The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

Dremlen Feygl "Dreaming Birds"

This lullaby comes from the Vilna ghetto. I learned it from Nachtverter ("Night Words"), the awesome and moving play written by David Roskies (who is quoted on neohasid's homepage). The play is subtitled "a midrash on the Holocaust", and it is a weaving of dozens upon dozens of literary, midrashic and Biblical sources along with historical material. I staged this play several times back in the 80's and have not found any better vehicle for observing Yom Hashoah.

The words to this lullaby were written by Leah Rudnicki (pronounced Rudnitzky); the music is by Leyb Yampolski. The source for the English text cites Dina Suller as being "perhaps" the translator. The song was recorded on an iphone, which means the quality is poor and it is barely adequate for the words, but at least you can learn the melody from it. God-willing a better recording will follow when I get new equipment to replace my broken T30. Here are the words, followed by a translation.

Dremlen feygl af di tsvaygn,
Shlof, mayn tayer kind.
Bay dayn vigl, af dayn nare }
Zitst a fremde un zingt: } x2
Lyu-lyu, lyu-lyu, lyu.

S'iz dayn vigl vu geshtanen
Oysgeflokhtn fun glik,
Un dayn mame, oy dayn mame, }
Kumt shoyn keyn mol nit tsurik. } x2
Lyu-lyu, lyu-lyu, lyu.

Kh'hob gezen dayn tatn loyfn
Unter hogl fun shteyn,
Iber felder iz gefloygn }
Zayn faryosemter geveyn. } x2
Lyu-lyu, lyu-lyu, lyu.

Birds are dozing on the branches. Sleep my dear little one.
At your crib on an old wooden bench, a stranger sings to you.
There was a time when your crib was woven out of happiness.
But now your mother, oh, your mother, will never return.
I have seen your father running, under a hail of stones
and his far and lonely wail flew over the fields.

Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006