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תוספת בית למעוז צור לְמִלְחֶמֶת ”חַרְבוֹת בַּרְזֶל“ | Supplemental stanza to Maoz Tsur for the Ḥarvot Barzel War by Dana Pearl  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A supplemental stanza to the popular 13th century piyyut, Maoz Tsur, for the Ḥanukkah occurring in the aftermath of the horrors on 7 October, as written and shared by דנה פרל. . . . מָעוֹז צוּר | Maoz Tsur for Yom ha-Atsma’ut, a complete poetic translation with an added stanza for the State of Israel’s Independence Day by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This is a complete poetic rhyming translation of Maoz Tsur with all six of its stanzas including a seventh, final stanza written by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer specifically for Yom ha-Atsmau’ut. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:This is an English language interpretation of Kaddish, intended to capture the spirit of translations/interpretations that I have seen in various sources and also to capture the sound and rhythm of the Aramaic text, including syllables which, when read simultaneously with the Aramaic, rhyme with the Aramaic. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:Mediæval Hebrew Minstrelsy: Songs for the Bride Queen’s Feast (1926), an anthology of Sabbath table songs with rhymed English translations by the compiler, Herbert Loewe as well as others identified in his “Introduction.” The sixteen zemirot included have commentaries based on those provided by Dr. Leo Hirschfeld in his בזמרות נריע לו Die häuslichen Sabbathgesänge für Freitag⸗Abend, Sabbath⸗Tag und Sabbath⸗Ausgang (1898). Musical notation for the zemirot melodies were prepared, and a chapter on the music was written, by Rose L. Henriques. There are also delightful illustrations throughout by Beatrice Hirschfeld. Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz provided the foreword. . . . בִּרְכָּת הַמַּפִּיל | Blessing at Bed Time (for children), a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This rhyming translation and paraphrase of the blessing at bedtime (birkat hamapil) was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), pp. 89-90. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories:This prayer by Jessie Ethel Sampter to accompany the bedtime shema was published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 44. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories:This rhyming paraphrase of the blessing before waving the lulav on Sukkot was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 17. . . . עַל מִקְרָא מְגִלָּה | Blessing before Megillat Esther on Purim, a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This translation and supplement for the blessing before listening to Megilat Esther on Purim was made by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 48. . . . לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה | Blessing for Ḥanukkah, a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This rhyming paraphrase and translation of the blessing over the lighting of the Ḥanukkiah was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 31. . . . עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה בְרֵאשִׁית | Blessing on Seeing Lightning, a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing upon seeing lightning was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 88. . . . שֶׁכֹּחוֹ וּגְבוּרָתוֹ מָלֵא עוֹלָם | Blessing on Hearing Thunder, a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing upon hearing thunder was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 87. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical prayer for the end of Shabbat havdalah was made by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 64. . . . ברכת הבנים | Sabbath Blessing, a prayer-poem for children before their parent’s blessing by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This prayer-poem on receiving a parent’s Sabbath Blessing was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 25. . . . לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל־שַׁבָּת | Blessing the Sabbath Candles, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing over kindling the Shabbat candles was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 80. . . . בִּרְכָּת הַזָּן אֶת הַכֹּל | Grace After Meals (for Children), a rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This rhyming translation for the Birkat haMazon (blessing after eating a meal with bread) was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 86. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:This translation of the blessing sheheḥiyanu was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published under the title “Blessing for Rosh-Hashanah” in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 11. . . . הַמוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאֲרֶץ | Blessing on Breaking Bread, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing before eating bread was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 82. . . . בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה | Blessing Over Vegetables, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing before eating vegetation, vegetables, and fruit of the earth was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 84. . . . שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ | Blessing on Partaking [all other] Food, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing before eating all other foods (besides bread, fruits, vegetation and vegetables) was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 85. . . . בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֵץ | Blessing Over Fruit, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing before eating fruit of trees was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 83. . . . עַל נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם | Blessing on Washing the Hands, a rhyming translation and explanation by Jessie Ethel Sampter (1919) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This paraliturgical supplement to the blessing over hand washing was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 81. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:“My America (Our New Hymn)” was written by Morris Rosenfeld and published by the Jewish Morning Journal sometime mid-April 1917. On April 2nd, the United States had entered the World War against Germany and its allies. In the xenophobic atmosphere of the United States during World War Ⅰ, Representative Isaac Siegel (1880-1947), R-NY, offered the hymn as evidence of the patriotism of America’s “foreign-born” Jewish immigrants. The poem in its English translation was added to the Congressional Record on 18 April 1917 in an extension of remarks. Xenophobia in the United States though did not ebb. Nearly a year later, on April 4, 1918, a German immigrant, Robert Prager, was lynched in Collinsville, Illinois. . . . כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת | Ki Eshmera Shabbat, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (rhyming translation by Israel Abrahams, 1914) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The piyyut and popular shabbat table song, Ki Eshmera Shabbat, in Hebrew with a rhyming translation. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This translation of Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik’s “Shabbat ha-Malkah” by Israel Meir Lask can be found on pages 280-281 in the Sabbath Prayer Book (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1945) where it appears as “Greeting to Queen Sabbath.” The poem is based on the shabbat song, “Shalom Alekhem” and first published in the poetry collection, Hazamir, in 1903. I have made a faithful transcription of the Hebrew and its English translation as it appears in the Sabbath Prayer Book. The first stanza of Lask’s translation was adapted from an earlier translation made by Angie Irma Cohon and published in 1920 in Song and Praise for Sabbath Eve (1920), p. 87. (Cohon’s translation of Bialik’s second stanza of “Shabbat ha-Malkah” does not appear to have been adapted by Lask.) . . . הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחֹל | Hamavdil Ben Ḳodesh l’Ḥol, a piyyut attributed to Yitsḥaq ben Yehudah ibn Ghayyat (rhymed translation by Alice Lucas, 1898) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A rhymed translation of the piyyut sung following the Havdallah ritual. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A rhymed paraliturgical translation of the prayer over sleeping. . . . צוּר מִשֶּׁלּוֹ אָכַֽלְנוּ | Tsur Mishelo Akhalnu, a paraliturgical Birkat haMazon (rhymed translation by Alice Lucas, 1898) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A rhymed translation of Tsur Mishelo, a paralitugical Birkat haMazon. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories:A rhyming translation of the evening prayer Hashkivenu. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories:A rhyming translation of Elohai Neshamah. . . . דיא ערשטע טבילה | Die erste Twile | The First Bath of Ablution, a prayer-poem by Morris Rosenfeld (before 1898) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This is the poem “דיא זרשטע טבילה” by Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923) written sometime before 1898. We have transcribed the poem as it was published in Rosenfeld’s collection of poems Gezamelṭe lieder (1906) pp. 167-168. The poem was romanized and translated into English by Leo Wiener and published under the title, “Die erste Twile (The First Bath of Ablution)” in Songs from the Ghetto (1898), pp. 52-55. A rhyming translation by Rose Pastor Stokes & Helena Frank under the title, “The First Bath of Ablution” was published in Songs of Labor and Other Poems (1914), pp. 72-73. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This is the poem “פעלד־מעסטען” by Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923) written before 1898. We have transcribed the poem as it was published in Rosenfeld’s collection of poems Gezamelṭe lieder (1906) pp. 135-136. The poem was romanized and translated into English by Leo Wiener and published under the title, “The Measuring of the Graves” in Songs from the Ghetto (1898), pp. 46-49. A rhyming translation by Rose Pastor Stokes & Helena Frank under the title, “Measuring of the Graves” was published in Songs of Labor and Other Poems (1914), pp. 70-71. If you know the date of the earliest publication of this prayer, please leave a comment or contact us. . . . כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת | Ki Eshmerah Shabbat, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This translation of “Ki Eshmera Shabbat” by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:“Brich aus in lauten Klagen” by Heinrich Heine was preserved in a letter he wrote to his friend Moses Moser dated 25 October 1824. The poem is included in Heinrich Heine’s Letters on The Rabbi of Bacharach, the manuscript of which only survived in a fragment, the rest having been lost, according to Heine, in a fire. The English translation here by Nina Salaman was transcribed from her anthology, Apples & Honey (1921) where it appears under the title of “Martyr-Song,” published at an earlier date in The Jewish Chronicle. . . . יָהּ הַצֵּל יוֹנָה | Yah Hatsel Yonah (Shelter, God, the Dove), complete poetic translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:Yah Hatsel Yonah is a traditional piyyut for Ḥanukkah, of unknown origin (although it spells out the name Yehuda as an acrostic). Beloved in Iraqi Jewish circles, it discusses the hope that Israel, likened to a dove, will be able to celebrate Ḥanukkah during a time of true redemption. Included is a relatively literal (but de-gendered) translation, as well as a poetic singable one. . . . יְדִיד נֶפֶשׁ | Yedid Nefesh, a piyyut transmitted by Elazar ben Moshe Azikri (ca. 16th c.) translation by Nina Salaman (1897) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The piyyut, Yedid Nefesh, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . יוֹם זֶה לְיִשְׁרַאֵל | Yom Zeh l’Yisrael, a piyyut by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (abridged rhymed translation by Alice Lucas, 1898) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:An abridged rhymed translation of the piyyut Yom Zeh l’Yisrael. . . . 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). . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, in Hebrew with a creative English translation. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . יִגְדַּל (מנהג הספרדים) | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool, 1937) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This is the philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, by Daniel ben Judah Dayyan. Yigdal means “Magnify [O Living God]” and is based on the 13 Articles of Faith formulated by Maimonides (1135-1204). Daniel ben Judah spent eight years improving his piyyut, completing Yigdal in 1404. This was not the only metrical presentment of the 13 Articles of Faith; but it has outlived all others, whether in Hebrew or in the vernacular. The rhymed English translation by Jacob Waley (1818-1873) was published posthumously by his daughter, Julia Matilda Cohen, in The children’s Psalm-book, a selection of Psalms with explanatory comments, together with a prayer-book for home use in Jewish families (1907), pp. 300-303. . . . מָעוֹז צוּר | Maoz Tsur (Stronghold Rock who Rescues Me), complete poetic translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A complete poetic translation (all six verses) of Maoz Tsur. As far as the editor knows this is the first translation of Maoz Tsur to both (a) cover all the verses relatively accurately and (b) preserve the strict ABAB-BBCCB rhyme scheme of the original. (Reb Zalman’s comes close but it goes ABAB-CCDDC instead). If it sounds violent, that’s because it *is* violent. Ḥanukkah is a holiday about actively fighting against assimilation and abuse. A lot of Maoz Tsur translations are censored, but it’s a powerful, loud, and even nationalist statement. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . Contributor(s): Tags:The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . Contributor(s): Tags:A rhyming translation in English to the popular piyyut, Adon Olam. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by Jessie Ethel Sampter was transcribed from Joseph Friedlander and George Alexander Kohut’s The standard book of Jewish verse (1917), p. 394. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by Israel Zangwill was transcribed from the Jewish Quarterly Review vol. 13 (January 1901), p. 321. . . . Contributor(s): Tags:The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by Jacob Waley was transcribed from the prayerbook of his daughter Julia M. Cohen’s The Children’s Psalm-Book (1907), pp. 298-299. . . . Contributor(s): Tags:The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . Contributor(s): Tags:A rhyming English translation of Adon Olam by Rosa Emma Salaman. . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by George Borrow was shared in his tales in The Bible in Spain (1843), p. 222. (The text in the 1913 edition on page 546 is a bit easier to read.) . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by David de Aaron de Sola was transcribed from his prayerbook Seder haTefilot vol. 1 (1836), p. 122. . . . 💬 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. . . . חרוז על שחוק האישקקי | Rhymed Poem on Chess (short), by Avraham ibn Ezra (HS. Vatican 171 f.2, oben S. 180) Contributor(s): Categories:A medieval Jewish poem on the game of Chess by Avraham ibn Ezra.. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:“Avnei Y’qar” is a succint piyyut for Ḥanukkah, traditionally attributed to R. Abraham ibn Ezra, and particularly beloved by the Yemenites. Interestingly, it doesn’t mention the miracle of the oil whatsoever, focusing on the degradation of the land under Greek occupation as well as the Hasmonean victory itself. Included is a poetic acrostic translation into English. . . . אֲֽדֹנָי נֶגְדְּךָ כׇל־תַּאֲוָתִי | Adonai Negdekha kol Ta’avati, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi (early 12th c.) rhyming translation by Alice Lucas (1894) Contributor(s): Categories:A rhyming English translation of the piyyut Adonai Negdekha kol Ta’avati. . . . שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Nina Salaman (1901) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation. . . . שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1857) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This is a poetic Birkat haMazon for Pesaḥ, from the Cairo Geniza (CUL T-S H11.88 1v). Much thanks to the work of Dr. Avi Shmidman, whose 2009 doctoral thesis is the foundational work for poetic Birkat haMazon studies. He marks it as Piyyut 64, and his Hebrew-language commentary begins on page 394 of his work. I’ve included two translations of the poetic portions — one literal and one preserving the acrostic and rhyme scheme. . . . |