the Open Siddur Project ✍︎ פְּרוֹיֶּקט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ
a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
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Contributor(s): Categories: Qevelta de-Liba’i (“My Heart’s Lament”) is a melancholy song I wrote in Targumic Judeo-Aramaic in 2010. This piece is an existential peek into an old man’s private moment. He looks in the mirror and waxes wistful, longing for his bygone youth. . . . Contributor(s): The Mourner’s Ḳaddish, in Hebrew with English translation by Everett Fox after Franz Rosenzweig. . . . קדיש דרבנן | Ḳaddish d’Rabanan (of Our Teachers), a translation by Everett Fox after Franz Rosenzweig Contributor(s): Categories: The Ḳaddish d’Rabanan, in Hebrew with English translation by Everett Fox after Franz Rosenzweig. . . . Contributor(s): Tags: A creative, interpretive translation of the the Mourner’s Ḳaddish. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Some people think of this as a magic formula that turns ḥamets into dust. It really is a legal formula that means that you renounce ownership of any ḥamets still in your space or your domain, so that it no longer has any value to you. But is it true that dirt is valueless and ownerless? We certainly act like we own the dirt, the soil. Developers take good land, build houses on it, and truck the topsoil away to sell to other people—thereby doubling profits and doubling damage to the earth. We act like the soil can be renewed and replaced at will, poisoning its microbial communities with pesticides applied even more strongly on our GMO corn and soy, while we replace the nutrients they create with petroleum-based fertilizers. We send the soil downstream and into the ocean along with vast quantities of agricultural runoff, creating algal blooms and anoxic dead zones. In that sense we do treat the soil like it is both ownerless and valueless. But our lives are almost entirely beholden to the soil. If it is ownerless it is because it belongs to all of us, or more precisely, as the story of the rabbi deciding between claimants goes, “The land says it doesn’t belong to you or to you, but that you belong to it.” Like the dirt of the earth, the ḥamets inside your house becomes what at Burning Man we call “MOOP” (Matter Out Of Place). Finding out where it belongs means finding out that it doesn’t belong to you or to us. Returning it to the soil means tilling our stuff back into the earth, where it can become renewed, where it can become sustenance for new life. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: A “Prayer for the University” found in the Seder ha-Tefilah (Order of Service) arranged by the Jewish community of Oxford, England in 1931 at a special event celebrating the centenary of the scholar and librarian at the Bodleian Library, Dr. Adolf Neubauer (1831-1907). . . . בְּרִיךְ שְׁמֵהּ דְּמָרֵא עָלְמָא | B’rikh Shmeih d’Marei Alma (Bendito sea Tu nombre, Senyor del Mundo), Ladino translation from the siddur El Nuevo Avodat haShanah (1904) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Ladino translation of Brikh Shmei d’Marei Alma. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This is the Aqdamut for Purim by Avraham Menaḥem Mendel Mohr from his Kol Bo l’Purim (1855) transcribed and translated from Aramaic into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This is a parody riffing on the piyyut Yetsiv Pitgam for Purim by Avraham Menaḥem Mendel Mohr from his Kol Bo l’Purim (1855) transcribed and translated from Hebrew into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . . בְּרִיךְ שְׁמֵהּ דְּמָרֵא עָלְמָא | B’rikh Shmeih d’Marei Alma | Wenn man die Gesetzrolle aus der heiligen Lade nimmt (paraliturgical adaptation by Yehoshua Heshil Miro, 1829) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: “Wenn man die Gesetzrolle aus der heiligen Lade nimmt” was translated/adapted from the prayer “Brikh Shmeih d’Marei Alma” (Zohar II 206a) by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaicher Religion. The translation appears in the 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaicher Religion as teḥinah №15 on pp. 19-20. In the 1835 and 1842 editions, it also appears as teḥinah №15 on pp. 22-23. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of Jewish congregations worldwide. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of one’s own congregation. . . . Contributor(s): Tags: The Geshem prayer for Shmini Atzeret in the Maḥzor Aram Ṣoba has some things in common with other Geshem texts, but its most unique facets are twofold. First and most obviously, the extensive catena of verses from Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim that falls between the introductory announcement and the piyyutim themselves. And second, several Aramaic passages relatively rare in other texts, which seem to reflect an archaic form predating the adoption of Arabic as the spoken language of the Aleppo Jews. (These Aramaic passages are marked in green in the transcription.) As standard in Eastern practice, especially in the Maḥzor Aram Ṣoba (which shows a surprisingly modern reticence to interrupt the ‘amidah), this prayer is placed after the Torah service and before musaf begins. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Mēre Hobritsos (מֵײרֶע הוֹבְּרִיטְסוֹס) — a Judeo-Valyrian translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This is the translation of Ḥad Gadya into Judeo-Valyrian with a Hebraicization schema for Valyrian by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | | Min Yacincë (מִן יַקִינְקֶי) — a Judeo-Quenya translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout Arda, and in many communities it was read in translation. This translation into Quenya is necessary for any good Lothlórien sedarim. But to be serious, Quenya was one of several languages developed by J.R.R. Tolkien. It serves as the sacred ancestral language of the Noldorin elves in the Middle-Earth legendarium. The editor here has developed this adaptation of the well-known seder table-song Ḥad Gadya into Quenya, as well as a home-brewed transcription system into Hebrew script included here (PDF | ODT). This translation uses several fan-made terms, such as cuimacir for “butcher” and luhtya- for “extinguish”, as well as one original neologism, yacincë for “kid-goat.” . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | | וַא תַרְגְחָמְאֶא | wa’ targhHom’e’ (One little targ) — a tlhIngan Hol adaptation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish quadrant, and in many communities it was read in translation. This adaptation into tlhIngan Hol is very useful for when your universal translator is malfunctioning at a Seder on Qo’noS. Okay, but to be serious for a moment, while the many connections between the canon of Star Trek and the Jewish community are well known, one of the lesser-known ones is that the inventor of tlhIngan Hol (the Klingon language), Marc Okrand, is Jewish, and a substantial number of Klingon terms come from Hebrew or Yiddish. In honor of that connection, the editor has developed this adaptation of the well-known seder table-song Ḥad Gadya into tlhIngan Hol, as well as a home-brewed transcription system into Hebrew script called pIluy. The wildlife has also been adapted, so instead of a goat the story begins with one little targ. (Sure, they might LOOK like pigs, but who knows if they chew cud or not!) . . . אונו קאַפּרידאָ | חַד גַּדְיָא | Unu Kaprido — an Esperanto translation of Ḥad Gadya by Erin Piateski (2010) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A translation of Ḥad Gadya into Esperanto by Erin Piateski with a Hebraicization schema for Esperanto by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. Piateski’s translation first appeared in her כוכב ירוק הגדה של פסח | Verda Stelo Hagado de Pesaĥo (2010). . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Un Cabri: La Légende de l’Agneau, a French translation of Ḥad Gadya by Dom Pedro Ⅱ, emperor of Brazil (1891) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This is “Had Gadiâ | Un Cabri: La Légende de l’Agneau (Poésie chaldaico-provençale, chantée a la table de famille les soirs de Paques),” a translation of Ḥad Gadya into French by Dom Pedro Ⅱ (1825-1891), emperor of Brazil, as published in Poésies hébraïco-provençales du rituel israélite comtadin traduites et transcriptes par S. M. D. Pedro Ⅱ, de Alcântara, empereur du Brésil (1891), pp. 45-59. A note on the last page indicates the translation was made in Vichy, France on 30 July 1891. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Un Kabritu (אוע קַאברִיטו) — a Papiamentu translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. The Caribbean island of Curaçao is home to the oldest Jewish community west of the Atlantic, and its local creole language of Papiamentu has substantial Jewish influence. This is a translation of Ḥad Gadya into Papiamentu, along with a transcription into Hebrew according to a new methodology for Papiamentu in Hebrew. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judezmo/Ladino translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judeo-Arabic translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ואחד ג’די | أغنية لعيد الفصح اليهودي | חַד גַּדְיָא (Waaḥid Jady) — an Arabic translation of Ḥad Gadya (Syrian Damascus variation) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: An Arabic translation of Ḥad Gadya in its Syrian Jewish Damascus variation. . . . וַאחְדְ אזְדִיוַא | وحد الجديوة | חַד גַּדְיָא (Waaḥₔd ₔZdiwa) — a Judeo-Moroccan Arabic (Darija) adaptation of Ḥad Gadya Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judeo-Moroccan Arabic (Darija) adaptation of the Passover seder song, Ḥad Gadya, as found in Mahzor Moȝadé Hashem. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judeo-Berber translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Бир Улакъ | Bir Ulaq (בִּיר אוּלָק) — a Qrımçah tılyı (Krymchak) translation of Ḥad Gadya by Rabbi Nisim haLevy Tsahtsir (1904) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judeo-Tajik translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | ერთი თიკანი | Erti tiḳani (ארתי תיקהני) — a Čveneburuli translation of Ḥad Gadya by Tamari Lomtadze & Reuven Enoch Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Čveneburuli (Judeo-Georgian) translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Йаке бузғола | Yake Buzghola (יַכֵּי בּוּזְגָאלַה) — a Judeo-Tajik translation of Ḥad Gadya by Rabbi Shimon ben Eliyahu Hakham (1904) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Judeo-Tajik translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Hād-ĕi Gădìyă (הַ֨דֵ֬י גַ֬דִ֖יַ֬א) — a Tărgŭn Bìyènlìyén Dì translation of Ḥad Gadya derived from an alternate timeline by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: In our timeline, the Kaifeng Jewish community had originally spoken Persian as their lingua franca, before adopting the Kaifeng dialect of Mandarin that their neighbors spoke. But just change a little and all of history could be different! This is a translation of Ḥad Gadya in a timeline where Judeo-Aramaic was a little more prevalent in eastern Persia all those years ago. In this timeline, instead of speaking Judeo-Persian before adopting Chinese, the Kaifeng Jews spoke Aramaic. And this dialect of Aramaic, like many other languages spoken in the greater Chinese cultural sphere, underwent tonogenesis! . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | ᛂᛁᚿᚿ᛫ᚴᛁᚧᛚᛁᚶᚱ᛬ | Einn Kiðlingr (עַין֘ קידֿלינגר) — an Old Norse translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, since there is very little evidence of any Jews having lived in the Nordic countries before the Spanish expulsion, long after the end of the Old Norse era. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Ān Tiċċen (אָן טִקֵﬞן) — an Old English translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, since the earliest evidence of Jews in England dates back to 1070, by which point Middle English was already on its way to development. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | 𐌰𐌹𐌽 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌽 | Ain Gaitein (ען גּעטיִן) — a Gothic translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one, but who knows? While there’s no known community of Jews who spoke Gothic or any other East Germanic language, there certainly were Jews who came into contact with it, such as the communities of Crimea (where variants of Gothic continued to be spoken until the 18th century). In any case this translation of Ḥad Gadya follows the grammar of Wulfila’s 4th-century Gothic translations. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Latin translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . גַּדְיָא חֲדָא | חַד גַּדְיָא (Gaḏyå Ḥăḏa) — a version of Ḥad Gadya for Grammarians and Other Insufferable Pedants, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: An original version of Ḥad Gadya which has been fully Aramaicized, with all the Hebrew words removed and the verbs conjugated properly. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | አሐዱ፡ማሕስእ፡ጠሊ (ʾÄḥädu Maḥsəʾ Ṭäli) — a Gəʽəz translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Ge’ez translation of the popular Passover seder song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Ένα κατσίκι | Éna katsíki (אֵנַה קַצִיקִי) — a Yevanic translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Yevanic (Judeo-Greek) translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | Jb Wꜥ | Ib wa (יב וע) — a Middle Egyptian translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. This Middle Egyptian translation was almost certainly the one that Moshe Rabbeinu himself sang at his seder table that fateful night in Egypt! …Not really. Ḥad Gadya postdates Middle Egyptian as a written language by about three millennia. But it’s fun and Pesaḥ-appropriate to sing this song in the language of that dagnabbed Pharaoh himself. Also included is a transcript of the text into Hebrew script, since Judeo-Hieroglyphics don’t exist… yet. Eh, the alphabet was adapted from hieroglyphics from the start. It’s fine. You could even say it’s an improvement. For reading out loud I’ve also included the standard Egyptological pronunciation system. If you’re stuck in a time machine be careful, it’s an artificial convention that should not be mistaken for how Egyptian was pronounced at the time. But personally I think “Tutenkhamen” is easier to say than *Təwā́təʾ-ʿā́nəkh-ʾamā́nəʾ, so sue me. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ḥad Gadya has a place in Seder tables throughout the Jewish world, and in many communities it was read in translation. Probably not this one though, seeing as it was written over a millenium after Akkadian became extinct. But in my opinion there ought to be a representation of the East Semitic language family in the canon of Ḥad Gadya translations. Also included is a transcript of the Akkadian text into Hebrew script, since Judeo-Cuneiform doesn’t exist… yet. Eh, Aramaic script was invented in the places Akkadian was spoken anyway, it’s fine. A hearty thanks to Dr. Janine Wende at the University of Leipzig for proofreading and editing the Akkadian translation! . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Making sense of Ḥad Gadya beyond its explicit meaning has long inspired commentary. For me, Ḥad Gadya expresses in its own beautiful and macabre way a particularly important idea in Judaism that has become obscure if not esoteric. While an animal’s life may today be purchased, ultimately, the forces of exploitation, predation, and destruction that dominate our world will be overturned. Singing Ḥad Gadya is thus particularly apropos for the night of Passover since, in the Jewish calendar, this one night, different from all other nights, is considered the most dangerous night of the year — it is the time in which the forces of darkness in the world are strongest. Why? It is on this night that the divine aspect of Mashḥit, the executioner, is explicitly invoked (albeit, only in the context of the divine acting as midwife and guardian/protector of her people), as explained in the midrash for Exodus 12:12 . . . אַרְעָא רַקְדָא | Ar’a Raqda (And the Earth Danced), a piyyut in Aramaic for introducing the Decalogue as read in the Targum Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: “Ar’a Raqda,” a piyyut read directly before the Ten Commandments in the Targum, uses wedding imagery and language from the Shir haShirim to paint Sinai as a ḥuppah. . . . אֲנָא אַתְקֵינִית | Ana Atqenit (I am the one), a piyyut in Aramaic for introducing the first commandment as read in the Targum Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Ana is a poem for the first commandment, that discusses all that God did for the ancestors. . . . אֲסַדֵּר לִסְעוּדָתָא | Asader liS’udata, a piyyut for Shabbat morning by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A piyyut by the ARI for the day of Shabbat in Aramaic set side-by-side with Reb Zalman’s paraliturgical, devotional translation. . . . אֲזַמֵּר בִּשְׁבָחִין | Azamer biShvaḥin, a piyyut for Friday evening by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The Friday evening shabbat piyyut, Atqinu Seudata, in Aramaic set side-by-side with Reb Zalman’s paraliturgical, devotional translation. . . . בְּנֵי הֵיכָלָא | Bnei Heikhala, a piyyut for Shabbat afternoon by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A piyyut by the ARI for the afternoon of Shabbat in Aramaic set side-by-side with Reb Zalman’s paraliturgical, devotional translation. . . . יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) translation by Sara-Kinneret Lapidot Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The piyyut, yah Ribon Olam, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) translated by Rabbi Israel Brodie (1962) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The piyyut, Yah Ribon, in Aramaic with an English translation. . . . יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) rhyming translation by Israel Abrahams (1914) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The piyyut, yah Ribon Olam, in Hebrew with a rhyming English translation. . . . יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1857) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of “Yah Ribon” by Rabbi Yisrael Najara was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). . . . יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) translated by Paltiel Birnbaum (1949) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The piyyut, Yah Ribon, in Aramaic with an English translation. . . . 💬 הפטרה לחג השבועות ביום השני | Haftarah reading for the Second Day of Shavuot (Ḥabaquq 2:20-3:19) with its Targum and the piyyut Yetsiv Pitgam by Rabbeinu Tam (ca. 12th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The haftarah for the second day of Shavuot, Ḥabakkuk 2:20-3:19, interspersed with a cantillated text of the Targum Yonatan ben Uzziel. Since Targum Yonatan is a bit more drash-heavy than Targum Onkelos, it is translated separately as well. The haftarah reading includes the piyyut Yetsiv Pitgam, with an acrostic rhyming translation of the poem, with the second-to-last verse restored to its rightful place, as well as a concluding paragraph for the meturgeman to recite, as found in the Maḥzor Vitry. . . . 💬 The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children, according to the Judeo-Aramaic text found in Divrei Yeraḥmiel, vocalized and cantillated, with a new English translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children, one of the apocryphal Additions to Daniel, is an interpolation into the third chapter of the book of Daniel. The editor has here included a new vocalized and cantillated edition of the Aramaic text preserved in the 12th century Divrei Yeraḥmiel (Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11 transcribed by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster). The language of this passage is an odd synthesis of Targumic, pseudo-Biblical Aramaic, and even some Syriac forms, so the editor’s vocalization is aiming for a happy medium of all the possibilities. . . . תפילת עזריה חנניה ומישאל בתוך הכבשן | The Prayer of Azaryah, Ḥananyah, and Mishael from within the Furnace, according to the Aramaic text of Divrei Yeraḥmiel (ca. 12th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The prayer of Azaryah and his song of praise with Ḥananyah, and Mishael from within the Furnace (also known as “the song of the three holy children”) found in Aramaic in the Divrei Yeraḥmiel (the Chronicles of Jeraḥmeel, Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11). . . . 💬 דָּנִיֵּאל וְהַתַּנִּין | Daniel vs. the Dragon, according to the Judeo-Aramaic text found in Divrei Yeraḥmiel, vocalized and cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Daniel’s battle with the Dragon, one of the apocryphal Additions to Daniel, is affixed to the end of the book in the Septuagint. The editor has here included a new vocalized and cantillated edition of the Aramaic text preserved in the 12th century Divrei Yeraḥmiel (Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11 transcribed by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster). The language of this passage is an odd synthesis of Targumic, pseudo-Biblical Aramaic, and even some Syriac forms, so the editor’s vocalization is aiming for a happy medium of all the possibilities. (In several locations Divrei Yeraḥmiel uses incorrect Hebrew-specific forms, probably due to scribal error. These are here marked as a qere-ketiv split.) . . . דָּנִיֵּאל וְהַתַּנִּין | Daniel vs. the Dragon, according to the Aramaic text of Divrei Yeraḥmiel (ca. 12th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The story of Daniel and the dragon held captive by the neo-Babylonians found in Aramaic in the Divrei Yeraḥmiel (the Chronicles of Jeraḥmeel, Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11). . . . אִזֵל מֹשֶׁה | Izel Mosheh (Arise, Moses) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Izel Moshe (Arise, Moses), the fifth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the second verse of the song proper, as an elaboration on God’s strength. The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the original. . . . אֱלָהָא תַּקִּיפָא רַבָּא וְגִבָּרָא | Elaha Taqifa (Mighty God) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Yequtiel ben Yosef Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Elaha Taqifa (Mighty God), the third in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the concluding verse of the second aliyah (third on Shabbat). The translation preserves the alphabetical acrostic, as well as the authorial tag — Jequtiel son of Joseph. . . . אֱלָהָא עָלַם | Elaha Alam (Ageless God) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Elaha Alam (Ageless God), the fourth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the Song of the Sea proper as an introduction to the targum of the text. . . . אֲבוּנָן דְּבִשְׁמַיָּא וּבָרְיַן | Abunan D’biShmaya (Our Parent in Heaven) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Abunan D’biShmaya (Our Parent in Heaven), the second in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the fifth verse of the first aliyah (or second verse of the second aliyah on Shabbat). . . . אִילּוּ פּוּמֵּי נִימֵי | Ilu Pume Nima (If Our Mouths Were Thread) — an introductory a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Ilu Pume Nima (If Our Mouths Were Thread), the first in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the first aliyah, as an introduction or ‘reshut’ to the seder meturgeman as a whole. . . . אַקְדָמוּת מִילִין | Aḳdamut Milin, a preface to the Targum for the Shavuot Torah Reading, attributed to Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: An Aramaic piyyut composed as an introduction to the reading of the Targum for the Torah reading on Shavuot. . . . קִילוּס לְפּוּרִים לִלְמְגִלָּה | Qillus l’Purim lil’Megillah — an enconium for Purim, for Megillat Esther Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: A Byzantine-era Aramaic piyyut for Purim, perhaps written as an introduction to the Megillah reading. It tells the narrative of the Jewish people from Abraham to the final redemption, focusing on the foes who sought to destroy us and their inevitable failure to do so. Uniquely among early-medieval poems, this one actively mentions the Romans (read: Christians) and Saracens (read: Muslims) and prays for their downfall in non-coded language. This translation loosely preserves the couplet rhyme scheme, as well as the alphabetical acrostic — perhaps with a phonetic punning reference to the name “Shlomo” at the end. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: “Elimelekh G’la” is a Byzantine-era Western Aramaic poetic retelling of the Book of Ruth. It was probably originally used as part of the liturgy for Shavuot, perhaps as a poetic addition to the recitation of a Targumic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. (The verses from Ruth and Psalms appended to the coda of the piyyuṭ would suggest such a Sitz im Leben.) But in any case, it has a great acrostic structure and rhyme scheme, and ought to be preserved! Here is included a vocalized text, largely based on the unvocalized text compiled in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (ed. Yahalom and Sakaloff, 1999) where it’s the tenth poem recorded. ‘ve added a rhyming poetic translation that preserves the Hebrew acrostic. Credit to Laura Suzanne Lieber’s literal translations of these poems (in Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity: Translations and Commentaries, 2018), which have served as a very helpful resource for the project. . . . Contributor(s): Tags: An interpretive translation of the Mourner’s Kaddish, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l. . . . תָּנוּן שְׁבָחֵיהּ | Tanun Shvaḥeih (Tell the Praise) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Tanun Shvaḥeih (Tell the Praise), the eighth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the Targum of Exodus 15:18, the famous verse “Adonai yimlokh l-‘olam va-‘ed.” The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the Aramaic. . . . מַן־כְּוָתָךְ | Man K’vatakh (Who is Like You) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Man K’vatakh (Who is Like You), the seventh in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the Targum of the verse that includes “Mi Khamokha.” The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the Aramaic. . . . אָמַר אוֹיֵב | Amar Oyev (The Enemy Said) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This piyyut, Amar Oyev (The Enemy Said), the sixth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the targum of Exodus 15, verse 9. . . . אַצִיתוּ לִי אִילָנַיָּא | Atsitu Li Ilinaya | The Argument of the Trees — a debate-poem for Purim in Aramaic from the Targum Sheni Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This Aramaic poem, written in the early Byzantine era by an unknown author, can be found in its entirety within the Targum Sheni for Esther 7:9. It features an argument between an assortment of trees over which one is required to bear the great dishonor of having to be the one to hold Haman. It’s also chock-full of anti-Christian polemic and references to Toledot Yeshu. . . . אתי בשלם | ࠀࠕࠉ࠰ࠁࠔࠋࠌ | Itti Bishlam (Come in Peace), a Samaritan Aramaic Poem for the Festival Season by Marqeh ben Amram (ca. 4th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: Itti Bishlam is a sixteen-hundred year old Samaritan Aramaic poem attributed to the great Samaritan sage Marqeh son of Amram. In twelve stanzas it tells the story of the night of the tenth plague and the Exodus. Samaritans traditionally recite it on the night before the holidays, the Sabbaths before the holidays, and the evening before the first day of the first month (the Samaritan new year, fourteen days before Passover). Largely a half-alphabetical acrostic, the fifth stanza of Itti Bishlam begins with an īt (ḥeth) rather than the expected īy (her), understandable considering the loss of guttural distinctions in Samaritan phonology. (See the number of Jewish poems which confuse sin and samekh for a parallel occurrence.) Itti Bishlam is, interestingly enough, lacking polemic or sectarian content — it never calls upon the Samaritan holy mountain of Aargaarizem (Mt. Gerizim), nor does it include any context that contradicts the traditional Jewish interpretation of the paschal narrative. It is worthwhile for Jews to learn about and understand the liturgical practices of their sister religion, and this poem is a great place to start! . . . אסו ית ארסינואי | Two healing prayers for Arsinoë’s recovery (Amulets 80.AM.55.1 & 80.AM.55.2, J. Paul Getty Museum) Contributor(s): Tags: Healing prayers written on a pair of amulets for the recovery of a woman named Arsinoë . . . מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megillat Antiokhus for Ḥanukkah in Aramaic, translated in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: 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. . . . מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megillat Antiokhus in Aramaic, critical text by Menaḥem Tsvi Kaddari with English translation by John C. Reeves Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The critical text of Megillat Antiokhus in its original Aramaic, prepared by Menaḥem Tsvi Kaddari and translated into English by John C. Reeves. . . . 💬 מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megilat Antiokhos — in the original Aramaic, cantillated according to the British Library manuscript Or 5866 Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This is a direct transcription, including cantillation and non-standard vocalizations, of the cantillated Megilat Antiokhos found in the British Library manuscript Or 5866, folios 105v-110r. . . . Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: This letter, written in Imperial Aramaic in 419 BCE, is among the vast number of papyrus letters found in Elephantine, also known as Yeb. The Jewish (or more accurately, Judean) community of Yeb is a fascinating bit of history — a group of Judean mercenaries who settled in Egypt and built their own smaller temple! Although their origin was clearly Judean, and they referred to themselves as the ḥeila yehudaya = Judean garrison, their form of worship featured no Deuteronomic centralization, no discussion of the patriarchs, and questionable monotheism! Although the primary deity was YHW (note the difference in spelling), multiple other deities or hypostatized aspects of divinity were worshipped, and verbs for the word “God” are conjugated in the plural rather than the singular. This text is one of a series of letters written between the brothers Yedaniah and Ḥananiah. In this case, it is giving instructions for keeping the holiday of Pesaḥ. These instructions are interesting in their own right — the prohibition on beer could alternatively be read as a prohibition on any alcoholic drink, which would align with Karaite practice rather than rabbinic. But what’s even more interesting is what isn’t mentioned — the instructions given mention nothing whatsoever about the exodus from Egypt, or even God! The diktat to observe the holiday is accredited not to God or Moses, but to Darius, king of the Achaemenid Empire! This passage is a fascinating taste of a part of Judaism that we know very little about. Vocalization according to Tiberian norms and translation into English by the translator. . . . אַקְדָמּוּת מִלִּין | The Aḳdamut, a piyyut for introducing the Decalogue by Meir ben Yitsḥaq Nehorai of Orléans (acrostic translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: The piyyut read as an introduction to the Decalogue during the Torah reading on Shavuot. . . . 💬 הַפְטָרָה לְחַג הַפַּאי | Haftarah for the Festival of π (I Kings 7:23-26 and 8:54-66), the twenty-second day of the seventh month (which falls on Shmini Atseret) Contributor(s): Tags: Shmini Atseret is a strange festival. In some ways part of Sukkot, in some ways its own thing, it occupies an equivocal place in the yearly cycle. But one thing that is completely true: Shmini Atseret is on Pi Day. Well, Pi Approximation Day — the twenty-second day of the seventh month. Inspired by my friend and math enthusiast Aryeh Baruch (may he have a long life), I’ve compiled this altered form of the haftarah for Shmini Atseret in the diaspora, including the description of King Solomon’s “molten sea,” as well as an Aramaic “reshut” poem with a numeral acrostic of the first few digits of pi. . . . |