Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=11858
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft licenseDate: 2015-07-25
Last Updated: 2025-02-10
Categories: Tishah b'Av
Tags: Ashkenaz, Frankfurt am Main, Mourning this Broken World, קינות Ḳinōt
Excerpt: "V’ahimah Miyamim Yamimah" is a ḳinah that recounts the tragic tale of the children of Rabbi Yishmael as told in the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 58a). The handsome brother and fair sister were separated and sold into slavery during the conquest of Jerusalem. Their respective masters, not knowing the two were siblings, paired them with the intent of creating beautiful offspring. In their shared cell, the two wept all night until morning, when they recognized one another. They cried on each other’s necks until their souls departed from their bodies. The narrator of our story laments their terrible fate, ending each verse with a haunting refrain: “And so I will wail for all time.” . . .
Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
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וְאֶת נָוִי חַטָּאתִי הִשְׁמִימָה
וְדִמְעָתִי עַל לֶחְיִי אַזְרִימָה וּבְיוֹם זֶה נְהִי וְנִהְיָה אָרִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
My sin destroyed my abode,
so I will send tears down my cheeks, and on this day I will take up lament and elegy. And so I will wail for all time.[1] Cf. Judges 11:40 |
אֶבֶל לֵב וְנִחוּם חָדַל חָדוֹל
וּמִכָּל כְּאֵב צִירִי נִבְדַּל בָּדוֹל עַל בֵּן וּבַת רִבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל כֺּהֵן גָּדוֹל זִכְרָם יְקוֹד בִּלְבָבִי אָשִׂמָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
For my mournful heart comfort has utterly ceased,
my sorrow is without compare to any other pain; for the son and daughter of my rabbi, Yishmael, the high priest, their memory I will set ablaze in my heart. And so I will wail for all time. |
עֵת נִשְׁבּוּ וְנָפְלוּ לִשְׁנֵי אֲדוֹנִים
וְהֵם שְׁכֵנִים זֶה לְעֻמַּת זֶה חוֹנִים וַיְסַפְּרוּ זֶה לָזֶה עִנְיָנִים זֶה אָמַר מִשִּׁבְיַת צִיּוֹנִים שָׁבִיתִי שִׁפְחָה לְכוּשַׁת שָׁנִים כַּלְּבָנָה בְּזִיו וּקְלַסְתֵּר פָּנִים וּבְתֺאַר כִּקְצִיעָה וִימִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
At the time of their capture,
they fell to two masters who lived opposite one another. And while they were relating stories to one another, one said to the other, from the conquest of Zion I have plundered a maidservant, dressed in red, her face bright as moon-shine, with a countenance (as lovely as) Ketziah and Y’mimah (Job’s daughters). And so I will wail for all time. |
רֵעֵהוּ סִפֶּר לוֹ בַּכִפְלַיִם
וַאֲנִי בָא מִשְּׁבִי יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שָׁבִיתִי עַבֶד יְפֵה עֵינַיִם כּשֶּׁמֶשׁ בְּתָקְפּוֹ עֵת צָהֳרַיִם וְסַהַר עֵת זְמַנָּהּ הִשְׁלִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
His fellow boasted in return,
“I, too, have come from the conquest of Jerusalem; I have captured a beautiful manservant, as strong as the sun at high noon, as the moon at its fullest.” And so I will wail for all time. |
בֺּא וּנְזַוְּגֵם וְנַחַלְקָה בֵּינוֹתַיִם בִּוְלָדוֹת
כְּמוֹ כוֹכַבֵי שָׁמַיִם לְשֵׁמַע זֺאת תִּצַּלְנָה אָזְנַיִם לְזֵכֶר זֺאת אֶת מַדַּי אַפְרִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
“Come, let us breed them, and divide their offspring [between us],
like the stars in the heavens [they will be].” The ears of all those who hear this will ring. Recalling this, I will tear my garments. And so I will wail for all time. |
כְּהִסְכִּימוּ עַל זֺאת שְׁנֵיהַם יַחַד
לָעֶרֶב זִוְּגוּם בְּחֶדֶר אֶחָד וְהָאֲדוֹנִים מִבַּחוּץ לִבָּם כְּאֶחָד וְהֵם בּוֹכִים בְּמַר נֶפֶשׁ וָפַחַד עַד בֺּקֶר בְּכִיָּתָם לֹא הִדְמִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
Having agreed upon this matter,
they put [the pair] together in a cell; the masters, of one mind, remained outside. And [the slaves] wept with the bitterness of the soul and fear. Their cries were not quieted, even until the morning. And so I will wail for all time. |
זֶה יִסְפּוֹד בְּחִיל לֵבָב יִמְסֶה
נִין אַהֲרֺן אֵיךְ שִּׁפְחָה יְהִי נוֹשֵׂא וְהִיא גַם הִיא תְּיַלֵל בְּתִגְרַת שׁוֹסֶה בַּת יוֹכֶבֶד אֵיךְ לְעֶבֶד תִּנָּשֵׂא אוֹי כִּי זֺאת גָּזַר אוֹמֵר וְעוֹשֶׂה לְזֺאת יִבְכּוּ עָשׁ כְּסִיל וְכִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
[The boy] bemoaned with an aching heart:
“How can a descendant of Aaron lie with a slave girl?” And she, too, lamented her captor’s dealings: “How can a daughter of Yocheved lie with a slave boy?” Oh, this is what the One Who Speaks and Does decreed. For this, The Bear, Orion, and Pleiades [constellations] weep. And so I will wail for all time. |
אוֹר בֹּקֶר זֶה אֶת זֶה כְּהִכִּירוּ
הוֹי אָח וְהוֹי אָחוֹת הִגְבִּירוּ וְנִתְחַבְּקוּ יַחַד וְנִתְחַבָּרוּ עַד יָצְאָה נִשְׁמָתָם בִּנְשִׁימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה |
By morning light, when they recognized one another,
[their wailing] erupted anew, “Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!” They clung to each other and embraced until their souls departed as one. And so I will wail for all time. |
לְזֺאת יְקוֹנֵן יִרְמְיָה בִּשְׁאִיָּה
גְּזֵרָה זֺאת אֲנִי תָּמִיד בּוֹכִיָּה וּבִלְבָבִי יֵקַד יְקוֹד וּכְוִיָּה עַל בֵּן וּבַת מִסְפֵּד רַב אַרְעִימָה וְאָהִימָה מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה אָרִיד בְּשִׂיחִי וְאָהִימָה וְקוֹל נְהִי אָרִימָה: |
For this, Jeremiah lamented among the ruins,
“For this decree I will forever bemoan, and in my heart will burn a searing blaze. For the son and daughter I will thunder forth with great lamentation. And so I will wail for all time, I am brought down by complaint and wailing, and I will raise the sound of my lament. |
“V’ahimah Miyamim Yamimah” is a ḳinah that recounts the tragic tale of the children of Rabbi Yishmael as told in the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 58a). The handsome brother and fair sister were separated and sold into slavery during the conquest of Jerusalem. Their respective masters, not knowing the two were siblings, paired them with the intent of creating beautiful offspring. In their shared cell, the two wept all night until morning, when they recognized one another. They cried on each other’s necks until their souls departed from their bodies. The narrator of our story laments their terrible fate, ending each verse with a haunting refrain: “And so I will wail for all time.”
Notes
1 | Cf. Judges 11:40 |
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Contributor: Hillary Chorny
Co-authors:
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