![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
גַּמָּדֵי לָיִל |
Gnomes of the Night |
לְאוֹר הַיָּרֵחַ, הַזֹּלֵף בְּנַחַת בִּתְכֵלֶת הָאַוֵּר, הַמְשַׁכֵּר הַלֵּב כַּחֲלוֹם זָהָב, וּכְמִקְסָם עֵינַיִם יְעַוֵּר; |
In the light of the moon gently spraying The blue-tinted air with its gleam, That blinds human eyes with its magic And fires the heart with a dream; |
לְאוֹר הַיָּרֵחַ בַּלָּיְלָה, עֵת יִצְלַל מְלֹא תֵבֵל בַּדְּמָמָה, וּבְסוּת אוֹר קִפָּאוֹן תִּתְעַלֵּף הַחֹרְשָׁה בְּתַחְתִּית הָרָמָה; |
When the whole world is shadowed with silence In the light of the moon of the night, When in dim-frosted light like a garment Swoons the forest below the height; |
וּבֵין הַצֶּאֱלִים בַּחֹרְשָׁה כְּעֵין רֶשֶׁת כֶּסֶף מְזֹרָה, יִרְעֲדוּ עַל־רֹךְ הָעֲשָׂבִים עֲגִילִים וּגְלִילִים שֶׁל־אוֹרָה; |
When appears in the shadowy forest A network of silvery white, While shimmering there on the grasses Are circles and ringlets of light; |
וּבְאוֹר רַךְ וָזַךְ כִּמְזֻקָּקִים עַל־מוֹרַד הַגִּבְעָה מַזְהִירִים – לֹא אַבְנֵי חֵן וְסַפִּירִים – רִבֹּאוֹת רְסִיסִים בְּהִירִים… |
And when, in the rays soft and filtered, There gleam on the slope of the height Not jewels nor sapphires but droplets — Yes, myriads of droplets of light; |
אָז תֵּרֵד מַקְהֵלַת גַּמָּדִים בְּמוֹרַד הַגִּבְעָה בִּרְנָנָה, שַׁאֲנַנָּה כַּחֲלוֹם יֶלֶד קָטָן, עֲנֻגָּה כְּקֶרֶן הַלְּבָנָה; |
’Tis then come the gnomes joyous trooping Descending the slope of the height, As gently they come as the moonbeams, Like the dream of a child in the night. |
וּצְנִיפִים עֲגֻלִּים וּשְׁחֹרִים יִצְנְפוּ רָאשֵׁיהֶם הַקְּטַנִּים, וּפְנֵיהֶם מוּעָדוֹת הַיַּעֲרָה, שָׁם לַחְפֹּר מִכְמַנִּים, מִכְמַנִּים. |
And the gnomes’ little heads are well-covered, With round little black little hoods. They march there to dig for vast treasures, Their faces are turned towards the woods. |
וּבְלֶכְתָּם יִנְעֲרוּ אֶת־נִטְפֵי הַטַּל מִן־הַדְּשָׁאִים, וּנְפוֹצוֹת הָרְסִיסִים הַזַּכִּים כִּבְדֹלַח מַתִּיזִים נִיצוֹצוֹת, נִיצוֹצוֹת. |
And as they march on they make tremble The droplets of dew on the grass; And bursting, these crystal-like droplets Cast myriads of sparks as they pass. |
כֹּה הָלֹךְ וְרַנֵּן יֵרֵדוּ, עֲרוּכִים בַּטּוּר שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה, עַד בֹּאָם בַּעֲבִי־צֵל הַחֹרְשָׁה, הַנָּמָה בְּתַחְתִּית הַגִּבְעָה. |
Thus walking and singing, descending By sevens they march in the night, Till they come to the shadowy forest That sleeps at the foot of the height. |
אָז כֻּלָּם יָפוּצוּ בְשָׁאוֹן וּבָאוּ אֶל־בֵּין הָאַלּוֹנִים, בִּמְקוֹם מֵעֵין רוֹאִים נִצְפָּנוּ בַּקַּרְקַע מַטְמוֹנִים, מַטְמוֹנִים. |
Then all of them scatter with tumult ’Neath bush and ’neath shadowy tree; They come to a place where are hidden The treasures that no eye may see. |
הֵם בָּאִים – וּבְשִׁפְעַת הַצְּלָלִים תִּתְאַחַד עֲדַת הַגַּמָּדִים, יִתְלַכְּדוּ וִירַקְּדוּ כִּגְדָיִים, וְצָהֲלוּ צָהֳלַת יְלָדִים. |
They come there in deepening shadows, Together the gnomes then deploy, They dance like young goats and they frolic As children exult in their joy. |
וְכִתְמֵי הָאוֹרָה הַחִוְרִים יְרַצְּדוּן עַל־שְׁחוֹר מְעִילֵיהֶם, יַחֲלִיקוּ עַל־רוּם מִצְנְפוֹתָם, יִקָּלְעוּ בִּקְוֻצּוֹת רָאשֵׁיהֶם. |
Then flickers the light pale and golden On the black of the garments they wear; Now it leaps on their hoods bright and shining And is cast on the locks of their hair. |
וַעֲיֵפֵי מְשׁוּבָה יִפֹּלוּ, יִשְׂתָּרְעוּ בְּצֵל הָאַלּוֹנִים, וְחָפְרוּ מִשָּׁם וְהוֹצִיאוּ מַטְמוֹנִים הֲמוֹנִים, הֲמוֹנִים. |
Then wearied of frolic and falling To rest themselves there ’neath the trees, They gather and dig for the treasures. What numberless treasures are these! |
וּלְאוֹר הַיָּרֵח הַבָּהִיר בִּצְחוֹק צָלוּל, צַח, צְחוֹק יְלָדִים תְּשַׁעֲשַׁע עַל־מְאוּרַת הַזָּהָב וּתְצַחֵק עֲדַת הַגַּמָּדִים. |
And in the bright gleam of the moonlight Their joy in their laughter is told. With the pure ringing laughter of children They dance near their mine-pit of gold. |
וּצְלִיל דִּינְרֵי זָהָב וָכֶתֶם, וּבְרַק אַבְנֵי־חֵן עִם אוֹר סַהַר יִתְעָרְבוּ בִּצְחוֹק הַתַּעֲלוּלִים, יַרְעִישׁוּ דּוּמִיַּת הַיָּעַר. |
The tinkle of coins and the sparkle Of gems that are strewn all around Soon mingle their light with the laughter; The forest is stirred at the sound. |
וּצְחוֹק וַעֲלִיצוּת וְזָהָב – אַךְ, הָהּ! לַכֹּל תִּכְלָה וְאַחֲרִית – הֵחָפְזוּ, גַּמָּדִים! – הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת הַגֶּבֶר שֶׁל־שַׁחֲרִית. |
Thus the gold and the joy and the laughter — Alas, for this too must be gone! Hurry, gnomes, for the morn is approaching! The rooster soon summons the dawn. |
אָז תֶּחֱרַד הָעֵדָה וְקָמָה, וַעֲרוּכִים בַּטּוּר שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה יָשׁוּבוּ מַחֲרִישִׁים וְנוּגִים, יָשׁוּבוּ בְּמַעֲלֵה הַגִּבְעָה. |
How quickly the gnome-troop arises, By sevens arrayed for their flight; And sadly they march and in silence, Returning — ascending the height. |
וּבְהָלֵט הַסַּהַר הַנִּכְלָם אֶת־פָּנָיו הַחִוְרִים מִלְמָעְלָה, יָבֹאוּ בַצֵּל הַגַּמָּדִים, יִמּוֹגוּ כַּחֲלוֹם חֶזְיוֹן לָיְלָה. |
And when the moon, shamed, hides its pallor And wraps its pale face drained of light, The gnomes march away to the shadows And melt like a dream of the night. |
The poem “Gamodei Layil” (Gnomes of the Night) was written by Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik in 5655 (1894/5). This English translation was made by Ben Aronin and appears in the Complete Poetic Works of Hayyim Nahman Bialik: Translated from the Hebrew, volume I (ed. Israel Efros, New York: 1948, Histadruth Ivrith of America, Inc.), p. 60-62. Transcription of the Hebrew provided by contributors to Project Ben-Yehuda. (Thank you!)
“גַּמָּדֵי לָיִל | Gnomes of the Night, a poem by Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik (ca. 1894)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
Stable Link:
https://opensiddur.org/?p=23294
Associated Image:
Theodor Kittelsen – Kornstaur i måneskinn, ca 1900
(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)
Terms of Use:
Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:
- Properly attribute the work to the Ben Yehuda Project (transcription), Ben Aronin, Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik and Aharon N. Varady (transcription).
- Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
- Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=23294>.
- Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)
Additional Notes:
- The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
- We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
- If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.
Support this work:
The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
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
Comments, Corrections, and Queries