Fistula Before Pharaoh Moses spread fine soot, so the Egyptians grew buboes from head to foot. |
טֵימְפֵּיסְטַה טֵימְפֵּיסְטַה אַקוֹמְפַּאנְיַאטַה קוֹן פוֹקוֹ קוּנְסוּמַאוַה מִצְרִיִּים אִוֹן אוֹנְיִי לוֹקוֹ׃ |
Storm Storm accompanied by fire consumed Egypt in every shire. | |
גְרִילוֹ אוּנַה גְרַאן קְוַאנְטִיטַה דֵי קַאוַאלֵיטֵי קֵי דֵיווֹרַאוַה לַה וֵירדוּרַה דֵי לֵי אַרְבּוֹרִי אֵי לֶי אֵירְבֶּיטֶי |
Cricket A large quantity of locusts covered the scenery which devoured the trees and herbs’ greenery. | |
סְקוּרִיטוֹ טְרֵי גְייוֹרְנִי דֵי טֵינֵיבְּרַה אֵי סְקוּרוֹרֵי אַוֵיאַנוֹ לִי מִצְרִיִּים אֵי יִשְׂרָﭏֵ סְפְּלֶינְדוֹרֵי׃ |
Darkened Three days of darkness and obscurity the Egyptians had; and Israel, splendor and purity. | |
פֵּירְקוֹסַה דֵי פְּרִימִי גֵיינִיטִי׃ פִּיאַנְטִי סֹסְפִּירִי אֵי גֶיימִיטִי סִי סִינְטיוַה פֶּיר לַה מוֹרְטֶי דֶי פְּרִימִי גֵיינִיטִי׃ |
Percossa de primi geniti[16] An archaic form. In standard Italian this would be spelled primogeniti as one word. This is reflected in the English translation by writing “first born” as two words instead of one. Pianti, sospiri, e gemiti si sentìva per la morte de primi geniti. |
Strike of the first born Cries, sighs, and groans, as they mourn, were heard for the death of the first born. |
Source(s)
Judeo-Italian couplets for each of the ten plagues (Venice, 1609)
Notes
| 1 | A dialectal form, used consistently throughout this entire passage. In standard Italian this would be spelled di. |
|---|---|
| 2 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled impasta. |
| 3 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled cuoce. |
| 4 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled pidocchi. |
| 5 | A Tuscan dialectal form. In standard Italian the more common word would be pinoli. This form is still relevant, though, seeing as it’s the source of the name of a well-known Italian fairy-tale character named after the nut of the pinetree from which he was carved. |
| 6 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled miscuglio. |
| 7 | In standard Italian this would be written as dalla. |
| 8 | A very old-fashoned Italian word. I can’t find evidence that it’s been used much in the past three hundred years. Note also the rhyme between Faraone and bognoni which suggests some weakening of word-final vowels, a process that would also explain the usage of de. |
| 9 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled fuoco. |
| 10 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled consumava. |
| 11 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be spelled luogo. |
| 12 | An archaic form. In standard Italian this would be spelled delle as one word. |
| 13 | A poetic form. In standard Italian this would be more likely alberi. |
| 14 | A dialectal form. In standard Italian this would be more likely oscurità. |
| 15 | An archaic form. In standard Italian this would be more likely avévano. |
| 16 | An archaic form. In standard Italian this would be spelled primogeniti as one word. This is reflected in the English translation by writing “first born” as two words instead of one. |
“Judeo-Italian couplets for each of the Ten Plagues (Venice, 1609)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Stable Link:
https://opensiddur.org/?p=61806
Associated Image:
Judeo-Italian couplets for each of the ten plagues (Venice, 1609)
(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)
Terms of Use:
Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:
- Properly attribute the work to Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Unknown.
- Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
- Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=61806>.
- Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)
Additional Notes:
- The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
- We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
- If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.
Support this work:
The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
Leave a Reply