Help Needed: Translation of Tombstone
Morton & Esther Cohen
contrast of the photos I took of my mgf's tombstone. Scanning turned out
not to be a solution in this case because of the speckled granite and the
shallow cutting of the inscription. I was able to more legible darker
print made from which I can identify most of the inscription lettering. My
very limited Hebrew knowledge is also very rusty. While I can piece
together some of the inscription I feel some important parts are missing and
I am hoping that someone on JewishGen will be able to translate the
inscription.
The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's death after sundown
Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
Whay I have is:
Line 1: Eyen Lamed space Aleph Lamed (Chaff or Chet?) space Alef Nun Yud
space Bet Yud Chaff Yud Mem
Line 2: Eyen lamed space Pey Teth Yud Rash Bet space Mem Ayen Lamed Yud
space Vov Aleph Beth Yud Gimel Nun space Mem Lamed Chaff
Line 3: Mem Nun Het Mem (Menachem) Mem Eyen Nun Daled Lamed (Mendel) Bet Nun
(Son) space Shin Nun Yud Aleph ( Ayen or Nun Yud or Vov Yud) Yud space Zain
Lamed Mem Nun (Zalman)
Line 4: Shin space? Peh Taff Rash space Bet Nun Rash Vov space Shin Nun Rash
Line 5: Bet Tet Shin Ayin Heh (B'Tisha) space Bet Alef Bet (B'Av) space
Lamed Daled Samech Gimel(5663)
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Visit the JewishGen website: http://www.jewishgen.org
Ury Link
after sundown
Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
Is this date good? I think that 9 Be-Av Htrsag(5663) was on 3 August 1903
and not on 1 August, Pleas check it ( I don't have a Jewish calendar from
1903, but if you know that every 19 years the same days and dates come beck
you can check it with the Ancyc.Judaica if you go beck from 1922 -19 = 1903
).But of course I can do also mistakes.
What I have is:
Line 1: Eyen Lamed space Aleph Lamed (Chaff or Chet?) space Alef Nun Yud
space Bet Yud Chaff Yud Mem
Al kach anu bochim ( On this we crying)
Line 2: Eyen lamed space Pey Teth Yud Rash Bet space Mem Ayen Lamed Yud
space Vov Aleph Beth Yud Gimel Nun space Mem Lamed Chaff
Al petirat baali we-awinu ??? (on the date of my husband and our father ???)
Line 3: Mem Nun Het Mem (Menachem) Mem Eyen Nun Daled Lamed (Mendel) Bet Nun
(Son) space Shin Nun Yud Aleph ( Ayen or Nun Yud or Vov Yud) Yud space Zain
Lamed Mem Nun (Zalman)
Menachem Mendel ben Shneor Zalman
Line 4: Shin space? Peh Taff Rash space Bet Nun Rash Vov space Shin Nun Rash
Shniftar benero (acronym:Benafsho Rucho we-nishmato )???.(he past away with
his mind his spirit and his soul ???)
Line 5: Bet Tet Shin Ayin Heh (B'Tisha) space Bet Alef Bet (B'Av) space
Lamed Daled Samech Gimel(5663)
Be-Tisha Be-Av Ha Tarsag (5663) ( On 9 Be-Av 5663 ).
I try my best but I am not shore that all the Hebrew letters are correct.
Ury Link
Amsterdam
Holland
mailto:ur...@GLOBALXS.NL
David Ziants
Morton & Esther Cohen wrote:
>
> My thanks to all of helpful people who offered advice on how to improve the
> contrast of the photos I took of my mgf's tombstone. Scanning turned out
...... Trimmed...................
> I am hoping that someone on JewishGen will be able to translate the
> inscription.
>
> The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's death after sundown
> Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
>
> Whay I have is:
> Line 1: Eyen Lamed space Aleph Lamed (Chaff or Chet?) space Alef Nun Yud
> space Bet Yud Chaff Yud Mem
Al eleh ani bochia - "On these I cry..."
The last letter of the second word is a Hey. The second letter of the last
word is a Vav and the last letter of the last word is a Hey.
This is a quote from the biblical book Eicha (Lamentations; Chap. 1 V 16),
one of the five Megillot (Scrolls). This is read on Tisha B'Av night in the
synagogue and the book is a serious of kinot (elegies) on the destruction
of the first Bet HaMikdash (Temple) and the resulting exile. The book is
attributed to the prophet Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah).
A very suitable phrase to put on a tombstone. I include two explanations to
the original context of this phrase that I read in the Da'at Mikra commentary:
a) For the young boys and girls who were killed by the enemy - I cry.
b) Relates to the continuation of this verse, that I cry for the "comforter
is far from me" .
By the way, the words al and eleh are joined with a hyphen in the actual text.
> Line 2: Eyen lamed space Pey Teth Yud Rash Bet space Mem Ayen Lamed Yud
> space Vov Aleph Beth Yud Gimel Nun space Mem Lamed Chaff
Al ptirat ba'ali v'avi (ben ?) melech - On the passing of my husband and my
father (the son of ?) a king .
The last letter of the second word should be a Tav not Bet. The first letter
of the second word should be a Bet and not Mem.
I assumed the Gimel Nun was a separate word Ben, the Gimel being a Bet.
> Line 3: Mem Nun Het Mem (Menachem) Mem Eyen Nun Daled Lamed (Mendel) Bet Nun
> (Son) space Shin Nun Yud Aleph ( Ayen or Nun Yud or Vov Yud) Yud space Zain
> Lamed Mem Nun (Zalman)
In your great grandfather's name (i.e. after the "ben"), the first component
is Shneur. The last letter of this name is a Resh.
Are there Chassidic roots here?
I am not an expert on Chassidic Rebbes (and am not associated with any
Chassidic groups), but do know that both Menachem Mendel and Shneur Zalman
were Rebbes of the Lubavitch (Chabad) movement.
May be this is why your grandfather was called "a son of a king" <smile> !!
> Line 4: Shin space? Peh Taff Rash space Bet Nun Rash Vov space Shin Nun Rash
Sh'niftar B'nero Sh'ner - Who passed away at the light of a candle
The "?" second letter seems like a Nun. The letter before the Resh is Tet
and not Tav.
Very suitable as synagogues are dimly lit by candles rather
than by lamps (no electricity then) on that sad day. The soul of a person
is compared to a candle in Jewish thinking.
> Line 5: Bet Tet Shin Ayin Heh (B'Tisha) space Bet Alef Bet (B'Av) space
> Lamed Daled Samech Gimel(5663)
B'Tisha is actually spelled out: Bet Tav Shin Ayin Heh.
It could have also been written Bet Tet followed by an apostrophe, as Tet
is the number 9 (9th letter).
The year should be: Tav Resh Samech Gimel .
This is a very interesting stone, and I guess your grandfather was a very
interesting person.
Hoping that an opportunity will arise to discuss celebrations together.
--
David Ziants
dav...@netmedia.net.il
Ma'aleh Adumim, Israel
mailto:dav...@NETMEDIA.NET.IL
Daniel Vulkan
jew...@NEWSPOST.NEWSGUY.COM>, Ury Link <ur...@globalxs.nl> writes
>You writ: The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's death
>after sundown
>Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
>
>and not on 1 August, Pleas check it ( I don't have a Jewish calendar from
>1903, but if you know that every 19 years the same days and dates come beck
>you can check it with the Ancyc.Judaica if you go beck from 1922 -19 = 1903
>).But of course I can do also mistakes.
"The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar" by the late Arthur Spier (Feldheim
Publishers, 1986) confirms that Tisha B'Av (9 Av) 5663 fell on Sunday 2
August 1903. (And therefore it started the previous evening, 1 August.)
Although the Hebrew calendar includes a 19 year cycle, it is not true to
say that the correspondence with the civil calendar will repeat exactly
every 19 years (although it is only likely to be out by a few days).
There are two reasons for this: firstly, the civil calendar itself is
not regular (it will only repeat exactly every 2,800 years); secondly, a
number of extra adjustments need to be made to the Hebrew calendar
(adding or subtracting a day every few years, according to prescribed
rules), principally to ensure that certain festivals don't occur on
inconvenient days of the week.
For those who are interested, the book I mentioned above describes the
operation of the calendar in great detail; I am sure there are also
plenty of resources on the Web (try looking at the "Calendars" category
on Cyndi's List ( http://www.cyndislist.com ).
--
Daniel Vulkan
Harrow, England
Searching: WULKAN (Oswiecim / anywhere); KLAUSNER (Nowy Wisnicz);
GOTTLIEB (Tarnow); TOBIAS (Milowka)
mailto:dan...@VULKAN.DEMON.CO.UK
Moshe Wolf
The date is correct. 9 Av 5663 is 2/8/1903. The Hebrew calendar does not
match exactly every 19 years.
The 19 years cycle is the cycle of the leaps years (with 13 months).
Moshe Wolf
Ury Link wrote:
>
>You writ: The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's death
>after sundown
>Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
>
>Is this date good? I think that 9 Be-Av Htrsag(5663) was on 3 August 1903
>and not on 1 August, Pleas check it ( I don't have a Jewish calendar from
>1903...
>
Moshe Wolf
mailto:wom...@INTERNET-ZAHAV.NET
tom klein
j> The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's
death
j> after sundown
j> Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
j>
j> Is this date good? I think that 9 Be-Av Htrsag(5663) was on 3 August
1903
j> and not on 1 August, Please check it (I don't have a Jewish calendar
from
j> 1903, but if you know that every 19 years the same days and dates come
beck
j> you can check it with the Encycl. Judaica if you go back from 1922
j> -19 = 1903 ).But of course I can do also mistakes.
According to my Jewish calendar (I use Hayom 2, a computer programme),
Tisha b'Av 5663 was Aug 2, 1903.
Tom Klein
mailto:tom_...@TVO.ORG
Mort Cohen
between days starting at sundown vs the Gregorian Standard of midnight.
The death certificate clearly says that my gf was last alive at 10 PM -
still Aug 1 on the Gregorian calendar but obviously the next day on the
Jewish Calendar.
The stone says Tisha B'Av.
Using the JOS calendar translation available on line via JewishGen I found
that the JOS says that Aug 2 1903 was Tisha B'Av - but we know that Aug 2
started several hours after sundown - So actually Tisha B'Av overlaps Aug 1
and Aug 2.
Assuming my pious Yiddish speaking gm told the monument maker that her
husband died on Tisha B'Av I would not be surprised that he <incorrectly>
selected the Aug 2 Gregorian date to put on the tombstone.
Mort Cohen
>On 8/29/98 Ury Link wrote:
>
>j> The Calendar info on JewishGen confirms that the my gf's
>death
>j> after sundown
>j> Aug 1, 1903 was Tisha B'Av
>j>
>j> Is this date good?
MODERATOR'S NOTE: The Tisha B'Av thread is now closed.
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