Akdamut

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The Akdamut (Aramaic: אֵקְדָּמוּת; also: Akdamut Milin, Aramaic: אֵקְדָּמוּת מִלִּין), meaning "introduction to the words" (where "words" stand for the Ten Commandments), is annually on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot by Ashkenazi Jews in recited Aramaic language . It is a prominent pijjut ( Hebrew : פיוט, "liturgical poem"), which before the reading of the Ten Commandments , the aseret ha-dibrot ( Hebrew עשרת הדיברות), is prayed. Aramaic was the slang language into which the text of the Torah was often translated for those who did not speak Hebrew.

origin

It was written by Rabbi Meir Bar Yitzchak (Nehorai) from Orléans (approx. 1030 - approx. 1095) during the First Crusade , a chasan (prayer leader) in Worms . The Akdamut consists of prayers of praise for God, his Torah and his people. It is not mentioned as part of the Shavuot liturgy until the first decade of the 15th century, and the earliest prayer book containing it was published in 1557.

Reading to Shavuot

Akdamut is read on the first day of Shavuot before the Torah reading in almost all Ashkenazi synagogues with a special melody, after Kohen calls for the Torah reading before he recites the Aaronic Blessing (priestly blessing ).

In most synagogues it is spoken alternately: the Baal Keriah (Torah reader) sings two verses and the congregation answers with the next two verses. It is considered the best known and most popular pijjut in Judaism.

structure

The entire poem is 90 verses long. The first 44 verses of Akdamut are arranged as a double alphabetic acrostic , two lines for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, followed by 46 verses beginning with the initials that refer to the author. The language of Akdamut is short and complex, and contains numerous references to the Torah and Talmud. Each line has ten syllables and ends with the syllable “ta” (תא), which is written with the last letter ( ת - taw ) and the first letter ( א - aleph ) of the Hebrew alphabet . The message encoded in it is that a Jew never stops learning the Torah - when you have finished reading you have to start over. This is directly related to Shavuot (Weeks Festival), on which the renewed reception of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai is celebrated.

content

The Akdamut praises God as the Creator of the world, while at the same time highlighting the inadequacy of every mortal to receive comparable praise. The angels collectively praise the Creator, but as wonderful and respectable creatures angels are, the praise of the people of Israel is far more precious to God. The people of Israel have been tricked into joining idolatry, but they have been loyal to God and to Jewish tradition and anticipated the time when they will enjoy the reward of experiencing His presence. “All of us,” the poet concludes, “will enjoy his glory by observing the 'Ten Words' - the Ten Commandments - contained in God's gift of the Torah, which we are about to read”.

Excerpt from the prayer

If all the surfaces of the sky were made of parchment,
And all the trees of the world were pens,

If all seas and rivers and lakes were filled with ink,
And all men of the world were writers and scribes;

Still would not be enough to
describe the greatness and glory of G ‐ d.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hoffman, Jeffrey, Akdamut: History, Folklore, and Meaning , Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 99, No. 2, 2009, p. 170.
  2. ↑ Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) p. 14
  3. ↑ a b Salamon, Avrohom Yaakov, Akdamus Millin , with a new translation and commentary anthologized from the traditional Rabbinic literature, 1978, Brooklyn, Mesorah Pub'ns intro., Pp. XV-XVI.
  4. ↑ Scherman, Nosson, The Complete ArtScroll Machzor : Shavuos (Ashkenaz ed. 1995, Brooklyn, Mesorah Pub'ns) p. 266.
  5. ↑ Akdamut , HaGalil. Retrieved May 25, 2020.