(no subject)

[xiphias]

Lis noticed that, in two years, Talk Like a Pirate day will fall on Rosh Hashana.

When we informed my parents of this, my mother, who typically runs High Holiday Services at her community, got very thoughtful and said, "Remind me of that a month before, because I'm not going to remember, and it ought not pass without recognition."

My father thought a moment, and said, "Arrr! Who by cannon, and who by cutlass. Who by scurvy, and who by walkin' tha plank. . . "

Comments

[gilana]

I love your parents.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Does this mean that it will usher in Talk Like A Pirate Year?

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I nearly died laughing at your Dad's comment.

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

I adore your parents and wish to adopt them.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned how much I like your parents? Really.

[temima.livejournal.com]

Now I want to write a pirate parody of Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire".

Thank your parents for me.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Apparently, at their service, they played that one. Dad hadn't known about it before that -- and he's a huge Leonard Cohen fan.

[fionaphoenix.livejournal.com]

I'm ashamed to say I don't know much about the holiday, but I have to agree with everyone else. Your parents totally rock. :)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, Dad's comment, if you don't mind me Explaining The Joke, is based on a poem in the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur liturgy, in which we discuss how G-d determines our fate for the year

The prayer is called "Unetanah Tokef", and the translation would be something like this:

On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangulation and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest and who shall wander,
Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished.
But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severe decree.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Of course, the "Who shall perish by water and who by fire" part could stay as it is :)

Very amused, and thank you for the explanation. I laughed at the initial post even without understanding the context, but I'm pleased to see why.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I shared Lis' blog post on the subject with the Pirate Guys a couple of days ago, and I'm afraid I may have inspired them. To quote Cap'n Slappy: "Do we know any rabbis?"

[cheshyre]

I realized that Yom Kippur might be paradoxically easier, just requiring periodic exhortions to "Hold fast, mateys!"

[genderfur.livejournal.com]

I do! I know a Rabbi with a BIG ol' sense of humor. Very good piratitude she's got. Be glad to put y'all in touch.... ;)

[sarianna.livejournal.com]

Mwahaha. I heart your parents.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Oh, this bodes to get Very Interesting.

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

LOL! That's awesome.

Agreed

[any-contingency.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I could most definitely see your pops making that joke. I'm with everyone else here, as always. I <3 your parents.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

To echo the refrain, I love your parents! Of course, this kind of exchange is only one of many reasons why.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

LOL!!! I read your father's comment while eating dinner and almost choked on it!! I will have to remember that for when I am doing my show on Dementia Radio that night.

[(Anonymous)]

That's a wonderful line. I am SO tempted to put together a translation, and lead musaph (the additional service for the holiday) that day. Hey, I have two years to train up!

"Herev" translates as a generic sword; what's Hebrew for "cutlass"?

[(Anonymous)]

I looked up the translations at www.dictionary.co.il and www.lingvozone.com:
Cannon - Totakh (Taf vav taf khet)
Cutlass - (couldn't find anything, but I did find rapier - Sayiph, samech yud pheh-sofit)
Scurvy - Garav, Tzafdinah (Tzadik pheh daled yud nun heh)
Plank - There's several translations, I think the best ones are Luukh (lamed vav vav khet) and Neser (nun samech resh).

So, perhaps this should be inserted right after "mi vakhaniyqah umi vasqiylah":
Mi batotakh umi basayiph, mi bagarav umi baneser.

And to finish, "Mi bapirat umi ba'aniyat mil'khamah piratiyt" -- "Who by pirate and who by privateer."

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

(btw, this responder is a friend of mine so if you wish to say anything back I can get you in touch...)

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

*applause*