Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer, Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Tsvi Hirsch Filipowski (translation) and Unknown Author(s)
Categories:  Medieval Megillot, Ḥanukkah Readings | Tags:  English Translation, Bar Kochba Rebellion, Late Antiquity, Erets Yisrael, Hebrew translation, Seleucid Greek Occupation, Classical Antiquity, 40th century A.M., 2nd century C.E. 
Perhaps Megillat Antiokhus could be read a la Esther on Purim (the holiday with the most similarities), going to Eicha trope in the upsetting parts. A few notes: on the final mention of Bagris the Wicked I included a karnei-farah in the manner of the karnei-farah in Esther. I also included a merkha kefulah in the concluding section, which (according to David Weisberg’s “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-Eight Books”) represents aggadic midrash material. It also serves as a connection to the Chanukah haftarah, which is famously the only one that has a merkha kefulah. –Isaac Mayer . . .
Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Friedrich Schiller
Categories: Purim, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (Alef and Bet) | Tags: romanticism, liberation, 56th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., Hebrew translation, Ḥasidic, Ode to Joy, Enlightenment, joy, Needing Translation 
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. . . .
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. . . .
Contributor(s): David Seidenberg and neohasid.org
Categories: Environment, Floods, Dangerous Storms | Tags: eco-conscious, weather, emergency, danger, teḥinot, 21st century C.E., Baqashot, 58th century A.M., Hebrew translation, Hurricane Sandy, taking responsibility, Hurricane Harvey, ecoḥasid, Hurricane Florence 
The prayers for hurricane victims that are circulating through the Open Siddur Project and elsewhere are poignant and heartfelt, but they don’t speak an important piece of the truth that we need to hear. What about our collective responsibility for climate disruption that undoubtedly increases the harm caused by this and every major storm? And what about the Deuteronomic promise that God brings us recompense for our actions davka through the weather? Here’s an attempt at a prayer that incorporates a deeper understanding of our responsibility. For the final version of this prayer, I started with an anonymous Hebrew translation of my original English prayer, then I tweaked it and wove in scriptural references, and retranslated it back into English. . . .
Contributor(s): Shmueli Gonzales and Aharon N. Varady (translation)
Categories: Mourning, Kaddish, Slavery & Captivity | Tags: 20th century C.E., abduction, kidnapping, 58th century A.M., Hebrew translation, Prayers in Film, Psalmsploitation, Ezekiel 25, Proverbs 4, Psalms 23, lonely man of faith 
Tired of people who can’t tell their kiddish (blessings for the Sabbath) from their kaddish (prayer for the dead)? Well, it sets Samuel L. Jackson off too! But he found a way of making a bracha (blessing) and mourning the dead at the same time. Now I can’t vouch for the origins of his nusaḥ (custom) but it sounds very effective! Most people haven’t noticed, the only real part from the Bible is that last section, the first part is actually his own spiel: . . .
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