The Yiddish translation of the Aramaic piyyut “Arkin” is appended to the first known printing of the Maaséh Aqdamut (Fürth 1694). The transcription is based on an earlier transcription of the Fürth 1694 printing published by Isaac Rivkind in “די היסטאָרישע אַלעגאָריע פון ר׳ מאיר שַ״ץ” (“The Historical Allegory of Rabbi Meir, shatz [Shaliaḥ Tsibur]”) the first chapter in Filologishe shriftn vol. 3 (1929), pp. 1-42. (This translation of the Aqdamut appears on pages/numbered columns 40-42.)

“Arkin” is one of two Aramaic piyyutim read by some Ashkenazi communities at the beginning of the Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot (the other being the Aqdamut). The piyyut makes reference to an important legend featuring Mosheh experiencing an ascent in which he must wrest the Torah from angelic entities that are averse to parting with it, or loathe to giving it up, to humanity. Introducing the piyyut she translated in Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (Brill: 2018), Dr. Laura Lieber writes, “This [Shavuot] poem dramatizes neither the content of revelation, as other poems here do, nor the season of its giving, as the story of Ruth does. Instead, our poet imagines God’s summoning of Moses to the heavens to receive the Torah atop Mount Sinai. God’s voice is most prominent here, although the angels also speak; Moses, however, keeps silent, and the poet depicts him with anything but aggression and bravado. The poet crafts a scene that recreates the tension of the imagined encounter: God repeatedly reassures Moses, who fears angelic aggression, but the angels also express fear of Moses, who is here depicted as having horns, which God encourages Moses to use in self-defense.”

This is the early piyyut, “v-Yeètayu Kol l’Avdèkha,” as paraphrased in rhymed English verse by Israel Zangwill in Arthur Davis and Herbert Adler’s Maḥzor Avodat Ohel Moed: Avodat Yom haKippurim vol. 2 (1904), pp. 154-155.

A very old tale told for the protection of pregnant women and their infant children as found in amulets from late Antiquity.

Healing prayers written on a pair of amulets for the recovery of a woman named Arsinoë

This Chinese translation of an Ashkenazi nusaḥ for the “Qaddish Shalem,” the full-ḳaddish is found on page 27 of the liner notes for the Chinese edition of Richard Collis’s album We Sing We Stay Together: Shabbat Morning Service Prayers (Wǒmen gēchàng, wǒmen xiāngjù — Ānxírì chén dǎo qídǎo).

This Chinese translation of an Ashkenazi nusaḥ for the “Ḥatsi Qaddish,” the half-ḳaddish is found on page 4 of the liner notes for the Chinese edition of Richard Collis’s album We Sing We Stay Together: Shabbat Morning Service Prayers (Wǒmen gēchàng, wǒmen xiāngjù — Ānxírì chén dǎo qídǎo).

An early variation of the Ḥatsi Qaddish as found in Seder Rav Amram as attested in Bodleian Library Ms. Opp. Add. Qu. 28.

An early variation of the Ḥatsi Qaddish as found in Seder Rav Amram as attested in British Library Or. 1067, fol. 12v.

An early variation of the Ḥatsi Qaddish as found in Seder Rav Amram as attested on fol. r of JTS MS 4074.

Chapter 1 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

Chapter 2 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation.

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.

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.

Perhaps Megillat Antiokhus could be read a la Esther on Purim (the holiday with the most similarities), going to Eicha trope in the upsetting parts. A few notes: on the final mention of Bagris the Wicked I included a karnei-farah in the manner of the karnei-farah in Esther. I also included a merkha kefulah in the concluding section, which (according to David Weisberg’s “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-Eight Books”) represents aggadic midrash material. It also serves as a connection to the Chanukah haftarah, which is famously the only one that has a merkha kefulah. –Isaac Mayer

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

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.