Oyfn Pripetshik (Yiddish Lullaby) - performed by Jacqueline Rafii

www.jacquelinerafii.com
From the Senior Cantorial Recital of Jacqueline Rafii, which you can watch in full here:    • Kol Haneshama: Senior Cantorial Recit...  

Oyfn Pripetshik
by Mark Warschafsky
Arranged by Jack Kammen

Oyfn pripetchik brent a fayerl
Un in shtub is heys.
Un der Rebe lerint kleyne kinderlakh
Dem Alef Beis.

Zogt zhe kinderlakh, gedenkt zhe, tayere,
Vos ir lerint do;
Zogt zhe nokh a mul und take nokh a mul:
Komets-alef: o!

Az ir vet, kinderlakh, elter veren,
vet ir aleyn farshteyn,
vifil in di oysyes ligin trerin
un vifil geveyn.

Translation:
A fire burns on the hearth
And it is warm in the little house.
And the rabbi is teaching little children
The alphabet.

See, children, remember, dear ones,
What you learn here;
Repeat and repeat yet again,
"Komets-alef: o!"

When, children, you will grow older
you will understand,
how many tears lie in these letters
and how much crying.

Notes:
This beloved Yiddish lullaby was composed by Mark Warschafsky (1848–1907). By the end of the 19th century, it was one of the most popular songs of the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The lyrics in the last verse hint at the traditional Yiddish saying that “the history of the Jews is written in tears.” This lullaby was made more generally famous as it played in the background of one of the tragic scenes from the film Schindler’s List.

Voice: Cantor Jacqueline Rafii
Piano: Tali Tadmor
Violin: Jenni Asher