אֶחָד מִי יוֹדֵעַ | Unum (est &) quis scit? | Eḥad Mi Yode'a, a Latin translation of the counting song by Johann Stephan Rittangel (1644)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=36382

Date: 2021-03-20

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: Nirtsah

Tags: 16th century C.E., 53rd century A.M., counting, counting songs, Latin translation, אחד מי יודע eḥad mi yode'a, זמירות zemirot, פיוטים piyyutim

Excerpt: The text of the popular counting song "Who Knows One?" in its original Hebrew, with a translation in Latin. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (Latin)	Translation (English)
אֶחָד מִי יוֹדֵעַ אֶחָד אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Unum (est &) quis scit? unum (illud) ego scio, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra:	Who knows one? I know one! One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שְׁנַיִם מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁנַיִם אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Duo (sunt) & quis scit? duo illa ego scio, duæ sunt tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows two? I know two! Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שְׁלֹשָׁה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Tria (sunt &) quis scit? tria (illa) ego scio, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra:	Who knows three? I know three! Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
אַרְבַּע מִי יוֹדֵעַ. אַרְבַּע אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Quatuor sunt & quis scit? Quatuor (illa) ego scio, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows four? I know four! Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
חֲמִשָּׁה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. חֲמִשָּׁה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Quinque (sunt &) quis scit? quinque (illa) ego scio, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows five? I know five! Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שִׁשָּׁה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שִׁשָּׁה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Sex (sunt &) quis scit; Sex (illa) ego scio, sex ordines (partes) Mischnæ, (studii Talmudici) quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows six? I know six! Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שִׁבְעָה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שִׁבְעָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Septem (sunt &) quis scit? septem (illa) ego scio, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows seven? I know seven! Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שְׁמוֹנָה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁמוֹנָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Octo (sunt &) quis scit? octo (illa) ego scio; octo (sunt) dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows eight? I know eight! Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
תִּשְׁעָה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. תִּשְׁעָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. תִּשְׁעָה יַרְחֵי לֵידָה. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Novem (sunt &) quis scit? novem (illa) ego scio; novem (sunt) menses partus, octo dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows nine? I know nine! Nine are the months of pregnancy, Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
עֲשָׂרָה מִי יוֹדֵעַ. עֲשָׂרָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. עֲשָׂרָה דִבְּרַיָּא. תִּשְׁעָה יַרְחֵי לֵידָה. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Decem (sunt &) quis scit? decem (illa) ego scio; decem sunt præcepta, novem menses partus, octo dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus (est) Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows ten? I know ten! Ten are the commandments, Nine are the months of pregnancy, Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
אַחַד עָשָׂר מִי יוֹדֵעַ. אַחַד עָשָׂר אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. אַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכְבַיָּא. עֲשָׂרָה דִבְּרַיָּא. תִּשְׁעָה יַרְחֵי לֵידָה. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Undecim (sunt &) quis scit? undecim (illa) ego scio; undecim sunt stellæ [in somnio Josephi,]  decem præcepta, novem menses partus, octo dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus [est] Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows eleven? I know eleven! Eleven are the stars [in Yosef’s dream], Ten are the commandments, Nine are the months of pregnancy, Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטַיָּא. אַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכְבַיָּא. עֲשָׂרָה דִבְּרַיָּא. תִּשְׁעָה יַרְחֵי לֵידָה. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Duodecim [sunt &] quis scit? duodecim (illa) ego scio; duodecim [sunt] tribus, undecim stellæ [in somnio Josephi,]  decem præcepta, novem menses partus, octo dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus [est] Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows twelve? I know twelve! Twelve are the tribes [of Yisrael], Eleven are the stars [in Yosef’s dream], Ten are the commandments, Nine are the months of pregnancy, Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.
שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר מִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ. שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר מִדַּיָּא. שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטַיָּא. אַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכְבַיָּא. עֲשָׂרָה דִבְּרַיָּא. תִּשְׁעָה יַרְחֵי לֵידָה. שְׁמוֹנָה יְמֵי מִילָה. שִׁבְעָה יְמֵי שַׁבְּתָא. שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה. חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה. אַרְבַּע אִמָּהוֹת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת. שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְּרִית. אֶחָד אֱלֹהֵינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ׃	Tredecim [sunt &] quis scit? tredecim illa ego scio; tredecim [sunt] propietates, duodecim tribus, undecim stellæ [in somnio Josephi,]  decem præcepta, novem menses partus, octo dies circumcisionis, septem dies Sabbathi, sex ordines Mischnae, quinque quintuplicati libri legis, quatuor Matriarchæ, tres Patriarchæ, duæ tabulæ fœderis, unus [est] Deus noster, qui in cœlis & in terra.	Who knows thirteen? I know thirteen! Thirteen are the attributes [of divine mercy], Twelve are the tribes [of Yisrael], Eleven are the stars [in Yosef’s dream], Ten are the commandments, Nine are the months of pregnancy, Eight are the days until circumcision, Seven are the days of the week, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are the foremothers, Three are the forefathers, Two are the stelae of the covenant, and One is our elo’ah in the Heavens and the Earth.

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This is the counting song, Eḥad Mi Yodea, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel as found in his translation of the Pesaḥ seder haggadah, Liber Rituum Paschalium (1644). “Eḥad Mi Yode’ah” appears for the first time in the Prague Haggadah (1526) in Hebrew and Yiddish.

Transcription of the Latin by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer, and of the Hebrew (with English translation) by Aharon Varady.

Source(s)

 

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Contributor: Johann Stephan Rittangel (Latin translation)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Johann Stephan Rittangel (Latin translation)
  Bio: Johann Stephan Rittangel (Latin: Rittangelius) (b.1606 Forscheim near Bamberg – d. 1652 Königsberg ) was a Christian Hebraist. Born Jewish, he later converted to Catholicism, and later to Calvinism and Lutheranism. In 1640, Rittangel was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the University of Königsberg (Prussia). In 1641, Rittangel visited a community of Karaite Jews in Trakai, before traveling to London and then to the Dutch Republic where, in Amsterdam, he taught Hebrew and possibly identified, for a time, as a Jew. In July 1642 he left the Low Countries to go to Königsberg, where he spent the rest of his life until his death in 1652. He obtained a Hebrew manuscript of the Sefer Yezirah through the Mennonite merchant Gerebrand Anslo, for a translation into Latin in 1642 ( Liber Jezirah qui Abrahamo Patriarchae adscribitur). In 1644, he published his Latin translation of the Passover Haggadah. He made one of the earliest translations of Jewish prayers, under the title Hochfeyerliche Sollennitaeten, Gebethe und Collecten Anstatt der Opfer, Nebst Andern Ceremonien so von der Jüdischen Kirchen am Ersten Neuen-Jahrs-Tag Gebetet und Abgehandelt Werden Müssen, Königsberg, 1652. His posthumous work Bilibra Veritatis was written to substantiate the claim that the Targums prove the doctrine of the Trinity. This is also the subject of his Veritas Religionis Christianæ (Franeker, 1699).
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Stephan_Rittangel
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/johann-stephan-rittangel
• 
  Name: Unknown Author(s)
  Bio: Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/unknown
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (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-transcription
• 
  Name: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
  Bio: From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.
  Website: https://igmjewishcreativeworks.com
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/isaac-gantwerk-mayer-translation

Featured Image:

Title: who knows one (woodcut, prague haggadah 1526
Caption: A figure in a woodcut illustration opposite the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai in a haggadah from Prague, 1526