<big>Zog Marano: a modern Yiddish poet's Passover questions to Marranos centuries before.</big>
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During the seder, the haggadah begins our retelling with the asking of four traditional questions. As the Haskalah movement (השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition"; colloquially, “Enlightenment”) of the 18th century onward expanded concepts of tradition through reinvigoration of literature and culture, new questions began to emerge. Despite initial intellectuality and emphasis on Hebrew in secular writing and publishing of all kinds, the haskalah even impart new energy to working-class thought and culture, including the 19th century Yiddishist movement.
Vocolot Recordings describes Zog, Maran (‘tell me, marrano”) as an imaginary dialogue between a 20th century Yiddish poet and a marrano of 14th century Iberia. In medieval Spanish, Marrano —“pig”— refers to Jews forcibly converted to Christianity, despised for their origins, who had to be seen eating pork —forbidden by Judaic law— or risk being condemned to death as apostates. Less pejoratively called conversos, today they are considered anoosim (forced/coerced ones) along with Jews elsewhere forced to convert or be killed.
In the song, the Ashkenazi poet asked the ‘Maran’ —the Sephardi— how will he’ll be able to observe Pesach in such danger. The response: in secret, in a cave where they’ve hidden the prayer books and bake matzoth. "And if the enemy finds you?" asked the poet, such unknowing few years before the Holocaust found and destroyed Ashkenazim and Sephardim in the millions…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MJakY8OzQ8
The video is from a Portuguese or Brazilian source, I believe. The below lyrics are translated/combined from multiple sources:
Zog maran, du bruder mayner,vu iz greyt der seder dayner?
(Say, Marrano, my brother, where is your Seder prepared?)
In tifer heyl, in a kheder,dort hob ikh gegreyt mayn seder.
(In the mountains, in a cave, we recall how we were enslaved.
Zog maran mir, vu bay vemen Vestu vayse matsos nemen?
(And Marrano, tell me where and how will you have matzos there?)
In der heyl, oyf got's barotn,hot mayn vayb dem teyg geknotn.
(In the cave with trust in heaven we have kneaded dough unleavened.)
Zog maran, vi vest zikh klign A hagode vu tzu krign?
(And Haggadot you'll be needing. How will you get them for reading?)
In der heyl, in tife spaltn, hob ikh zi shoyn lang bahaltn.
(In the cavern's darkness hidden, there we keep the books forbidden.)
Zog maran,vu vest zikh vern, ven men vet dayn kol derhern?
(And Marrano, I beseech you, what if your mortal foe should reach you?)
Ven der soyne vet mikh fangen vel ikh shtarbn mit gezangen.
(Tho’ we hear the death-knell ringing, we will drown it with our singing.)
Down through the eons, “oppressed so hard they could not stand”, the human spirit throughout the world still rises to sing out questions and challenge death, even with its final breath, in the hope of a shared, compassionate future for all.
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Lyricist and composer bios from this source.
Avrom (Abraham) Reisen (1876-1953) was a prolific Yiddish poet and short story writer for the American Yiddish dailies. He was born in Minsk but emigrated to the United States in 1914. His poems express the feelings... and the sufferings of [individual and] community.
Shmuel Bugatch (1898-1984). Jewish composer, conductor of choral groups including Philadelphia Workmen's Circle Chorus and synagogue choirs, lecturer, writer. Music director, Beth Tefiloh Synagogue, Baltimore, and Temple Adath Israel, Bronx. Composed and arranged liturgical and secular works. Compiled an anthology of Yiddish and Hebrew songs.
Readers please feel welcome to include in your comments the songs most meaningful to you, and links to other Passover diaries.
Chag Pesach Samayakh
PASSOVER — Sunset, 22 April – nightfall, 30 April (8 days)
April 22 is Ta’anit Bechorot [Fast of the Firstborn dawn to sunset] and erev Pesach — at sunset is the First Seder.