אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵֽינוּ | Non È Come lo Ded Nostro (נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ) — a Renaissance Judeo-Italian translation of Ein Keloheinu (1483) • the Open Siddur Project

Tags: 15th century C.E., 53rd century A.M., addenda, Italian Jewry, Italian vernacular prayer, Nusaḥ Italḳi, Roman minhag, אין כאלהינו Ein kEloheinu, פיוטים piyyuṭim

Excerpt: The text of the piyyut Ein Keloheinu from a 1483 Judeo-Italian translation of the siddur (British Library Or. 2443), along with a transcription into Italian script, a normative Italian modernization, and the Hebrew and English. . . .

Content:

This is the text of the piyyut Ein Keloheinu from a 1483 Judeo-Italian translation of the siddur (British Library Or. 2443), along with a transcription into Italian script, a normative Italian modernization, and the Hebrew and English. Interestingly, this text lacks the verses beginning with “Barukh” found in most modern versions of the piyyut, and instead of leading into the recitation of the incense, it leads to the well-known verse Isaiah 42:21.

Some uniquely Judeo-Italian features of the language include:

☞ The term “Ded” — referring to God — which probably derives from the Latin “Deus.”

☞ The term “Domedet” — referring to the divine name Yod-He-Vav-He — which probably comes from Latin “Dominus Deus.” These two terms are never found in non-Jewish Italian dialects.

☞ The usage of “lo” as an all-purpose singular masculine definite article, even in scenarios where most Italian dialects would use “il” or “’l”

☞ The use of the vowel sheva to mark /e/ and /ɛ/.

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” This translation also uses the plural pronoun to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (Romanized Judeo-Italian)	Translation (Judeo-Italian)	Translation (Italian)	Translation (English)
אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵֽינוּ אֵין כַּאדוֹנֵֽינוּ אֵין כְּמַלְכֵּֽנוּ אֵין כְּמוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ	Non è come lo Ded nostro! Non è come lo Segnore nostro! Non è come lo Re nostro! Non è come lo Salvatore nostro!	נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹסְנְייוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹרְיְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹסַלְװָאטוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ	Nessuno è come il Dio nostro. Nessuno è come il Signore nostro. Nessuno è come il Re nostro. Nessuno è come il Salvatore nostro.	None is like our God! None is like our Lord! None is like our Sovereign! None is like our Savior!
מִי כֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ מִי כַּאדוֹנֵֽינוּ מִי כְמַלְכֵּֽנוּ מִי כְמוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ	Chi è come lo Ded nostro? Chi è come lo Segnore nostro? Chi è come lo Re nostro? Chi è come lo Salvatore nostro?	קִי אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ קִי אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹסְנְייוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ קִי אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹרְיְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ קִי אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹסַלְװָאטוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ	Chi è come il Dio nostro? Chi è come il Signore nostro? Chi è come il Re nostro? Chi è come il Salvatore nostro?	Who is like our God? Who is like our Lord? Who is like our Sovereign? Who is like our Savior?
נוֹדֶה לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ נוֹדֶה לַאדוֹנֵֽינוּ נוֹדֶה לְמַלְכֵּֽנוּ נוֹדֶה לְמוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ	Laudiemo allo Ded nostro! Laudiemo allo Segnore nostro! Laudiemo allo Re nostro! Laudiemo allo Salvatore nostro!	לַאוֹדְימוֹ אַלוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ לַאוֹדְימוֹ אַלוֹסְנְייוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ לַאוֹדְימוֹ אַלוֹרְיְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ לַאוֹדְימוֹ אַלוֹסַלְװָאטוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ	Lodiámo al Dio nostro! Lodiámo al Signore nostro! Lodiámo al Re nostro! Lodiámo al Salvatore nostro!	Let us laud our God! Let us laud our Lord! Let us laud our Sovereign! Let us laud our Savior!
אַתָּה הוּא אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ אַתָּה הוּא אֲדוֹנֵֽינוּ אַתָּה הוּא מַלְכֵּֽנוּ אַתָּה הוּא מוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ	Tu si lo Ded nostro! Tu si lo Segnore nostro! Tu si lo Re nostro! Tu si lo Salvatore nostro!	טוּ סִי לוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ טוּ סִי לוֹסְנְייוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ טוּ סִי לוֹרְיְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ טוּ סִי לוֹסַלְװָאטוֹרְי נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ	Tu sei il Dio nostro! Tu sei il Signore nostro! Tu sei il Re nostro! Tu sei il Salvatore nostro!	You are our God! You are our Lord! You are our Sovereign! You are our Savior!
יְהֹוָ֥ה חָפֵ֖ץ לְמַ֣עַן צִדְק֑וֹ יַגְדִּ֥יל תּוֹרָ֖ה וְיַאְדִּֽיר׃	Domedéd volentà per la giustizia soa engrandisca la Torà e enfortisca.	דוֹמְדֵּיד בֿוֹלֵינְטָה פְיר לַיוּשְׁטִיצִיאָה סוֹאָה אְינְגְרַנִיסְקָה לַתוֹרָה אְינְפֿוֹרְטִיסְקָה	L’Eterno s’è volùto, per la sua giustizia, di rendere la Torà grande e magnifica;	The CAUSE wanted for Their justice’s sake to greaten and strengthen the Torah.

The mantra-like piyyut “Ein kEloheinu,” a praise of God’s attributes and uniqueness featuring incremental repetition, is found in siddurim as far back as the siddur of Rav Amram, and may date back to the Hekhalot literature. [In the variations found in the Siddur Rav Amram and in genizah fragments, the order of the stanzas differs from how it is currently read today. –ANV

Featured Image:

Title: Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines (Hendrik Voogd 1807)
Caption: Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines (Hendrik Voogd 1807) in the collection of the Rijksmuseum