קוֹל אָהֳלָה | Qōl Ohalah — reshut №9 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon, by Haḇiḇ ben Yitsḥaq Toledano

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Haḇiḇ ben Yitsḥaq Toledano

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21 July 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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12th century C.E., 50th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, phonetic acrostic translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, רשויות reshuyot, rhyming translation, שבת חזון Shabbat Ḥazon

“Qol Ohalah” is the first reshut offered before the Torah service following Shaḥarit. It is the ninth reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
קוֹל אָהֳלָה תִּתְיַפֵּֽחַ קוֹל מִשְּׁבִי מַר צוֹרֵֽחַ קוֹל אָהֳלִיבָה מִשִּׁבְיָהּ קָרַע לְבָבִי קוֹל בִּכְיָהּ׃	Hark, Oholah^[1] The northern kingdom of Samaria, according to Ezekiel 23 sobs! Hark, she screams of bitter captivity. Hark, Oholiva^[2] The southern kingdom of Judah, according to Ezekiel 23 tears her heart in crying of her captivity!
חֶלְקַת יְקָר אֵין לִרְאוּבֵן שִׁמְעוֹן בְּמַרְגֵּמַת אֶֽבֶן אָמְרוּ לְיִשָּׂשכָר הַבֵּן אֵין פֶּה זְבוּלוּן פּוֹתֵֽחַ מֵהַר לְגִבְעָה בּוֹרֵֽחַ׃ קוֹל…	Honored Reuben’s portion but he has none, Shimon in a pile of stones is done. They said of Issachar the son Zebulun’s mouth shut in passivity, From mountain to hill fleeing in declivity. Hark, Oholah…
בַּטִּיט יְהוּדָה אֵיךְ נִטְמָן לֵוִי וּבִנְיָמִין אַלְמָן וּבְבֵית דְּבִיר הוּשַׂם חַמָּן חַטֹּאת נְעוּרַי זֶה פִּרְיָהּ עַד שַׁלְּמָהּ נַפְשִׁי נִשְׁיָהּ׃ קוֹל…	Buried in mud, how Judah is hidden in, Widowers Levi and Benjamin And a sun-pillar^[3] Some sort of idolatrous object, mentioned several times in the Bible, and according to midrash used in worshipping the sun. was set in the sanctum within, That wich my youthful indiscretions did abet Until my soul pays back its debt. Hark, Oholah…
יוֹסֵף וְגָד אֵיךְ גֹּרָֽשׁוּ אָשֵׁר וְנַפְתָּלִי מָֽשׁוּ אֵיךְ מַחֲנוֹת דָּן נוֹקָֽשׁוּ אֵין אָהֳלֵיהֶם מוֹתֵֽחַ וּזְמַן לְאֵידָם שָׂמֵֽחַ׃ קוֹל…	Joseph and Gad, how they are kicked out, Asher and Naphtali sent out, How the camps of Dan were knocked out, Their tents without any motivity, And the time for their calamity, festivity. Hark, Oholah…
בַּת נָעֲמָה מִכׇּל־בָּנוֹת תֶּאֱסֹף וְתִשְׁלַח־לָהּ מָנוֹת אָמְרוּ נְבוּאוֹת נֶאֱמָנוֹת הַרְאֵה לְכׇל־עַמִּים יׇפְיָהּ כִּֽי־יַעֲקֹ֗ב בָּחַ֣ר ל֣וֹ יָ֑הּ׃ (תהלים קלה:ד)	Bring in the daughter, more than all others sweet, Gather her, send her gifts as a treat. Tell her prophecies ture and complete, Show all the peoples her beauty elite, For Jacob Yah chose to be Theirs discrete.^[4] The word “discrete” included to fit the rhyme scheme, as well as to emphasize the idea that Jacob’s portion is specific. (Psalms 135:4)

Notes

Notes
1	The northern kingdom of Samaria, according to Ezekiel 23
2	The southern kingdom of Judah, according to Ezekiel 23
3	Some sort of idolatrous object, mentioned several times in the Bible, and according to midrash used in worshipping the sun.
4	The word “discrete” included to fit the rhyme scheme, as well as to emphasize the idea that Jacob’s portion is specific.

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.

Haḇiḇ ben Yitsḥaq Toledano

We know very little about the paytan Haḇiḇ ben Yitsḥaq Toledano save his name. We hope to add more here just as soon as we learn more. (If you know more, please contact us.)

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The Destruction of the Temple by Samuel Coleman (ca. 1830s) in the collection of the Tate

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)

קוֹל אָהֳלָה | Qōl Ohalah — reshut №9 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon, by Haḇiḇ ben Yitsḥaq Toledano

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