22. Brit Milah (Circumcision) Song

Rivka Hai, Molly Pal, Simcha Yosef, Venus Lane. Nirit Group Singers CD, track 8, 2008; II-13.           

Oruvenāyi vāḻunna orūḍě sādhakan
Ěnněkkuṃ kāvěl pěrasa tanikkěnnu

1. May Sadhakan the Ruler—the One Who rules the  world— 
May God watch over this precious child.  
May God bless this baby, like Adam Harishon,^[1] 
And may you also be blessed like Hanoch.  
May you find redemption and cleansing from sin;
May the holiness of Noah be yours also.  
Wherever you go, be blessed with success.
Like Abraham, may you have a long life.

2. May kindness and praises be turned toward you,
As Isaac turned in prayer to God.  
May the Lord Tambiran, Who always does good, 
Protect you as He guarded Yaakov.  
Like Manasseh and Ephraim may your offspring increase,
Increase as did the children of Yoseph.
May beauty and charm and brightness of face 
Be yours like the beauty of Moshe Rabban.  

3. May you inherit good fortune and also long years, 
As Aaron gained wisdom and Torah. 
Now and forever may you be blessed, 
Like Pinhas who loved peace and truth.  
May you be the favorite of Almighty God,
Like Joshua was the friend of Moshe.
May you be the greatest, above all the crowd, 
And be as famous as the prophet Samuel.

4. May you follow strictly in King David’s path,  
Follow the path of Mashiya David.
In desperate times may you be relieved,
And may you be famous like Solomon the King.
May none of your enemies stand and confront you. 
May Eliyahu the Prophet bring you good luck.   
May all of your prayers always be heard,
Like Elisha’s prayer at Jordan’s gate.  

5. May your face shine, like those of the Prophets,
Those who are counted ten and two.
May your happiness increase; may you have a long life 
And also the beauty of Hizkiyahu.^[11]  
Like the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel Ben Bussi,
May you hear secret voices in your mind. 
May a crack in the wall open wide before you,  
As when Daniel got a hint of his fate.

6. May Shadhayi be your help amidst water and fire,
Even amidst the burning flames.
As He did for Hanania, Azaria, and Mishael,
May He always give you water and food.
May you be the one who always wins virtue, 
And may your offspring be called “holy child.”
May you hear the tidings of their redemption, 
Just like the righteous Mordecai. 

In enumerating many blessings for a newborn baby boy, this song compares them to the blessings given to prophets and other holy men in the Bible. The Malayalam lyrics follow quite closely those of the Hebrew piyyut “’El ‘Elyon” (’Areshet 1980, 358–359), sung by Kerala Jewish men just before a circumcision. Immediately afterward, the women sing this Malayalam version of the song. Our English translation of the Malayalam is adapted from Ruby Daniel’s translation (Daniel & Johnson 1995, 176).

This is the first of three songs in this book to use the unusual epithet “Mashiya David” (or “David Mashiya”)—the Messiah David—rather than the phrase “Messiah ben David”—the Messiah son of David. The “ben David” epithet is commonly used in Hebrew liturgy, referring to the hope for a future “messianic age” to be heralded by a return of the biblical prophet Elijah (Eliyahu) together with a descendant of King David. In the case of this particular song, it should be noted that the corresponding Hebrew piyyut also uses the uncommon epithet “David Mashiaḥ.”

This popular Malayalam song is found in sixteen notebooks from Kochi, Ernakulam, Chendamangalam, and Parur. The first two stanzas were recorded in 2008 by the Nirit Group Singers, with members of three different communities singing in turn.

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^[10] Hebrew epithet for Adam, the first person.
^[11] In some of the Malayalam versions, the name of Isaac appears here, replacing that of the prophet Hezkiyahu in the Hebrew version