תוספת בתים למעוז צור | Supplemental stanzas to Maoz Tsur with regard to the present exile, by Rabbi Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi

Shared on:

18 December 2025 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Ḥanukkah

Tags:

17th century C.E., 55th century A.M., combating anti-Jewish oppression, Jewish-Christian relations, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, particularism and universalism, פיוטים piyyuṭim, polemic

These are two supplemental stanzas for Maoz Tsur with regard to the present exile, written by Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi (ca. 1625-1681, author of the Qitsur SheLaH), as compiled in the Kitzur Shnei Luḥot haBrit, a controversial yet influential work by Ashkenazi published in 1683. He introduced the stanzas as follows: “יען כי קראתי ושניתי וראיתי כי כל בעלי השיר יוצאים בשיר ושבח לאל יתברך שעשה נסים לאבותינו ולנו, על כן אמרתי קטן כמוני עושין אותו סניף לשרים כאלו וארים קולי בשיר והודאה על העבר ואתפלל על העתיד בשם אל שדי שיאמר לצרותינו די” (“Since I read and learned and saw that all these master-singers come out in song and praise to the blessed God who did miracles for our ancestors and for us, thus I said ‘even a little one such as me can be an adjunct to singers such as these’ and I raised my voice in song and thanksgiving for the past and to pray for the future in the name of El Shaddai (the God Delimiter), who says to our troubles, “Enough!”).

Source (Hebrew)

Translation (English)

שַׁדַּי לָמָּה כְּאַלְמָנָה
תַּֽחַת יַד הָאַדְמוֹנִי
רְאֵה כַּמֶּה לוֹחֵץ וּמוֹנֶה
ע֥וֹד מְעַ֖ט וּסְקָלֻֽנִי
בְּנוֹקֶמְךָ כְּבִימֵי מַתִּתְיָֽהוּ
רַבִּים יִרְאוּ וְיִתְמַֽהוּ
שְׁלַח עֵֽזֶר נוֹשֵׂא נֵֽזֶר מָשִֽׁיחַ וְאֵלִיָּהוּ׃

Delimiter, why, like a widow
under the hand of the Idumean?
See how he oppresses and deceives;
only a bit more and they will be stoning me!
In Your vengeance, as in the days of Mattathias,
the many saw and were amazed.
Send help, raise the crown of the Messiah and Elijah!

חַזֵּק קִרְיַת מוֹעֲדֶיךָ
וְקָרֵב יוֹם הַנֶּחָמָה
וְקַבֵּץ צֹאן יְדִידֶיךָ
וְיָצְאוּ בְּיָד רָמָה
גָּרֵשׁ אֶת בֶּן הָאָמָה
וְהַר שֵׂעִיר תָּשִׂים שְׁמָמָה
הַכְרִיתֵם וְהַצְמִיתֵם
וְיוֹדוּךָ כׇּל־מַלְכֵי אֲדָמָה׃

Strengthen the town of Your festivals,
and bring close the day of comfort,
and gather Your beloved sheep,
to go out with a high hand.
Expel the handmaid’s son,
and make Mt. Seir a waste;
cut them down and wipe them out,
and all the kings of the earth will acknowledge You.

Notes

Notes
1	Edom, referring to Christianity
2	Numbers 17:4
3	Note that Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi was a Sabbatean, so probably by this he specifically refers to Shabbatai Tsvi and Nathan of Ŋaza.
4	Ishmael, referring to Islam
5	Referring to Christianity

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also translates and authors his own original works.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi

Yehiel Michel ben Avraham Epstein Ashkenazi (יחיאל מיכל בן אברהם עפשטיין אשכנזי), also known as Jeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein (Hebrew: יחיאל מיכל סג"ל עפשטיין) was a Sabbatean writer and ethicist who lived in the 17th century. In 1683, Yehiel Michel published Qitsur Shnei Luḥot haBrit also known as the Qitsur SheLaH, written after the style of Isaiah Horowitz's Shnei Luḥot haBrit (1648). A second edition, with numerous additions, and containing extracts from current ethical works, was published fifteen years later at Fürth, and a third edition with even more material was published in Amsterdam (1723). Unfortunately, nothing is known of his career. Jacob Emden publicized the Sabbatean nature of the work in his Torat Qinna'ot (1752) and explicit references to Shabbtai Tsvi were excised from subsequent editions. The Qitsur SheLaH is notable for introducing many mystical and liturgical traditions, always citing them, however, to manuscripts supposedly in the author's possession. Yehiel Michel also published Yiddish works, including Derekh ha-yashar le-olam haba, and has been called a "champion of Yiddish".

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