The words and music were published in Shmerke Kaczerginski’s Lider fun di getos un lagern. Kaczerginski surmises that the song was written in the Lublin region, where many Jews of Poland and other occupied countries were herded together. He notes that the text of the song is unique in the subject matter of ghetto and concentration camp songs. The song was also published in English translation in Lucy S. Dawidowicz’ A Holocaust Reader, N.Y., 1976.
Oh, look down from Heaven (Heb.),
look down from Heaven and see
how we have become a laughing stock (Heb.)
a laughing stock to the nations (Heb.)
we are a laughing stock to them.
We are considered sheep by nature (Heb.)
Oh, Creator, how can you look on at such things?
We have never been the tranquil ones
but always been sent to slaughter.
Therefore, we pray to You constantly:
Help us now, oh, Guardian of Israel,
and pay heed to our tears,
for no one wants to listen to them.
We cry out, “Hear, O Israel!”
Oh, pay heed, Guardian of this nation.
Show the (other) nations that You are our God,
for we have nobody, You are the only one,
whose name is The One God.
Strangers say there is no hope or expectation (Heb.)
The nations say that for us
there is no hope
They are allowed to pursue us,
they are allowed to torment us.
We have no one
to complain to,
but we know, after all,
that You are there in Heaven!
There is a verse about You:
“He neither sleeps nor slumbers,” (Heb.)
for You must protect
Your children.
Therefore we know
that You are there, in Heaven,
with miracles and wonders.
Lord, have mercy on us (Heb.)
and do not deliver us into their hands (Heb.)
have mercy, do not deliver us
into their hands.
Why should the nations say (Heb.)
“Where is their God?” (Heb.)
That is always their cry.
“Oh, Jew, Jew – what business do you have here?
Take your packs and go to Zion!”
We would flee,
but the way is not open.
Why do You let them treat us this way?
*The Hebrew text is from the morning prayer service.
Oy, habeyt mishomayim ure’ey —
Kuk arop fun himl un ze
Ki hoyinu lalaag vokeles,
Lalaag vokeles bagoyim,
Mir zaynen dokh a gelekhter bay zey.
Nekhshavnu katsoyn latevakh:
Oy, bashefer, vi kenstu tsukukn aza zakh?
Mir zaynen dokh keyn mol keyn barute,
Nor tomid tsu der shkhite.
Refrain:
Deriber betn mir dikh ale mol:
Helf shoyn undz, shoymer Yisroel,
Un farnem shoyn undzere trern,
Vayl keyner vii zey nit hern.
Mir shrayen dokh “shma Yisroel!”
Oy, farnem shoyn, shoymer goy ekhod,
Bavayz ale felker az du bist undzer got,
Mir hobn dokh keynem, nor dikh eynem,
Vos dayn nomen iz Adoyshem Ekhod.
Zorim oymrim: eyn toykheles vesikvo,
Di felker zogn, az far undz iz
Keyn hofenung nito.
Men meg undz yogn,
Men meg undz plogn,
Mir hobn zikh far keynem
Nit tsu farklogn;
Ober mir veysn dokh,
Az in himl bistu do!
Oyf dir iz der posek faran:
“Hiney loy yonum veloy yishon”
Du muzst dokh hitn
Dayne kinder.
Deriber veysn mir
Az in himl bistu do!
Mit mofsim, mit vinder (vunder).
Khuso Ad’ oleynu
Veal titnenu beyedeyHob rakhmones, gib undz nit iber
In di hent fun zey;
Lomo yoymru hagoyim
Aye eloheyhem,
Dos iz dokh shtendik zeyer geshrey.
Oy, yidele, yidele, vos hostu do tsu ton,
Nem dir dayn pekele un gey dir keyn Tsiyon.
Mir voltn antlofn
Nor der veg iz nit ofn,
Farvos lozstu mit undz azoy ton?!
אױ, הבט משמים וראה —
קוק אַראָפּ פֿון הימל און זע
כי הײנו ללעג וקלס,
ללעג וקלס בגױם,
מיר זײַנען דאָך אַ געלעכטער בײַ זײ.
נחשבֿנו כּצאן לטבֿח:
אױ, באַשעפֿער, װי קענסטו צוקוקן אַזאַ זאַך?
מיר זײַנען דאָך קײן מאָל קײן באַרוטע,
נאָר תּמיד צו דער שחיטה.
רעפֿרײן:
דעריבער בעטן מיר דיך אַלע מאָל:
העלף שױן אונדז, שומר ישׂראל,
און פֿאַרנעם שױן אונדזערע טרערן,
װײַל קײנער װיל זי ניט הערן.
מיר שרײַען דאָך: „שמע ישׂראל!“
אױ, פֿאַרנעם שױן, שומר גױ אחד,
באַװײַז אַלע פֿעלקער, אַז דו ביסט אונדזער גאָט,
מיר האָבן דאָך קײנעם, נאָר דיך אײנעם,
װאָס דײַן נאָמען איז ד׳ אחד.
זרים אומרים: אין תּוחלת ותקװה,
די פֿעלקער זאָגן, אַז פֿאַר אונדז איז
קײן האָפֿענונג ניטאָ
מען מעג אונדז יאָגן,
מען מעג אונדז פּלאָגן,
מיר האָבן זיך פֿאַר קײנעם
ניט צו פֿאַרקלאָגן;
אָבער מיר װײסן דאָך,
אַז אין הימל ביסטו דאָ!
אױף דיר איז דער פּסוק פֿאַראַן:
„הנה לא ינום ולא ישן“.
דו מוזסט דאָך היטן
דײַנע קינדער.
דעריבער װײסן מיר
אַז אין הימל ביסטו דאָ!
מיט מופֿתים, מיט װוּנדער.
חוסה ד׳ עלינו
ואל תּתּנֹנו בידי —
האָב רחמנות, גיב אונדז ניט איבער
אין די הענט פֿון זײ,
למה יאמרו הגױם
איה אלהיהם.
דאָס איז דאָך שטענדיק זײער געשרײ.
אױ ייִדעלע, ייִדעלע, װאָס האָסטו דאָ צו טאָן.
נעם דיר דײַן פּעקעלע און גײ דיר קײן ציון
מיר װאָלטן אַנטלאָפֿן
נאָר דער װעג איז ניט אָפֿן,
פֿאַר װאָס לאָזסטו מיט אונדז אַזױ טאָן?
Song Title: Habeyt Mishomayim Ure’ey
The Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song anthology comprises songs that were either never printed before or appeared in rare and inaccessible publications — sometimes in different versions and without proper sources. Most of the songs in this book were submitted by readers of Chana and Yosl’s column “Perl fun der yidisher poezye” (Pearls of Yiddish Poetry) in the Yiddish newspaper Der Forverts (The Forward), initiated in October, 1970. Over 25 years, thousands of songs were collected in correspondence and on cassettes from readers throughout the world, and they represent a veritable national Yiddish song archive. Chana Mlotek, in her introduction, writes, “In the course of years the inquiries, contributions and enthusiasm of these readers have kept our own interest unflagging and have reinforced our dedication to this effort. And in recent years our participants have also been augmented by new readers from the former Soviet Russia, who receive our newspaper there or from newly-arrived immigrants in this country and Israel.”
