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In "Der Golem" of Gustav Meyrink, Schemajah Hillel says:

Einen Augenblick versank er in Nachdenken, und ich hörte ihn einen hebräischen Satz murmeln: »Lischuosècho Kiwisi Adoschem.«

In the Ukrainian translation there's an explanation: I hope for your help, God!

But I can't find those words anywhere to check if it really means what is said in Ukrainian translation.

It says in the novel that it's a Hebrew sentence. It might also be Yiddish, as it is a saying of the rabbi said in the Prague Jewish ghetto. Where should I look for this expression?

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    Is this on topic ? – Dr. Shmuel Mar 20 at 21:01
  • @Dr.Shmuel there's a tag "sources," that's why I thought that it should be. I didn't know where else to ask such a question. – P. Vowk Mar 20 at 21:03
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    @P.Vowk Asking for sources is definitely allowed, but only if it can be demonstrated that what you're looking for is not only Hebrew but also Jewish, which your question, as asked, lacks. – DonielF Mar 21 at 1:39
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    Welcome to MiYodeya P and thanks for this first question. Great to have you learn with us! – mbloch Mar 21 at 3:51
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The original words are from Bereishis (Genesis) 49:18:

לִֽישׁוּעָתְךָ֖ קִוִּ֥יתִי יְהוָֽה

Which literally means:

"For your salvation do I wait, O Lord."

The words are Hebrew, not Yiddish. The book in question is obviously transliterating the words using an Ashkenazic method. In English one might transliterate the phrase "Lishu'asecha Kevisi Adonoy". "Adoschem" (Adoshem) would be a euphemism for the Divine Name, which is pronounced "Adonoy".

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  • thanks, didn't think of changing "sin" to "tav" in Hebrew. I thought that the problem was in the "kivisi" with "kaf" or "kuf" and "vav" or "bet". – P. Vowk Mar 20 at 21:04
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    I think it's worth noting that Adoschem is a euphemism for אדני ("Lord") which is in turn a euphemism for the יהוה written in the verse – b a Mar 20 at 21:47
  • @ba would fit in the answer, right. I got it, but there are people who don't know Hebrew. – P. Vowk Mar 20 at 22:11
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    @DonielF Actually, that "prohibition" is only found in the Kitzur, and it's a debate whether or not it's problematic at all. It seems to be the opinion of Rav Ganzfried. – ezra Mar 21 at 3:54
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    @ezra, that is wrong, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch is just quoting the The Taz (O.C. 621 s.k. 2 at the end) beta.hebrewbooks.org/tursa.aspx?a=oc_x2984 – Yishai Mar 22 at 17:10

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