An die Freude | שִׁיר לְשִׂמְחָה | ode to Joy (Shir l’Simḥah), a Hebrew adaptation of the hymn by Friedrich Schiller (ca. late 18th c.)

In 1785 Friedrich Schiller wrote his ‘An die Freude an ode ‘To Joy’, describing his ideal of an equal society united in joy and friendship. Numerous copies and adaptations attest to its popularity at the time. The slightly altered 1803 edition was set to music not only by Ludwig van Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony but also by other composers such as Franz Schubert and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Hs. Ros. PL B-57 contains a Hebrew translation of the first edition of the ode (apparently rendered before the 1803 alteration), revealing that the spirit of the age even managed to reach the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Whereas the imagery of Schiller’s original is drawn from Greek mythology, the author of the שִׁיר לְשִׂמְחָה relies on the Bible as a source. In fact, he not only utilises Biblical imagery, but successfully avoids any allusion to Hellenistic ideas whatsoever. . . .

Categories: 🇪🇺 European Union, 🇺🇸 National Brotherhood Week, 🌐 Day of Democracy (September 15th), Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet

Tags: 18th century C.E., 56th century A.M., civil declarations and charters, Emancipation, the Enlightenment, euphoria, Felix Libertate, German vernacular prayer, Hebrew translation, liberation, national anthems, Needing Proofreading, Ode to Joy

Contributor(s): Friedrich Schiller, Unknown Translator(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ אַדָר | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar ב and Adar on regular non-leap years (1877)

To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אַדָר (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar [II]”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .

Categories: Shabbat Məvorkhim, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet

Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Bilhah, Haman, Mazal Dagim, Mordekhai, Naphtali, Needing Transcription, new moon, paraliturgical birkat haḥodesh, paraliturgical teḥinot, Pisces, Queen Esther, שבת מבורכים shabbat mevorkhim, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines, Yiddish vernacular prayer

Contributor(s): Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ אַדָר רִאשׁוֹן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar א on Leap Years (1877)

To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אַדָר רִאשׁוֹן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar I”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .

Categories: Shabbat Məvorkhim, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet

Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Bilhah, In the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu, Mazal Dagim, Naphtali, new moon, paraliturgical birkat haḥodesh, paraliturgical teḥinot, Pisces, שבת מבורכים shabbat mevorkhim, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines, Yiddish vernacular prayer

Contributor(s): Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

בּרידער | “Brothers” – Y.L. Peretz’s Sardonic Rejoinder to Friedrich Schiller’s Paean to Universal Enlightenment, An die Freude (Ode to Joy)

Y.L. Peretz rejected cultural universalism, seeing the world as composed of different nations, each with its own character. Liptzin comments that “Every people is seen by him as a chosen people…”; he saw his role as a Jewish writer to express “Jewish ideals…grounded in Jewish tradition and Jewish history.” This is Peretz’s lampoon of the popularity of Friedrich Schiller’s idealistic paean made famous as the lyrics to the climax of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. . . .

Categories: 🇺🇸 National Brotherhood Week, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., contrarianism, Jewish particularism, Ode to Joy, Sardonic poetry, satire, Yiddish songs

Contributor(s): Refoyl Finkl (translation), Yitsḥok Leybush Peretz and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)