Mamele, tatele, nat aykh a matone / Dearest Mom and Dad: Here is a Gift Also known as “A gut yor!”, words by Shemu’el Tsesler, sung by “Duo Guefilte Fish”
Mamele, tatele, Nat aykh a matone: A sheyn leshone-toyvele, A vuntsh tsu rosh-hashone.
Mommy, daddy, Here is a gift: a beautiful Jewish New Year’s card, a greeting for rosh-hashone.
A gut yor, vintshn mir, A gliklekh un tsufridn. Far aykh un yedn gutn fraynd, un ale, ale yidn.
We wish you a good year, a joyous and happy one. For you and every good friend, and all, all the Jews.
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
This song from the Argentinian Yiddish children’s writer, Shmu’el Tsesler, is sung by “Duo Guefilte Fish”, which is comprised of Horacio Liberman and Mirtha Zuker from Miramar, on Argentina’s coast south of Buenos Aries. The duo’s website can be found at this link. Thanks to Horacio Liberman for the video. The words in Yiddish can be found in the book Heym un mishpokhe: material far kindergartner by Sara Fischer, Buenos Aires, 1947 (scan below)
Khanike-gelt (mume, mume, mume gite) – Hanukkah Money (Aunt, Aunt, Aunt So Good) A Hanukkah song sung by Dora Libson. Recorded by Lionel Libson, 1977
Commentary by Itzik Gottesman
There seems to be a connection between this song and the Yiddish schools of Argentina. Avrom Lichtenbaum, director of the Argentina YIVO, remembers singing it in kindergarten in a Yiddish school in Buenos-Aires. The only printed version I have found was in the children’s song collection Heym un mishpokhe, yomim-toyvim, edited by Sara Fischer, Buenos-Aires, 1948. A scan of the song from that volume is attached (Fischer).
In Heym un mishpokhe, yomim-toyvim it is called “Khanike gelt” and includes only the first two verses which I also transliterate since the rhymes are better in those verses than the ones in Libson’s version. It also states that the poem was “From the Hebrew” translated by the Argentinian Yiddish children’s writer Shemuel (Shmuel) Tsesler (1904 – 1955).
Sure enough, in the Israeli Zemereshet website we find the song in Hebrew in several versions, with more and different stanzas but the composer and writer of the Hebrew original song remains unknown.
Libson’s pronuncation of the holiday as “Khaniko” instead of the usual “Khanike” in Yiddish, or “khanuka” in modern Hebrew, reflects an Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation.
Thanks this week to Avrom Lichtenbaum, Gila Flam and Dina Pozniak.
Khanike-gelt as sung by Dora Libson
1) Mume, mume, mume, gute, vi ikh hob dikh lib. Bist a gite, bist a zise, khanike-gelt zhe gib. Bist a gite, bist a zise, khanike-gelt zhe gib. Khaniko iz haynt! Khaniko iz haynt!
Aunt, aunt, aunt, so good, how I love you. You’re so good, you’re so sweet. So give me Hanukkah-gelt! Hanukkah is today!Hanukkah is today!
2) Un az di mume hot gegebn loz ikh mikh tsurik. Un ikh gey mir glaykh tsum feter feter gib zhe di! un ikh gey mir glaykh tsum feter feter gib zhe di! Khaniko iz haynt! Khaniko iz haynt!
And after Auntie gave me, I returned back and go straight to my uncle. Uncle give me! Hanukkah is today! Hanukkah is today!
3) Dem [Di] badaytung fun dem yontif veys ikh dokh gants git. Antiyoykhes iz [hot] fargosn fil yidish blit. Antiyoykhes hot fargosn fil yidish blit. Khaniko iz haynt! Khaniko iz haynt!
The significance of this holiday I know so well. Antioches spilled much Jewish blood. Antioches spilled much Jewish blood. Hanukkah is today! Hanukkah is today!
4) In beys-hamigdesh fremde geter hot men ungeshtelt. Un du ayl zikh nisht mayn dreydl zay zhe mir a held. un du ayl zikh nisht mayn dreydl zay zhe mir a held. Khaniko iz haynt! Khaniko iz haynt!
In the Temple, foreign gods were erected. And don’t hurry my dreydl be my hero. Khanike is today! Khanike is today!
Yiddish Song of the Week 