Put Your Hands on Your Feet and Your Feet on Your Hands

די הענט אױף די פֿיס און די פֿיס אױף די הענט

Di Hent Af Di Fis Un Di Fis Af Di Hent

Hert zikh tsu kinderlekh tsu mayn gezang (Listen up kiddos to my song)

הערט זיך צו קינדערלעך צו מײַן געזאַנג 

Listen up close and try to follow along 

Hert zikh tsu kinderlekh, tsu vos ikh aykh zing (Listen kiddos, to what I sing)

הערט זיך צו קינדערלעך צו װאָס איך אײַך זינג

Listen really close so you don’t miss a thing

Ay ay ay—put your hands on your head 

Point to something that’s red 

Ay, ay, ay—leyg di hent afn kop (Put your hands on your head)

לײג די הענט אױפֿן קאָפּ

Now wiggle both your hands around until I say stop…. Stop! 

Ay, ay--Patsht mit di hent! (Clap your hands) 

פּאַטש מיט די הענט

Ay, ay--Nokh finf mol oyb ir kent! (Five more times if you can) 

נאָך פֿינף מאָל אױב איר קענט

Ay, ay--Leygt di hent af di kni (Put your hands on your knees) 

לײג די הענט אױף די קני

Ay, ay--Point your hands towards me 

When I say bim bum, stick out your thumb 

Biddy biddy bim bum, don’t ask me how come 

When I say yada-day, reach your hands way up high 

Yada-dada-da-dye, all the way to the sky 

Ay, ay, ay— af eyn fus tu a shprung (Jump on one foot) 

אױף אײן פֿוס טו אַ שפּרונג

Itst shtek aroys di tsung (Now stick out your tongue) 

איצט שטעק אַרױס די צונג

Ay, ay, ay—put your hands on your hips 

Put one finger to your lips. Shhh! 

Ay, ay, ay—put your hands on your shoe 

Ay, ay, ay— point to something that’s blue 

Leyg di hent af der podloge (Put your hands on the floor) 

לײג די הענט אױף דער פּאָדלאָגע

Stick one foot in the air, now you’re doing some yoga 

Ay da da dye, close only just one eye 

It’s kinda hard to do, but I bet you can if you try

Ay da da dye—put your hands in your lap 

Ay da da dye—now get them ready to clap !

The unmetered prelude to this tune is styled after the opening lines often chanted by badkhonim, a traditional Jewish wedding jester who sings improvised rhymes to lead the community through the complexities of the old-world wedding ceremony. 

The next section in this set is a hora collected by Jewish ethnographer Mosei Beregovski around 1916 from musicians around the area of Kyiv, Ukraine. His handwritten documents were preserved in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine and in 2020 digitized by volunteers working with the The Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project to be made available again to practitioners of Ashkenazi creative arts. 

The ending tune--the clapping section--is a bulgar dance tune learned from clarinetist Margot Leverett, who learned it from her mentor, Sid Beckerman, in New York. The Beckerman family came to the US from Zhytomyr, Ukraine, and brought a beautiful repertoire of Yiddish dance music with them.  This tune is still played in different versions by musicians of various ethnic groups throughout Southern Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.

Try it out: Toddlers can follow along with the “Simon Says”- style movements that are called out in English and Yiddish and caretakers of even littler kids can help them or model the motions. 

Participatory songs like this one help children understand that live music is something that we do together as an active audience, and can signal a different context from the recorded music which is often playing in the background. The singer leads by demonstration, so by the first few movements the Yiddish instructions are clear to those who are new to the language. This form of comprehensible input coupled with participation supports the acquisition of passive language skills.

Plant a World of Trees

אַ װעלט מיט בײמער

A Velt Mit Beymer

Ay Ay, dig with a shovel. Ay ay, dig it double 

Sprinkle some compost everywhere 

Then pick up the heavy tree and set it there 

Now shovel some dirt back on the roots 

Stomp it down with your heavy boots 

Now everybody join up hands with me 

Let’s dance around the baby tree

A yeder yor kheydesh shvat (Every year in the month of Shvat) 

אַ יעדער יאָר חודש שבֿט

Punkt in mitn akurat (Right smack in the middle of the month) 

פּונקט אין מיטן אַקוראַט

A nayer yor far beym un blat (It’s a New Year for each tree and leaf) 

אַ נײַער יאָר פֿאַר בײם און בלאַט

Let’s have a feast, kumt kinder, nat! (Here, have one!) 

קומט קינדער, נאַט

Mit der lopete, makh a lokh (With the shovel, dig a hole) 

מיט דער לאָפּעטע, מאַך אַ לאָך

Ay ay, tifer nokh (Ay, ay, make the hole deeper!) 

אײַ, אײַ, טיפֿער נאָך

Mitn gantsn keyekh, heyb uf dem beym (With all your strength, lift up the tree)

מיטן גאַנצן כּוח, הײב אױף דעם בײם

Zets im delikat in zayn nayer heym (And set him gently down in his new home)

זעץ אים דעליקאַט אין נײַן נײַער הײם

Khap di lopete, breng zi aher (Grab the shovel and bring it here) 

כאַפּ די לאָפּעטע, ברענג זי אַהער

Farshit di vortslen mit a bisl erd (Sprinkle some soil over the roots) 

פֿאַרשיט די װאָרצלען מיט אַ ביסל ערד

Itst tupet mit di fis inem nayem sod (Now stomp your feet in the new orchard)

איצט טופּעט מיט די פֿיס אינעם נײַעם סאָד

S’blaybt nor tsu tantsn a karahod (All that’s left to do is to dance around in a ring) 

ס'בלײַבט נאָר צו טאַנצן אַ קאַראַהאָד

Oy gikher kinder lomir tantsn (Faster, children, let’s all dance) 

אױ גיכער קינדער לאָמיר טאַנצן

A velt mit beymer lomir flantsn (Let us plant a world with trees) 

אַ װעלט מיט בײמער לאָמיר פֿלאַנצן

Volt ikh a fidl nor gehat (If I only had a fiddle) 

װאָלט איך אַ פֿידל נאָר געהאַט

Volt ikh opgeshpilt a vivat, far ale beymer tu b’shvat!  (I would play a special fanfare for all the trees on their special day) 

װאָלט איך אָפּגעשפּילט אַ װיװאַט פֿאַר אַלע בײמער ט”ו בשבֿט

Ay Ay, we’re not finished yet

Let’s water the ground til it’s good and wet

Make sure the water gets down on the roots

So the tree can grow big and make some fruits 

Now if you would like a fig or a pear 

I brought a basket a fruit to share 

Come and pick up the one you’d like 

Now take a big old juicy bite 

Far di beymer s’iz Roshhashone (For the trees it’s a brand new year) 

פֿאַר די בײמער ס'איז ראָש־השנה

in kheydesh shvat ba der fuler levone (In the month of Shvat by the full moon’s light)

אין חודש שבֿט בײַ דער פֿולער לבֿנה

Oy gikher kinder lomir tantsn (Faster, children, let’s all dance) 

אױ גיכער קינדער לאָמיר טאַנצן

A velt mit beymer lomir flantsn (Let us plant a world with trees) 

אַ װעלט מיט בײמער לאָמיר פֿלאַנצן

This is a Yiddish adaptation of “Mândru zice cetera,“ which was recorded by Maria Butaciu for Electrecord Records in Romania in the 1990’s. Accompanied by master lăutari musicians Marin Bunea and his Taraf de Chișinău in Chișinău, Moldova, who added their own direction to the upbeat instrumental sections.

This song leads the kids through play motions of planting a tree, watering it in, picking out an imaginary fruit from a basket, taking a juicy bite, and dancing together in a circle.  It was composed by request of preschool teachers to provide participatory songs for the celebration of Tu BiShvat (Jewish New Year of the Trees).

Spin around like a Dreydl

חנוּכּה איז פֿרײלעך

Khanike iz Freylekh

Khanike iz freylekh, khanike iz sheyn (Hanukkah is happy, Hanukkah is fun)

חנוּכה איז פרײלעך, חנוּכה איז שײן

Khanike iz yontif far groys un far kleyn (Hanukkah is a holiday for big and small alike)

חנוּכה איז יום טוב פאַר גרױס און פאַר קלײן

A khanike lempl mit likhtelekh akht (A Hannukah menorah with eight lights)

א חנוּכה לעמפּל מיט ליכטעלעך אַכט

Tsindt men di likhtelekh a nakht nokh a nakht (The candles are lit one night after the other)

צינדט מען די ליכטעלעך אַ נאַכט נאָך אַ נאַכט

Likhtelekh un dreydl un khanike gelt (Candles and dreydl and Hanukkah money)

ליכטעלעך און דרײדל און חנוּכה געלט

Khanike yontif af der gantser velt (Hanukkah is a holiday over the whole world)

חנוּכה יום-טוב אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

S’iz yontif bay yidn af der gantser velt (It’s a Jewish holiday all around the world)

ס‘ איז יום-טוב בײַ ייִדן אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Now spin around like a dreydl, spin around like a top! 

Spin around like a dreydl, until I say, “Stop!” 

Spin around like a dreydl, spinning in the breeze. 

Spin around like a dreydl, until I say, “Freeze!” 

Spin around like a dreydl, spin just a little bit more. 

Spin around like a dreydl, and fall down on the floor! 

Likhtlekht un dreydl un khanike gelt (Candles and candy Hanukkah money and dreydls getting twirled)

ליכטעלעך און דרײדל און חנוּכה געלט

Khanike iz yontif af der gantser velt  (Hanukkah is a holiday all across the world)

חנוּכה איז יום-טוב אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Eight happy days and nights, af der gantser velt!  (All across the world)

Hanukkah is a happy time, Hanukkah is fun 

Hanukkah is a holiday for everyone 

A Hanukkah menorah, with eight little lights 

Put them in the window to light up the night 

Likhtlekh and dreydls, and khanike gelt (Candles and candy Hanukkah money and dreydls getting twirled)

ליכטעלעך און דרײדל און חנוּכה געלט

Hannukah is a happy time af der gantser velt  (Hanukkah is a holiday all across the world)

אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Eight happy days and nights af der gantser velt (All across the world)

אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Now everybody get ready to spin around like a dreydl, spin around like a top!

Spin around like a dreydl, until I say, “Stop!” 

Spin around like a dreydl, as fast or as slow as you please. 

Spin around like a dreydl, until I say, “Freeze!” 

Spin around like a dreydl, spin just a little bit more. 

Spin around like a dreydl, and fall down on the floor! 

Likhtlekht un dreydl, and khanike gelt, (Candles and candy Hanukkah money and dreydls getting twirled)\

ליכטעלעך און דרײדל און חנוּכה געלט

Khanike iz yontif af der gantser velt (Hanukkah is a holiday all across the world)

חנוּכה איז יום-טוב אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Eight happy days and nights, af der gantser velt! (All across the world)

אױף דער גאַנצער װעלט

Jordan learned this Yiddish Hannukah song from Moishe Katsov, a refugee from Kiev, Ukraine who came to live in Overland Park, Kansas; the English adaptation and spinning game were created in conjunction with preschoolers. Accompanied by Taraf de Chisinau: Marin Bunea (violin), Vladislav Tanas (tsimbl), Ion Croitor (upright bass), and Mihai Sorocan (accordion).