Lyrics Андрей Макаревич - Идиш-джаз - Oyfen Pripichek

אויפן פריפעטשיק (Oyfn pripetchik) (Der alef-beys)

oyfn pripetshik brent a fayerl
un in shtub iz heys,
un der rebe lernt kleyne kinderlekh
dem alef-beys.

[Refrain:]
zet zhe, kinderlekh, gedenkt zhe, tayere,
vos ir lernt do;
zogt zhe nokh a mol un take nokh a mol:
komets-alef – o!

lernt, kinder, mit groys kheyshek –
azoy zog ikh aykh on:
ver s'vet gikher fun aykh kenen ivre,
der bakumt a fon.

lernt, kinder, hot nit moyre,
yeder onheyb iz shver,
gliklekh der vos hot gelernt toyre –
tsi darf der mentsh nokh mer?

ir vet, kinder, elter vern,
vet ir aleyn farshteyn,
vifl in di oysyes lign trern
un vifl geveyn…

az ir vet, kinder, dem goles shlepn,
oysgemutshet zayn,
zolt ir fun di oysyes koyekh shepn –
kukt in zey arayn!

On the hearth

On the hearth a fire burns,
And in the room it is warm.
And the rabbi is teaching little children
The alphabet.

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

Learn, children, with great enthusiasm,
So I instruct you:
He among you who learns Hebrew pronunciation faster -
He will receive a flag.

Learn children, don't be afraid,
Every beginning is hard,
Lucky is the one who has studied the Torah,
What more does a man need?

When you grow older, children,
You will understand by yourselves,
How many tears lie in these letters,
And how much lament...

When you, children, will bear the exile
And will be exhausted,
May you derive strength from these letters,
Look at them!