In Zaltsikn Yam (In the Salty Sea, yi, אין זאַלטציקן ים) also known as In Zaltsikn Yam Fun Di Mentshleche Trern (In the Salty Sea of Human Tears, yi, אין זאַלטציקן ים פֿון מענשליכע טרערן), or Tsum Bund: In Zaltsikn Yam Fun Di Mentshleche Trern is a Yiddish poem written by

S. Ansky Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...

in 1901, that became a popular

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

song when music was added to it. The poem and song is dedicated to the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

General Jewish Labour Bund The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia ( yi, ‏אַלגעמײנער ייִדישער אַרבעטער־בונד אין ליטע, פּױלן און רוסלאַנד , translit=Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter-bund in Lite, Poy ...

Recordings

* "Once upon a time" (Amol Iz Geven A Mayse), compiled and narrated by Joseph Mlotek * "In Love And In Struggle: The Musical Legacy Of The Jewish Labor Bund", featuring

Zalmen Mlotek Zalmen Mlotek ( yi, זלמן נתן מלאָטעק; born June 15, 1951 in the Bronx, New York) is an American conductor, pianist, musical arranger, accompanist, composer, and the Artistic Director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), ...

Adrienne Cooper Adrienne Cooper (September 1, 1946 – December 25, 2011) was a Yiddish singer, musician and activist who was integral to the contemporary revival of klezmer music. In addition to her work as a Yiddish singer she was the assistant director at ...

, Dan Rous with The New Yiddish Chorale & The Workmen's Circle Chorus

Lyrics

: (First and part of second lines only)
אין זאַלטציקן ים פֿון די מענטשלעכע טרערן, געפֿינט זיך English Transliteration:http://web.me.com/bruxx/Hemshekh/Downloads.html English: Beneath the salt sea of humanity's weeping
A terrible chasm abides
It couldn't be darker, it couldn't be deeper
It's stained with a bloody red tide So much of the sea has been filled with this sorrow
Endured by the suffering jews
But only the tears of the poor ones are bloody
The rich cry as clear as the dew Yes, only the workers the paupers the beggers,
Belong to this bloody abyss
While those you called brothers, the rich and the greedy,
Fly high overhead in their bliss And thousands of years have created this chasm
Of piety, hatred, and pain
And for thousands of years all humanity's weeping
Flows like a limitless rain Yes where are the ones that will stand at the ready
To dive in the chasm and fight
Yes, who will at last free the work from slavery,
Give hunger its final relief?
And who will be guiding the pathway to freedom,
To brotherhood, justice and peace? The new Jewish worker the banner will carry
To signal that justice is done
The world will be freed and be healed by this hero,
Who dives to the root of its wound.
In Russia, in Vilna, in Poland all hail now
The Great Jewish Worker’s Bund! The entire Yiddish original and a more complete translation can be accessed here: https://yiddishkayt.org/the-salt-sea/.

References

External links

A recording
{{authority control 1901 songs Bundist songs Yiddish-language songs