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Vapor

from Fragments by Yoni Avi Battat

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about

Music by Yoni Avi Battat
Texts by Mansur Al-Ḥallaj, Arn Zeitlin, and from Hebrew liturgy
Concept by Yoni Avi Battat and Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell

This modern day piyut uses the languages of my ancestors: Arabic, Yiddish and Hebrew. The Arabic text is by Mansur Al-Ḥallaj (858-922 A.D.), a Sufi poet and teacher who was born in Persia and died in Baghdad. The Yiddish text was written by Arn Zeitlin (1899-1973) who immigrated from Warsaw to New York in 1939. The Hebrew text comes from shaḥarit (Jewish morning liturgy) and is a reference to Kohelet (Ecclesiastes).

lyrics

غنت وما غنت عن ضميري
وصرت فرحتي وسروري
وانفصل الفصل بافتراق
فصار في عيبتي حضوري

(Arabic) You went away but remained in me
and thus became my peace and happiness
in separation, separation left me
and I witnessed the unknown

,כ׳װײס: קײנער דאַרף מיך נישט אױף אָט דעם עולם
.מיך, װערטער־בעטלער אױף דעם ײדישן בית־עולם
?װער דאַרף אַ ליד — און נאָך דערצו אױף ײדיש

(Yiddish) I know that in this world no one needs me,
me, a word-beggar in the Jewish graveyard
who needs a poem, especially in Yiddish?

כִּי רֹב מַעֲשֵׂינוּ תֹּהוּ וִימֵי חָיִינוּ הֶבֶל לְפָנֶיךָ

(Hebrew) For most of our deeds are meaningless
and the days of our lives are like vapor before you

فأنت في سر غيب همي
أخفى من الوهم في ضميري
تؤنسني بالنهار حقا
وأنت عند الدجى سميري

(Arabic) You were the hidden secret of my longing,
hidden deep within my conscience deeper than a dream
you were my true friend in the day
and in darkness my companion

נאָר בלױז דאָס האָפֿנונגלאָזע אױף דער ערד איז שײן
,און געטלעך איז נאָר דאָס, װאָס מוז פֿאַרגײן
.און נאָר הכנעה איז מרידה׳ש

(Yiddish) Only what is hopeless on this earth has beauty
and only the ephemeral is godly
and humility is the only true rebellion

כִּי רֹב מַעֲשֵׂינוּ תֹּהוּ וִימֵי חָיִינוּ הֶבֶל לְפָנֶיךָ

(Hebrew)
For most of our deeds are meaningless
and the days of our lives are like vapor before you


Arabic Translation by Maḥmood Jamal Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi

Yiddish Translation by Robert Friend (with small adaptations), The Penguin Book of Modern Yiddish Verse

Hebrew Translation by Adam Zagoria-Moffet, Siddur Masorti

credits

from Fragments, released September 2, 2022
Yoni Avi Battat: lead vocal, violin, viola, oud
Jamal Sinno: qanun
Naseem Alatrash: cello
Dr. Ann E. Lucas: nay
Fabio Pirozzolo: riq
Jesse Chevan: frame drum
James Heazlewood Dale: bass
Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell: background vocal

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Yoni Avi Battat Boston, Massachusetts

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer specializing in contemporary and traditional Jewish music from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He maintains an active performance schedule across the country, playing violin, viola, and oud in collaborative and interdisciplinary projects spanning a wide range of styles. ... more

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