אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adaun Aulom, a paraliturgical adaptation of Adon Olam by Lise Tarlau (1907)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=48130

Date: 2022-12-26

Last Updated: 2022-12-26

Categories: Morning Baqashot, Bedtime Shema

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., German romanticism, German vernacular prayer, Jewish Women's Prayers, paraliturgical adon olam, אדון עולם Adon Olam

Excerpt: The paraliturgical adaptation and expansion of "Adaun Aulom" by Lise Tarlau can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald's anthology of Jewish women's prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), pages 93-94. I have set the stanzas or verses from Adon Olam in their original Hebrew side-by-side with Lise Tarlau's adapted text (according to the arrangement that seems closest to me) so that their proximity may illuminate her inspiration. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Paraliturgical adaptation (German)	Translation of the German (English)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃	Der Herr des Weltalls tronte schon, Bevor aus seiner Schöpferhand Ein Nichts, geformt aus Erdenton, Den Weg ins Tal des Lebens fand.	The Lord of the Cosmos was already enthroned, When, from his creator hand A nothing, formed from earthen clay, Found its way into the Vale of Life.
לְעֵת נַֽעֲשָׂה כְּחֶפְצוֹ כֹּל אֲזַי מֶֽלֶךְ שְׁמוֹ נִקְרָא׃	Eh noch in Lüften und im Meer Er Fisch und Vogel atmen hieß, War schon allein der Herrscher er, Den selbst des Chaos Toben pries.	While in the air and in the sea He bade fish and bird to breathe, He alone was the ruler, Whom even the Raging Chaos praised.
וְאַֽחֲרֵי כִּכְלּוֹת הַכֹּל לְבַדּוֹ יִמְלֹךְ נוֹרָא׃ וְהוּא הָיָה וְהוּא הֹוֶה וְהוּא יִֽהְיֶה בְּתִפְאֲרָה׃	Und ob dies All in nichts zerfällt, Sein Reich wird dennoch fortbestehn, Und über der zerstörten Welt Wird seines Geistes Hauch noch wehn;	And if all this disintegrates into nothing, His kingdom will still endure, And over the ruined world His spirit’s breath will still blow;
וְהוּא אֶחָד וְאֵין שֵׁנִי לְהַמְשִׁיל לוֹ לְהַחְבִּירָה׃	Denn er ist einzig und allein, Kein andrer ist ihm zu vergleichen, Er wird in Ewigkeiten sein, Die selbst im Traum nicht zu erreichen.	For he is one and alone, No other is comparable to him, His existence is in Eternity, Unreachable even through Dream.
בְּלִי רֵאשִׁית בְּלִי תַּכְלִית וְלוֹ הָעֹז וְהַמִּשְׂרָה׃	Sein ist die Herrschaft und die Macht, Er ist ohn’ Anfang und ohn’ Ende, Drum was der Tag an Leid gebracht, Leg’ ich getrost in seine Hände.	His is the dominion and the power, He is without beginning and without end, So whatever sorrow the day may bring, I confidently place in his hands.
וְהוּא אֵלִי וְחַי גּֽוֹאֲלִי וְצוּר חֶבְלִי בְּיוֹם צָרָה׃ וְהוּא נִסִּי וּמָנוֹס לִי מְנָת כּוֹסִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא׃	Denn er, der mein Erlöser, lebt, Er ist der Kelch, der mir beschieden, Die Zuflucht, die mein Herz erstrebt, In sturm und Not mein ew’ger Frieden	For he who is my Redeemer, lives, He is the cup that is mine, The refuge my heart seeks, In storm and trouble my everlasting peace
בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי בְּעֵת אִישַׁן וְאָעִֽירָה׃	Im streit des Tags, im Ruh’n der Nacht Befehl’ ich mich in seine Hände Und traue, daß er für mich wacht Und alles Leid zum Heile wende.	In the strife of the day, in the quiet of the night I put myself in his hands And trust that he will watch over me And turn all sorrow to salvation.
וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי אֲדֹנָי לִי וְלֹא אִירָא׃	Und ob das Dunkel noch so dicht, Mein Herz kann zweifeln nicht und klagen, Und selbst im letzten Kampf es spricht: Gott ist mit mir, wie sollt’ ich zagen!	No matter how thick the darkness, My heart cannot doubt and lament, And even in the last struggle it speaks: “God is with me, why should I hesitate‽!”

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The paraliturgical adaptation and expansion of “Adaun Aulom” by Lise Tarlau can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald’s anthology of Jewish women’s prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), pages 93-94. I have set the stanzas or verses from Adon Olam in their original Hebrew side-by-side with Lise Tarlau’s adapted text (according to the arrangement that seems closest to me) so that their proximity may illuminate her inspiration.

The transcription of the German provided machine-readable text for machine translations by DeepL, which we then edited for accuracy and clarity. We welcome any/all corrections, improvements, and additional transcriptions and translations of this work’s contents. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (translation)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer translator for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his translations, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot Naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also transcribes prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes for the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-nissen-varady/
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-n-varady
• 
  Name: Lise Tarlau
  Bio: Lise Tarlau (also known as L'Ysaye/Isaye/Ysaye/Ysale, Lisa, Lize, Elizabeth, Luise, and Louise Tarleau; 1879-1952), was a writer born to a prominent Viennese Bohemian Jewish family, the daughter of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Samuel Bloch and Laura Lachmann. In an essay published in 1906, "The Religious Problem," she expressed enthusiasm for Zionism and a deep sympathy for East European, Yiddish speaking Jewry, praising them for having retained their own distinctive cultural identity and their own language. This posture was accompanied by harsh criticism of Western European Jewish cultural assimilation, writing that they have “lived as parasites on the creative possibilities of the dreams of beauty of other peoples” (as quoted in Peter Singer's Pushing Time Away, 2003). Before emigrating to the United States in 1908, nearly two dozen prayers she wrote were published in Beruria (1907), an anthology of teḥinot in German compiled by her sister's husband Rabbi Dr. Max Grunwald. A decade later in the US, Houghton Mifflin Company and Riverside Press published The Inn of Disenchantment (1917), a collection of her prose and several short stories. Tarlau's fiction also appeared in major magazines of the day, including The Nation (105:2725, September 20, 1917), The Atlantic Monthly (in 1919), and Harper's Magazine. In 1924, her short story "Loutré" was awarded second place in Harper's first ever short story contest. During World War II, she wrote a number of scripts for radio and film and worked as a translator for the US military. Several of her works were included in The Fireside Book of Romance (ed. C. Edward Wagenknecht, 1948). She died on October 9, 1952 in Kew Gardens, Queens, Long Island, New York.
  Website: https://www.geni.com/people/Louise-Tarlau/6000000039642814681
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/lise-tarlau

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Title: “In the Beginning it is always dark” (The NeverEnding Story 1985)
Caption: In the Beginning it is always dark (The NeverEnding Story 1985)