⤷ You are here:
tag: יצחק Yitsḥaq Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? This piyyut, “Amar Yitsḥaq,” was originally written as an introduction to the fifth commandment, the commandment of honoring your father and mother. In the eyes of the payṭan, the quintessential example of honoring your father is an incredibly morbid one — Isaac, encouraging his father to go through with it on the altar and begging him to strike true, so that the sacrifice isn’t rendered unfit! It incorporates midrashic narratives about Isaac’s total willingness to go through with the sacrifice, as well as his longing for his mother in the process. To our modern eyes it is quite a disturbing work! But it’s worth remembering that there were many cases in medieval Europe of Jewish parents so desperate and terrified on account of the Crusades that they killed their own children rather than have them submit to baptism. Perhaps this poem provided those who heard such horrific stories some comfort. Categories: Tags: 45th century A.M., 7th century C.E., acrostic, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aqédat Yitsḥaq, Aramaic, Decalogue, martyrdom, פיוטים piyyuṭim, self-sacrifice, תרגום targum, יצחק Yitsḥaq Contributor(s): The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of Ashkenaz. Categories: Tags: Avraham Avinu, Children of Avraham, in the merit of our ancestors, Nusaḥ Ashkenaz, self-sacrifice, יצחק Yitsḥaq Contributor(s): The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of the Sefaradim. Categories: Tags: Avraham Avinu, Children of Avraham, in the merit of our ancestors, Nusaḥ Sefaradi, self-sacrifice, יצחק Yitsḥaq Contributor(s): Im Afes Rova’ ha-Qen, an Aqedah (poetic retelling of the binding of Isaac) written by the 12th-century scholar R. Ephraim ben Isaac of Regensburg, is one of the few piyyuṭim of Ashkenazi origin to have a beloved place in the Sephardic liturgy. (Much more commonly things go the other way.) In current Sephardic practice it is recited every single weeknight in the month of Elul, as part of the seliḥot liturgy — as well as on the second day of Rosh haShanah. It is also recited in most Ashkenazi Seliḥot liturgies — in the Bohemian and Lithuanian customs on the fast of Gedaliah, and in the Polish custom on the fourth day of the ten days. Which means that not only is this Ashkenazi piyyuṭ beloved by Sephardim, it is substantially *more* beloved by Sephardim than it is by Ashkenazim! And as with any beloved piyyuṭ, it has been translated into the colloquial for all the people to appreciate its language. The following is not only the complete Hebrew text of Im Afes along with a new English translation, but also a rhyming Ladino translation composed by R. Reuven Eliyahu Yisrael, the spiritual leader of the Sephardic community of Craiova, Romania, and published in the aforementioned town in the year 1910 (in טראדוקסייון ליברי די לאס פואיזיאס איבראיקאאס). To demonstrate the techniques used by R. Yisrael in his translation, a literal translation of the Ladino, as well as a transcription into the Latin-script Aki Yerushalaim orthography, is also provided. Categories: Tags: 12th century C.E., 50th century A.M., Avraham Avinu, Children of Avraham, in the merit of our ancestors, Ladino Translation, Nusaḥ Sefaradi, paraliturgical seliḥot, פיוטים piyyuṭim, self-sacrifice, סליחות səliḥot, יצחק Yitsḥaq Contributor(s): I had an opening, with the help and support of some holy chevrei, to take on Binding of Isaac and accompanying meditations that occupy a conspicuous space during the morning blessings. This is what came out. | ||
Sign up for a summary of new resources shared by contributors each week
![]() ![]() |