Yosef Kerler ערב חנוכה

יוסף קערלער, "ערב חנוכה", אָנגעשריבן אין מאָסקווע אפּנים מיט 50 יאָר צוריק אין ,1968. פאָרגעלייענט פון זײַן זון לכבוד חנוכה תשע"ט און דעם מחברס 100סטן געבורטסטאָג.
A poem written by Yosef Kerler in Moscow, c. 1968. English
translation by Noah Barrera & Dov-Ber K
Hanukah Eve
Today,
On the eve of Hanukah,
I say to myself thus:
First I will perform
The holy task
Of a simple Shabbos goy -
First,
I am blowing out
One by one
The alluring lights
Of charming cities,
Of places so dear…
A blow -
And the lights of
The palms of Palermo go out,
The marble-laden castles
By the canals of Venice -
Extinguishing…
A blow -
And the waves in the Seine freeze,
Paris sinks into darkness
With all of her glorious
Boulevards, squares, monuments,
Brothels.
A blow -
And Zlata Praga’s lights go out,
The synagogue of the old city,
Within the circle of gothic cathedrals,
The Prado of Madrid - vanishes,
May my hands wither twice over,
If I should ever go there, Gotenyu!
And to the very last drop of flame,
Together with my age-old anguish -
I extinguish the Greek Acropolis,
I am blowing out the Roman Coliseum
And also the radiant ruby stars,
Even though my hands start failing,
I am extinguishing! And paler, paler, paler
Grow the nearby, blood-red walls,
And only the small bells of Valdai
Keep sorrowfully ringing
Accompanying the last bonfire
That vanishes swallowed by distances…
All done!
Now I am lighting
The first of eight candles,
Which I will bless faithfully
This evening.