On Singing and Scooting

FF's gan is about three-quarters of a mile from our house. Until about two weeks ago, I took FF to and from gan either on my electric scooter or by bus. Recently, however, we acquired a scooter for FF, so he and I scoot to gan together on our respective scooters. I like this arrangement: it's cheaper and more relaxing than going by bus, and it's safer and more relaxing than giving him a ride on my electric scooter. 

Lately, we started singing as we go. On one ride we sang "The Ants Go Marching One by One;" on the next ride we sang "אחד מי יודע" [Who Knows One"]. 

Yesterday morning, FF requested "Chad Gadya." I started in Aramaic, but quickly switched to Hebrew, because FF doesn't understand Aramaic. Sure enough, a few lines into the Hebrew version, FF said, "Hey, I know this story! It's about the Mitzri [Egyptian] and the Jew talking!" That sounds like something BSM said at the Pesach Seder last year. Nice.

We sang "Chad Gadya," (or more accurately, its Hebrew on-the-fly-translation by Yours Truly, "G'di Echad") a few times over the course of the day, including at dinner, during which Husbinator and BSM supplied the traditional sound effects. (The Abba's sound effects were cleverly and humorously provided by Husbinator as, "Keep your feet in front of your chair!" "Have another bite of food!") During dinner, BSM also spontaneously told us that really "Chad Gadya" is a story about a Mitzri and a Jew having a theological debate about who (or Who) the True G-d is. 

This morning on our way to gan, FF requested "Chad Gadya" in "Aravit" [Arabic]. I smiled and told him that I'd sing it in Aramit [Aramaic], instead. 

I started singing, but I paused almost immediately to translate both "ואתא" [and came] and "שונרא" [cat] for him. Heroically, I sang all the way through the lines about the Dog and the Stick without stopping to traslate. FF independently supplied all of the correct noises. 

Then I broke down and stopped to translate "נורא," [fire] because that is just such a useful and delightful word. 

(The sheer number of other words in both Hebrew and Aramaic which are related to either light or fire and have a nun and a resh! The stories that open up when you realize that Rabbi Meir [light, Heb.] and Rabbi Nehurai [light, Ar.] might very well be the same person! Oh, and speaking of light and Rabbi Meir, remember that story I like about light and goodness? Yup, that's a story about Rabbi Meir [light] waiting for the light. But I digress.) 

FF blew me away with his response to the information that נורא means fire. "Oh," he shot back, "like תנור [oven]!" I never thought of that, but it sounds eminently reasonable, as the Mishna talks about clay ovens [תנור] that cook food using the heat of fires lit inside. I congratulated FF on a connection well-made, and I continued singing.

And now that I sit down to type up this little story, would you look at that? The Wikipedia entry for "Tandoor" absolutely supports FF's theory.

The English word [Tandoor] comes from Urdu tandūr, which came from Persian tanūr (تَنور) or (تَندور), which all mean (clay) oven. According to the Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary, the Persian word ultimately came from the Akkadian word tinūru (𒋾𒂟), which consists of the parts tin "mud" and nuro/nura "fire" and is mentioned as early as in the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh...

Nice.