אֲמַר קִירִיס לְמֹשֶׁה | Amar Kiris l-Mosheh, a lamentation on the death of Mosheh (SYAP 40, ca. 7th c.) • the Open Siddur Project

Tags: 45th century A.M., 7th century C.E., acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, Mosheh Rabbenu, mourning, Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, קינות Ḳinōt

Excerpt: Amar Kiris l-Moshe, is a midrashic narrative of Moshe going to Adam to ask why he cursed humanity with death. It's been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom's "Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity," it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . .

Content:

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 one 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 first piyyut, Amar Kiris l-Moshe, is a midrashic narrative (possibly related to the Islamic hadith) of Moshe going to Adam to ask why he cursed humanity with death. 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.

Source (Aramaic)	Translation (English)
אֲמַר קִירִיס לְמֹשֶׁה מִן־גוֹ שְׁכִינְתָּה בְּגִין מָה אַתְּ דָּחִיל מִן־מוֹתָה גְּזָרִית עַל כׇּל־בִּירְיְתָה דַּע דְּתַמָּן אִינּוּן כׇּל־אֲבָהָתָה	As the Lord said to Moshe in Their manifestation, “By what reason do you fear expiration? Given as a decree on all creation, Don’t you know that your ancestors too went to that location?”
הֲלָא מְשֶׁה כַּד שְׁמַע מִלְּתָה וּבָהִיא שַׁעֲתָה אֲזַל לְחֶבְרוֹן רַבְּתָה זְעַק וּקְרָא לְאָדָם מִן־גוֹ קְבוּרְתָּה חֲמֵי לִי לְמָה חֲטִיתָה בְּגוֹ גִּנְּתָה	Even as Moshe was hearing this oration, Went he to Hebron the great conurbation. Zealously crying to Adam^[1] According to Genesis Rabbah 58:4, Adam is buried in Hebron. in his inhumation: “How, pray, in the Garden did you do such desecration?”
טְעַמְתָּ וַאֲכַלְתָּ מִן אִילָן דַּעְתָּה יְהַבְתָּ לִבְנָיךְ בְּכִיתָה וְאַלִּיתָה כׇּל־גִּנְּתָה הַוָת קֳדָמָיךְ וְלָא שְׂבַעְתָּה לְמָה בְּפִקּוּדוֹי דְּקִירִיס מְרַדְתָּה	“Tasting, you ate from the tree of information, You gave your descendants crying and lamentation. Keeping all the garden before you, yet you found no satiation. Look, why did you rebel against the Lord’s stipulation?”
מַן־אַתְּ אֲמַר לֵיהּ אָדָם בְּחוּכְמְתָה נֵדַע אִן אִית בָּךְ דַּעַת בִּינְתָה סִימָן קְשֵׁה הוּא דֵּן דְּעוֹרַרְתָּ יָתִי מִן־שִׁנְתָה עֲנָה וַאֲמַר אֲנָה הוּא מֹשֶׁה דְּקַבֵּלִית אוֹרַיתָה	“My! Who are you?” said Adam to him in wise investigation. “Now let’s see if you have knowledge to discern your postulation. Starting with a bad sign – you woke me from my somniation.” On this he answered, saying “I, Moshe, got Torah for the nation!”
פְּתַח פֻּמֵהּ וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ אִתְּבּוֹנַן מָה קְרֵיתָה צֲפֵי דִּתְרֵין אַלְפִין דִּשְׁנִין קַדְמַת יָתִי אוֹרַיתָה קַבֵּיל עָלָיךְ מֹשֶׁה כָּס מוֹתָה רְשִׁים הוּא שְׁמִי לְמוֹתָה וְלִי לְמָה אוֹכַחְתָּה	Proceeding to speak, he said, “Comprehend its recitation! Check this: two thousand years before me was the Torah’s creation!^[2] According to Genesis Rabbah 8:2, the Torah predates the creation of the world by two thousand years. Quaff the cup of death, o Moshe, in resignation. Recorded was my name for death — why set on me recrimination?”
שְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה וְזַלְגַת בֵּיהּ דִּמְעֲתָה תִּתְנַיַּיח נַפְשָׁךְ עִם־כׇּל־אֲבָהָתָה׃	Shaking, Moshe heard, and tears flowed in lacrimation. Thus let your soul rest with your ancestors upon cessation!

Notes

Notes
1	According to Genesis Rabbah 58:4, Adam is buried in Hebron.
2	According to Genesis Rabbah 8:2, the Torah predates the creation of the world by two thousand years.

Featured Image:

Title: 1280px-Signorelli,_Luca_-_Moses’s_Testament_and_Death_-_1481-82
Caption: "Testament and Death of Moses" (1482) by Luca Signorelli