14th Century Yevanic (Judeo-Greek) Translation of Jonah, from a Romaniote maḥzor — Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Opp. Add. 8o 19 (Neubauer 1144). Unicode text from the Greek Bible in Byzantine Judaism corpus (gbbj.org/texts/), proofread and edited by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Punctuation in the Greek from D. C. Hesseling, “Le livre de Jonas,” 1899.

Source(s)

Leading the effort to transcribe Yehoyesh’s translation was Leonard Prager z”l (1925-2008), founder of the Yehoyesh Project (1998-2006). Robert “Itsik” Goldenberg, Craig Abernethy, Robert Berkovitz, Martin Doering, Matthew Fisher, Jack P. Freer, David Herskovic, Allen Mayberry, Elisheva Schonfeld, Marjorie Schonhaut-Hirshan, and Meyer Wolf all contributed to the success of the project. Explaining the importance of the project, in 2004 Leonard Prager wrote,

There are scores of Bible versions on the Internet in scores of languages; there are many Hebrew Bibles. There is not a single Yiddish Bible translation. David Roskies has written that the greatest single achievement of American Yiddish literature is the monumental translation of the Tanakh by Solomon Bloomgarten (Yehoyesh). We agree. We wish to provide the entire text of Yehoyesh’s great work on the internet for Yiddish-lovers the world over, for this and for future generations. For this effort we long ago received the blessings of Yehoyesh’s grandsons.

At the completion of the Yehoyesh [transcription] Project, Leonard Prager added,

Yehoyesh’s translation is conservative and in some degree archaic. But like the King James Version of the Bible in the Anglophone world, it will continue to occupy a central place in Yiddish letters even if Yiddish-lovers are brave enough to attempt more modern renditions – as was suggested at a World Jewish Congress session in London a half century ago by the alphabet scholar David Diringer. Jews have been translating the Tanakh into Yiddish for centuries, all the major Yiddish writers (Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Y.-L. Perets and Sholem-Aleykhem, etc.) having attempted a translation of one book or another. There is no reason to halt this practice, one that could draw upon the untapped vigor latent in present-day Yiddish.

The Yehoyesh Tanakh received the stamp of approval of Orthodox rabbis and was also hailed and has been loved by secular Jews the world over. It belongs to all Jews as no other work does – it is not only a religious text, a source of ceremony and ritual, a liturgical compendium and encyclopaedia of law, it is also a storehouse of myth and legend and a great work of literature. It is also central for much of Jewish literature.

The Open Siddur Project thanks Itsik Goldenberg and the Prager family for their support in distributing this edition of the Yehoyesh Project’s transcription of Yehoyesh’s Yiddish translation of the Tanakh. Special thanks to Raphael “Refoyl” Finkel for his help and for his open source code in preparing this text in accord with our STML transcription rules. The Yehoyesh Project transcription follows the Yiddish orthography of Takones Fun Yidishn oysleyg (6th ed., New York: YIVO, 1999). Unfortunately, this transcription is not entirely complete as it does not yet include Yehoyesh’s footnotes to his translation. (Please contact us if you’d like to help completing this transcription.) As Yehoyesh’s translation resides in the Public Domain, we are distributing this transcription under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) Public Domain dedication.

DOWNLOAD: TXT (zip)

At the outset of the project, Robert “Itsik” Goldenberg, the principal transcriber, wrote the following regarding Yehoyesh in the The Mendele Review:

Yehoyesh (pseudonym of Yehoyesh-Shloyme Blumgarten [Yehoash-Solomon Bloomgarden]) was born September 16, 1872 in Varzhbolove (later Virbaln), near the Russian-German border. He died in New York in 1927. His father was a devout scholar, a maskil and an active member of Khovevey-Tsien (‘Lovers of Ẓíōn ‘). His mother ran a small ironware store to support the family; she was also active in communal charitable organizations.

Yehoyesh began kheyder at the age of 4, then studied Tanakh, Talmud and Hebrew, first with his father and then with private tutors; at an early age he began to read the works of Haskalah writers such as Smolenskin and Gotlober. At 13 he was enrolled in the famous Volozhiner Yeshive, but soon returned home where, under the influence of his sister Sheyne, he studied foreign languages and literature and wrote his first poems in Hebrew. For a time he was a private Hebrew tutor in wealthy homes, but not content with this, he resolved to emigrate to America. In 1889 he brought his first poems to Peretz in Warsaw. Peretz befriended him and foresaw a great literary future for him. David Pinski quotes Peretz’s own words (in “The Jewish Worker,” NY, 1927): ”… Only a young man, in his early 20’s, but filled with torah, with Jewish and worldly knowledge, a language scholar, with a great memory.”

In 1890, perhaps to avoid conscription into the Russian army, Yehoyesh emigrated to America. He earned his livelihood at first as a Hebrew teacher and continued writing poetry in Hebrew. However, he was dissatisfied with his work and destroyed these early poems. He decided to try occupations other than teaching—tailoring, peddling and bookkeeping in a glass factory. In this period he wrote nothing. He then met met Dr. Israel Davidson, a young Hebrew writer, under whose influence he began to write again. He composed a book of Hebrew poems, but sudden illness forestalled its publication. Manuscripts of these poems are in the Yehoyesh archives.

In 1900, Yehoyesh contracted acute tuberculosis and spent the next seven years at the Jewish Consumptives Relief Society sanitarium in Denver, Colorado, setting aside his writing. He was married in 1903, and in 1908, cured of tuberculosis, he made a fund-raising trip across America on behalf of the relief society. These travels enabled Yehoyesh to become acquainted with the landscape and natural beauty of America, and to meet numerous influential people. Returning to New York in 1909, he wrote prolifically until 1914. He also participated actively in Jewish cultural life in New York in those years, especially for the Poale-Tsien (Labor Zionists). His Dictionary of Hebrew and Aramaic words used in Yiddish, co-written with Dr. Khayem Spivak while at the Denver sanitarium, was published in 1911; a second edition was published in 1926.

In January 1914, Yehoyesh and his wife, with their daughter Evelyn, emigrated to Palestine, settling in Rekhovot. There he learned Arabic and studied the Koran and post-Koranic literature. The family lived for several months in Relvan, on the border of the Egyptian desert, not far from Cairo, then returned to New York in the summer of 1915, not long after World War 1 broke out. His travel experiences were serialized in Der tog, including “Biz Rekhoves un Tsurik” (“To Rekhovot and Back”), later published separately as a book. Although Yehoyesh’s literary activity began with Hebrew poetry (which was never published) while he was still attending yeshive, all of his published work is in Yiddish. Encouraged by the Hebrew writer Ben Avigdor, he sent some of his early poems to Peretz, who published them in his Di yudishe bibliotek (Warsaw 1891). These poems included a translation — from English — of a Byron poem, and a translation of Chapter 18 of the Book of Psalms, his first Tanakh translation. He also wrote for Mordecai Spektor’s Hoyzfraynd (Warsaw 1894).

In America, through the years 1891 to 1912 he published poetry and popular historical novels in Der folks-advokat. He wrote for Di yudishe gazetn, Yidishes tageblat, Der forverts, Der varhayt and others: poetry, fables, translations, as well as Chinese, Japanese and Arab legends. From January, 1902 until his death in 1927, he wrote for Der tsukunft: poetry, legends and fables, and translations of Byron, of Longfellow’s “Hiawatha,” and of Omar Khayam’s “Rubaiyat.” He contributed to Minikes’ Yontef-bleter and from November 16, 1916, was a regular contributor to Der tog, where he published most of his Tanakh translations. From 1909-1919 he wrote for the humor and satire journal Kundes, including his version of “Around the World in 80 Days.” From 1908-1915 he contributed to Zhitlovski’s Dos naye lebn.

Yehoyesh was a regular contributor to most of the Yiddish periodicals in North America, Canada, Russia, Poland, Argentina, Austria, Palestine and other countries. His poems were translated into English, Polish, Russian, French, German and Hebrew. Many of his poems were included in anthologies and in textbooks used in Jewish schools; many were set to music and performed widely.
His first impulse to translate the Torah came to Yehoyesh in 1904. By 1909 he had completed a translation of Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ruth, Job and, in 1910, Isaiah. He was dissatisfied with his first efforts and destroyed them. In preparation for his great project he read Bible translations and commentaries in many languages and versions (Septaguint, Vulgate, Onkeles, Ibn Ezra, Rambam, Ramban, and others) and clarified hundreds of interpretations of words and sentences. His translation is not only a monument of the Yiddish language, it is a creative work.

Yehoyesh labored at his translation from 1909 until his premature death in 1927. From 1922-1927, Der tog published hundreds of letters from leading Bible scholars responding to the Tanakh serialized in its pages. According to Leyeles, Yehoyesh destroyed his first Tanakh translation of 1909-1910, including the printing plates and galleys, wanting to purge all daytshmerisms^[1] daytshmerisms – intentional Yiddishizations of German -ANV  . Surviving today, and so long as Yiddish is spoken, read and understood, are the later translations of the Pentateuch (1927), the Early Prophets (1927), the Later Prophets (1929), the Writings (1936) and the revisions of 1933 and 1938 (aside from the special editions (Der tog, 1936 and 1941; Der forverts in 2 volumes in 1939). YIVO also issued separately Shir hashirem (1932), Megiles Ester (1936). In 1940 a Khumesh far kinder appeared. In 1949, Mortkhe Kosover edited a lexicon of commentaries based on Yehoyesh’s prolific notes on the Tanakh.

Selections from Yehoyesh’s Tanakh (in English translation!) can be found in the anthologies by Joseph Leftwitch (The Golden Peacock, 1961) and by Howe and Greenberg (Treasury of Jewish Poetry, 1957). Shmuel Niger praised Yehoyesh’s translation and claimed its utility in the study of the Hebrew original. Yankev Glatshteyn credited Yehoyesh with rescuing and immortalizing thousands of forgotten Yiddish words. Until his death, Yehoyesh studied Syriac grammar to help him prepare a Bible translation he hoped would surpass his earlier efforts. A memorial book in 1935 listed over 50 translations of his poems in 10 languages. His yortsayt was celebrated in the ghettos of Warsaw, Lodz and Vilna.

We conclude with the poem, ”Yehoyesh,” written by Avrom Sutskever for a Yehoyesh commemoration in the Vilna Ghetto on April 6, 1943. “Yehoyesh” was published in New York in the April 1946 issue of Yidishe kultur, while Sutskever was still living in Moscow. It was also published in Sutskever’s Lider fun geto (1946) and his Poetishe verk (Tel Aviv, 1963, vol. 1, pp. 296-297).

This sketch was adapted from a translation of the entry “Yehoyesh” by Khayem-Leyb Fuks in the Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur (New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1961, vol. 6, cols. 233-244 ). Sol Liptzin’s The History of Yiddish Literature and Charles Madison’s Yiddish Literature – Its Scope and Major Writers were also consulted.

This is “Arkin Hashem Shemaya l’Sinai,” an Aramaic piyyut from late Antiquity by an unknown author. The English translation was made by Dr. Laura Lieber as published in Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity: Translations and Commentaries (Brill: 2018), “10. Moses is Summoned to the Summit (SABM 11),” on pages 40–42. That translation was made against the critical text offered in Shirat Bene Ma’arava: Jewish Palestinian Aramaic from Antiquity [Hebrew], edited and translated by Joseph Yahalom and Michael Sokoloff (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1999). Our transcription was made against the digital text shared from the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, derived from the text published in Shirat Bene Ma’arava.

This is “Arkin Hashem Shemaya l’Sinai,” an Aramaic piyyut from late Antiquity by an unknown author, with a Yiddish translation from 1694. The Aramaic source text of Arkin provided here is the critical text offered in Shirat Bene Ma’arava: Jewish Palestinian Aramaic from Antiquity [Hebrew], edited and translated by Joseph Yahalom and Michael Sokoloff (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1999) and shared online via the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon.

The Yiddish translation is appended to the first known printing of the Maaséh Aqdamut (Fürth 1694). The transcription is based on an earlier transcription of the Fürth 1694 printing published by Isaac Rivkind in “די היסטאָרישע אַלעגאָריע פון ר׳ מאיר שַ״ץ” (“The Historical Allegory of Rabbi Meir, shatz [Shaliaḥ Tsibur]”) the first chapter in Filologishe shriftn vol. 3 (1929), pp. 1-42. (This translation of the Aqdamut appears on pages/numbered columns 40-42.) This translation was followed by a Yiddish translation of “Aqdamut Milin,” another Aramaic piyyut still read by many Ashkenazi communities on Shavuot.

Source(s)

Filologishe shriftn vol. 3 – pp. 39-40

241

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” This translation also uses the plural pronoun They to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.

This transcription was derived from “Piyyut №8” in M. Sokoloff and J. Yahalom, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1999).

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Recordings

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

This piyyut, “Joseph Overpowered,” was originally written in the Byzantine era as an introduction to the seventh commandment, the commandment against adultery. It tells a midrashic elaboration of the story of Potiphar’s wife’s attempt and failure to seduce Joseph. It’s honestly a bit racier than one would expect from a liturgical text, with quite a few double entendres on the topic of sexuality. Like the two prior piyyutim — Amar Yitzḥak and Itgabar — it begins in medias res.

The text here is as found in the Goldschmidt maḥzor, with some major textual variants (those that affect the meaning rather than just the spelling) marked. Also included is an phonetic alphabetical acrostic translation.

This piyyut, “Amar Yitsḥaq,” was originally written as an introduction to the fifth commandment, the commandment of honoring your father and mother. In the eyes of the payṭan, the quintessential example of honoring your father is an incredibly morbid one — Isaac, encouraging his father to go through with it on the altar and begging him to strike true, so that the sacrifice isn’t rendered unfit! It incorporates midrashic narratives about Isaac’s total willingness to go through with the sacrifice, as well as his longing for his mother in the process. To our modern eyes it is quite a disturbing work! But it’s worth remembering that there were many cases in medieval Europe of Jewish parents so desperate and terrified on account of the Crusades that they killed their own children rather than have them submit to baptism. Perhaps this poem provided those who heard such horrific stories some comfort.

The text here is as found in the Goldschmidt maḥzor, with some major textual variants (those that affect the meaning rather than just the spelling) marked. Also included is an phonetic alphabetical acrostic translation.

Note: This translation also uses the plural pronouns They/Their/Them to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.

Recordings

This piyyut, “Itgabar,” was originally written as an introduction to the sixth commandment, the commandment of not murdering. It is a poetic retelling of the death of Joab in I Kings 2:28-34. Joab, the leader of David’s armies, was a notoriously violent man, the slaughterer of Abner and Amasa. He died in a correspondingly violent way, struck down by Benaiah son of Jehoiada within the Tabernacle itself. Surprisingly enough, this poem frames Solomon as an unjust and cruel ruler, treating Joab’s death as a tragedy rather than the quid-pro-quo consequence it is portrayed as in Kings. In this location, it almost goes so far as to calling Solomon himself a murderer.

The text here is as found in the Goldschmidt maḥzor, with some major textual variants (those that affect the meaning rather than just the spelling) marked. Also included is an phonetic alphabetical acrostic translation.

This piyyut, “Ḥanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah,” was originally written to be recited as an introduction to the targum of the Second Commandment, the prohibition on worshiping other gods. It is a dispute-poem retelling the story of Ḥanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah, the three “holy children” of Daniel chapter 3 who would rather be thrown into an oven than worship an idol. It’s an intricate multi-part acrostic that I absolutely love. (I also am partially convinced it may be influenced by the apocryphal “Song of the Three Holy Children,” if not in context then in the idea of an extensive poem related to their story.) Since the original poem’s acrostic only goes halfway through the alphabet, the great Meir bar Isaac Nehorai of Orleans wrote a continuation that is also included here.

The text included here is a synthesis of that recorded in Sokoloff and Yahalom’s “Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity” and that recorded in the Goldschmidt maḥzor for Shavuot. Although the text doesn’t match precisely with that found in Maḥzor Worms, I’ve still seen fit to include the portion of Maḥzor Worms in which it appear, if only for its beauty as an example of medieval scribal practice.

Source(s)

Hanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of Shavuot (Worms Mahzor 1272) – 1

Hanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of Shavuot (Worms Mahzor 1272) – 2

Hanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of Shavuot (Worms Mahzor 1272) – 3

This translation of the Akdamut was prepared by the Siddur Ohr Kodesh committee of Ohr Kodesh Congregation, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Recording

A GLOBAL Akdamut for our physically-distanced time, cantors representing 17 American states and 5 countries, from the Cantors Assembly and beyond.

Source(s)

“Aqdamut” is found on folio 146 (recto and verso) and folio 147 (recto) of the Worms Maḥzor (1272 CE). For more backqound on these Targumic piyyutim in Aramaic, find Kol Bo §52.9.

Source(s)

Aqdamut (Worms Mahzor) f.146 recto

Aqdamut (Worms Mahzor) f.146 verso

Aqdamut (Worms Mahzor) f.147 recto

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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).

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Since the use of targum became a special rare occasion, Jews did what we do for special rare occasions — we write piyyutim. An extensive series of Aramaic piyyutim were written, to be inserted into the recitation of the targum (or the ‘seder meturgeman’) itself. On Shavuot, a massive series of piyyutim, one for every one of the ten commandments and then some, were written. On Pesaḥ, a similar number of piyyutim were composed for important moments.

Since the mass acceptance of the Shulḥan Arukh, the custom of the recitation of the targum on these special days has been lost from Ashkenazi practice, and as a consequence the vast majority of the seder meturgeman piyyutim themselves have been abandoned. A small number of Shavuot seder meturgeman piyyutim are still in use (specifically, Aḳdamut Milin and Yetsiv Pitgam), but taken out of their original context. (As an example, why do we read Yetsiv Pitgam after the first verse of the haftarah? Because it’s meant to introduce the targum!)

I personally love Aramaic, piyyutim, and liturgy, so I’ve taken it upon myself to translate a selection of seder meturgeman piyyutim. 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.

Yetsiv Pitgam is the key in this case. Written by Rabbeinu Tam in the twelfth century, it serves as a poetic reshut for the meturgeman’s recitation of Yonatan ben Uziel’s targum of Ḥabaquq. Modern communities that recite this poem skip the second-to-last verse, which is a direct proclamation that the meturgeman is beginning his work.

Here the editor has compiled the Shavuot Day 2 haftarah, Ḥabaquq 2:20—3:19, interspersed with a cantillated text of the Targum Yonatan ben Uziel. Since Targum Yonatan is a bit more drash-heavy than Targum Onkelos, it is translated separately as well. This also includes the full poem with an acrostic rhyming translation of Yetsiv Pitgam, 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 reading of the Targum on these days is an ancient practice, but (at least in this editor’s opinion) it deserves to be revived.

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” This translation also uses the plural pronoun to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.)

The piyyut Yetsiv Pitgam by Rabbeinu Tam can be found in the Mahzor Vitry (f.81r in the British Library’s MS 27200).

Recordings

Source(s)

Yetsiv Pitgam – Maḥzor Vitry (British Library MS 27200 f.81r)

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.”

“Ar’a Raqda” is found on folio 148 (verso) of the Worms Maḥzor (1272 CE). For more backqound on these Targumic piyyutim in Aramaic, find Kol Bo §52.9.

Source(s)

Ar’a Raqda (Worms Mahzor) f.148 verso

“Ana Atqenit” is found on folio 149 (recto and verso) of the Worms Maḥzor (1272 CE). For more backqound on these Targumic piyyutim in Aramaic, find Kol Bo §52.9.

Source(s)

Ana Atqenit (Worms Mahzor) f.149 recto

Ana Atqenit (Worms Mahzor) f.149 verso

I have lightly adapted the translation and vocalization from the text published in “Mahzor Romania and the Judeo Greek Hymn ἕνας ὁ κύριος. Introduction, Critical Edition, and Commentary” by Elisabeth Hollender & Jannis Niehoff-Panagiotis (Revue des Études Juives 170:1-2, janvier-juin, 2011). For the unaltered vocalization, translation, with complete commentary and notes for this piyyut, please consult their article. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

The 1985 JPS may be on the Amazon best seller list but it won’t be until 2080 before its contents enter the Public Domain. Thankfully an excellent English translation of the TaNaKh already exists that we can use, modify, and importantly, update: The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation with the Aid of Previous Versions and with Constant Consultation of Jewish Authorities by the Jewish Publication Society of America (aka, the JPS 1917). Max Margolis led the committee of scholar/translators which included Cyrus Adler, Solomon Schechter, Kaufmann Kohler, Samuel Schulman, Joseph Jacobs, and David Philipson. (Begun in 1890, Schechter and Jacobs died before the translation was completed in 1915.) Once published, it effectively became the standard Jewish translation for most of the 20th century. The JPS 1917 is an accurate translation, but is considered archaic by contemporary translation standards. Margolis, a non-native speaker of English, felt that was the proper standard of language that Jews should adopt for their translation, and so the literary form of the JPS 1917 was consciously based on that of the King James Version.  The JPS 1917 translation was used in the Pentateuch and Haftaroth edited by R’ J. H. Hertz and in the Soncino Books of the Bible series. With the text available, the JPS 1917 could form an excellent platform for deriving more modern translations. As such, it can be the basis of one or more new, freely redistributable Hebrew Bible translations. A free text for creating derivative works, however, has not been available was not available until 2010 when JPS Publications began offering the tome as a free PDF download.

We are grateful to JPS for contributing an authoritative digital edition of the JPS 1917 to the Public Domain, and for this statement of support.

The Jewish Publication Society supports the Open Siddur Project’s efforts to remix the JPS 1917 English translation of the TaNaKh, thereby adding value to an important historical work produced by JPS which has entered into the Public Domain.

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It is such good news that JPS is finally distributing their own free digital edition of the work. Until recently, there was really only one other extant digital edition of the JPS 1917 — and a separate copyright was claimed on that edition by its transcriber. That edition can be accessed at some sites on the Internet (see here and here). The distributor of that edition claims that certain changes they made to the Public Domain work constitute creative work that is protected by copyright. Furthermore, they state they are under no obligation to show exactly what changes they made to it. Wikisource, ran afoul of this copyright claim in 2008 when they began redistributing text from that edition and received a warning.

In response, the Internet Archive at archive.org made their own free edition but the quality of its transcription was exceptionally poor. John B. Hare, z”l, founder of the Internet Sacred Texts Archive, determined the best course of action would be to simply comprehensively re-transcribe the work with a Public Domain declaration. The work he managed to completed before he passed away is available here. The lack of a free, high-quality digital edition of the JPS 1917 led to the Open Siddur Project collaborating with the Internet Sacred Text Archive to transcribe our own free and unrestricted edition of the work.

That transcription effort can now end and move to the next stage, because thanks to JPS, the text of the JPS 1917 is available for encoding in a standard XML format (JLPTEI). As an authoritative Jewish translation, it can serve as an important translation source for much of the Siddur. Hare provided us with full page images of the JPS 1917. We have generated a first-pass transcription produced by computer using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. With the digital edition provided by JPS, our jobs now remains to follow a few simple transcription conventions that will make it easier to convert the text to web-viewable format.

Our resulting XML formatted text will be licensed with the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) Public Domain declaration. The more volunteers who step up to work on this, the faster we’ll finish. To help us, please start here, and don’t hesitate to ask any questions. The full scan of JPS 1917 is here. Our scans are licensed Creative Commons Zero (CC0), a Public Domain declaration. Once encoded in JLPTEI XML, the work will be available to reference and download from our public database. Check back on this page for news on our progress completing an XML formatted edition of the JPS 1917.

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” This translation also uses the plural pronouns They/Their/Them to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.