A Megillah reading of Yonah with English translation, transtropilated.

This is the Masoretic text of Megillat Yonah set side-by-side with its translation, made by J.R.R. Tolkien for the Jerusalem Bible (1966).

This is a 14th-century translation of the entire book of Jonah into Judeo-Greek or Yevanic, the traditional language of the Romaniote community of Byzantium. To quote the Judeo-Greek expert Julia G. Krivoruchko, it “exhibits a fusion of contemporary vernacular language with archaic elements” and “favors an extremely literal translation style.” This translation was first published in Greek transcription by the Dutch hellenist Dirk Christiaan Hesseling, who misdated it to the 12th-century based on a mixup between the Seleucid and common eras. Included as part of a Romaniote maḥzor (Bodleian Library MS. Oppenheim Add. 8° 19), this translation was almost certainly in use as a targum for the reading of Jonah as the Yom Kippur minḥa haftarah. In the original manuscript the majority of verses are preceded with a few words of the Hebrew, a common practice for written targumim.

A Megillah reading of Rūt (Ruth) with English translation, transtropilated.

A new original translation of the Book of Ruth, using gender-neutral terminology for God and with relevant names calqued in footnotes.

The second reading for the Sigd festival, the Rededication Ceremony (Nehemiah 9).

This translation of Laments, the book of mourning poems read on Tishah b’Av, uses principles of the Buber-Rosenzweig Bible. It strives to be “concordant”, translating related Hebrew words with related English words and following the order and syntax of the Hebrew where possible. It also focuses on the more physical, earthy meaning of words, in order to draw the reader from modern towards more ancient ways of seeing and feeling. Sometimes alternate translations are given, indicated by a slash. (When reading aloud, simply pick one of the translations. For YHVH, you can read Adonai or Hashem or “the Eternal”.) James Moffat’s 1922 translation was consulted. As a somewhat literal translation, Laments uses “He” and “His” as pronouns for God, even though Torah and common sense command us not to make an exclusively male or female image of God. If you are using Laments liturgically, please feel encouraged to change the pronouns. For brief essays on the theology of Eikhah and more, see the bottom of this page.

This work is dedicated to all refugees fleeing war and upheaval, and to our remembering their needs.

An original gender-neutral translation of the book of Lamentations, preserving the alphabetical acrostic through closest parallels to the Hebrew letter.

This is an English translation of Megillat Qohelet, (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes), transtropilated (a term coined by Fellman to describe texts where the Masoretic cantillation has been applied to the translation). This translation is based on the translations by H.L.Ginsberg, Stone Ed. Tanach, Jerusalem Bible, New King James Bible, and the JPS Tanach (both 1917 & 1999). This English translations is sung to the tropes by Len Fellman according to the melodies of Portnoy & Wolff.

A “transtropilation” of an English translation of Lamentations (Eikhah) by Len Fellman.

This is an English translation of the Torah reading for Simḥat Torah Morning (Genesis 1:1-2:3), transtropilated.

A Torah reading of Parashat Bereshit in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Bereishit, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Noaḥ in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Noaḥ, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Lekh Lekha in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Lekh Lekha, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

The Torah reading of Parashat Vayera in English translation, transtropilated.

Transtropilation of an English translation for the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah, by Len Fellman.

The text of parashat Vayera, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

The Torah reading of Parashat Ḥayyei Sarah in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Ḥayyei Sarah, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Toldot in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Toldot, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayetsei in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayetsei, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayishlaḥ in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayishlaḥ, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayishlaḥ in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayeshev, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Miqets in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayeshev, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayigash in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayigash, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayeḥi in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Vayeḥi, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Shemot in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Shemot, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Va’era in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Va’era, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

The text of parashat Bo, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

A Torah reading of Parashat Bo in English translation, transtropilated.

A Torah reading of Parashat B’shalaḥ in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat B’shalaḥ, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.

According to Rabbinic tradition, the 21st of Nissan is the day in the Jewish calendar on which Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the Sea of Reeds, and the redeemed children of Yisrael sang the Song of the Sea, the (Shirat Hayam, Exodus 15:1-19). The song, as included in the the morning prayers, comprises one of the most ancient text in Jewish liturgy. The 21st of Nissan corresponds to the 7th day of Passover, and the recitation of the Shirat HaYam is part of the daily Torah Reading. Rabbi Hillel Ḥayim Yisraeli-Lavery shares a performance of a melody he learned for the Shirat Hayam from צוף דבש Tzuf Devash, a Moroccan synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. If there is something about this tune that strikes one as particularly celebratory, it might be because the relationship between G!d and the Jewish people is traditionally described as a marriage consummated with the Covenant at Mt. Sinai. The passage of Bnei Yisrael through the Sea of Reeds towards Mt. Sinai thus begins a bridal march commencing in the theophany at Mt. Sinai, 42 days later.

A Torah reading of Parashat Yitro in English translation, transtropilated.

This is the text of the Ladino translation of the Shavuot Day One readings from Exodus 19:1-20:23 as transcribed in romanized Ladino by Moshe Lazar in his Ladino Pentateuch: (Constantinople, 1547) (1988), and retranscribed as digital text by Shmuel Gonzales (2026).

The first reading for the Sigd festival, the Revelation at Sinai (Exodus 19-20).

A Torah reading of Parashat Mishpatim in English translation, transtropilated.

The text of parashat Yitro, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis.