Second Temple Period • the Open Siddur Project

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ספר ברוך | Sefer Barukh (1:1-3:8), from the Reconstructed Hebrew Vorlage by Prof. Emmanuel Tov, vocalized and cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (naqdanut), Emmanuel Tov and Barukh ben Neriyah
Shared on כ״ב בתמוז ה׳תש״פ (2020-07-14) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
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Second Temple Period
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2nd century B.C.E., early Judaism, 37th century A.M., Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works

The book of Barukh (also, Baruch and Barouch) in its reconstructed Hebrew vorlage from verse 1:1 till 3:8. . . .

Wise Counsel: Selected verses from the Book of ben Sira for a Seliḥot Service by Paltiel Birnbaum

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Paltiel Birnbaum (translation) and Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira
Shared on י״ט בתמוז ה׳תש״פ (2020-07-11) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period
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2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works, Ecclesiasticus, Jews of Alexandria, wisdom, Cairo Geniza, מוסר mussar

Selected verses from the book of ben Sira for a Seliḥot service . . .

መጽሐፈ ኩፋሌ | ספר היובלים | Sefer haYovelim (the book of Jubilees, in Ge’ez) chapters 1-23

Contributor(s): Unknown Author(s)
Shared on י״ט בכסלו ה׳תשע״ו (2015-11-30) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
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Second Temple Period, Shavuot
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anti-predatory, pre-rabbinic judaism, 2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., mytho-historical chronicles, early Judaism, deuterocanonical works, יובל Yovel Jubilee

We are grateful to Dr. James VanderKam for preparing this critical text of the Book of Jubilees (Sefer Yubalim) in its Ge’ez translation in Ethiopic script. The book of Jubilees is an early Jewish deutero-canonical text originally written in Hebrew and composed during the Second Temple period sometime before the Maccabean struggle (164 BCE). . . .

መጽሐፈ ኩፋሌ | ספר היובלים | Sefer haYovelim (the book of Jubilees, in Ge’ez) chapters 24-50

Contributor(s): Unknown Author(s)
Shared on ז׳ באייר ה׳תשע״ח (2018-04-22) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
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Second Temple Period, Shavuot
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pre-rabbinic judaism, 2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., mytho-historical chronicles, early Judaism, deuterocanonical works, יובל Yovel Jubilee

Continued from the book of Jubilees Chapters 1-23. The book of Jubilees is an early Jewish deuterocanonical text composed in Hebrew during the Second Temple period sometime before the Maccabean struggle (ca. 167 BCE). . . .

סֵפֶר פְּטִירָת מֹשֶׁה | Motä Musē (the Book of the Passing of Mosheh), in Hebrew and English translation

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Jacques Faïtlovitch (translation) and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ח במרחשון ה׳תש״פ (2019-11-26) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period, Mourning, Sheva b'Adar Readings
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English Translation, Mosheh Rabbenu, Hebrew translation, cemetery prayers, Beta Esrael, Ethiopian Jewry

The text of the Betä ʾƎsəraʾel legend of the death of Moses, translated to Hebrew by Jacques Faïtlovitch, and vocalized, cantillated, and translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . .

בן סירא מב:כא-מג:לא | ben Sira 42:21-43:31, a hymn of creation translated by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (naqdanut), Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Mordecai Kaplan and Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira
Shared on ט׳ באב ה׳תשע״ח (2018-07-21) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International free-culture license
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Second Temple Period, Rosh Ḥodesh Readings
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hymns of creation, פתיחות Petiḥot, 2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works, Ecclesiasticus, Jews of Alexandria

Ecclesiasticus (ben Sira) 42:21-43:31 is presented as “God the Lord of Nature” in The Sabbath Prayer Book of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (The Reconstructionist Foundation 1945), p. 376-372 in the Supplements subsection, “God in Nature.” The text of Ben Sira used here differs in places found in other manuscripts. . . .

מזמור לבן סירא על זכות אבותינו (פרקים מד-נ)‏ | Paean of Ben Sira on the Merit of the Ancestors (ch. 44-50), vocalized and cantillated with the Poetic Masoretic System by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (naqdanut) and Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira
Shared on כ״ז באייר ה׳תש״פ (2020-05-20) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period, Yom Kippur
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2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works, Ecclesiasticus, Jews of Alexandria, Cairo Geniza, Mar'eh Kohen

The poem lauding the ancestors from Chapters 44 to 50 of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) is considered by many scholars to be the original influence for the Yom Kippur Avodah service, and the paean to Shimon the Righteous bears a striking similarity to the beloved piyyut “Mar’eh Khohen.” This passage from Ben Sira, the great paean on the merit of the ancestors, takes the Hebrew text of one of the Cairo Geniza manuscripts — Bodleian MS Heb e62 — and versifies it according to the standard Septuagintal text, along with vocalization and cantillation per the standard Masoretic EMe”T system for poetic books. It could be read on Yom Kippur for the avodah service, or just studied as a fascinating piece of Jewish history. . . .

ילקוט מזמורים לבן סירא פרק נ״א | An Appendix of Psalms of Ben Sira chapter 51, vocalized, cantillated, and translated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (naqdanut) and Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira
Shared on י״א בסיון ה׳תש״פ (2020-06-03) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period
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acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, 2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works, Ecclesiasticus, Jews of Alexandria, Cairo Geniza, reconstructed text, Dead Sea Scrolls

The end of the scroll of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) reconstructed from Cairo Geniza fragments not contained within the Septuagint. . . .

תהלים קנ״א | Psalms 151a, according to the Nusaḥ of the Judean Desert Scrolls, Edited, Vocalized, Cantillated, and Translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown Author(s) and David haMelekh ben Yishai (traditional attribution)
Shared on כ״ה באייר ה׳תש״פ (2020-05-18) — under the following terms:
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Second Temple Period
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Antiquity, apocryphal psalms, Psalms 151, Judaean Desert Scrolls

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תהלים קנ״ד | Psalms 154, according to the Nusaḥ of the Judean Desert Scrolls, Edited, Vocalized, Cantillated, and Translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ה באייר ה׳תש״פ (2020-05-18) — under the following terms:
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Second Temple Period
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Antiquity, apocryphal psalms, Psalms 151, Judaean Desert Scrolls

Psalm 154 seems to be a hymn of communal eating, very appropriate for the communal life of Qumran, but also features a very Proverbs-like anthropomorphization of Wisdom as a woman. Of the three apocryphal psalms recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls, this one seems the most likely to have been written with sectarian intent, which may have been why it wasn’t included in the Masoretic canon. . . .

תהלים קנ״ה | Psalms 155, according to the Nusaḥ of the Judean Desert Scrolls, Edited, Vocalized, Cantillated, and Translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ה באייר ה׳תש״פ (2020-05-18) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period
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acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, Antiquity, apocryphal psalms, Psalms 151, Judaean Desert Scrolls

Psalm 155 is an incomplete acrostic (the Dead Sea Scrolls text records it going from ב to נ, and the Syriac can be reconstructed to include up to פ) with similarities to petitionary psalms like Psalm 3, 22, and 143. It is unclear why it was not included in the Masoretic canon, but one can hazard a guess that it was just not familiar to the compilers. . . .

תפילת עזריה חנניה ומישאל בתוך הכבשן | The Prayer of Azaryah, Ḥananyah, and Mishael from within the Furnace, according to the Aramaic text of Divrei Yeraḥmiel (ca. 12th c.)

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Moses Gaster (translation), Yeraḥmiel ben Shlomo and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on ו׳ בשבט ה׳תש״פ (2020-01-31) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period
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Aramaic, martyrdom, deuterocanonical works, Daniel

The prayer of Azaryah and his song of praise with Ḥananyah, and Mishael from within the Furnace (also known as “the song of the three holy children”) found in Aramaic in the Divrei Yeraḥmiel (the Chronicles of Jeraḥmeel, Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11). . . .

דָּנִיֵּאל וְהַתַּנִּין | Daniel vs. the Dragon, according to the Aramaic text of Divrei Yeraḥmiel (ca. 12th c.)

Second Temple Period
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anti-predatory, Antiquity, captives, deuterocanonical works, Jewish Antiquities, dragons, iconoclastic, the Pit, captive animals, קפיצת הדרך ḳfitsat haderekh, חבקוק Ḥabaquq

The story of Daniel and the dragon held captive by the neo-Babylonians found in Aramaic in the Divrei Yeraḥmiel (the Chronicles of Jeraḥmeel, Oxford Bodleian Heb d.11). . . .

Βηλ Και Δρακων | בֵּל וְהַתַּנִּין | Bel & the Dragon, according to Theodotion translated into Biblical Hebrew by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Theodotion (translation/Greek) and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ׳ בטבת ה׳תש״פ (2020-01-16) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period
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anti-predatory, Antiquity, captives, deuterocanonical works, Jewish Antiquities, dragons, iconoclastic, the Pit, captive animals, קפיצת הדרך ḳfitsat haderekh

The story of Bel and the Dragon according to the text of Theodotion, translated into biblical Hebrew. . . .

Σουσαννα | שׁוֹשַׁנָּה וְהַזְּקֵנִים | Shoshanah & the Elders, according to Theodotion translated into Biblical Hebrew by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Second Temple Period
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anti-predatory, Antiquity, sexual predation, deuterocanonical works, Jewish Antiquities

The story of Shoshanah & the Elders, according to the text of Theodotion translated into Biblical Hebrew. . . .

מגילת ניקנור | Megillat Niqanor (II Maccabees, chapters 13-15), a Reading for the Day of the Elephantarch

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown Author(s) and Ἰάσων ὁ Κυρηναῖος
Shared on י״ג באדר ב׳ ה׳תשע״ו (2016-03-22) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
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Second Temple Period, Megillot, Yom Niqanor Readings
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military, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, 2nd century B.C.E., 37th century A.M.

It is challenging to think of how to mark Nicanor Day, as it remains at a disadvantage, not only on years when it conflicts with Ta’anit Esther but on all years since it has no mitzvot. This is probably the main reason that, unlike Chanukah and Purim, it was lost to Jewish practice for more than a thousand years. Nevertheless, we do have its megillah, which has been translated into Hebrew and English. Perhaps, if we start reading chapters 13-15 of 2 Maccabees, even just to ourselves, on the 13 of Adar, we can begin to resurrect a holiday that was celebrated and instituted by Judah Maccabee and his followers over two millennia ago, and which they envisioned would continue throughout Jewish History. With the return of Jews to Israel and Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem, I believe it is about time. . . .

The Story of Gedalyah, as told by Titus Flavius Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Ralph Marcus (translation) and Titus Flavius Josephus
Shared on ג׳ בתשרי ה׳תשע״ט (2018-09-12) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
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Second Temple Period, Tsom Gedalyah
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assassination, 1st century C.E., 39th century A.M., Jewish Antiquities

The story of Gedaliah as recorded by Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities. . . .

Ὑμνεῖν με δεῖ τὸν θεόν | “I Must Praise God,” excerpted from the Discourses of Epictetus by Rabbi Morrison David Bial

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Morrison David Bial and Epictetus the Stoic
Shared on א׳ בתמוז ה׳תש״פ (2020-06-23) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
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Second Temple Period, Pedagogy
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Antiquity, 1st century C.E., 39th century A.M., Stoicism

A short discourse on the necessity for prayer by the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus. . . .

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