yoel sheridan
Mon, 23 Feb 2004 11:14:04 -0800
Dear Yossi It was a pleasure speaking to you today. Thank you for maintaining the Hasafran list which is most informative and allows one to be helpful, even from a distance. I trust that you will find the following suitable for inclusion . The message that the poem conveys is even more important in these troubled times of increasing anti-Semitism, especially in Europe. It deserves a wide audience. A copy of the translation has been filed at the Ghetto Fighters' Museum in Israel. Important Seder Night Poem The following is an English translation of a poem written in Yiddish by Binam Heller that I think should be read on each Seder Night as part of the traditional service. The poem entitled "The Month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto" depicts graphically the situation in the Warsaw Ghetto on the eve of the famous Jewish uprising and also the heartfelt call for courage and freedom. This poem has been read aloud at our Seders for the past few years (after the Ho Lachma recitation). In a preamble an explanation is given to all those present that Jews were not only slaves in biblical times, but also in this century when the Nazis overran Europe. I have never seen young children more attentive than when they were listening to this moving poem. It is a valuable addition to the Seder. It brings the Passover story up to date and emphasizes the fact that freedom is a fragile asset that does not come cheaply and needs to be protected at all times. Yoel Sheridan The Month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto By: Binam Heller (1908 - 2000) Translated from Yiddish by Yoel Sheridan It is the month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto With glasses of borscht and matzot from bran We tell afresh of the miracles performed in the past How the Jewish people came out of Egypt How old is this story, how old is the tune ! But now behind the shaded windows the Seder Is proceeding, with truth and lies so intertwined That it is difficult to distinguish between them Whoever is hungry close to the blocked windows and doors Whoever is hungry and - the children are crying from hunger Whoever is hungry close to the empty Pesach utensils Whoever is hungry and - the elderly and blind are sobbing It is the month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto My mother puts a smile upon her face Her lips that are grim from hunger Become milder and softer now for the Holiday Her eyes again begin to shine As they did in past years And they glisten like the raisin wine Of those other long distant Seders But suddenly appalling dismay appears in them With amazement she extends her hands: Instead of opening the Seder with a blessing Her son begins to stammer out the plagues......... It is the month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto And the prophet Eliyahu's glass stands full But who has come here to greet this Seder? The Angel of Death has come to drink..... As always - the Germans shout their drill As always - the voices of experienced oppressors As always - they have come to round up Some of the Jewish people for the slaughter.... Would that the Ghetto did not hear the curses Of the Nazis who take away the captured Jews Again must we smear the doorposts with blood - With blood of the first and the last It is the month of Nissan in the Warsaw Ghetto From mouth to mouth it is communicated: That German blood should not cease to flow While one Jew remained alive in the Ghetto! For they will not witness any servility For no longer will they see any more tears But hatred and glistening from the wild excitement Of opposing and defending oneself But listen, how the shooting echoes at midnight But listen, how the dead rise in bloody tracks But listen, the story is now ending With heroic death, on the first night of Pesach..... Yoel Sheridan 26/8 Alexandroni Street Netanya 42467 Israel Tel 972 9 8654486 Fax 972 9 8653121 e mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.tenterbooks.com ========================================================================== HaSafran - The Electronic Forum of the Association of Jewish Libraries Submissions for HaSafran, send to: Hasafran at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listserver at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 at osu.edu AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org/