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A tkhine written to return to an ancestral place for the first time — especially diaspora homes that hold lineages of rich life as well as histories of flight and genocide.
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| Source (Yiddish) | Transliteration (Romanized Yiddish) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|
תחנה פֿאַר צוריקקערן זיך נאָך דורות צו המקום |
Tkhine Far Tsurik’kern Zikh Nokh Durus Tsu Hamaḳom |
A Tkhine for Returning to a Place After Generations |
בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי נֵס בַּמָּקֹום הַזֶּה |
barukh hamaḳom she’asah li neys b’makḳm hazeh |
Blessed is the place that made a miracle for me in this place |
איך קום צוריק אַהער אַזױ ווי יוסף הצדיק, וואָס האָט זיך אומגעקערט צום בור און האָט עס געבענטשט. זײַנע ברידער האָבן פֿאַרװאַנדלט זײַן הײם אין אַ מדבר און ער האָט אױסגעשריגן |
ikh kum tsurik aher azoy vi Yosef hatsadiḳ, vos hot zikh umgekert tsum bor un hot es gebentsht. zayne brider hobn farvandlt zayn heym in a midber. un er hot oysgeshrign: |
I return here like Yosef the Tsadiḳ who returned to the pit and blessed it. His brothers turned his home into a wilderness. And he cried out: |
שַׁתַּנִי בְּבוֹר תַּחְתִּיּוֹת בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּים בִּמְצֹלוֹת׃ (תהלים פּח:ז) |
shatani b’vor takhtiyos b’makhashakim bimtsolos (t’hilim, 88:7) |
You have put me at the bottom of the Pit, in the darkest places, in the depths. (Psalms 88:7) |
איר האָט מיך אַרײַנגעטאָן אין דנאָ פֿון דער בור, אין די פֿינצטערשטע ערטער, אין די טיפֿענישן. די ערד האָט געעפֿנט איר מויל און איך בין פֿאַרשװאונדן! דאָס איז געװען פֿאַר דער שקלאַפֿערייַ און פֿאַר דער פֿרײַהײַט. אין הײַנטיקע טעג, ווי ס’איז שטײט אין דער הגדה … |
ir hot mikh arayngeton in dno fun der bor, in di fintstershte erter, in di tifenishn. di erd hot ge’efnt ir moyl un ikh bin farshvaundn! dos iz geven far der shklaferay un far der frayhayt. in hayntike teg, vi s’iz shteyt in der hagadah … |
You have put me at the bottom of the Pit, in the darkest places, in the depths. The earth opened its mouth and I have vanished! That was before slavery and freedom. Now, like the haggadah says… |
בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם |
b’khol-dor vador khayav adam l’ros es-atsmo k’ilu hu yatsa mimitsrayim |
In every generation, a person is obligated to see themself as if they left Mitsrayim |
און ווי די בני־קרח זינגען אין תהלים … נֶחְשַׁבְתִּי עִם־יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר (תהלים פּח:ה) |
un vi di beney-Ḳorakh zingen in t’hilim… nekhshavti im-yordey vor (t’hilim, 88:5) |
And as the sons of Ḳoraḥ sing in psalms… I am numbered with those who go down to the Pit (Psalms 88:5) |
אָבער איך געדענק, אַז “ס׳וועט אַ פּויק טאָן אונדזער טראָט, מיר זײַנען דאָ” (פּאַרטיזאַנער ליד). אַזוי, לאָז מיך “ללכת בדרכיו” (דברים ח:ו). דאָס װעט מיך פֿאַרבונדן מיט מײַנע עלטערן. לאָז מיך ענטפֿערן מיט געזאַנג די בני־קרח װאָס זיצן נאָך אין שאול. |
ober ikh gedenk, az “s’vet a poyk ton undzer trot, mir zaynen do” (partizaner lid). azoy, loz mikh “lalekhes bidrakhayv” (devarim 8:6). dos vet mikh farbundn mit mayne eltern. loz mikh entfern mit gezang di beney-Ḳorakh vos zitsn nokh in sheyol. |
But I remember that “our footsteps drum out, we are here” (Partisan Song). So, let me “walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 8:6) that connect me with my ancestors. Let me sing back to the Ḳoraḥites still in Sheol. |
לאָז מיך שפּירן די תּענוגים וואָס מײַן פֿאָלק האָט דאָ געפֿילט און נישט נאָר דעם פֿאַרראַט. ארץ מצרים האָט אויך אַמאָל געהאַט זבת חלב ודבש. לאָז מיך הוליען און ניט נאָר באַװײנען. לאָז מיך דערקענען די זון און די לבנה פֿון דער אַלטער היים. לאָז מיך קענען די פּשוט’ע הנאה און נודאָטע פֿון אַן אמת’ן מקום. און זאָל מײַן צוריקקער זײַן פֿאַר אַ תּיקון. |
loz mikh shpirn di tenugim vos mayn folk hot do gefilt un nisht nor dem far’rat. eretz mitsrayim hot oykh amol gehat zavas halav u’dvash. loz mikh hulyen un nit nor baveynen. loz mikh derkenen di zun un di levoneh fun der alter heym. loz mikh kenen di pishute hanoe un nudote fun an emesn maḳom. un zol mayn tsurik’ker zayn far a tiḳḳun. |
Let me feel the pleasures my people felt here and not just the betrayal. Mitsrayim also flowed with milk and honey once. Let me revel and not just grieve. Let me recognize the sun and the moon of the old home. Let me know the simple delights and boredoms of a real place. Let my return be a repair. |
בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים |
barukh hamaḳom m’khayeh hamesim |
Blessed is the place that enlivens the dead |
With gratitude to R’ Noam Lerman, Moshe-Volf Dolman, Annie Kaufman, rosza daniel lang/levitsky, Binya Koatz, Faith Jones.
“תחנה פֿאַר צוריקקערן זיך נאָך דורות צו המקום | A Tkhine for Returning to a Place After Generations, by Maia Brown” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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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
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