אֶזְכְּרָה מָצוֹק | Ezkerah Matsōk (“I remember the distress”), a seliḥah for the Fast of Tevet attributed to Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (11th c.)

Shared on: 5 January 2020 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories: Asarah b'Tevet

Tags: 11th century C.E., 49th century A.M., acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, סליחות səliḥot

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאֹלהֵי אָבוֹתֵינוּ	Our God, and the God of our fathers.
אֶזְכְּרָה מָצוֹק אֲשֶׁר קְרָאַנִּי. בְּשָׁלֹשׁ מַכּוֹת בַּחֹדֶשׁ־זֶה הִכַּנּי. גִּדְּעַנִּי הִנְיאַנִּי הִכְאַנִּי. אַךְ־עַתָּ֥ה הֶלְאָ֑נִי׃ (איוב טז:ז חלק)	I remember the distress which befell me; three blows he inflicted on me in this month. He enfeebled and depressed me, but now I am weary.^[1] Job 16:7 a.
דִּעֲכַנִּי בִּשְׁמוֹנָה בּוֹ שְׂמׇאלִית וִימָנִית. הֲלֹא שְׁלָשְׁתָּן קָבַעְתִּי תַעֲנִית. וּמֶלֶךְ יָוָן אִנְּסַנִּי לִכְתּוֹב דַּת יְוָנִית. עַל־גַּ֭בִּי חָרְשׁ֣וּ חֹרְשִׁ֑ים הֶ֝אֱרִ֗יכוּ לְמַעֲנִית׃ (תהלים קלט:ג חלק)	On the eighth of this month I was thrust to the right and to the left, and three fasts were instituted.^[2] viz., The 8th, 9th, and 10th, the two former being only partially observed. A Greek king compelled me to translate the holy Law into Greek;^[3] Ptolomeus Philadelphus ordered the Hebrew Bible to be translated into Greek (3518, A.M.), and this version is supposed to be the so-called Septuaginta. the ploughers ploughed upon my back; they made long their furrows.^[4] Psalm 139:3, last word altered.
זוֹעַמְתִּי בְּתִשְׁעָה־בּוֹ בְּכְלִמָּה וְהֵפֶר. חָשַׂךְ מֵעָלַי מֵעִיל הוֹד וָצֶפֶר. טָרֹף טֹרַף בּוֹ הַנֹּתֵ֖ן אִמְרֵי־שָֽׁפֶר׃ (בראשית מט:כא) הוּא עֶזְרָא הַסּוֹפֵר׃	On the ninth I was rejected, and exposed to ignominy: I was stripped of the robe of majesty, and of the diadem, and the eloquent speaker,^[5] Genesis 49:21. Ezra the scribe, was snatched from me.^[6] The 9th of Tebeth being the anniversary of his death.
יוֹם עֲשִׂירִי צֻוָּה בֶּן־בּוּזִי הַחוֹזֶה. כְּתׇב־לְךָ בַּסֵּפֶר הַמַּחֲזֶה. לְזִכָּרוֹן לְעַם נָמֵס וְנִבְזֶה. אֶת־עֶ֖צֶם הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה׃ (יחזקאל כד:ב)	On the tenth, the son of Būzi, the prophet,^[7] Ezekiel. was commanded to write him the name of the day, even of this same day for a memorial for the despised and decaying people.^[8] Ezekiel 24:2.
מִנְיַן סֵדֶר חֲדָשִׁים בַּעֲשָׂרָה בּוֹ הֵעִיר. נְהִי וְיֵילִיל בְּמוֹפִי אַפְעִיר. סֵדֶר פּוּרְעָנִיּוֹת בְּתוֹךְ לְבָבִי יַבְעִיר. בְּבוֹא־אֵלַ֨י הַפָּלִ֧יט… לֵאמֹ֖ר הֻכְּתָ֥ה הָעִֽיר׃ (יחזקאל לג:כא חלק)	On the tenth, in the tenth month, after the number and succession of the months,^[9] Teḅeth is the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year. wailing and howling awake within me as I open my mouth. The long series of punishments burns within my heart. I still remember when the fugitive came to me and said, “The city of Jerusalem is taken!”;^[10] Ezekiel 33:21 b, with the word “Jerusalem” elided.
עַל אֵלֶּה עַל פָּנַי אָבָק זֵרִיתי. פַּצְתִּי עַל אַרְבַּעְתָּן לוּ חַץ בְּלִבִּי יָרִיתִי. צָרוֹת עַל אֵלֶּה קֶבֶר לִי כָּריתִי. צַדִּ֥יק ה֛וּא יְהֹוָ֖ה כִּ֣י פִ֣יהוּ מָרִ֑יתִי׃ (איכה א:יח חלק)	For this I strew ashes on my face, and exclaim with regard to those four calamities, Would I had pierced my heart with the arrow, had dug me a grave, because of these troubles:— YHVH is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment.^[11] Lamentations 1:18 a.
קָרָאתִי שִׁמְךָ מִתְנַחֵם עַל רָעָתִי. רְאֵה עׇנְיִי וּשְׁמַע קוֹל פְּגִיעָתִי. שְׁמַע תְּחִנָּתִי הִישׁ־נָא יְשׁוּעָתִי. אַל־תַּעְלֵ֧ם אׇזְנְךָ֛ לְרַוְחָתִ֖י לְשַׁוְעָתִֽי׃ (איכה ג:נו חלק)	I call upon thy name who repents of the evil which thou did think to do unto me. Look upon mine affliction, and hear the voice of my prayer. Hear my supplication, and hasten, I beseech thee, my salvation; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.^[12] Lamentations 3:56 b.
יֶרַח טֵבֵת מְאוֹד לֻקִּיתִי בוֹ. וְנִשְׁתַּנוּ עָלַי סִדְרֵי נְתִיבוֹ. סָרַרְתִּי פְּשַׁעְתִּי גַּלֵּה־לִי טוּבוֹ. הָאוֹמֵר לַיָּם עַד־פֹּ֣ה תָ֭בוֹא׃ (איוב לח:יא)	In this month of Teḅeth I have been sorely afflicted; and the order of things has been changed in my case; I was refractory, I transgressed: O may he manifest his goodness unto me, who saith to the sea: “Thus far shalt thou come!”^[13] Job 38:11.

“Ezkerah Matsok” (I remember the distress) is a seliḥah in alphabetic acrostic recited on the Fast of Tevet in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ minhag Polin. Isaac Gantewerk Mayer transcribed the Hebrew and added citations. The English translation (transcribed here by Aharon Varady) was made by David Asher for his 1912 collection of seliḥot. I have replaced “the Lord” with YHVH and “th” suffixes from several verbs. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Job 16:7 a.
2	viz., The 8th, 9th, and 10th, the two former being only partially observed.
3	Ptolomeus Philadelphus ordered the Hebrew Bible to be translated into Greek (3518, A.M.), and this version is supposed to be the so-called Septuaginta.
4	Psalm 139:3, last word altered.
5	Genesis 49:21.
6	The 9th of Tebeth being the anniversary of his death.
7	Ezekiel.
8	Ezekiel 24:2.
9	Teḅeth is the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year.
10	Ezekiel 33:21 b, with the word “Jerusalem” elided.
11	Lamentations 1:18 a.
12	Lamentations 3:56 b.
13	Job 38:11.

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“אֶזְכְּרָה מָצוֹק | Ezkerah Matsōk (“I remember the distress”), a seliḥah for the Fast of Tevet attributed to Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (11th c.)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

David Asher (translation)

David Asher (born at Dresden Dec. 8, 1818; died in Leipsic Dec. 2, 1890) was a German-Jewish scholar and educator. He received his early education at the Jewish school of his native city, and subsequently entered the gymnasium there, being one of the first Jews admitted to the institution. As his mother was unable to support him, his stay there was short. Asher then learned the trade of carving and gilding, thereby supporting himself as a journeyman artisan during his travels to various cities of Germany and Austria. On the invitation of a wealthy relative he went to London, where he learned English at a private school—subsequently becoming assistant teacher there—and at the same time assiduously studied philosophy, philology, Hebrew, and modern languages. Later, Asher held various offices in the Jewish congregation and was tutor to the children of the chief rabbi of England. Upon his return to Germany he obtained the degree of doctor of philosophy at the Berlin University. Settling in Leipsic, he soon acquired reputation as an English instructor, having among his pupils many persons of high rank. For seven years he held the post of English master at the Commercial School; and for eight years that of examiner of candidates for higher schools at the university. He was also a member of the Academy for Modern Languages, in Berlin, and official interpreter to the Royal Law Courts of Leipsic. A linguist of the first order, he was engaged in literary work of varied character, and diligently contributed to most of the leading German journals, as well as to the English periodicals the "Times," "Athenæum," "Academy," and "Jewish Chronicle." For the last he translated Dr. Döllinger's "Address on the History of the Jews of Europe." Asher distinguished himself as an interpreter of the philosophy of Schopenhauer; and as an ardent champion of his own coreligionists, energetically combating antisemitic attacks. (lightly adapted from his entry in the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia)

Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils

Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (fl. middle of the 11th c.) was a French rabbi, Talmudist, Bible commentator, and payyeṭan. He is also known by the Hebrew name Tov Elem, a Hebrew translation from the French name "Bonfils." Of his life nothing is known but that he came from Narbonne, and was rabbi of Limoges in the province of Anjou. The ability and activity of Bonfils are best judged from his contributions to the poetry of the synagogue, no less than sixty-two of his piyyuṭim occupying prominent places in the French, German, and Polish liturgies. (Joseph Bonfils must not be confused, as he is by Azulai, with another scholar of the same name, who lived in 1200 and corresponded with Simḥah of Speyer (Responsa of Meïr ben Baruch of Rothenburg. ed. Cremona, No. 148).)

Aharon N. Varady (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.)

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.

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אֲבוֹתַי כִּי בָטְחוּ | Avotai ki vatkhu (“When our forefathers trusted”), a pizmon for the Fast of Tevet ascribed to Ephraim ben Avraham ben Yitsḥaq of Regensburg (12th c.)

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אָדָם בְּקוּם עָלֵֽינוּ | Adam B’qum ‘Alenu, a seliḥah for Taanit Esther by Menaḥem ben Makhir (ca. 11th c.)

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אַקְדָמוּת מִילִין | Aḳdamut Milin, a preface to the Targum for the Shavuot Torah Reading, attributed to Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.)

סליחה מר׳ יצחק אבן גיאת | Seliḥah by Yitsḥaq ben Yehudah Ibn Ghayyat (ca. 11th century) translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

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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