Title: OUR FATHER JACOB REHEARSES 'THE SELLING OF JOSEPH' WITH HIS SONS

Writer: Itzik Manger

...Joseph, my very favorite son,
Put on your famous coat!
Your brothers are ready to sell you again
To a land strange and remote.

And when they throw you in the pit,
Weep­ but don't make a big deal;
This is, after all, not the first time
That you play this Purim Shpil*.

But if you wander by that place
Where your mother lies in her grave,
Shed a real tear upon the stone
And quietly to her say

That this old Jacob would again serve
Another seven years
That for a moment before his death
He again might stroke her hair....

Explain Pharaoh's dream wisely, as you always do;
That brings your family honor.
And, for God's sake, don't forget to save
A sack of meal for your father....

The original (Yiddish) version of the poem was published in 1935. This English translation is by David Maisel. Each of the three ellipses marks an untranslated missing stanza. Any suggestions of a tune it can be set to?

* Two Glosses:
--PURIM: an annual Jewish holiday celebrating the Bible story of the good Queen Esther and the wicked Haman.
--a PURIM SHPIL (aka SPIEL): a skit performed on Purim day by adults or children in theatrical costumes and masks. The two stories most commonly chosen for the Purim shpil have been the Bible stories of Joseph and Esther.