A Fire Is Kindled within Me

Shalom Rada’i was born and raised in the village of Manakha, southwest of Sana’a, in a traditional Yemenite Jewish family. He was a prolific writer, transcribing Maimonides into Arabic, working as a sofer, and writing piyutim (liturgical poems) as well as composing their melodies. In 1949, as part of Operation Magic Carpet, he immigrated to Israel, where he was settled in the ma‘abarah (transit camp) of Znuach. Here he wrote “Esh tokad be-kirbi,” based on a Tishah be-Av piyut by Abraham Ibn Ezra; it laments the decline of religion in Israel, a common trope throughout his Israeli poetry. This piyut was published in a Neturei Karta pamphlet, emphasizing the consequences of Zionism. Most of his melodies and piyutim were adopted, without citation, in various publications, including Amram Korach’s ‘Alumot shir (1982).