A well-known midrash explaining the universality of the Kalends festival beginning after the Winter Solstice attributes this psalm to Adam haRishon, the primordial Adam, as they describe being knitted together within the Earth in Psalms 139:13-16. In the Roman calendar, the calends or kalends (Latin: kalendae) is the first day of every month. Named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, and derived from ianua, “door,” January began with the first crescent moon after the winter solstice, marking the natural beginning of the year. Marcus Terentius Varro, in his Res Rusticae (37 BCE) divided the agricultural year into eight parts. In the final part beginning on the winter solstice, no hard work was to be done outdoors. . . .

This is Psalms 140 attributed to David ben Yishai, with an English translation by Rabbi Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraeli from Prayers for Israel, for Protection from Terror Attacks, and In Memory of the Victims (15 October 2023). . . .

Psalms 141 by David, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 142 by David in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 143 by David in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 144 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 145 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Ashrei, complete with introductory verses and a lost verse to complete the acrostic from the Chronicle of Gad the Seer. . . .

Why is Ashrei such a beloved part of the service? Partially it is because of its alphabetical structure, making it perfect for communal reading. This translation attempts to preserve this in an English equivalence. . . .

A modern translation of the Ashrei in alphabetic parallel to the Hebrew. . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Ashrei in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 146 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 147 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Psalms 148 in Hebrew with an interpretive translation in English by Arthur Waskow. . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 148 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Psalms 149 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 149 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 150 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

The Masoretic text of Psalms 150 set side-by-side with a Ladino translation published ca. 1852 in Izmir, Turkey. . . .

Psalms 150 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of “Vayivarekh David” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13) in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s interpretive translation of Proverbs 31:10-31, popularly read before the first festive meal for shabbat on Friday night. . . .

A reading of Shir haShirim (the Songs of Songs, a/k/a Canticles) with English translation, transtropilized. . . .

Megillat Esther in Masoretic Hebrew with an English translation, including verses for public recitation highlighted to spotlight the heroic acts of Esther and Mordekhai. . . .

A Megillah reading of Esther with English translation, transtropilized. . . .

A Megillah reading of Yonah with English translation, transtropilized. . . .

This is the Masoretic text of Megillat Yonah set side-by-side with its translation, made by J.R.R. Tolkien for the Jerusalem Bible (1966). . . .

This is a 14th-century translation of the entire book of Jonah into Judeo-Greek or Yevanic, the traditional language of the Romaniote community of Byzantium. To quote the Judeo-Greek expert Julia G. Krivoruchko, it “exhibits a fusion of contemporary vernacular language with archaic elements” and “favors an extremely literal translation style.” This translation was first published in Greek transcription by the Dutch hellenist Dirk Christiaan Hesseling, who misdated it to the 12th-century based on a mixup between the Seleucid and common eras. Included as part of a Romaniote maḥzor (Bodleian Library MS. Oppenheim Add. 8° 19), this translation was almost certainly in use as a targum for the reading of Jonah as the Yom Kippur minḥa haftarah. In the original manuscript the majority of verses are preceded with a few words of the Hebrew, a common practice for written targumim. . . .

A new original translation of the Book of Ruth, using gender-neutral terminology for God and with relevant names calqued in footnotes. . . .

A Megillah reading of Rūt (Ruth) with English translation, transtropilized. . . .

An original gender-neutral translation of the book of Lamentations, preserving the alphabetical acrostic through closest parallels to the Hebrew letter. . . .

This translation of Laments, the book of mourning poems read on Tishah b’Av, uses principles of the Buber-Rosenzweig Bible. It strives to be “concordant”, translating related Hebrew words with related English words and following the order and syntax of the Hebrew where possible. It also focuses on the more physical, earthy meaning of words, in order to draw the reader from modern towards more ancient ways of seeing and feeling. Sometimes alternate translations are given, indicated by a slash. (When reading aloud, simply pick one of the translations. For YHVH, you can read Adonai or Hashem or “the Eternal”.) James Moffat’s 1922 translation was consulted. As a somewhat literal translation, Laments uses “He” and “His” as pronouns for God, even though Torah and common sense command us not to make an exclusively male or female image of God. If you are using Laments liturgically, please feel encouraged to change the pronouns. For brief essays on the theology of Eikhah and more, see the bottom of this page. This work is dedicated to all refugees fleeing war and upheaval, and to our remembering their needs. . . .

A “transtropilation” of an English translation of Lamentations (Eikhah) by Len Fellman. . . .

This is an English translation of Megillat Qohelet, (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes), transtropilized (a term coined by Fellman to describe texts where the Masoretic cantillation has been applied to the translation). This translation is based on the translations by H.L.Ginsberg, Stone Ed. Tanach, Jerusalem Bible, New King James Bible, and the JPS Tanach (both 1917 & 1999). This English translations is sung to the tropes by Len Fellman according to the melodies of Portnoy & Wolff. . . .

The text of parashat Bereishit, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

A Torah reading of Parashat Bereshit in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

This is an English translation of the Torah reading for Simḥat Torah Morning (Genesis 1:1-2:3), transtropilized. . . .

The text of parashat Noaḥ, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

A Torah reading of Parashat Noaḥ in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

The text of parashat Lekh Lekha, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

A Torah reading of Parashat Lekh Lekha in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

The text of parashat Vayera, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

The Torah reading of Parashat Vayera in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

Transtropilation of an English translation for the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah, by Len Fellman. . . .

The text of parashat Ḥayyei Sarah, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

The Torah reading of Parashat Ḥayyei Sarah in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

The text of parashat Toldot, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

A Torah reading of Parashat Toldot in English translation, transtropilized. . . .

The text of parashat Vayetsei, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .

A Torah reading of Parashat Vayetsei in English translation, transtropilized. . . .