Guest
From the Senior Cantorial Recital of Jacqueline Rafii, which you can watch in full here: 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
