מרת דולצא: אשת־חיל | Dulcea: A Woman of Valor, an elegy by Eleazar of Worms (ca. 1196)

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Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Ivan G. Marcus (translation) and Eleazar ben Yehudah ben Ḳalonymus of Worms

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Mourning

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12th century C.E., Alphabetic Acrostic, 49th century A.M., Acrostic signature, חסידי אשכנז Ḥasidei Ashkenaz, אשת חיל eshet ḥayil, elegy, firzogerin

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא עטרת בעלה בת נדיבים, אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת־ה׳ המהוללת במעשיה הטובים.	A woman of valor,^[1] Proverbs 31:10 a. her husband’s crown, a daughter of aristocrats,^[2] An alternate opening, “Who can find a woman of valor like my pietist wife, Mistress Dulcia [מרת דולצא]?” is found in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r. A Godfearing Woman,^[3] Proverbs 31:30 b. renowned for her good deeds;
בָּטַח בָּהּ לֵב בַּעְלָהּ האכילתו הלבשתו בכבוד, לישב עִם־זִקְנֵי־אָֽרֶץ תורה ומעשים לזבוד.	Her husband trusts her implicitly,^[4] Proverbs 31:11 a. she fed and clothed him in dignity So he could sit among the elders of the land,^[5] Proverbs 31:23 part. and provide Torah study and good deeds;
גְּמָלַתְהוּ טוֹב וְלֹא־רָע כֹּל יְמֵי היותו עמה, עשתה לה ספרים מעמלה ושמה נעימה.	She always treats him well^[6] Proverbs 31:12 a. throughout their life together; Her labor provides him with books, her very name means “pleasant”;
דָּרְשָׁה צֶמֶר לבן לציצית טוותה בְּחֵפֶץ כַּפֶּיהָ, זָמְמָה לעשות מצוה ויהללוה כל צופיה.	She looked for white wool^[7] Proverbs 31:13 a. with which to make tsitsit, she spun with enthusiasm^[8] Proverbs 31:13 b. ; She foresees^[9] Proverbs 31:16 a. how to do (many) commandments, all who see her praise her;
הָיְתָה כָּאֳנִיּוֹת סוֹחֵר להאכיל בעלה לעסוק בתורה, ראוה בָּנוֹת ויאשרוה כִּי־טוֹב סַחְרָהּ.	She is like the merchant ships^[10] Proverbs 31:14 a. : she feeds her husband (so he can) study Torah; Daughters saw her^[11] cf. Proverbs 31:29a, “many daughters.” and declared her happy, her wares were so fine^[12] Proverbs 31:18 a. ;
וַתִּתֵּן טֶרֶף לְבֵיתָהּ ולחם לנערים, הן כפיה תמכו פלך לטוות חוטים לספרים.	She gives food to her household,^[13] Proverbs 31:15 a. and bread to the boys^[14] Cf. Proverbs 31:15a end, “and a portion to her maidens.” ; See how her hands held the distaff^[15] Proverbs 31:19 b. to spin cords for (binding) books;
זריזה בכל טוותה לתפילין ולמגילות ולס״ת גידים, קלה כצבי לבשל לבחורים לעשות רצון התלמידים.	Zealous in everything (she did), she spun (cords) for (sewing) tefillin and megillot, gut for (stitching together) Torah scrolls; Quick as a deer she cooks for the young men and attends to the students’ needs;
חָגְרָה בְעוֹז מָתְנֶיהָ ותפרה בארבעים ספרי תורה, טבחה טבחה ערכה שלחנה לכל החבורה.	She girded her loins with strength,^[16] Proverbs 31:17 a. and sewed some forty Torah scrolls; She prepared the feast, set the table for all the Fellows;
טָעֲמָה טוֹב קשטה כלות והביאתן לכיבודים, נעימה מרחצת מתים ותפרה להם בגדים.	She adorned brides in good taste^[17] Cf. Proverbs 31:18 a. and brought them in honor;^[18] Hebrew uncertain. It may refer to women escorting the bride from her home to the synagogue. “Pleasant” would bathe the dead, sew their shrouds;
יָדֶיהָ תפרו בגדי תלמידים וספרים קרועים, והנה מעמלה מחלקת להוגי שעשועים.	Her hands^[19] Proverbs 31:19 a. sewed the students’ clothes and torn books; See how she distributes (the fruits of) her labor among Torah scholars;
כַּפָּהּ פָּרְשָׂה לֶעָנִי והאכילה בניה ובנותיה ובעלה, עשתה רצון בוראה בחפץ יומם ולילה.	She extends a hand to the poor^[20] Proverbs 31:20 a. , feeding her boys, daughters and husband; She freely did the will of her Creator, day and night;
לֹא־יִכְבֶּה בַלַּיְלָה נֵרָהּ עושה פתילות, למקדש מעט ולמדרשים ואומרת תהלות.	Her lamp will not go out in the night^[21] Proverbs 31:18 b. —she makes wicks For the synagogue and schools, and she says Psalms;
משוררת זמירות ותפלה ומדברת תחנונים, ודוי כל יום לנשמת כל חי וכל מאמינים.	She sings hymns and prayers, she recites petitions; Daily (she says) confession, “Nishmat kol ḥai,” and “V’khol ma’aminim”;
נואמת פטום הקטרת ועשרת הדברים, בכל המדינות למדה הנשים ומזמרת זמרים.	She says “Pittum ha-qetoret” and the Ten Commandments;^[22] These references to well-known prayers, recited today on the Sabbath and the High Holidays, respectively, may have functioned earlier as private petitions (tehinot cf. tahanunim in the previous line) that women recited daily. See Chava Weissler’s study on the tehinah prayers in Arthur Green, ed., History of Jewish Spirituality (2 vols.; N.Y.: Crossroad Press, 1985-1986), Vol. 2, forthcoming. Or, together with “Pittum ha-qetoret” and the “ten commandments” are these prayers part of the devotions found at the end of the Ashkenazic rite for the morning weekday or Sabbath service to be recited by males? The latter is a suggestion of Professor Menahem Schmelzer end it bears following up. See, for example, Y. Baer, Seder Avodat Yisrael (Roedelheim, 1868), pp. 154-161; 245-247. That “nishmat” was recited daily by the German Hasidim, see Abraham ben Azriel, Sefer Arugat ha-Bosem, ed., E. E. Urbach (4 vols.; Jerusalem: Meqizei Nirdamim, 1939-63), IV:103 and see, too, Abraham ben Natan ha-Yarhi, Sefer ha-Mahnig, ed., Yizhaq Raphael (2 vols.; Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1978), 1:51. I thank Menahem Schmelzer for both references. In all the towns she taught women (so that they can) chant songs;
סדרי תפלה בבוקר ובערב סודרת, ולבית הכנסת מקדמת ומאחרת.	She knows the order of the morning and evening prayers, And she comes early to synagogue, stays late;
עומדת כל יום הכפורים ומשוררת ותקנה הנרות, השבתות וי״ט מכבדת ועוסקי התורות.	She stands throughout Yom Kippur, sings and prepared the candles (beforehand); She honors the Sabbaths and Holidays as well as Torah scholars;^[23] Meaning of Hebrew Uncertain.
פִּיהָ פָּתְחָה בְחָכְמָה וכל איסור והיתר יודעת (ט, את יום השבת יושבת דרשת בעלה שומעת.	She openeth her mouth with wisdom,^[24] Proverbs 31:26 a. and she knows what is forbidden, what permitted;^[25] According to Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r. Nothing more than a knowledge of religious practice (dinim) need be implied. On the Sabbath she sits and listens to her husband’s sermon;^[26] According to Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r. (“derashat” instead of “doreshet” in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Opp. 757 (Neubauer #2289), f. 25v-26v).
צנועה מכל וחכמה ונעמת ברוך סודה, בכל מצות זריזה חסידה תכבדה.	More modest than everyone, she is wise and faithful—(one is) fortunate (to be in) her company; When (doing) all the commandments she is zealous, selfless, gracious;
קנתה חלב ללמוד והשכירה מלמדים מטרחה, יודעת ומשכלת ועובדת בוראה בשמחה.	She bought milk^[27] Or: “oil,” as A.M. Haberman suggests in Sefer Gezeirot Ashkenaz va-Tsarfat (1945; repr. Jerusalem: Ofir, 1971), p.25. for the students and hired (them) tutors from her earnings; Known and wise, she serves her creator joyfully;
רצו רגליה לבקר חולים ולעשות מצות בוראה, ומאכלת בני ודוחקתן ללמוד ועובדת הש״י ביראה.	She ran to visit the sick, to fulfill her Creator’s commandments; And she feeds^[28] Haberman: “ma’akhelet” (!); MSS: “u-ma’akhelet” and the waw fits the name-acrostic for “evyOn.”. her boys, nudges them to study, and serves the Name, may He be blessed, out of (proper) fear;
שמחה לעשות רצון בעלה ולא הכעסתו מעולם, נעימות מעשיה יזכור לה צור נעלם.	She is happy to do her husband’s will, she never angered him; “Pleasant” are her deeds; may the Hidden Rock remember her;
תוצרה נפשה בצרור באור החיים להתעדן, תְּנוּ־לָהּ מִפְּרִי יָדֶיהָ לגן עדן.	May her soul be adorned, bound in the bond of the light of the (eternally) living; Give her of the fruit of her hands^[29] Proverbs 31:31 a. in Gan Eden.

This an an untitled piyyut by Eleazer of Worms, eulogizing his beloved wife Dulcea (Heb: דולצא, also, Dulcia and Dolce). The Hebrew text is derived from the transcription offered by Israel Kamelhar inRabbenu Eleazar mi-Germaiza, ha-Roqeah (Rzeazow, 1930), pp. 17-19. The translation and annotation come from Dr. Ivan G. Marcus from his article, “Mothers, Martyrs, and Moneymakers: Some Jewish Women in Medieval Europe” in Conservative Judaism, vol. 38(3), Spring 1986. Presenting the piyyut, Dr. Marcus writes,

[ftn. 21 on “Dulcia: A Woman of Valor”] The poem has no title. Throughout, the name-acrostic is indicated in the translation at the beginnings of the appropriate lines….The tenses sometimes shift back and forth from present to past, and the text is not always clear.
The poem was published without vowels by Israel Kamelhar, Rabbenu Eleazar mi-Germaiza, ha-Roqeah (Rzeazow, 1930), pp. 17-19. It seems to be based on the better of two known manuscripts, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Opp. 757 (Neubauer #2289), f. 25v-26v…Unless otherwise indicated, this manuscript is the basis of the translation. A vocalized version of the text was published in Haberman, Sefer Gezeirot, pp. 165-166 (hereafter H), based on a more corrupt manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r…
Excerpts of Eleazar’s shorter poems in memory of his daughters Bellet and Hannah are found in T. Carmi, The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse (N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1981), pp. 387-388. (Note that the author’s name is Eleazar, not Eliezer.) A separate study of Eleazar’s autobiographical historical narratives and the poems about his martyred family will be presented elsewhere.

(We are grateful to Susan Farber for bringing this piyyut to our attention — from a sourcesheet she received in a shiur from Rabbi David Golinkin, Schechter Institutes, Jerusalem. Thank you!)

Source(s)

Dulcia- A Woman of Valor (Israel Kamelhar, Rabbenu Eleazar mi-Germaiza, ha-Roqeah, 1930), p. 17

Dulcia- A Woman of Valor (Israel Kamelhar, Rabbenu Eleazar mi-Germaiza, ha-Roqeah, 1930), p. 18

Dulcia- A Woman of Valor (Israel Kamelhar, Rabbenu Eleazar mi-Germaiza, ha-Roqeah, 1930), p. 19

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Proverbs 31:10 a.
2	An alternate opening, “Who can find a woman of valor like my pietist wife, Mistress Dulcia [מרת דולצא]?” is found in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r.
3	Proverbs 31:30 b.
4	Proverbs 31:11 a.
5	Proverbs 31:23 part.
6	Proverbs 31:12 a.
7	Proverbs 31:13 a.
8	Proverbs 31:13 b.
9	Proverbs 31:16 a.
10	Proverbs 31:14 a.
11	cf. Proverbs 31:29a, “many daughters.”
12	Proverbs 31:18 a.
13	Proverbs 31:15 a.
14	Cf. Proverbs 31:15a end, “and a portion to her maidens.”
15	Proverbs 31:19 b.
16	Proverbs 31:17 a.
17	Cf. Proverbs 31:18 a.
18	Hebrew uncertain. It may refer to women escorting the bride from her home to the synagogue.
19	Proverbs 31:19 a.
20	Proverbs 31:20 a.
21	Proverbs 31:18 b.
22	These references to well-known prayers, recited today on the Sabbath and the High Holidays, respectively, may have functioned earlier as private petitions (tehinot cf. tahanunim in the previous line) that women recited daily. See Chava Weissler’s study on the tehinah prayers in Arthur Green, ed., History of Jewish Spirituality (2 vols.; N.Y.: Crossroad Press, 1985-1986), Vol. 2, forthcoming. Or, together with “Pittum ha-qetoret” and the “ten commandments” are these prayers part of the devotions found at the end of the Ashkenazic rite for the morning weekday or Sabbath service to be recited by males? The latter is a suggestion of Professor Menahem Schmelzer end it bears following up. See, for example, Y. Baer, Seder Avodat Yisrael (Roedelheim, 1868), pp. 154-161; 245-247. That “nishmat” was recited daily by the German Hasidim, see Abraham ben Azriel, Sefer Arugat ha-Bosem, ed., E. E. Urbach (4 vols.; Jerusalem: Meqizei Nirdamim, 1939-63), IV:103 and see, too, Abraham ben Natan ha-Yarhi, Sefer ha-Mahnig, ed., Yizhaq Raphael (2 vols.; Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1978), 1:51. I thank Menahem Schmelzer for both references.
23	Meaning of Hebrew Uncertain.
24	Proverbs 31:26 a.
25	According to Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r. Nothing more than a knowledge of religious practice (dinim) need be implied.
26	According to Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Michael 448 (Neubauer #2215), f. 30r. (“derashat” instead of “doreshet” in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Heb. MS Opp. 757 (Neubauer #2289), f. 25v-26v).
27	Or: “oil,” as A.M. Haberman suggests in Sefer Gezeirot Ashkenaz va-Tsarfat (1945; repr. Jerusalem: Ofir, 1971), p.25.
28	Haberman: “ma’akhelet” (!); MSS: “u-ma’akhelet” and the waw fits the name-acrostic for “evyOn.”.
29	Proverbs 31:31 a.

17 U.S. Code 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

“מרת דולצא: אשת־חיל | Dulcea: A Woman of Valor, an elegy by Eleazar of Worms (ca. 1196)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under their Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use), in respect to the copyrighted material included. Any additional work that is not already in the Public Domain is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Ivan G. Marcus (translation)

Dr. Ivan G. Marcus is the Frederick P. Rose Professor of Jewish History at Yale University.

Eleazar ben Yehudah ben Ḳalonymus of Worms

Eleazar of Worms (אלעזר מוורמייזא) (c. 1176–1238), or Eleazar ben Yehudah ben Ḳalonymus, also sometimes known today as Eleazar Rokeach ("Eleazar the Perfumer" אלעזר רקח) from the title of his Book of the Perfumer (Sefer ha rokeah ספר הרקח)—where the numerical value of "Perfumer" (in Hebrew) is equal to Eleazar—was a leading Talmudist and Ḳabbalist, and the last major member of the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17