🆕 Judeo-Italian couplets for each of the Ten Plagues (Venice, 1609)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Unknown
A series of ten short couplets describing the ten plagues afflicting the Egyptians in Egypt, written in Judeo-Italian and first published in the famous 1609 Venice Haggadah of Isaac Gershon. The Italian used in the Venice Haggadah lacks a lot of the most divergent aspects of the Judeo-Italian languages, sticking to a more mainline Tuscan grammatical norm, but there are enough obsolete, poetic, or dialectal forms that several footnotes have been included to explain them. Also included is an original English-language rhyming translation! . . .
אדיר הוא | Awesome One: an Alphabetical English Interpretation of the piyyut Adir Hu, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
Adir Hu, a classic Pesaḥ song if ever there was one, is a part of Seder tables all over the planet. Its alphabetical list of God’s attributes, combined with its repeated pleas for a return to Jerusalem, make it a classic, to the point where the traditional German farewell greeting for Passover was not “chag sameach” or “gut yontef” but “bau gut” – build well. This interpretation, while not a direct translation by any means, has the same rhythmic pattern and alphabetical structure, giving a sense of the greatness of God. . . .
בִּרְכַּת הָאִילָנוֹת | The Blessing of Flowering Fruit Trees in the Spring Season in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Contributed by: Jacob Chatinover (translation), David Seidenberg, Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
When the spring (Aviv) season arrives, a blessing is traditionally said when one is in view of at least two flowering fruit trees. In the northern hemisphere, it can be said anytime through the end of the month of Nissan (though it can still be said in Iyar). For those who live in the southern hemisphere, the blessing can be said during the month of Tishrei. . . .
“Just Walk Beside Me” (לֵךְ פָּשׁוּט לְצִדִּי | امشي بجانبي | נאָר גיין לעבן מיר), lines from an unknown author circulating in 1970; Jewish adaptation with translations in Aramaic, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Arabic
Contributed by: Moshe Tanenbaum, Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
Variations of the original three lines culminating with “…walk beside me…” first appear in high school yearbooks beginning in 1970. The earliest recorded mention we could find was in The Northern Light, the 1970 yearbook of North Attleboro High School, Massachusetts. In the Jewish world of the early to mid-1970s, a young Moshe Tanenbaum began transmitting the lines at Jewish summer camps. In 1979, as Uncle Moishy, Tanenbaum published a recording of the song under the title “v’Ohavta” (track A4 on The Adventures of Uncle Moishy and the Mitzvah Men, volume 2). . . .
Gebet für das Vaterland | A Prayer for the Fatherland (Siddur Sephat Emeth, Rödelheim, 1938)
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This prayer for the country is found in the Siddur Sephat Emeth, which was published by the venerable Rödelheim publishing house in Frankfurt in 1938. This was probably the last siddur ever published in pre-Holocaust Germany. This prayer is full of pathos and yearning, and in a time of rising government-sponsored antisemitism worldwide it’s worth keeping in mind. . . .
Óró sé do bheatha abhaile | הוֹי בָּרוּך הַבָּא הַבַּֽיתָה (Hoy! Barukh ha-Ba ha-Baitah) — adapted by Pádraig Pearse (1916; Hebrew translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer)
Contributed by: Pádraig Pearse, Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
“Óró sé do bheatha abhaile” is one of the most popular Irish rebel songs. Adapted from a folk song (with possible 18th century Jacobite origins), the most popular modern version, written by the poet and republical activist Pádraig Pearse and sung by the Irish Volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising, is full of messianic and biblical imagery that makes it ripe for adaptation into a Hebrew piyyut. Presented here is “Hoy! Barukh Ha-Ba Ha-Bayta,” a Hebrew adaptation singable to the original melody. . . .
תשלומי חצי קדיש לפני שחרית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish before the Barkhu of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish before Barkhu that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי שחרית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Barkhu of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי שחרית קדושה ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Qedushah of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי קדיש שלם שחרית ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḳaddish Shalem of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qadish Shalem of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי מנחה חצי קדיש ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish of Minḥah when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Qaddish of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי מנחה קדושה ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Qedushah of Minḥah when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי ערבית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Barkhu of Arvit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Arvit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
Whoa, Mary, don’t you weep no more! (Hebrew adaptation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer)
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
The African-American Christian spiritual adapted for a Pesaḥ song in Hebrew and English. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ሃሌ ፡ ሃሌ ፡ ይባርክዎ | Hale hale yəbarəkəwo (Hail, Hail, Bless the One), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Hälē Hälē yebärkewo (Praise, Praise, Bless the One) is the fourth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ወጾሩ ፡ ታቦቶሙ | Wäṣoru Tabotomu (They Carried Out Their Ark), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Wäṣoru Tabotomu (They Carried Out Their Ark) is the first prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is a prayer said upon the removal of the Orit from the synagogue ark. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ወዐርጉ ፡ ደብር | Wäʿärəgu Däbərə (And They Climbed the Mount), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Wäy’ärgu Debre (And They Climbed the Mount) is the second prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is the first prayer said upon arriving on the mountain, based on the ritual described in Neḥemyah 9. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: መናብረተ ፡ ቤተ ፡ ዳዊት | Mänabərätä betä Dawitə (Thrones of David’s House), in Ge’ez/Agaw with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Mänabərätä betä Dawitə (Thrones of David’s House) is the sixth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is an ancient text inspired by and quoting Psalm 122, partially in Geʿez and partially in Agaw. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ይትባረክ ፡ እግዚአብሔር | YətəbaräkəʾƎgəziʾäbəḥerə (Blessed be YHVH), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Yitbärēk Egzi’äbḥer (Blessed be YHVH) is the third prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is a morning blessing. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ንዑ ፡ ንስግድ | Nəʽu nəsəgədə (Come, Let Us Bow), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
Nəʽu nəsəgədə (Come, Let Us Bow) is the fifth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. . . .