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Yah Hatsel Yonah is a traditional piyyut for Ḥanukkah, of unknown origin (although it spells out the name Yehuda as an acrostic). Beloved in Iraqi Jewish circles, it discusses the hope that Israel, likened to a dove, will be able to celebrate Ḥanukkah during a time of true redemption. Included is a relatively literal (but de-gendered) translation, as well as a poetic singable one.
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| Source (Hebrew) | Poetic Translation (English) | Literal Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|
יָהּ הַצֵּל יוֹנָה מְחַכָּה וְדִמְעָתָהּ לָךְ מְפַכָּה וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
Shelter, God, the dove as she lays And waits, with tears to You in her gaze, To You, her sovereign, she will give praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
Yah, shelter the patient dove Whose tears flow for You. And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
To You, her sovereign, she will praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign, On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
הוֹדוּ לְגֵאֶה עַל־גֵּאִים וְנוֹרָא עַל־כׇּל־נוֹרָאִים הִצִּיל אֶת־נִין חַשְׁמוֹנָאִים מִיָּד צָר כִּי־בָהֶם הִכָּה׃ |
Give thanks to God, the proudest of proud, Most awesome of the awesome crowd, Saved Hasmoneans from the death-shroud And from the foe who struck in a blaze. |
Thank the Mightiest of the mighty ones And most Awesome of the awesome ones Who saved the heir of the Hasmoneans From the foe’s hand for he had struck them. |
וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
To You, her sovereign, she will praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign, On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
וְיָשִֽׁירוּ עַמָּךְ שִׁירוֹת וּזְמִירוֹת מִפָּז יְקָרוֹת בְּהַדְלִיקָם אֶת־הַנֵּרוֹת בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
And with You many songs they will sing And hymns, worth more than gold, will ring As they light the lights they will bring Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And they will sing songs with You, And hyns more valuable than aurum, When they light the lights On the eight days of Ḥanukkah, |
וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
To You, her sovereign, she will praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign, On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
דִּרְשׁוּ לָאֵל כׇּל־לְבָבוֹת כִּי־גָמַל עָלֵֽינוּ טוֹבוֹת שִׂמְחוּ בָנִים עִם־הָאָבוֹת בְּדָת מִנִּי־יָם אֲרֻכָּה׃ |
Let every heart seek out our God Who pays back good at home and abroad, Let childrenwith their parents laud The custom, oceanwide in its ways! |
Seek out God, all hearts, Who repaid good upon us. Rejoice, children, with the parents, In the custom which is wider than the sea. |
וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
To You, her sovereign, she will praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign, On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
הָאֵל יָמֵֽינוּ יְחַדֵּשׁ וְצָר לַהֲרִיגָה יְקַדֵּשׁ יִשְׁלַֽח־עֶזְרְךָ֥ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וּ֝מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃ |
God will make our days again new And slaughter those who murder a Jew. The Holy One will send help to You, From Zion aid will come in your days! |
God will renew our days And prepare the foe for the slaughter. Your help will come from the Holy, And from Zion your aid. |
וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה׃ |
To You, her sovereign, she will praise Upon these eightfold Ḥanukkah days. |
And she will rejoice in You, her Sovereign, On the eight days of Ḥanukkah. |
“יָהּ הַצֵּל יוֹנָה | Yah Hatsel Yonah (Shelter, God, the Dove), complete poetic translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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A Jerusalem White Dove resting beside a wall at the Chapel of the Condemnation (credit: brianv, license: CC BY-SA)
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