God, You commanded Your beloved chosen one

Late 12th Century

About This Entry

This piyyut was written to be inserted in the second blessing of the Grace after Meals at the celebratory circumcision feast and is still recited there in western Ashkenazic communities. Ephraim praises circumcision as the sign of Israel’s covenant with God, the “eternal covenant” from Genesis 17:7. He also recounts some of the biblical episodes of circumcision as well as certain associated laws. Ephraim’s celebration of the “eternal” nature of this commandment may well be a pointed response to Christian claims that such ritual laws have been replaced with a “circumcision of the heart” (see Jeremiah 4:4 and its use by early Christians in Romans 2:29). Ephraim signs his name in the acrostic.

God, You commanded your beloved chosen one [Abraham]:

You shall keep My covenant impressed in your flesh—an eternal covenant.

You shall cut it, for the sake of Your creator,

for the Holy One of Israel, for He has given you glory.

Glory¹ you revealed to [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre,

when he had performed your commandment on Yom Kippur, in awe of you—an eternal covenant.

You said, “I will heal you from your wound,

For I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Healer, when you removed one of your limbs, the blood was an indicator.²

He inscribed: Walk before me and be unblemished (Genesis 17:1)—an eternal covenant.

I see your wound like the blood of burnt offerings and peace offerings,

in order that things be good for you, and you live long days.

Days when the father [Moses] of the wise was lax about the covenant,

his wife then said: “Bridegroom of blood!”³—an eternal covenant.

Yah, remember the treasured people.

Show your marvelous kindness, O You who save those who trust You from attackers.

From attackers I will gather in your dispersed, and collect them,

from the time when I see you wallowing [in blood],⁴ when I pass over you—an eternal covenant.

I will break the poles of your yokes,

and I, because of your circumcision blood, have sent your captives out of the pit.

Out of the pit and the furnace, when the Father of a Multitude went out,⁵

He was helped by Your glory, and You cut his covenant together with him⁶—an eternal covenant.

It overrides the Sabbath, and cutting of a leprous sore:⁷

on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. [ . . . ]

I will circumcise you, your hearts, through your foreskins,

and I will place my spirit inside you—an eternal covenant.

Eat and be satisfied and give praise for your land, which the Lord gave to you.

As it is said: When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[I.e., the visible manifestation of God’s presence. According to Genesis 18:1, God revealed Himself to Abraham in the plains of Mamre; according to rabbinic tradition, this was a divine visit three days after Abraham’s circumcision. According to one rabbinic tradition, this circumcision took place on Yom Kippur. —Trans.]

[A pun on a rabbinic expression “the money [damim] is an indicator” that a transaction has taken place; the words blood and money are homophones.—Trans.]

[As expressed in the previous line, Moses waited some days, and did not circumcise his son on time. According to Exodus 4:24–26, God wanted to kill Moses (or possibly the baby) for this infraction; Moses’ wife Zipporah then circumcised the baby and cried out (probably to the baby): “You are a bridegroom of blood!”—Trans.]

[See Ezekiel 16:6. Rabbinic tradition understands this verse as referring to the blood of circumcision, in whose merit God redeemed the Israelites from Egypt. Similarly, God says in this poem that He will redeem the Jews from the current exile in the merit of the blood of circumcision.—Trans.]

[I.e., Abraham. See Genesis 17:4: You will be a father of a multitude of nations. According to rabbinic tradition, Abraham suffered in his youth by living in a cave and being cast into a fiery furnace.—Trans.]

[According to Genesis Rabbah 49:2, Abraham was scared to perform the circumcision on himself, so God held the knife together with him, and helped him make the cut.—Trans.]

[In general, it is forbidden to perform surgery on the Sabbath, but if the eighth day of a boy’s life falls on the Sabbath, the demand for circumcision overrides this. Similarly, it is forbidden to cut off a leprous sore (Leviticus 13), but if there is one on the penis of a baby boy, circumcision overrides this as well.—Trans.]

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