מַא כְׄבַּר הַדִׄה | Ma Khəbar Hādhih, a Yemenite Judeo-Arabic Elaboration on the Four Questions • the Open Siddur Project

Excerpt: In Yemenite practice, directly after the four questions are recited the youngest literate person at the table reads a brief Judeo-Arabic passage, here transcribed per the Yemenite transliteration system (wherein gimel dagesh = j and qof = g) and translated into Arabic and Hebrew. Instructional notes say this passage is "for the benefit of women and toddlers," the two main classes of people who would have not had access to Hebrew education at the time. . . .

Content:

In Yemenite practice, directly after the four questions are recited the youngest literate person at the table reads a brief Judeo-Arabic passage, here transcribed per the Yemenite transliteration system (wherein gimel dagesh = j and qof = g) and translated into Arabic and Hebrew. Instructional notes say this passage is “for the benefit of women and toddlers,” the two main classes of people who would have not had access to Hebrew education at the time.

[If you’d like to commission a Jewish creative work, check out my website at igmjewishcreativeworks.com! –Isaac Gantwerk Mayer]

Source (Judeo-Arabic)	Transliteration (Romanized Judeo-Arabic)	Translation (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
מַא כְׄבַּר הַדִׄה ﭏַלַילַהּ מִן גְּמִיע ﭏַלְיִאַלִי?	Ma khəbar hādhih al-laylah min jəmīʿ al-ləyyāli?	מָה נִשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכׇּל הַלֵּילוֹת?	What tells this night from the rest of nights?
כַׄרגּוּ גְּדּוּדִּנַא וְאַבַּאיְנַא מִן מִצר בַּיתּ ﭏַעֲבּוּדִּיַה̈ כַּאנוּ יַפְעֲלוּ ﭏַתִּבּן פִי ﭏַלִבּן, לִמַן? לְפַרעֹה ﭏַרָשָׁע ﭏַגָּמוּר, ﭏַדִׄי רַאסֻה סַאע ﭏַצִמעוּר וְפֻמֻה סַאע מִנַאק ﭏַתַּנוּר, ואַורַדּ ﭏלה עֲלַי׳ ﭏַמִצְריוּן:	Kharju jədūdina wə-ʾābāʾina min Miṣr bayt al-ʿăbūdiyya kānu yafʿalu at-tibn fi al-libn, liman? Li-Farʿöh ar-rosho al-jomūr, alladhī rāʾsuhu sāʿ aṣ-ṣimʿūr, wə-fumuh sāʿ mināg at-tannur, wə-awrad Allah ʿăla al-Miṣriyun:	יָצְאוּ קַדְמוֹנֵינוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם בֵּית הַשִּׁעְבּוּד שֶׁהָיִינוּ עוֹשִׂים לְבָנִים בַּתֶּבֶן, לְמִי? לְפַרְעֹה הָרָשָׁע הַגָּמוּר, אֲשֶׁר רֹאשׁוֹ רָחָב בְּחֻצְפָּה, וּפִיהוּ רָחָב כְּמוֹ־תַּנּוּר, וַיּוֹרֶד אֱלוֹהַּ עַל הַמִּצְרִים:	Our ancestors and forefathers left Egypt the house of slaver where they were making straw into bricks, for whom? For Pharaoh the completely wicked, whose head was wide with insolence, and whose mouth was wide like an oven, and God brought down on the Egyptians:
ﭏַדַּם, וﭏַצִפַאדִּע, ﭏַקַמל וﭏַקֻמּל, וﭏַוִחוּשׁ, וﭏַפִנַא, וﭏַגְּרַבּ, וﭏַבְּרַדּ, וﭏַגְּרַאדּ, וﭏַצְׄלַאם, וְמוּתּ ﭏַאַבּכַּאר.	Ad-dam, waṣ-ṣifādaʿ, wal-gaml wal-gumml, wal-wiḥūsh, wal-finā, wal-jərab, wal-bərad, wal-jərād, waḍ-ḍəlām, wə-mut al-abkār.	הַדָּם, וְהַצְּפַרְדֵּעַ, וְהַכִּנִּים וְהַכִּנָּם, וְהֶעָרֹב, וְהַדֶּבֶר, וְהַשְּׁחִין, וְהַבָּרָד, וְהָאַרְבֶּה, וְהַחֹשֶׁךְ, וּמַכַּת הַבְּכוֹרוֹת.	The blood, and the frogs, and the lice and fleas, and the beasts, and the disease, and the scabs, and the hail, and the locusts, and the darkness, and the death of the firstborn.
חַתַּי׳ עֲגּוּז בְּגּוּז, עֲלַיהַא אַלף לַענַהּ תְּגּוּז, כַּאן מַעהַא מַעבּוּד מִן עִגּנַהּ, דְּכַׄל ﭏַכַּלבּ אֲכַּלהַא, וַצְרַכׄתּ תִּלךּ ﭏַלַילַהּ, וְכַּאן צֻרַאךׄ עֲצִׄים בְּמִצר, לְקַיֵּם מַה שְׁנֶאֱמָר, כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין בַּ֔יִתֿ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵֽין־שָׁ֖ם מֵֽתֿ׃ (שמות יב:ל)	Ḥatta ʿəjuz bəjuz, ʿălayhā alf laʿnah təjuz, kān maʿhā maʿbūd min ʿijnah, dəkhal al-kalb ʾăkalha wa-ṣərakht tilk al-laylah, wə-kān ṣurākh ʿăḍīm bə-Miṣr, lə-gayyem ma shə-naʾămor, ki ēn bayith ăshar ēn shom meth.	עַד שֶׁעַל הַזְּקֵנָה בְּכׇל־זְקֵנוֹת, עָלֶיהָ אֶלֶף קְלָלוֹת, אִתָּה הַפֶּסֶל נִהְיָה לְבָצֵק, וּבָא הַכֶּלֶב וַאֲכָלֻהוּ, וְהַכֹּל זַעֲקוּ הַלַּיְלָה הַהוּא, לְקַיֵּם מַה שְׁנֶאֱמָר, וַתְּהִ֛י צְעָקָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין בַּ֔יִת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵֽין־שָׁ֖ם מֵֽת׃ (שמות יב:ל)	Until upon the oldest women a thousand curses were fulfilled, then her idol with her became dough, then the dog came and ate it, and all wailed that night, and thus was great wailing in Egypt, to fulfill what is said: “for there was no house without someone dead.” (Exodus 12:30)
וְכַׄלַצהֻם ﭏלה בִּיַד שְׁדִּידַּה̈ וְדִׄרַאע מַמדּוּדַּהּ ואַחכַּאם עֲצִׄימַהּ, ואַיַאתּ וַבְּרַאהִין עֲלַי׳ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וְהַדַׄא ﭏַגְּוַאבּ:	Wə-khalaṣhum Allah biyad shədidah wədirāʿ mamdūdah w-aḥkām aḍīmah, w-ayāt wa-brāhīn ʿăla Møsha Rabenu ʿOlow hash-Sholøm, wə-hadha al-jəwāb:	וַיִּגְאָלֵנוּ אֱלוֹהַּ בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְמִשְׁפָּטִים גְּדוֹלִים וּבְאוֹתוֹת וּבְרִיאוֹת עַל מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וְזֶה הַתְּשׁוּבָה:	And God freed us with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, great judgements, signs and creations, by Moses our teacher peace be upon him, and this is the answer: