I found a Yiddish version of Maoz Tsur (or at the least, something based on Maoz Tsur) at https://yiddishsong.wordpress.com/tag/rock-of-ages/ (and there's also a recording on that page): “Maoz tsur” is usually translated as “Rock of Ages” but literally – “Stronghold of Rock”. The rock is usually interpreted as God. In Fuhrman’s native Bukovina Yiddish dialect “maoz tsur” is pronounced “muez tsir”. But in this performance Fuhrman sings “Muez tsur” which does not rhyme with the intended rhyming words: “shir” “mir” “frier”. Special thanks this week to Eliezer Niborski who helped with the transcription. TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION Ven di zin iz mir fargangen, kalt in fintster iz di nakht. Un di shterndlekh fun deym himl hobn zeyere eygelekh farmakht. When the sun has set for me, cold and dark is the night And the stars of sky have closed their eyes. Ikh ken keyn veyg shoyn nit gefinen. Ikh blondzhe, blondzhe un a shir. Hob ikh mir a lekhtele ungetsindn, dos lekhtele heyst dokh muez tsur. I cannot find any path; I wander, lost without stop. So I lit a candle and the candle is called maoz tsur. Un ikh lern mir bay dem lekhtele bleter groyse, mit oysyes fil. Un dervarem mir derbay dem kerper, vayl es vert mir shreklekh kil. And I study at my candle large pages full of letters. And it warms my body, because I feel so terribly cool. Bald farges ikh mayne tsores vos ikh trug arim oyf mir. Un ikh zing mir in mayn goles, zey, vus shvaygstu muez tsur? Soon I forget my troubles that I carry around with me. And I sing in my exile: See, why silent maoz tsur? Grekn zenen mir bafaln, mit zeyere tume hent. Farumreynikt undzer templ undzer leybn hobn zey geshendt. Greeks attacked me with their polluting hands. They made filthy our Temple; our life they defiled. Zey hobn toyte shtume gotn ahin arayngeshtelt tsu mir. Ikh hob far veytik oysgeshrign: “Zey, vos shvaygstu muez tsur?” They placed dead, silent gods in there for me. From pain I shouted out: Look! Why are you silent maoz tsur. Der barimter Makabeyer Khashmonoyim mit zayne zin. [Fuhrman speaks – “Vayter gedenk ikh nisht di verter”] The famous Maccabee of the Hasmoneum, and his sons. Zey hobn dem soyne bald fartribn, dem templ reyn gemakht vi frier. Ikh hob far freyd oysgeshrien, Zey, vos shvaygstu muez tsur? They drove the enemies away. The Temple they restored. For joy I shouted out: See, why are you silent maoz tsur? Fuhrman: [spoken] Vus se feylt darfsti aleyn zikhn. Whatever is missing, you have to find yourself.
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