Words by H. Roisenblatt (1878-1956) with music by Isaac Pirozhnikoff (1859-1933). Previously published by Samuel Bugatch in 1951.
Here we go now, back to kheyder
and take up our studies with zest,
these studies, these ancient studies
with a melody and with excitement*.
You haven’t forgotten, children,
to bring a candle with you?
The days have gotten shorter now
and we study by night.
Study the Torah, my children,
it’s secrets, deap and great,
Study, study, dear children
until the candle goes out.
*lit. “with a bang”.
Heyda, nu, tsurik in kheyder,
Un genumen zikh geshmak
Tsu dem limed, tsu dem altn,
Mit a nusakh, mit a knak.
Tsi hot ir, kinder, nit fargesn
Un a likhtl mitgebrakht,
ltster zaynen kleyn di teg shoyn,
Lernen, lernt men bay nakht.
Lernt, kinderlekh, di toyre,
Ire soydes tif un groys;
Lernt, lernt, libe kinder,
Biz dos likhtele geyt oys.
הײדאַ, נו, צוריק אין חדר,
און גענומען זיך געשמאַק
צו דעם לימוד, צו דעס אַלטן,
מיט אַ נוסח, מיט אַ קנאַק.
צי האָט איר, קינדער, ניט פֿאַרגעסן
און אַ ליכטל מיטגעבראַכט,
איצטער זײַנען קלײן די טעג שױן,
לערנען, לערנט מען בײַי נאַכט.
לערנט, קינדערלעך, די תּורה,
אירע סודות טיף און גרױס,
לערנט, לערנט, ליבע קינדער,
ביז דאָס ליכטעלע גײט אױס.
Song Title: Heyda, Nu, Tsurik In Kheyder
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.”
