Yā Ḥanukka[t] | יָא חַנוּכָּה | يَا حَنُكَّة — a Judeo-Arabic adaptation of Mordkhe Rivesman's "Oy Khanike" by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=53572

open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Date: 2023-12-07

Last Updated: 2024-06-01

Categories: Ḥanukkah

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Arabic translation, אױ חנוכה Oy Khanike, זמירות zemirot

Excerpt: An original Judeo-Arabic adaptation of the song "Oy Khanike" (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as "Oh Ḥanukkah" or in Hebrew as "Y'mei ha-Ḥanukka." With thanks to Mazen Haddad for his help with the Arabic! Some notes: 1) Case endings and nunation, which would (in colloquial dialects) often be skipped or dropped, are transcribed in brackets. 2) The word "sufnāj" is a Moroccan Arabic dialectal word which is the agent noun for sfenj, a traditional type of North African doughnut. . . .


Content:
An original Judeo-Arabic adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Ḥanukkah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” With thanks to Mazen Haddad for his help with the Arabic! Some notes: 1) Case endings and nunation, which would (in colloquial dialects) often be skipped or dropped, are transcribed in brackets. 2) The word “sufnāj” is a Moroccan Arabic dialectal word which is the agent noun for sfenj, a traditional type of North African doughnut.

Adaptation (English) Transliteration (Romanized Arabic) Transliteration (Judeo-Arabic) Translation (Arabic)
Hey Ḥanukkah, hey Ḥanukkah,
glowing among the festivals!
Yā Ḥanukka[t], yā Ḥanukka[t],
bayn[a] al-a3yād[i] talma3īn[a]!
יָא חַנוּכָּה̈, יָא חַנוּכָּה̈
בֵּין אַלְאַעְיָאדּ תַּלְמַעִין!
يَا حَنُكَّة، يَا حَنُكَّة،
بَيْنَ الْأَعْيَادِ‎ تَلْمَعِينَ!
Above every festival are you
and in you we are happy!
Fawqa kull 3īdin ant[i]
wa-biki náḥnu fariḥīn[a]!
פֿוֹקָא כֻּל֘ עִידִּן אַנְתְּ
וַבִּכִּי נַחְנוּ פַֿרִחִין!
فَوْقَ كُلّ عِيدٍ أَنْتِ
وَبِكِ‎ ‎نَحْنُ فَرِحِينَ!
Let’s celebrate our freedom
for eight nights.
Li-naḥtáfil bi-ḥurriyyátna
fi laylāt[in] ṯamān[in].
לִנַחְתַּפִֿל בִּחֻרִ֘יַ֘תְּנָא
פִֿי לֵילָאתּ תַֿמָאן
لِنَحْتَفِلْ بِحُرِّيَّتْنَا
فِي لَيْلَاتٍ‎‎ ثَمَانٍ‎
Hey, donutman, for us,
fry the dough!
Yā sufnāj, min ájlinā,
íqli al-3ajīn[a]!
יָא סֻפְנָאגּ, מִן אַגְּלִנָא,
אִקְלִי אֲלְעַגִּין!
يَا سُفْنَاجْ، مِنْ أَجْلِنَا
اِقْلِ الْعَجِينَ‎‎‎!
And while we are gathered
The fire of the oil is burned.
Wa-baynamā nujma3
Túḥraqu nār[a] az-zayt[i]
וַבֵּינַמָא נֻגְּמַע
תֻּחְרַקוּ נָאר ﭏֲזֵ֘יתּ
وَبَيْنَمَا نُجْمَعْ
تُحْرَقُ‎ نَارُ الزَّيْتِ‎
The lights shine so as to remind us
About the Maccabees sanctifying the house!
Al-aḍwā'[u] tuḍā’u li-taḏkīruna
3an taqdis al-Mukabiyyin[a] lil-bayt[i]!
אֲלְאַצְ֗וָא תֻּצָ֗אוּ לִתַּדְֿכִּירֻנָא
עַן תַּקְדִּיס אַלְמֻכָּאבִּיִ֘ין לִאלְבֵּיתּ!
الْأَضْوَاءُ‎‎‎ تُضَائُوا لِتَذْكِيرُنَا
عَنْ تَقْدِيس اَلْمُكَابِيِّنَ لِلْبَيْتِ

 

Contributor: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

Co-authors:

Featured Image:
20th_century_Hanukkah_lamp_from_Tunisia_-_Musée_d’Art_et_d’Histoire_du_Judaïsme
Title: 20th_century_Hanukkah_lamp_from_Tunisia_-_Musée_d’Art_et_d’Histoire_du_Judaïsme
Caption: 20th century Hanukkah lamp from Tunisia - Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (credit: Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, license: CC BY-SA)