Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/Aeolus/118


Annotations

edit

that brought us out of the land of Egypt and into the house of bondage     Bloom misremembers (or is he being intentionally ironic?) a phrase that occurs several times in the Haggadah, the text Jews recite at the start of the feast of Passover, when they celebrate the events recounted in the Book of Exodus.[1] The words are taken from Exodus 13:3 and 13:14.[2]

alleluia     (Latin) Praise God![3] This is the usual Latin form of the Hebrew command Hallelu Yah, or Hallelujah. The word occurs several times in the Haggadah, which Jews read during the celebration of Passover.

Shema Israel Adonai Elohenu     (Hebrew) Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God.[4] These are the opening words of Deuteronomy 6:4, the Hebrew prayer known as the Shema or Shema Yisrael.[5] This Judaic confession of faith is recited twice a day, morning and evening, by orthodox Jews as part of their daily prayer services. The Hebrew word Adonai (Lord) is substituted for the Bible's YHWH, which is never pronounced.

No, that's the other     Bloom correctly remembers that the Shema is not part of the Jewish Passover ritual.

References

edit
  1. Gifford (1988) 132.
    Thornton (1968) 110.
  2. Exodus 13:3 and Exodus 13:14.
  3. Gifford (1988) 132.
    Thornton (1968) 110.
  4. Gifford (1988) 132.
    Thornton (1968) 110.
  5. Deuteronomy 6:4.
Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses
Preceding Page | Page Index | Next Page