I recall and recount the bitterness of this day

Abraham ha-Kohen

1024

I recall and recount the bitterness of this day,
and I see what my sins have brought upon me.
They have overtaken me, and captured me.
I have been oppressed to the point of plunder,
and they have arisen to attack my life, and I said,
“Is this how the Rock accepts the one who petitions Him?
Is the fat of his fesh copiously given to his foes?”1
On the fifteenth of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until the One who performs wonders looked out upon me with mercy, and protected me and rescued me, in the merit of the one [Abraham] to whom He spoke after these things (Genesis 15:1).
 Blessed are You, O Lord, shield of Abraham. [ . . . ]
[God] showed me what He decreed upon me,
and what would be befall me each day.
He showed me the image of a prison [or, dome] in this place.
I was frightened and scared, and I decreed . . . a fast,
I regretted my life, saying: This is bad.
. . . on that day, the wise will remain silent.
On the 15th of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until the One who performs wonders looked out upon me with mercy,
who atoned for the holy people, in the merit of the one to whom Laban said, “Who are these?”2
Blessed are You, O Lord, the holy God.
For I remembered what imprisoned Joseph and all the righteous,
and what close people did to him, not distant ones,
for if so, they would have been innocent in their deed.3
Arise and crush them in boulders and crevices!
On the 15th of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until [the One who performs wonders] graciously gave me knowledge,
in the merit of the one [Moses] who said: Please forgive (Numbers 14:19) these people.
 Blessed are You, O Lord, who graciously gives knowledge.
I recall the power of the Greeks, and those . . .
. . . and the Hasmoneans destroyed them . . .
So may He avenge the priests from the hand of . . . ,
. . . and said: “They paid back good with evil [see 1 Samuel 25:21 and Psalms 35:12].”4
. . The children are plundered by the slaves,5 they are laid waste,
and we lament over them: “Woe to those once at peace!”
On the fifteenth of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until [the One who performs wonders] accepted my repentance,
in the merit of the incense, which atoned for this people [see Numbers 17:12].
 Blessed are You, O Lord, who desires repentance.
He who rescues the misfortunate in trouble, and from His Temple hears his voice,
to destroy the foe, in accordance with his deeds,
[to destroy] his roof and his troops, [in accordance with] his mother’s sin.
He should have no portion in building His shrine.6
On the fifteenth of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until [the One who performs wonders] gave me merit,
in the merit of may there be a double portion (2 Kings 2:9) [i.e., the merit of Elijah and Elisha] with these.
 Blessed are You, O Lord, shield of David.
Proclaim liberty for me,
for [my enemies] introduced the beam [or, cold] into me.
Remember the merit of the ancestors for me,
and entirely pass up Your violence.
Hear my prayer and demolish his [i.e., my enemy’s] pr ayer.
Lock the gates of heaven for him, stop them up.
On the 15th of Kislev, I was hurled into prison.
On no true pretext, violence was raised,
until the One that hears prayer heard my prayer,
in the merit of the one [Isaiah] who called heaven and earth to testify regarding this people [see Isaiah 1:2].
I found You to be a refuge, O my Rock,
when I trusted in You at the time of my distress.
In the merit of the ancient mountains [i.e., the biblical heroes], I beseech, do not hide, and do not keep Your rage long,
for You are God, balm for my wound.
Give me the merit [to see] the service in Your Temple, for that is my hope.
On the 15th of Kislev, I was hurled into prison, . . .
and restore the service . . .
Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[The Hebrew syntax here is very difficult. Another reading may be: “And is he copiously given of the fat of the fesh of his foes?”—Trans.]

[The Hebrew text reads mar eleh, “these are bitter,” but no biblical character is said to have said these words. A slight emendation yields mi eleh, “Who are these?,” which was uttered by Esau to Jacob in Genesis 33:5. The first two stanzas dealt with Abraham and Isaac, so a reference to Jacob is expected here; the poet seems to have confused Esau with Laban, another of Jacob’s adversaries.—Trans.]

[This line seems to mean that if Joseph’s persecutors had been enemies, rather than relatives or friends or coreligionists, he would not have considered their deed so bad.—Trans.]

[Perhaps a reference to David.—Trans.]

[Probably meaning that Jews, descendants of Sarah, are plundered by Arabs, descendants of her maidservant Hagar. Our author’s primary enemies are other Jews, but perhaps they have brought Arab allies.—Trans.]

[I.e., may the people who hurt the author not live to see the rebuilding of the Temple. See the refusal of the Samaritans to participate in the building of the Second Temple, in Ezra 4 . —Tr a n s .]

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

Engage with this Source

Abraham ha-Kohen composed this poem, which its manuscript dates to the year 1024, to commemorate his imprisonment on the fifteenth of Kislev (though possibly in a previous year). In one line, Abraham seems to indicate that his persecutors were other Jews. Unfortunately, he ofers very little background about what led to these events. The poem is structured around the blessings of the weekday Amidah prayer and was intended to be inserted in the public recitation of that prayer in synagogue. Every stanza contains fve lines with a single rhyme that is the-matically connected to each blessing. Although the remembrance of communal salvation is a frequent theme in Jewish prayer, the mention of individual deliverance is much less common. Unbracketed ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.

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Creator Bio

Abraham ha-Kohen

11th Century

Little is known about Abraham ha-Kohen, who seems to have specialized in liturgical poetry. Abraham was a member of the Palestinian community in Fustât (Old Cairo) and may have been from Palestine originally.

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