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Motsaei Shabbat

This is an archive of prayers, songs, and havdalot recited at the conclusion of Shabbat.

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סֶֽרַח בַּת־אָשֵׁר | Seraḥ bat Asher, a Havdalah Song by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Some communities have a practice of singing a song about Miriam alongside the well-known Havdalah song about Elijah the Prophet. But Miriam isn’t really a parallel to Elijah — she’s a parallel to Moshe and Aaron. When we’re talking about distaff counterparts to Elijah the clearest example is Seraḥ bat Asher. Seraḥ, the daughter of Asher, is mentioned only a handful of times in the Tanakh, but is given great significance in the midrash. Like Elijah, she is said to have never died but entered Paradise alive, and comes around to the rabbis to give advice or teachings. This song, which includes several references to midrashim about Seraḥ, is meant to be sung to any traditional tune of “Eliyahu haNavi.” It is dedicated to Ḥazzan Joanna Selznick Dulkin (shlit”a), who introduced me to the legends of Seraḥ bat Asher.

Categories:

Motsaei Shabbat

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., הבדלות havdalot, Psychopomp, Seraḥ bat Asher, זמירות zemirot

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

שֶֽׂרַח בַּת־אָשֵׁר | Seraḥ bat Asher — a havdalah piyyuṭ by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

In the style of the full Eliyahu haNavi piyyuṭ recited by some communities every Havdalah, a piyyuṭ in honor of Seraḥ bat Asher, retelling the events of her life according to the midrashim. This is not the first time I’ve written a Havdalah piece on Seraḥ, the distaff counterpart to Elijah in the midrash. She also inspired this shorter song. Like the full Eliyahu haNavi piyyuṭ, this is in three-line rhyming stanzas with a repeated refrain. Unlike it, it is in a tashraq reverse alphabetical acrostic, followed by an authorial tag — this time using a matronymic.

Categories:

Motsaei Shabbat

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Acrostic signature, הבדלות havdalot, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Psychopomp, reverse acrostic, Seraḥ bat Asher, זמירות zemirot

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=1506

Associated Image:

An illustration of Seraḥ later titled (on postcards) "Shirat bat Tsiyon," originally published at the beginning of the chapter "Lieder des Lebens" (Songs of Life) in Lieder des Ghetto (1902) by Ephraim Moses Lilien

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

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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)

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