איידי! סיליבראמוס | Айде! Селебрамос | Ayde! Selebramos — a Ladino adaptation of Mordkhe Rivesman’s “Oy Khanike” by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

Shared on:

7 December 2023 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Ḥanukkah

Tags:

58th century A.M., אױ חנוכה Oy Khanike, זמירות zemirot, Ladino Translation, 21st century C.E.

An original Ladino adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Chanukah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” I’m aware that the custom of spinning tops was not originally a Sefaradi one. So sue me, I was looking for something to rhyme with “libertaḏ.” I’ve included the Rashi script, the Aki Yerushalaim orthography, and (as an added bonus) the Cyrillic transcription used by the Jews of the Balkans.

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Adaptation (English)	Translation (romanized Ladino)	Translation (Cyrillicized Ladino)	Translation (Ladino)
Let’s go! We’ll celebrate the Jewish festival!	Aydé! Selebramos la fiesta djudiya!	Айде! Селебрамос ла фиеста ђудия!	איידי! סיליבראמוס לה פﬞייסטה גﬞודﬞייה!
Now is Ḥanukkah, a season of joy!	Agora es Hanuka, un moed de alegriya!	Агора ес Ханука, ун моед де алегрия!	אגורה איס חֲנֻכָּה, און מועד די אליגרייה!
We’ll spin the top, throw something in!	La toka aboltamos, algo adjustaḏ!	Ла тока аболтамос, алго ађустад!	לה טוקה אבולטאמוס, אלגו אגﬞוסטאדﬞ!
We’ll eat the bimuelos for our freedom.	Komemos los bimuelos para muenstra libertaḏ.	Комемос лос бимуелос пара муенстра либертад.	קומימוס לוס בימואילוס פּארה מואינסטרה ליבירטאדﬞ!
And meanwhile The oil keeps on burning.	I entremientes La azeyte va a briyar.	И ентремиентес Ла азейте ва а брияр.	אי אינטרימיינטיס לה אזייטי בﬞה א ברייאר.
The light is lit On account of the miracle that God repeatedly saves!	La luz sta kemando Por modo del milagro Ke el Dio tornava a salvar!	Ла луз ста кемандо Пор модо дел милагро Ке ел Дио торнава а салвар!	לה לוז סטה קימאנדו פּור מודﬞו דיל מילאגרו קי איל דיו טורנאבﬞא א סאלבﬞאר!

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“איידי! סיליבראמוס | Айде! Селебрамос | Ayde! Selebramos — a Ladino adaptation of Mordkhe Rivesman’s “Oy Khanike” by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

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חַד גַּדְיָא |   | וַא תַרְגְחָמְאֶא | wa’ targhHom’e’ (One little targ) — a tlhIngan Hol adaptation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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חַד גַּדְיָא | አሐዱ፡ማሕስእ፡ጠሊ (ʾÄḥädu Maḥsəʾ Ṭäli) — a Gəʽəz translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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Stained glass windows at the entrance to Sephardic Bikur Holim synagogue, Seward Park, Seattle, Washington, U.S. (credit: Joe Mabel, license: CC BY-SA) – retouched (for improved brightness) by Aharon Varady

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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