For many of us, however, an English version is an indispensable support.
We may sometimes also use it as an interpretational aid or a commentary, for what translation
cannot claim to be a commentary when so many Hebrew words have no exact
counterpart in another tongue?
If you follow the link to the YouTube video and sound
recording of Jacob and the Angel, for piano and orchestra, you will find that
composer and Hanassi member Max Stern introduces a classical Torah narrative
with the following English text:
And Jacob was left alone; and
there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when the man
saw that he prevailed not against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh;
…and he said: 'Let me go, for the day breaketh.' And Jacob answered: 'I will
not let thee go, except thou bless me.' And the angel said: 'What is thy name?'
And he said: 'Jacob.' And the angel said: 'Thy name shall be called no more
Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed'
(Bereishit 32:24-30).
Over the centuries there have been many English language
translations of the Torah. Some aim at simplicity, others at modernity or
clarity. Others again reflect political or religious bias. The King James version, published in 1611, probably
aspired to all these things. Now, however, more than four centuries later, the text—archaic
in the eyes of young readers—is replete with a degree of dignity that is absent
in modern prose.
Does Max Stern’s music, performed by the Israel Sinfonietta with Bart Berman at the piano, reflect the solemnity of the King James prose, and the unfolding drama encapsulated in its weighty words? Click here to listen and you can decide for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6lbQOiXRmU&ab_channel=MaxStern
