{"id":5437,"date":"2018-01-15T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/2018\/01\/15\/a-poetic-translation-of-shir-hamaalot-psalm-126"},"modified":"2018-06-12T11:53:05","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T08:53:05","slug":"a-poetic-translation-of-shir-hamaalot-psalm-126","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/2018\/01\/15\/a-poetic-translation-of-shir-hamaalot-psalm-126\/","title":{"rendered":"A Poetic Translation of Shir Hama’alot (Psalm 126)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This pos<\/a>t<\/a> presents\u00a0Shim\u2019on Menachem’s\u00a0poetic and nuanced translation and interpretation of Psalm 126, which is traditionally recited before the Grace After Meals by Ashkekazi Jews on Shabbat, holidays, and other days on which the penitential\u00a0Tachanun<\/a>\u00a0prayer is not recited.\u00a0<\/em>According to Menachem, this post-exilic Psalm switches its narrative perspective between before and after the return from Babylon, between gratitude and longing for return, using words associated with joy that are tinged with more complicated emotions.\u00a0Shimon Menachem, a writer and educator living in St. Louis, Missouri,<\/em>\u00a0submitted his work to The Open Siddur Project<\/a>, an initiative that aims to\u00a0liberate the creative content of Jewish spiritual practice as a collectively shared resource for students, scholars, artists, and educators to adopt, adapt, and redistribute.<\/em><\/p>\n

Psalm 126<\/h2>\n

\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05e8, \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea<\/span><\/h3>\n

They used to sing a song<\/span><\/p>\n

On the steps of the Temple<\/span><\/p>\n

The very place wiped out,<\/span><\/p>\n

Put back together<\/span><\/p>\n

Stone by stone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05d1\u05b7\u05ea \u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05df\u2013 \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc, \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d7\u05b9\u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/span><\/h3>\n

Exile or return.<\/p>\n

Which is the dream?<\/p>\n

We left something behind<\/p>\n

But no one remembers what or where.<\/p>\n

\u05d0\u05b8\u05d6 \u05d9\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05b5\u05d0 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05d7\u05d5\u05b9\u05e7, \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u2013 \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05e8\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4<\/h3>\n

Our mouths are filled with laughter<\/p>\n

And a taste of mockery<\/p>\n

Our tongues with cries of joy<\/p>\n

Tinged by knowing,<\/p>\n

Somehow we are still in exile.<\/p>\n

\u05d0\u05b8\u05d6, \u05d9\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u2013 \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d4\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05dc\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05e2\u05b4\u05dd\u05be\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4<\/h3>\n

\u05d4\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05dc\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u2013 \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05de\u05b5\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/h3>\n

The miracle that people said could never happen<\/p>\n

Happened.<\/p>\n

We were as surprised as everyone else<\/p>\n

Happy and unprepared.<\/p>\n

\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05e4\u05b4\u05d9\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05e0\u05b6\u05bc\u05d2\u05b6\u05d1<\/h3>\n

\u05d4\u05b7\u05d6\u05b9\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4\u2013 \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e6\u05b9\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc<\/h3>\n

Mysterious Being,<\/p>\n

Return our return.<\/p>\n

Restore our restoration.<\/p>\n

Bring us back to wherever we started<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ll be strong<\/p>\n

Like stream beds in the desert<\/p>\n

Etched and hard but ready for the flow.<\/p>\n

Waters of weeping, saturating<\/p>\n

Sprouting cries of joy<\/p>\n

Fresh, green.<\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05da\u05b0 \u05d9\u05b5\u05dc\u05b5\u05da\u05b0, \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05db\u05b9\u05d4\u2013 \u05e0\u05b9\u05e9\u05b5\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b6\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05da\u05b0\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05d6\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b7\u05e2<\/h3>\n

\u05d1\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05d1\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u2013 \u05e0\u05b9\u05e9\u05b5\u05c2\u05d0, \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05bb\u05de\u05b9\u05bc\u05ea\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5<\/h3>\n

I was the one who trudged along<\/p>\n

Sowing my trail of tears<\/p>\n

And now I think I\u2019m ready<\/p>\n

For the golden sheaths they watered.<\/p>\n

\u05ea\u05d4\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05e7\u05db\u05d5\u05f3 | <\/span>Psalms 126<\/span><\/a>, a poetic translation by Shim\u2019on Menachem\u201d is shared by Shim’on Menachem with a <\/span>Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International<\/span><\/a> copyleft license.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post presents\u00a0Shim\u2019on Menachem’s\u00a0poetic and nuanced translation and interpretation of Psalm 126, which is traditionally recited before the Grace After Meals by Ashkekazi Jews on Shabbat, holidays, and other days on which the penitential\u00a0Tachanun\u00a0prayer is not recited.\u00a0According to Menachem, this post-exilic Psalm switches its narrative perspective between before and after the return from Babylon, between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1104],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5437\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=5437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5437\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5438\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=5437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=5437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=5437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}