"GOODBYE ODESSA" - YIDDISH SONG - "Proshchay Odessa" / "Прощай, Одесса" - יהדות אוקראינה

The history of the Jews in Ukraine goes back over a thousand years. Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century) and developed many of the most distinctive modern Jewish theological and cultural traditions such as Hasidism. According to the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish community in Ukraine constitutes the third-largest Jewish community in Europe and the fifth-largest in the world.
While at times it flourished, at other times the Jewish community faced periods of persecution and antisemitic discriminatory policies. In the Ukrainian People's Republic, Yiddish was a state language along with Ukrainian and Russian. At that time the Jewish National Union was created and the community was granted an autonomous status. Yiddish was used on Ukrainian currency in 1917-1920. Before World War II, a little under one-third of Ukraine's urban population consisted of Jews who were the largest national minority in Ukraine. Ukrainian Jews are comprised by a number of sub-groups, including Ashkenazi Jews, Mountain Jews, Bukharan Jews, Crimean Karaites, Krymchak Jews and Georgian Jews.
In the westernmost area of Ukraine, Jews were mentioned for the first time in 1030. An army of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars massacred and took into captivity numerous Jews, Roman Catholics and Uniate Christians in 1648-49. Recent estimates range from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand Jews killed or taken captive, and 300 Jewish communities totally destroyed. During the 1821 anti-Jewish riots in Odessa after the death of the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Constantinople, 14 Jews were killed. Some sources claim this episode as the first pogrom. At the start of 20th century, anti-Jewish pogroms continued to occur. When part of the Russian Empire in 1911 to 1913, the antisemitic attitudes can be seen in the number of blood libel cases. In 1915, the government expelled thousands of Jews from the Empire's border areas.
During the 1917 Russian Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War, an estimated 31,071 Jews were killed during 1918-1920. During the establishment of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917-21), pogroms continued to be perpetrated on Ukrainian territory. In Ukraine, the number of civilian Jews killed during the period was between 35 and 50 thousand. Pogroms erupted in January 1919 in the northwest province of Volhynia and spread to many other regions of Ukraine. Massive pogroms continued until 1921. The actions of the Soviet government by 1927 led to a growing antisemitism in the area.
Total civilian losses during World War II and German occupation in Ukraine are estimated at seven million, including over a million Jews shot and killed by the Einsatzgruppen and by their many local Ukrainian supporters in the western part of Ukraine. Ukraine had 840,000 Jews in 1959, a decrease of almost 70% from 1941 (within Ukraine's current borders). Ukraine's Jewish population declined significantly during the Cold War. In 1989, Ukraine's Jewish population was only slightly more than half of what it was thirty years earlier (in 1959). The majority of the Jews who remained in Ukraine in 1989 left Ukraine and moved to other countries (mostly to Israel) in the 1990s during and after the collapse of Communism. Antisemitic graffiti and violence against Jews are still a problem in Ukraine.
"Goodbye Odessa" song:
Vocal: Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk, violin: Daniel Hoffman, clarinet: Ittai Binnun, accordion: Ofer Malchin, contrabass: Yehonatan Levi
record and sound: Ittai Binnun / Lars Sergel, mastering: Marek Walaszek
Oh Odessa, goodbye Odessa,
I will miss you so much,
I will never forget you,
Farewell my friends,
Let's shout together:
Odessa Mama, I love you so much!
This Yiddish-Ukrainian song "Proshchai Odessa" was sung by Pesakh Burstein. I've combined it with a Ukrayinish Kek-Vok (Ukrainian Cakewalk) collected by Yale Strom.

[@kc-wr1ui]

Beautiful! My grandma sings this! From a fellow Jew

[@jorgegoren8614]

Mi abuelo materno en Chile nunca se olvido de su Ucrania nativa.Nacio cuando era imperio ruso bajo el zar Alejandro III. Nos dejó tradiciones y costumbres de comida. Como muchos, se vino joven y solo desde Mikolaiv

[@thomasjaroschinsky9957]

I pray for Odessa 🖤🖤🖤🙏🙏🙏🙏.

[@joalexsg9741]

Одеса - це Україна! Все буде Україна!🙏🙏🙏

[@yolandakozlova4684]

This make me cry.....

[@CRONTARIO11]

Thats what it does :) Klezmer always has a doze of melancoly in itself

[@dzalbs_]

So sad but joyful at the same time💔

[@eduardoborissandler9441]

Mi zeide escuchaba esta canción pero otro intérprete, apenas la puse la recordé en el acto, la vez anterior fue hace 60 años, quedó grabada en aquel niño y resurgió hoy...

[@damirpahljinamd5775]

Just to know who's Odessa was.Pefect.Crying with this song.Love it.Love Klezmer.

[@Ash-pm1ir]

i believe the song is actually about Odesa, a city in ukraine that had a bustling jewish community in the early 1900s. most jews in Odesa fled before the start of ww2, likely including the person who created the song (hence the name goodbye odessa)

[@nikiphoross]

@@Ash-pm1ir Odessa wasn't in Ukraine at that time. Notable, this Yiddish-Russian song talks about Ivan and Vodka and garmoshka and even Volga river, but no word about Ukraine. Poor Odessites of the early 20th century, they didn't know they would live in this country). Poor Odessa, now your soul, your unique Russian/Jewish heritage is lost forever... Indeed, 'Goodbye Odessa'

[@catherinegaudin5953]

J'adore, j'adore, j'adore!!!!!!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡♡

[@sarahgoethe2863]

A passenger steamer came to Odessa late in the evening A lot of happy people came to greet it We're going to party, drink and have fun all night long And all sailors will sing together Odessa, you are my favorite city Odessa, you are my native city Odessa, I've been everywhere There's nothing lovelier then you I'll return soon, don't cry my Marusenka You know, such is the life of a sailor10 Today you greet him, tomorrow you say goodbye to him But still we'll drink together

[@csabanevancsa9963]

♥️♥️ Gyönyörű!

[@adamjanowitz870]

És egyben kesernyés is, ám minden fájdalma ellenére vidám és reményteli

[@friedolin1263]

Someone says "O sole mio" to be born in Odessa. I love BeeGees' "Odessa" that I listened as child.

[@yalestrom1449]

This tune Ukrainish Kek-Wok (Ukrainian Cake-Walk) actually comes from a Stoliner Khusid I met in the early 1980s in Boro Park, Brooklyn. It was part of his gig book that he gave me a copy of and it is the only copy existing today. The original was lost. He said a fellow Stoliner Khusid had visited America before WW I and came home with this tune. It is a cake -walk, a dance most likely created by slaves in the South who mocked through dance their plantation owners who strutted walking with a prized cake after winning some kind of contest. The gig book is dated 1906-1921. This will be published along with my notes and other tunes sometime late 2025 by Or-Tav Publishers.

[@SGOV86]

This song wants to make clap and dance.👏🕺🏾

[@LuftMensz]

go ahead! 😄😊👍

[@user-vm6ru9kn8q]

L'chaim😄

[@LuftMensz]

😊🤗😃

[@friedolin1263]

Cheerful despite the sadness of the escape

[@user-jo2gf4em6b]

Those who escaped were the lucky ones. And it's not really cheerful-that's what makes it so attractive

[@daliborzita6020]

Does anyone has the lyrics to this song? It seems to be partially russian partially jiddish...

[@yup9136]

Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса און נאָך דיר װעל איך בענקען, мама ты моя! Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса און נאָך דיר װעל איך בענקען, горе не беда! Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса Прощайте вы ребята, Кричите все ура! מיר װעלן זיך טוען װי אַלע בורזשוּיען Эх, Одесса-мама, я люблю тебя איר װאָלט דאָס גיך געפֿלױגן נאָר שטײט עס פֿאַר די אױגן אַרטיסטע מאָלדאָװאַנקע מיט דער גאַנצער כאָר עס גײען מיט די קראַלען די שײנינקע מאַמזעלן אין די טראַקטירן טרינקט מען זיך דעם טשײַ יאַטל האָנאָראָװי אױסגעפּוצט פֿראַנטאָװי די װאָנצעלע פֿאַרדרײט און די טשובטשיקן נאַ באָק כלעבן קװאַס דערטרינקט מען נאַלײ נאָך דאָרט זינגט מען אין די גאַסן טאַנצט מען русский казачок Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса און נאָך דיר װעל איך בענקען, мама ты моя! Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса און נאָך דיר װעל איך בענקען, горе не беда! Эх, Одесса, прощай Одесса Прощайте вы ребята, Кричите все ура! מיר װעלן זיך טוען װי אַלע בורזשוּיען Эх, Одесса-мама, я люблю тебя פֿלײַסיק נאָך דיר בענקען שטענדיק נאָך דיר דענקען דיך, אָדעסאַ מאַמאַ, פֿאַרגעסן װעל איך נישט טרינקט זיך נאָך דער װאָדקע פֿאַרבײַסט מיט אַ סיעליאָדקע און אױף די גאַנצע גלאָטקע זינגן זיך אַ ליד! די שיקסעס אױפֿן שליטן, װאַנקע זיצט אין מיטן, ער שפּילט אױף דער גאַרמאָשקע “Волга ты моя” די שיקסעס אַ מחיה די ליבע איז אַ פֿרײַע Эх, Одесса-мама, я люблю тебя!

[@daliborzita6020]

@@yup9136 I love you

[@daliborzita6020]

@@yup9136 Thank you so much. I love this song. I really wanted to learn it and sing it. I am happy you posted the lyrics!

[@yup9136]

@@daliborzita6020 You‘re welcome! :) I hope you have a nice day and have fun learning it!

[@nikiphoross]

Notable, in this Yiddish-Russian song talks about Ivan and Vodka and garmoshka and even Volga river, but no word about Ukraine. Poor Odessites of the early 20th century, they didn't know they would live in this country). Poor Odessa, now your soul, your unique Russian/Jewish heritage is lost forever... Indeed, 'Goodbye Odessa'

[@kalamarisplokamias2683]

Lyrics please

[@tommypotts1838]

every face looks like mine, and Goodby Columbus

[@priadman]

Привіт

[@LuftMensz]

shalom 🌞🙏🌞 hi there ♥️

[@dimsdims8375]

Has anyone found the lyrics yet?

[@1jediwitch]

Слава Україні!

[@kiwiemma6068]

Вы уверены, что этот омерзительный бандеровский лозунг уместен для видео о евреях? Сколько евреев было зверски уничтожено вашими " славаукраинцами"? Совесть и эмпатию совсем потеряли в своем патриотическом угаре? Петлюре ещё зигани .

[@nikiphoross]

кто о чём, а вшивый о бане

[@oljahaverjuka4623]

Lyrics please