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רייזעלע

Mordkhe Gebirtig [Mordechai Gebirtig] / מרדכי געבירטיג
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תרגום לעברית / Traduzione ebraica / Hebrew translation / Traducti...
REYZELE

There, in the street,
a little house quiet and pensive [1],
In a small room in the attic
lives my dear Reyzele.
Every evening in front of the house
I hangout,
Whistle and call out:
“Reyzl, come, come, come”.

A little window opens,
the old little house awakes,
and soon in the quiet street rings out
a sweet voice - it's Reyzele speaking.
Wait a little longer, my dear,
I shall soon be free,
walk around the street for a while,
One, two, three.

I walk cheerfully, singing and cracking hazelnuts,
Then I hear her little feet
Skipping down the steps.
As she comes down the last step
I embrace her.
Quietly I kiss her head,
come, come, come.

I'll ask you, David,
don't whistle anymore.
You hear - he's whistling again - says mother.
She's pious, and it upsets her.
Whistling is not for Jewish boys.
It’s good only for the others.
Simply give a sign in Yiddish
One, two, three.

From today I won't whistle anymore,
that I swear.
To please you I will even become pious,
my modest one.
Whenever you want, Reyzl,
I will be as observant as your mother
and go every Sabbath to the synagogue.
Come, come, come.

I believe you, my beloved,
and for that ,David,
I shall knit for you
A nice tefillin [2] bag
with a Star of David.
When people in the synagogue will be pleased
tell them:
Reyzl, my beloved, knitted this.
One, two, three.

Thank you for your present.
I love you so much, Reyzele.
I love your mother, I love the street,
I love the little old house.
I love the stones near your house
since you tread on them.
Listen, your mother is already calling :
“ Reyzl, come, come, come”.

So I go cheerfully,
singing and cracking hazelnuts,
Hearing the sound of her little feet
running on the steps.
The little house stands again pensive,
the little street again quiet.
Come to me in my dreams, Reyzl,
Come, come, come.

רייזלה

בַּיִת קָט עוֹמֵד בָּרְחוֹב, וְכֻלּוֹ שַׁלְוָה וּדְמִי
בַּעֲלִיַּת הַגַּג שָׁם גָּרָה רֵיזְל הַיְּקָרָה שֶׁלִּי
מִדֵּי עֶרֶב אֵחָפֵזָה אֶל בֵּיִת חֶמְדָּתִי
וּבְקוֹל אֶשְׁרֹק לָהּ: "רֵיזְל, רְדִי, רְדִי, רְדִי".

הָאֶשְׁנָב נִפְתָּח מִיָּד, מִישֶׁהוּ רוֹמֵז אֵלַי
וּבִדְמִי הָרְחוֹב בּוֹקֵעַ צְלִיל קוֹלָהּ שֶׁל רֵיזְלֶע:
"חֲבִיבִי, חַכֵּה עוֹד רֶגַע, אֶתְפַּנֶּה מִיָּד
עוֹד מְעַט אֵרֵד לְמַטָּה, חַד תְּרֵי תְּלַת".

אֲטַיֵּל עַלִּיז, אָשִׁיר, אֲפַצַּח לִי גַּרְגִּירִים
וּפִתְאוֹם אֶשְׁמַע צְעָדֶיהָ עַל דְּרָגוֹת מִדַּרְדְּרִים
אַךְ יָרְדָה מֵעַל, חִבַּקְתִּי אֶת גּוּפָהּ הָרַךְ
בְּרֹאשָׁהּ דּוּמָם נָשַׁקְתִּי כָּךְ, כָּךְ, כָּךְ.

"אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ, דּוּדְ'לֶע, אַל תִּקְרָא לִי בִּשְׁרִיקָה
"שׁוּב יִשְׁרֹק", אִמִּי אוֹמֶרֶת בְּרֻגְזָה, הִיא אֲדוּקָה
אֵין שְׁרִיקָה מִמִּנְהָגֵנוּ, זוֹ מִדָּה שֶׁל גּוֹי
קְרָא פָּשׁוּט בִּלְשׁוֹן אִמֵּנוּ: בּוֹאִי, בּוֹאִי, בּוֹאִי".

אֲטַיֵּל עַלִּיז, אָשִׁיר, אֲפַצַּח לִי גַּרְגִּירִים
עוֹד אֶשְׁמַע צַעֲדֵי רַגְלֶיהָ עַל דְּרָגוֹת מִדַּרְדְּרִים
שׁוּב עָטוּף דְּמָמָה הַבַּיִת וְהָרְחוֹב מַחְרִישׁ
בַּחֲלוֹם בַּקְּרִינִי, רֵיזְל, חִישׁ, חִישׁ, חִישׁ!
[1] original text : פֿאַרטראַכט (fartrakht). In the reference translation it is rendered by “thoughtful”. In my opinion “pensive” is more suitable as dreaming is involved.

[2] set of two small leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. They are worn by the adult Jews ( more than 13 years) during weekday morning prayers. They serve as a reminder of God's intervention for the Exodus from Egypt. One of them is laid on the inner side of the left arm, the other is placed on the middle of the head just above the forehead. The manufacturing, the structure and the utilization are carried out under severe prescriptions.

[Riccardo Gullotta]


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