Debate between Wine and Water
Zalman Sofer
1517
“I’m called the offspring of the grape,” said the wine. “People drink me fervently, and I’m very fine. I can make people joke and jibe, I can drive away their terrible pains, I can delight their hearts.”
“Stop talking,” the water snapped. “Remember the way you sinned with Noah in the ark. You can’t hold a candle to me, I please both rich and poor.”…
Creator Bio
Zalman Sofer
Nothing is known about the life of Zalman Sofer, who composed a poetic debate between wine and water. Hebrew and Yiddish versions of this poem appear in an anthology of secular Hebrew and Yiddish poetry edited by Menaḥem ben Naphtali Olendorf, which was completed in 1516. Zalman’s name appears in an acrostic in the poem. This debate between wine and water was written in the medieval tradition of “debate” or “controversy” poems depicting an argument between two opposing parties. This tradition was also popular among medieval Hebrew poets. The versions in Hebrew and Yiddish are very different, and some scholars have described them as completely different poems. A competition among the Jewish holidays written in rhyming narrative form is also attributed to Sofer.
Related Guide
Early Modern Jewish Languages
As Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews migrated eastward, Yiddish and Ladino emerged as distinct languages. Both languages developed literary traditions, as print became more widespread.
Related Guide
Early Modern Literature and the Arts
Jewish literary creativity flourished in the early modern period, dominated by Hebrew poetry that blended religious themes with Renaissance forms.
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