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2024 —⟶ Page 21 This is a poetic Birkat haMazon for Pesaḥ, from the Cairo Geniza (CUL T-S H11.88 1v). Much thanks to the work of Dr. Avi Shmidman, whose 2009 doctoral thesis is the foundational work for poetic Birkat haMazon studies. He marks it as Piyyut 64, and his Hebrew-language commentary begins on page 394 of his work. I’ve included two translations of the poetic portions — one literal and one preserving the acrostic and rhyme scheme. . . . Categories: Barekh שנוי השם | Shinui ha-Shem, the healing ritual via name-change as reconstructed from “Sefer Toldot Adam v-Ḥava” by Rabbeinu YeruḥamA ritual for changing a name of a sick person. This text is recorded in abridged form in Rabbeinu Yeruḥam’s 14th-century work “Sefer Toldot Adam v-Ḥava,” but is almost certainly substantially older than that considering he credits it to the Geonim. Rabbeinu Yeruḥam doesn’t include the text in its entirety, assuming familiarity with the “מְצָלְאִין אֲנַֽחְנָא” opening to prayers. This text is not, to my knowledge, commonly used in any modern rites, but I found a 15th-century Italian siddur here with a prayer that begins with the same formula in full. . . . Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving Tabula Smaragdina (The Emerald Tablet) in Arabic and Judeo-Arabic, with Hebrew and English translationsThe Tabula Smaragdina, or the Emerald Tablet, is a cryptic and compact work, part of the Technical Hermetica — a genre of mystical and magical texts of great popularity in the medieval and renaissance era. Traditionally attributed to the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus, it is considered a foundational text for Near Eastern and European alchemy. It is the ultimate source of the popular occultist expression “as above, so below,” although that specific expression doesn’t appear in the original Arabic text as found in the ninth-century Secret of Creation. . . . Categories: Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets Tags: 46th century A.M., 9th century C.E., entering magical territory, Hermes Trismegistus, Magic, magical recipes, ritual power Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) Schedule for the Reading of Psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Tractate SoferimThis is the schedule for the reading of psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Tractate Soferim 18:2-3 and 19:2. . . . The Words of Gad the Augur is a lost work mentioned in I Chronicles 29:29. It is also an apocryphal Hebrew work of fourteen chapters, attributed to the Jews of Cochin in India. Most famous for its unique verse for the letter נ (nūn) in its variant of Psalms 145, this text also features multiple unique midrashim, reworked Biblical texts, and Hebrew forms and names not found elsewhere. . . . Tags: angelology, אשרי Ashrei, derivative work, Life of David HaMelekh, Nusaḥ Cochin, prophetic revelation Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Unknown Azalat Yokheved is part of a whole genre of midrashic works suggesting Yokheved lived to see her son die — a concept even found in the Ethiopian literature. With repeated refrains, it emphasizes the desperate search of a mother trying to find her son, retracing all her steps and desperately asking everyone she can. But just as Moshe’s journey to the Promised Land ends without a conclusion, so too Yokheved never finds her Moshe. It’s been translated preserving monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (2018), it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . . Tags: 45th century A.M., 7th century C.E., Aramaic, Mosheh Rabbenu, mourning, Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael, פיוטים piyyuṭim, קינות Ḳinōt Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) Azalat Bekhita, is probably incomplete, extending only to ḥeth in known manuscripts. It features multiple people, places, and things important in Moshe’s life taking turns to eulogize him. It’s been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (2018), it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . . Tags: 45th century A.M., 7th century C.E., acrostic, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, Mosheh Rabbenu, mourning, Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael, פיוטים piyyuṭim, קינות Ḳinōt Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) אֲמַר קִירִיס לְמֹשֶׁה | Amar Kiris l-Mosheh, a lamentation on the death of Mosheh (SYAP 40, ca. 7th c.)Amar Kiris l-Moshe, is a midrashic narrative of Moshe going to Adam to ask why he cursed humanity with death. It’s been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s “Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity,” it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . . Tags: 45th century A.M., 7th century C.E., acrostic, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, Mosheh Rabbenu, mourning, Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael, פיוטים piyyuṭim, קינות Ḳinōt Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) תָּנוּן שְׁבָחֵיהּ | Tanun Shvaḥeih (Tell the Praise) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of PesaḥThis piyyut, Tanun Shvaḥeih (Tell the Praise), the eighth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the Targum of Exodus 15:18, the famous verse “Adonai yimlokh l-‘olam va-‘ed.” The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the Aramaic. . . . Categories: 7th Day of Pesaḥ אַעֲדִיף כׇּל־שְׁמוֹנָה | A’adif Kol Shmona — Qerovot and Qedushtah for Ḥanukkah, by El’azar biRabbi QallirThe poetic genre known as ḳerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar biRabbi Qallir’s Purim “Qrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, and this one is by the same author! The weekday qerovot cycle for Ḥanukkah, retelling the story of the Greek oppression using intricate poetic language. Included within is a qedushtah that instructs us on some of the halakhic requirements for the Ḥanukkah lights. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah יחץ (מנהג גרבא) | Liturgical Additions for Yaḥats, in the practice of the Jewish community of DjerbaIn many communities, the practice of Yaḥats, or breaking the matsah before maggid, is done with liturgical and ritual additions. The additions included here are one practice out of many variants as found in the practice of Djerba, the island off the coast of Tunisia. . . . Categories: Yaḥats Tags: Djerba, haggadah supplements, Judeo-Arabic, liberation, Mosheh Rabbenu, paraliturgical, Tunisia Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) A quadrilingual text of U-N’taneh Tokef — Yiddish, Ladino, English, and Hebrew. . . . Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) אַצִיתוּ לִי אִילָנַיָּא | Atsitu Li Ilinaya | The Argument of the Trees — a debate-poem for Purim in Aramaic from the Targum SheniThis Aramaic poem, written in the early Byzantine era by an unknown author, can be found in its entirety within the Targum Sheni for Esther 7:9. It features an argument between an assortment of trees over which one is required to bear the great dishonor of having to be the one to hold Haman. It’s also chock-full of anti-Christian polemic and references to Toledot Yeshu. . . . Categories: Purim Tags: acrostic, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, combating anti-Jewish oppression, Jewish-Christian relations, mid-first millennium CE, particularism and universalism, פיוטים piyyuṭim, polemic, Trees Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵֽינוּ | Neniu Estas (נעניו עסטאַס) — an Esperanto translation of “Ein k’Eloheinu” by Isaac Gantwerk MayerThis is an original Esperanto translation of Ein K’Eloheinu, with a transcription using my own original Hebraization schema. . . . רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים אַתָּה צִוִּיתָֽנוּ לְהַקְרִיב | Ribon ha-Olamim atah tsivitanu l’haqriv — let the offering of our lips substitute for animal sacrificeThis is the Ribon ha-Olamim prayer contained within the concluding readings of the Qarbanot section as an introductory preface to the Morning prayers. In most siddurim in which the Karbanot are included, this prayer appears immediately after Ana b’Khoaḥ and before the rules of Midrash Halakhah taught by Rebbi Yishmael. . . . קדיש דרבנן (נוסח ארץ ישראל) | Ḳaddish d’Rabanan variant from the Cairo Geniza (nusaḥ Erets Yisrael, ca. 11th c.)A unique Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael variant of the Qaddish found in the Cairo Geniza, most well known for including the names of the leading rabbis of the community in its text. . . . Categories: Ḳaddish Tags: 11th century C.E., 48th century A.M., Cairo Geniza, קדיש דרבנן Ḳaddish D'Rabanan, Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) The prescribed rabbinic blessing upon observing the meteorological phenomena of a rainbow, together with exceptional art inspired by early rabbinic midrash. . . . הכרזת פסח לפי נוסח איטלייני | the Announcement of Pesaḥ on Shabbat haGadol according to the Italian riteJews all over the world announce the new month on the Shabbat before it with a text known as “birkat ha-ḥodesh” or blessing the month. In many rites, such as the Western Sephardic and Moroccan rites, the fast days 17 Tammuz and 10 Tevet are also announced on the Shabbat before them with a text known as “hazkarat tsomot” or announcing fasts. But to my knowledge, only the Italian rite (and possibly the ancient Eretz Yisrael rite from which much of it derives) have a custom of announcing Pesaḥ on the Shabbat before it. This passage, the Announcement of Pesaḥ (Azcaràd Pesah in Italian traditional pronunciation) is recited on the Shabbat before Pesaḥ, commonly known as Shabbat haGadol (Sciabbàd Aggadòl), after the reading from the Torah. Citing the mystical hekhalot literature, it celebrates the sages who established the rules of the calendar. . . . Categories: Shabbat haGadol Tags: calendar announcements, Italian Jewry, לוח lu'aḥ, Nusaḥ Italḳi, pre-Pesaḥ, Roman minhag, שבת הגדול Shabbat haGadol Contributor(s): Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) and Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) 🗐 The Martyrdom of Isaiah — additional sources for the Jewish core of the work compiled by Isaac Gantwerk MayerAdditional early rabbinic and other sources supplementing the story of the Martyrdom of Isaiah, with attention to Isaiah being granted sanctuary in a tree. . . . Tags: deuterocanonical works, early Judaism, entification, martyrdom, mytho-historical chronicles, parabiblical aggadah, Trees, Yeshayahu Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown [בחודש אייר בראשון] | [On the 1st of Iyyar] — the first psalm of the “Additional Psalms” from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798This is the first of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The first psalm found in this partial manuscript is an acrostic psalm. It is incomplete at the beginning, missing the letters alef and bet. It also shows evidence of the Galilean dialect in the confusion between hei and ḥet, a guttural merger also found in Qumran texts and in Samaritan Hebrew. It largely focuses on the covenant with David and his rule. . . . Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown | ||
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