Cry, my brethren

Late 10th or Early 11th Century

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This is an elegy for the Jews of Palestine, who had been attacked by the Bedouin Jarrāhids in 1024. (Menahem ben Yom Tov composed a poem on the same theme, “The kings of Arabia have haughtily convened.”) Ibn Abītūr composed this poem in the Arabic-influenced Hebrew metrics popular in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) but followed an Eastern rhyme scheme. It is not clear when this poem would have been recited; it may have been intended for the Ninth of Av. Ibn Abītūr quotes or alludes to many biblical passages, particularly from the book of Lamentations.

Cry, my brethren, and mourn for Zion and its many people,

like the mourning for Hadadrimon or Josiah son of Amon.¹

Cry, O dainty soft people, who now walk barefoot and tread on thorns,

who draw water for Cushites and chop wood for them.

Cry for the man who has been pressed into servitude, for which he is not trained,

to whom they say, “Carry! Lift!” though he is unable to bear a burden.

Cry, O people who see their glorious children,

worth their weight in gold, now made corpses by the hands of Cushites.

Cry, O poor people, who have been wandering around Zion, defiled

by the blood of pregnant woman, who have been cut open, and the blood of the aged and of young children.

Cry, O pure people, whom the impure are beating into eating their abominations,

to make them forget their covenant with God, their Rock, and to forget their land, the place they desire.

Cry, O women who purify yourselves, and keep yourselves pure, guarding yourselves,

who are now in birthing pangs, for the progeny of Ham have impregnated them.

Cry, yes, cry, for the girls who were like palaces,

who now are enslaved to abominable slavegirls.

Cry, yes, cry, and mourn, for the synagogues,

which the vicious beasts have burst through, and wild birds gather there.

Cry for the people who were brought together on the day of evil, and blasted,

and for the poor and indigent, who were oppressed and crushed.

Cry, yes, cry, for those of us still living; do not cry for our dead—

for our desire, at every moment, is to be like them.

Therefore, my friend, do not think to console me

for all those cut into pieces in Zion and left without anyone to bury them.

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[Zechariah 12:11 states that there will be a great mourning in the future, as great as “the mourning for Hadadrimon in the Valley of Megiddon.” According to rabbinic understanding, as expressed in the Aramaic translation (Targum) of this verse, it means: The mourning for King Ahab, who was killed by Hadadrimon, and for Josiah, who was killed on Mount Megiddo.—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Cry, my brethren

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Cry, my brethren

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