Chapter 3 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

Chapter 4 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

Chapter 5 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

A retelling of the story found in Megillat Antiokhus as midrash aggadah.

Chapter 6 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

This digital edition of Midrash Ma’aseh Ḥanukkah was transcribed from the print edition published in Otzar Hamidrashim (I. D. Eisenstein, New York: Eisenstein Press, 5675/1915, p.189-190). With much gratitude to Anat Hochberg, this is the first translation of this midrash into English.

This is a direct transcription, including cantillation and non-standard vocalizations, of the cantillated Megilat Antiokhos found in the British Library manuscript Or 5866, folios 105v-110r.

A sourcesheet shared by Dr. Devora Steinmetz to accompany a shiur on the Winter Solstice in Jewish thought.

The critical text of Megillat Antiokhus in its original Aramaic, prepared by Menaḥem Tsvi Kaddari and translated into English by John C. Reeves.

The following is the Midrash l’Ḥanukkah, one of a collection of three midrashim and two megillot containing the details of the story of Ḥanukkah in the Jewish rabbinic tradition. Those already familiar with these other works will quickly recognize portions or summaries of them here albeit with precious additional information added not found anywhere else.

Es war in den Tagen des Antiochus, dem König der Griechen, eines großen und starken Königs, fest in seiner Herrschaft, und alle Könige hörten auf ihn. Er eroberte viele Länder und besiegte starke Könige, verwüstete ihre Paläste, verbrannte sie im Feuer und warf ihre Bewohner gefesselt in den Kerker. Seit den Tagen Alexanders stand kein solcher König auf, an der Küste des großen Meeres. Und er erbaute am Ufer des Meeres eine mächtige Stadt, als Königssitz, und nannte die Stadt Antiochia – nach seinem Namen.

The Megillat Antiochus was composed in Palestinian Aramaic sometime between the 2nd and 5th century CE, likely in the 2nd Century when the memory of the Bar Kochba revolt still simmered.. The scroll appears in a number of variations. The Aramaic text below follows the critical edition prepared by Menaḥem Tzvi Kaddari, and preserves his verse numbering. The English translation by Rabbi Joseph Adler (1936) follows the Hebrew translation in the middle column, the source of which is a medieval manuscript reprinted by Tzvi Filipowsky in 1851. Adler and Kaddari’s verse ordering loosely follows one another indicating variations in manuscripts. Where Aramaic is missing from Kaddari’s text, the Aramaic version from Adler’s work is included in parentheses. Adler also included a Yiddish translation which we hope will be fully transcribed (along with vocalized Hebrew text, a Hungarian translation, and perhaps even a Marathi translation from South India) for Ḥanukkah 5775 , G!d willing.

The text of the Sefer Yetsirah presented here follows the “experimental exercise” produced by A. Peter Hayman in his Sefer Yeṣira: Edition Translation and Text-Critical Commentary, “Appendix III: The Earliest Recoverable Text of Sefer Yesira” (Mohr Siebeck, 2004). For details on his construction and his review of the available recensions of Sefer Yetsirah, please refer to Hayman’s complete commentary. Numbers in parentheses indicate sections. I have added spaces between sections indicate traditional chapter breaks. Square brackets indicate some doubt as to whether the included wording was present in the earlier form of the text (p.124).

A hymn of praise found in the description of the 7th dome of heaven in Sefer ha-Razim

An earlier form of the prayer known as Aleinu, as found in the esoteric Jewish literature of the first millennium CE.

A short discourse on the necessity for prayer by the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus.

The story of Yiftaḥ, or Jephthah, is read as the haftara for Parashat Ḥuqqat. However, in most practices the end of the story is not read. This is probably because it is horrific — because of Yiftaḥ’s foolish vow, he sacrifices his own daughter! Unlike the story of Isaac, there is no angel, no last-minute salvation. The knife falls, the girl dies. That would be bad enough, but the daughter of Yiftaḥ isn’t even named in the text! The text of Biblical Antiquities, traditionally albeit incorrectly attributed to Philo of Alexandria, is one of the more interesting and under-studied deuterocanonical works. Almost certainly written in Hebrew but preserved in its entirety only in Latin, it is an example of the genre of “rewritten Bible,” a proto-midrashic genre also found in texts such as Jubilees. It is the earliest source for a substantial number of legends that became part of the midrashic canon — from Abraham’s casting into the furnace to Dinah’s marriage to Job. And it has a unique tendency to elaborate on the stories of women in the Bible. In the case of Yiftaḥ’s daughter, Biblical Antiquities gives her three things she deserves: agency, a song, and a name. Agency, because she is a willing participant in the process of sacrifice, encouraging her father to go through with it and leaving the sages speechless. A song, because she laments the fact she will die a virgin. And a name — in the Latin text, Seila. In the Hebrew, Sheila, “asked for.”

A rabbinic Hebrew translation of the “Lord’s Prayer.”

Additional early rabbinic and other sources supplementing the story of the Martyrdom of Isaiah, with attention to Isaiah being granted sanctuary in a tree.

It is challenging to think of how to mark Nicanor Day, as it remains at a disadvantage, not only on years when it conflicts with Ta’anit Esther but on all years since it has no mitzvot. This is probably the main reason that, unlike Chanukah and Purim, it was lost to Jewish practice for more than a thousand years. Nevertheless, we do have its megillah, which has been translated into Hebrew and English. Perhaps, if we start reading chapters 13-15 of 2 Maccabees, even just to ourselves, on the 13 of Adar, we can begin to resurrect a holiday that was celebrated and instituted by Judah Maccabee and his followers over two millennia ago, and which they envisioned would continue throughout Jewish History. With the return of Jews to Israel and Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem, I believe it is about time.

The book of Barukh (also, Baruch and Barouch) in its reconstructed Hebrew vorlage from verse 1:1 till 3:8.

Selections from 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and Pesiqta Rabbati which inform the story of Ḥanukkah: the desecration and re-dedication of the Temple (especially as it relates to Sukkot and the Brumalia), divine intervention in the Maccabean battles, and the Rekindling of the Sacred Fire.

The following is a cnatillated Hebrew translation of the Martyrdom of Isaiah, the Jewish core of the work — 1:1—3:12 and 5. Also included is the corresponding Geʽez text, and the preserved fragments of the Greek text when available. When proper names are mentioned in the text attested in Greek, the translation follows the Greek.

The text of the Betä ʾƎsəraʾel legend of the death of Moses, translated to Hebrew by Jacques Faïtlovitch, and vocalized, cantillated, and translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer.

The Apostrophe to Zion is an alphabetical acrostic poem, directed at Zion in the second person. It has been found in multiple locations in Qumran, including the Great Psalms Scroll 11QPsa as well as another fragmentary scroll in 4Q88. It was considered a regular part of their psalmodic canon.

This is the first of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The first psalm found in this partial manuscript is an acrostic psalm. It is incomplete at the beginning, missing the letters alef and bet. It also shows evidence of the Galilean dialect in the confusion between hei and ḥet, a guttural merger also found in Qumran texts and in Samaritan Hebrew. It largely focuses on the covenant with David and his rule.

The story of Bel and the Dragon according to the text of Theodotion, translated into biblical Hebrew.

This is the second of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The second psalm found in this partial manuscript is preserved in its entirety and preserves an introductory schema found for the rest of the psalms here and likely missing from the first. Perhaps the text originally included psalms for each day in Iyyar! This psalm begins by invoking martyrdom, with the powerful image of a shephard killing his own flock. It then transitions into universalist-messianic language reminiscent of texts such as the second paragraph of Aleinu and the Rosh haShanah piyyut Va-ye’etayu, then discussing the beauty of the Torah before ending with a catena of blessings.

The story of Shoshanah & the Elders, according to the text of Theodotion translated into Biblical Hebrew.

This is the third of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with some suggesting a medieval pious forgery and others suggesting an origin in the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) Preserved in its entirety, the third psalms in Antonin 798 largely focuses on reversal of fortune. It also appears to invoke the memory of Moshe, but not by name.

This is the third of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with some suggesting a medieval pious forgery and others suggesting an origin in the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) Preserved in its entirety, the third psalms in Antonin 798 largely focuses on reversal of fortune. It also appears to invoke the memory of Moshe, but not by name.

There are various traditions as to the numbering of the commandments, as well as the enumeration of verses of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandment. In this transcription of the Ladino text we are following the numeration of verses according to the Constantinople Codex of 1547 C.E., as edited by the great scholar Professor Moshe Lazar (z”l) of the University of Southern California in 1988. This newly typeset text is an original transcription by Reb Shmuel Gonzales, of the Boyle Heights Chavurah – of the grassroots Jewish community of East Los Angeles, California; transcriber and editor of Sephardic texts for the Open Siddur Project; in celebration of Shavuot of 5783, and published in May of 2023.

This is the Song of Miriam from a parabiblical (or pseudo-biblical) attestation in 4Q365, as reconstructed by scholars based on the work of largely based on the work of Dr. Ariel Feldman, and with addition lacunae filled in by Issac Gantwerk Mayer. Isaac also vocalized, cantillated, and translated the test according to Masoretic norms, and provided a rendering of the text styled according to the Shirat ha-Yam as reproduced by scribes in the Masoretic tradition.

We are grateful to Dr. James VanderKam for preparing this critical text of the Book of Jubilees (Sefer Yubalim) in its Ge’ez translation in Ethiopic script. The book of Jubilees is an early Jewish deutero-canonical text originally written in Hebrew and composed during the Second Temple period sometime before the Maccabean struggle (164 BCE).

A reading from Jubilees (Sefer haYovelim) 6:15-22, including the text of the Mäṣḥäf Ḳədus (the Ge’ez translation of Jubilees) and original cantillated Hebrew and gender-neutral English translations, for Shavuot. Jubilees is considered to be the earliest source connecting Shavuot with the Sinaitic covenant, and emphasizes the latter as a fulfillment of the Noaḥide covenant (in the narrative of Noaḥ) that had only been maintained through the lineage of Abraham.

A mytho-historical chronicle of the story of humanity and Israel up until the Maccabean revolt depicted as a fable through a dream vision of Ḥanokh.

The end of the scroll of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) reconstructed from Cairo Geniza fragments not contained within the Septuagint.

The poem lauding the ancestors from Chapters 44 to 50 of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) is considered by many scholars to be the original influence for the Yom Kippur Avodah service, and the paean to Shimon the Righteous bears a striking similarity to the beloved piyyut “Mar’eh Khohen.” This passage from Ben Sira, the great paean on the merit of the ancestors, takes the Hebrew text of one of the Cairo Geniza manuscripts — Bodleian MS Heb e62 — and versifies it according to the standard Septuagintal text, along with vocalization and cantillation per the standard Masoretic EMe”T system for poetic books. It could be read on Yom Kippur for the avodah service, or just studied as a fascinating piece of Jewish history.

The story of Toviah (Tobit) in Hebrew translation, in an abridged version arranged for public reading on the second day of Shavuot.

Selected verses from the book of ben Sira for a Seliḥot service

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the common practice among Western Sephardim was to read some or all of the aftarót recited in the three weeks before the fast of Aḇ with a verse-by-verse “Ladino” (in this case meaning standard Early Modern Spanish, not Judezmo) translation. According to Joseph Jesurun Pinto (ḥazzan of Shearith Israel in New York from 1759 to 1766), it was customary in Amsterdam for only the final of the three aftarót, the aftará of Shabbat Ḥazon, to be recited with this Spanish targum, while in London it was customary for all three to be recited. This practice fell out of common usage in the past few centuries, although the Western Sephardic community of Bayonne preserved it up until the Shoah. But to this day a unique cantillation system is used in most Western Sephardic communities for the three aftarót before the fast.

When the first day of Ḥanukkah is a Shabbat, the last day of Ḥanukkah is also Shabbat. In most customs this is addressed by using the standard Shabbat Ḥanukkah haftarah from Zechariah on the first day and I Kings 7:40–50 on the last day. But this never sat well with me, since I Kings 7:40–50 (also the haftara for Vayakhel) is a very technical reading, and the last day of Ḥanukkah is more of a culmination. Conveniently, another minor prophet contemporary of Zechariah, Ḥaggai, discusses the reconstruction of the House as a process of national revitalization, *and* claims that the foundation of the temple was rebuilt on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month — i.e. the day before Ḥanukkah! This is historically fascinating since it suggests that Ḥanukkah as a rededication festival might predate the Maccabean Revolt entirely, but more importantly here, it makes it a very appropriate reading for the day before or the first day of Ḥanukkah. This is an alternative haftarah from the book of Ḥaggai , chapter 2 verses 2—23, that could be used as a replacement for the standard haftarah when Shabbat falls on the day before Ḥanukkah or on the first day of Ḥanukkah. When read on the first day of Ḥanukkah, the traditional Ḥanukkah haftarah reading of Zechariah 2:14–4:7 would be postponed to the eighth day in its place.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 1 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), p. 1.

To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of Psalms 1 from תהילים או לוס סאלמוס ; טריסלאד’אד’וס דיל לשון הקדש אין לה לינגואה ספרדית (Tehillim, or the Psalms, translated from the Holy language [Hebrew] into the Sephardic language, Estampado por Ǧ. Griffit 1852/3) from a digital copy made available by the Sephardic Studies Collection at the University of Washington. Please join me in making a complete transcription of this Ladino translation of Psalms. –Aharon N. Varady

Autor ninguno se halla, que declare el tiempo en que David compuso este Psalmo; ni la causa de haverlo introduzido por primero: mas amiver, es, que conociendo David que la razon de haver Dios rebotado de su gracia a Saul, y haverlo elegido ael en su lugar, havia sido por transgredir su mandado en la guerra de Ha-malek, por las persuasiones, y confejos de los inicos de su pueblo; como el mismo confessó al Propheta Semuel: por esso, quiso David dar’principio àfu Libro, con un loor que sirviesse de dotrina, y de advertimiento dela felicidad que alcançan los fieles siervos de Dios, que andan con toda integridad en fus carreras de virtud, y las adversdades, y castigo que estáparalos infieles, y los inicos aparejado, por los justos juyzios de Dios, del modo que sucedió a Saul, que fue desposseido de su Reyno, el, y sus hijos, y todos sus defendientes parasiempre, por los consejos de que el, se dexó persuadir, donde Dios le declaró su castigo.

This is a faithful transcription by the Yehoyesh Project of the Yiddish translation of Psalms 1 made by Yehoyesh Shloyme (Yehoash Solomon) Blumgarten (1870-1927) published in Torah, Neviʼim, u-Khetuvim vol. 2 (New York: Yehoʼash Farlag Gezelshaft, 1941). The complete transcription of Torah, Neviʼim, u-Khetuvim by the Yehoyesh Project in copy/pasteable and searchable plaintext may be found here.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 2 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), p. 2.

Este Psalmo, es el segundo en numero, por haverlo David en el principio de su Reyno, quando por oir las naciones circunvezinas, que lo havian ungido por Rey sobre Israël, vinieron todos juntos al desafio contra el, en compañia de los Philisteos sus capitales enemigos, y por esso comiença el Psalmo: Paraque se juntan las gentesy, etc. De suerte que assi como el Psalmo precedente, fue el primero por la donacion del Reyno, que Dios le hizo, assi este segundo fue adjunto a el, por la possession del Reyno que entonces tomava, suyetando con la divina assistencia las naciones, pues le embiava de los Cielos, su favor por medio de los Angeles sus ministros, como consta de Semuel Segundo, 5:24.

This is a faithful transcription by the Yehoyesh Project of the Yiddish translation of Psalms 2 made by Yehoyesh Shloyme (Yehoash Solomon) Blumgarten (1870-1927) published in Torah, Neviʼim, u-Khetuvim vol. 2 (New York: Yehoʼash Farlag Gezelshaft, 1941). The complete transcription of Torah, Neviʼim, u-Khetuvim by the Yehoyesh Project in copy/pasteable and searchable plaintext may be found here.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 3 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), p. 3.