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In older Sephardic practice, there are cycles of reshuyot (permission-poems) recited on the three sabbaths of rebuke. These reshuyot, inserted before important prayers, date back to medieval Andalusian poets. They are largely mournful in tone, and accordingly the Ḥida opposed their recitation as unbefitting the joy of sabbaths, but due to their antiquity and cherishedness some communities (for instance those of Morocco) preserved them, reciting them all prior to Maariv on the ninth of Av instead. In any case, they are very clearly designed for the Shabbatot to which they are assigned, and to serve as reshuyot for the prayers to which they are assigned. These six reshuyot are meant to be recited on the second sabbath of rebuke, Shabbat Shim’u. Many of their authors are, to the translator’s knowledge, otherwise unknown — any further information about them would be greatly appreciated!
This is the reshut offered before the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai (commencing Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Shim’u, composed by Jacob, a teacher of children from Castile.
Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
נִשְׁמַת יְלָדִים שׁוֹמְמִים עַל־חׇרְבַּן אֲרִיאֵל בּוֹשִׁים וְנִכְלָמִים עַל לֹא־שָׁמְעוּ דְּבַר הָאֵל שִׁמְע֥וּ דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה בֵּ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְכׇֽל־מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ירמיה ב:ד) |
The soul of jettisoned children at Ariel’s[1] The Temple, or Jerusalem as a whole ruin, shamed and disgraced that they did not hear the words of the Deity — hear the Cause’s word, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel! (Jeremiah 2:4) |
נִשְׁמַת עֲנִיִּם מִשְׁתּוֹמְמִים מִיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר נָֽסוּ צְלָלַי תְּוַעֲדָךְ דּוֹבֵר צֶֽדֶק נָאַם לָהֶם שִׁמְעוּ בָנִים מִלָּי מַה־מָּצְא֨וּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֥ם בִּי֙ עָ֔וֶל כִּ֥י רָחֲק֖וּ מֵעָלָ֑י׃ (ירמיה ב:ה) |
The soul of astonished paupers from the day my shadows fled[2] A midrashic reading of Song of Songs 2:17 as Divine presence being taken away will witness You; righteous speech he[3] i.e. Jeremiah told them, “Hear my words, children: What fault did your fathers find in Me that they from Me?” (Jeremiah 2:5) |
נִשְׁמַת קְדוֹשִׁים שׁוֹכְבִים בֵּין תַּנּוּר וְכִירַֽיִם קְדוֹרַנִּית הוֹלְכִים עַל כִּי־מָאֲסוּ דָּת שׁוֹכֵן שָׁמָֽיִם וְלֹ֣א אָֽמְר֔וּ אַיֵּ֣ה יְהֹוָ֔ה הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה אֹתָ֖נוּ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם׃ (ירמיה ב:ו) |
The soul of consecrated ones sleeping between the oven and stove[4] Find Taanit 30b, where it states that R. Yehuda bar Ilai would stay in this uncomfortably hot space during the night before the Ninth of Av. go mounfully, for they abandoned the religion of the Heavenly Dweller; they did not say, “Where is the Cause who brought us up from the land of Egypt?” (Jeremiah 2:6) |
נִשְׁמַת חֲרֵדִים בְּעׇנְיָם חֲשׁוּכִים בִּמְקוֹם שִׁבְיָם תְּגַדְּלָךְ הֵרִֽימוּ קוֹל בִּתְחִנּוֹת בְּקוֹל יַמִּים וְדׇכְיָם אוֹמְרִים וְאִֽלּוּ פִּֽינוּ מָלֵא שִׁירָה כַּיָּם׃ |
Notes
| 1 | The Temple, or Jerusalem as a whole |
|---|---|
| 2 | A midrashic reading of Song of Songs 2:17 as Divine presence being taken away |
| 3 | i.e. Jeremiah |
| 4 | Find Taanit 30b, where it states that R. Yehuda bar Ilai would stay in this uncomfortably hot space during the night before the Ninth of Av. |
| 5 | Find Psalms 93:3 |
| 6 | From the prayer, Nishmat Kol Ḥai |
“נִשְׁמַת יְלָדִים | Nishmat Yeladim — reshut №2 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Shim’u, by Yaaqov haPayyetan of Castile” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license.
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