A Comet Portending War
Yakob Yoná
1910
1
I have seen other stars
with a tail before,
but the people were frightened
by this awesome torch.
As an omen of war
it does sadden my heart.
Let us turn to our God,
let us try to please Him.
2
This astonishing comet
is an omen of war.
People say
it is noxious.1
If we could have another
R. Daniel Mordoch [?],
he would know in twelve hours
what this omen portends.
3
When the clock reaches midnight,
as the planet appears,
we start trembling in fear,
all of us standing here.
Nobody goes home
though it was dark around.
Seeing so many people,
one might think a war broke out.
4
Seeing crowds at the quayside
looking at the sky together,
Those who are joining later
are directly captivated.
Everybody has ideas
and is eager to announce them,
but it is the older people
who have truly understood this.
5
I am going to explain it,
I have never been mistaken:
it is always a leap year
or a year with a zero.2
God does not forget us ever
and the Golden Calf remembers.
“Let man not think
I am distracted.”
6
The young have never
seen this omen,
and it plunged them
into terror.
All turned to God
in full repentance,
this is why
the comet appeared.
Translated by .
Olga
Borovaya
Notes
[It was discovered that cyanogen, a toxic gas, was present in the comet’s tail, which caused an unfounded panic.—Trans.]
[5670 (1910) was a leap year in the Hebrew calendar, which means it had two Adars. Most leap years do not end with a zero.—Trans.]
[A reference to the biblical crossing of the Red Sea.—Trans.]
[Hebrew for “Today is the birthday of the world,” a prayer recited during Rosh Hashanah services.—Trans.]
Credits
Yakob Yoná, “A Comet Portending War,” El tresoro de Yakov Yoná (Salonica, 1910), pp. 472–73.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.
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