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In the old Erets Yisrael rite, one aspect of the Simḥat Torah service was communal mourning for Moshe’s death, and multiple piyyutim in both Hebrew and Aramaic have been preserved as evidence of this custom. Considering the events of Simḥat Torah last year, perhaps it’s worth bringing that custom back. Presented here is the second of three Aramaic-language Byzantine-era lamentations for the death of Moshe (SYAP 40-42), written to be recited as part of the Simḥat Torah service. The second piyyut, Azalat Bekhita, is probably incomplete, extending only to ḥeth in known manuscripts. It features multiple people, places, and things important in Moshe’s life taking turns to eulogize him. It’s been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (2018), it is presented here vocalized with an original translation.
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| Source (Aramaic) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
אֲזַלַת בְּכִיתָא בְּכׇל־מְדִינְתָּא בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּאִתְפַּטַר מֹשֶׁה נְבִיָּיא בְּכָא יָתֵיהּ נִילוּס נַהֲרָא גַּבְרָא דְּרַבִּיתִי מִן־טַלְיוּתָא |
All the province went out weeping, At the hour that Moshe the prophet passed. Bawling was the Nile River: “The man I raised from youth!” |
גָּעַן וּבָכַן כׇּל־שִׁבְטַיָּא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּעָנָא בְּמַדְבְּרָא דְּלֵית לְהוֹן רַעֲיָא דִּמְעָא שָׁפְכִין בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמְרִין מָאן יְהַב לַנָא גַּבְרָא כְּוָותֵיהּ דְּמֹשֶׁה |
Groaning and crying all the tribes of Israel, like a flock in the desert without a shepherd. Down flowed tears, as the House of Israel said: “Who will give us a man akin to Moshe?” |
הַר טוּרָא דְּתָבוֹר וכַרְמֶל שָׁפְכִין בְּבִכְיָיא וְסִינַי מַסְפֵּד בֵּין־תַּרְוֵיהוֹן וַוי עֲלַי אֲמַרַת אוֹרַייתָא רַעֲיָא טָבָא דְּאִתְפְּרִיק מִינִּי |
High mountains — Tabor and Carmel, poured out weeping, And Sinai eulogized between them. “Woe is me!” said the Torah; “A good shephard has been removed from me!” |
זַע וְאִתְבְּהַל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן כְּיוֹנֵק דְּמִתְגְּמִיל מִדַּדֵי אִימֵּיהּ חֲבַל עֲלַי אֲמַרַת אוֹרַייתָא וּמֹשֶׁה יְהַב לִי חַיִּים לְעָלַם |
Zone in on Yehoshua bin Nun, shaking and trembling, like an infant weaned from his mother’s breasts. “Humiliated am I,” said the Torah, “as Moshe gave me life eternal!” |
“אֲזַלַת בְּכִיתָא | Azalat Bekhita, a lamentation on the death of Mosheh (SYAP 41, ca. 7th c.)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut)
Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
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