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![]() ![]() ![]() 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. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() 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! . . . מֵײרֶע הוֹבְּרִיטְסוֹס | חַד גַּדְיָא | Mēre Hobritsos — a Judeo-Valyrian translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer![]() ![]() ![]() This is the translation of Ḥad Gadya into Judeo-Valyrian with a Hebraicization schema for Valyrian by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . . חַד גַּדְיָא | | מִן יַקִינְקֶי | Min Yacincë — a Judeo-Quenya translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer![]() ![]() ![]() 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![]() ![]() ![]() 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!) . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() This adaptation of Ḥad Gadya was written by CenozoicSynapsid and included in their Lord of the Rings fan fiction, “All Who Are Hungry” (Archive of Our Own 2019). . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() A Judeo-Berber translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ארתי תיקהני | חַד גַּדְיָא | ერთი თიკანი | Erti tiḳani :: a Čveneburuli translation of Ḥad Gadya by Tamari Lomtadze & Reuven Enoch![]() ![]() ![]() A Čveneburuli (Judeo-Georgian) translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . יַכֵּי בּוּזְגָאלַה | חַד גַּדְיָא | Йаке бузғола | Yake Buzghola :: a Judeo-Tajik Translation of Ḥad Gadya by Rabbi Shimon ben Eliyahu Hakham (1904)![]() ![]() ![]() A Judeo-Tajik translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . בִּיר אוּלָק | חַד גַּדְיָא | Бир Улакъ | Bir Ulaq :: a Qrımçah tılyı (Krymchak) translation of Ḥad Gadya by Rabbi Nisim haLevy Tsahtsir (1904)![]() ![]() ![]() A Judeo-Tajik translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ואחד ג’די | أغنية لعيد الفصح اليهودي | חַד גַּדְיָא | Waaḥid Jady :: Ḥad Gadya in Arabic translation (Syrian Damascus variation)![]() ![]() ![]() An Arabic translation of Ḥad Gadya in its Syrian Jewish Damascus variation. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() A Judeo-Arabic translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() A Judezmo/Ladino translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . אונו קאַפּרידאָ | חַד גַּדְיָא | Unu Kaprido — an Esperanto Translation of Ḥad Gadya by Erin Piateski (2010)![]() ![]() ![]() 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 by Dom Pedro Ⅱ, emperor of Brazil (1891)![]() ![]() ![]() 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. . . . אֵנַה קַצִיקִי | חַד גַּדְיָא | Ένα κατσίκι | Éna katsíki :: a Yevanic translation of Ḥad Gadya by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer![]() ![]() ![]() A Yevanic (Judeo-Greek) translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() A Latin translation of the popular Passover song, Ḥad Gadya. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() 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 . . . |