A Day of Rest in Venice, Noah, and a Song

Saturday, October 17, 2015

We slept in on Shabbat morning, and after breakfast we wandered the city and did some shopping.  A couple of things stand out, first that there are many shops selling masks to be used at Carnival:

Next, I must send a photo of the floods in St. Mark’s Square:

The drainage is poor, and at high tide the piazza is about ½ flooded so that you have to make significant detours to get from one place to another.  After a heavy rain the water can be 12-14 inches deep all over the piazza, and people wear plastic booties which reach the knees!  In addition, they place elevated walkways around the square.  Clearly drainage is not good which makes one worry about the sewers.  But maybe we shouldn’t think about that.

The Parsha this week was Noah, and we met at 5:00 to study, reviewing a writing of Elijah Ben Amozegh (1822-1900), "Noahide Law — Noahism As A Religion”.  We then broke into five groups, each of which had a selection from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice with Shylock as a prominent role in the selection.  Each group studied the lines, and then each group reported on Shylock’s perception of the Venetians, the Venetians perception of Shylock, and what Shakespeare was trying to accomplish.  It was both fun and very challenging.

We then had a surprise.  Haim taught us a popular Venetian song which “everyone” knows just like our children know camp songs, the words of which will resonate with those of us who celebrate Passover.  I’ll post them below in translation.  After this merry introduction to a very special kind of crossover music we went out for a lovely dinner.

AT THE EASTERN FAIR

For two coins my father bought a mouse. 

And the cat came that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the dog came that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the stick* came (*also cane or club) That hit/beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market.At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the fire came that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the water came that put out the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse. 

And the bull came that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the butcher came who killed the bull that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And the Angel of Death on the butcher who killed the bull that drank the water which extinguished the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.

And finally the Lord on the Angel of Death on the butcher who killed the bull that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate up the mouse that my father bought at the market. At the Eastern Fair for two coins my father bought a mouse.