שִׁיר הַיִּחוּד לְיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן | Hymn of Divine Unity for the First Day, by an unknown paytan (ca. 12th c.)

This is the shir ha-yiḥud l’yom rishon (hymn or song of unity for the first day), as translated by Nina Salaman and published in the maḥzor for Yom haKippurim by Arthur Davis and Herbert Adler (1904). I have made changes to the translation, mainly to update archaic language and disambiguated terms for animals and Temple offerings. I’ve also replaced male default language for God with gender inclusive terms. The transcription of the shir published here is based first on the unvocalized text found in Lia van Aalsum’s dissertation, “Lied van de eenheid. Een onderzoek naar de bijbelse intertekstualiteit van het spirituele geschrift Sjier haJichoed” (2010), pp. 42-44. Dr. Van Aalsum’s transcription was itself derived from the published transcription of Abraham Meir Habermann (Mosad haRav Kook: 1948) based on a commentary on the Shir haYiḥud by Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen (Thinegen 1560) republished in a facsimile edition in 1982 by Joseph Dan. I have revocalized the text according to A.M. Habermann’s work. –Aharon Varady

In his introduction to a facsimile edition of the Shir haYiḥud published by Joseph Dan in 1982, the scholar writes:

“Shir ha-Yiḥud”, “The Hymn of Divine Unity”, is a theological poem, composed in Central Europe in the second half of the 12th century by a Jewish theologian or mystic who probably belonged to the sect of the Ashkenazi Ḥasidim (Jewish-German Pietists). This poem became one of the most famous poetic works to be included in the Jewish prayer-book, and had great impact upon the development of theological poetry in Hebrew. To some extent it can be compared to the famous “Keter Malchut” by Rabbi Shlomo ben Gevirol; both poems gave expression to the deepest religious attitudes found in the Jewish cultures which created them.

“Shir ha-Yiḥud” is an anonymous poem, even though some editions, including the one reproduced here, attribute it to the leader of the Ashkenazi Ḥasidic movement, Rabbi Judah ben Samuel the Pious, who lived in Spyer and Regensburg in the second half of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th (died in 1217). In one of the esoteric theological works of Rabbi Judah, written circa 1200, this poem is quoted, and attributed to a “poet”, as if it were an old, well-known work of liturgy (Ms. Oxford 1567, 4b-5a). This could be seen as conclusive evidence that Rabbi Judah did not write this poem, for an author does not, usually, quote his own work in this way. However, the possibility that Rabbi Judah was the author should not be rejected off-hand. It is a fact that Rabbi Judah insisted, in his ethical works, that books and hymns shouid be published anonymously, for the inclusion of the author’s name in them might cause his descendants to commit the sin of pride. We do not have works by Rabbi Judah signed by him, and it seems that he himself scrupulously observed this maxim, though even his closest disciple, Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, did sign all his work in his full name. In the same theological treatise Rabbi Judah quoted “Sefer Ḥasidim”’, his major ethical work, several times, as an anonymous work. However, we do lack a positive indication that proves him to be the author. It seems that by the thirties of the 13th century no clear tradition existed in Germany concerning the authorship of the hymn. In Rabbi Moses Taku’s polemical work, “Ketav Tamim”, the hymn is mentioned twice and attributed to “Rabbi Bezalel and Rabbi Samuel’, and it is evident that Rabbi Moses did not know anything about the author of the work.

The theology of the Shir ha-Yiḥud is based to a very large extent on the text of Rav Saadia Gaon’s Book of Beliefs and Ideas, but not on the original text (in Arabic) or the standard 12th century translation by Rabbi Judah ben Tibbon, but on an early paraphrase of the work, probably made in the 11th century. This paraphrase transformed Rav Saadia’s philosophical treatise into a poetic description of God’s greatness, and several passages of such descriptions were included in the “Shir ha-Yiḥud” almost verbatim. The author in medieval Germany used Saadia’s material to introduce to his own community some basic concepts concerning the creation and the nature of God, emphasizing his remoteness from any corporeal description and insisting especially on the divine immanence throughout the cosmos. Rabbi Moses Taku’s criticism of the work concentrated on this aspect of the hymn’s theology, for Rabbi Moses objected to the new, philosophical attitude towards God which began to spread in the Jewish community in Germany at that time, mainly through the teachings of the Ashkenazi Ḥasidim.

The Shir ha-Yiḥud is the first step in the evolvement of a whole literary genre, which developed in Germany in the 13th century and produced nearly a score of treatises, most of them including the term “Yiḥud” (divine unity) in their titles. These works, written by the Ashkenazi Hasidim, popularized the theology influenced by Saadia, insisting on divine transcendence and immanence at the same time, rejecting anthropomorphic concepts of God and explaining divine revelation in non-corporeal terms. These works were written in prose, leaving Shir ha-Yiḥud as one of the very few examples of Jewish theology of this period expressed in poetic form. One more example, however, is published here — a theological poem which was written in a circle of Jewish mystics late in the 12th century, which was included in several works, among them those of Rabbi Elhanan ben Yaqar of London (middle of the 13th century). This poem was probably written in order to serve as a basis for a theological exegesis, for, unlike Shir ha-Yihud, it is brief and cryptic. These two examples serve, however, to demonstrate the role that poetry played in the emergence of Jewish esoteric and mystical literature in Central Europe.

Source(s)

Shir haYihud l’Yom Rishon (Thinegen 1560 [facsimile]), p. 3

Shir haYihud l’Yom Rishon (Thinegen 1560 [facsimile]), p. 4

Shir haYihud l’Yom Rishon (Thinegen 1560 [facsimile]), p. 5

Shir haYihud l’Yom Rishon (Thinegen 1560 [facsimile]), p. 6

Shir haYihud l’Yom Rishon (Thinegen 1560 [facsimile]), p. 7