Moses went up on high

Joseph Bonfils (Tov ‘Elem)

First Half of the 11th Century

Moses went up on high,
 and brought down the perfect Law
  on the Feast of Shavu’oth.
The Rock Himself descended,
 and gave strength unto His people
  with thunders and with earthquakes.
All the trees of the forest
 were seized by fear and trembling,
  and also the hills and the mountains.
He taught the holy people
 the order of solstices and months
  and the reckoning of the hours.
He loved them more than all other nations,
 and brought them to Mount Sinai,
  the God of salvation.
He carried them on eagles’ wings,
 He that dwells in lofty heights;
  and underneath are the everlasting arms.
They, the comely and beautiful people,
 rebelled at the very moment they heard God speaking;
  the very heavens shook.
The shamed ones covered their heads,
 and the Rock devoted them to the slaughter,
  when the time for punishment came.
The majestic expanse of the sky
 and a lofty stretch of earth,
  they were touching each other.
The Righteous One turned the mountain
 over the fair and comely people
  like a barrel and like curtains.
The chosen people hearkened
 to upright statutes and ordinances
  with an attentive ear.
The Lofty One, in His mercy,
 protected them from the hand of all their enemies
  and also from evil decrees.
He sent signs and wonders,
 and bequeathed to them engraved laws
  in wisdom and in knowledge.
He greatly magnifed their glory,
 making them famous and praised,
  like the blessing of the cup of salvation.
Translated by Jakob J. Petuchowski.

Credits

Joseph Bonfils (Tov ‘Elem), “Moses Went up on High,” trans. Jakob J. Petuchowski, from Jakob J. Petuchowski, Theology and Poetry: Studies in the Medieval Piyyut (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978), 118–19. Used with permission of the translator’s estate.

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

Engage with this Source

This is a ma‘ariv, a poem to be inserted in the blessings surrounding the evening Shema‘. Written for the festival of Shavuot, the poet connects each part of the poem with the Ten Commandments, traditionally understood to have been given on that day. In this poem, Joseph recounts the events surrounding the revelation at Sinai and the chosenness of Israel. The first two lines of each stanza contain an internal rhyme, and the third line rhymes throughout the poem.

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Creator Bio

Joseph Bonfils (Tov ‘Elem)

First Half of the 11th Century

Joseph bar Samuel Bonfls (Tov ‘Elem) was a French tal-mudic scholar and the author of many piyyutim. Joseph was born in Narbonne, in southern France, but lived in Limoges in the Anjou region of France. Rashi’s students held him in high regard, labeling him “Rabbi Joseph the Great.” Later generations frequently cited his legal decisions and his piyyutim remained popular; many are still recited in some Ashkenazic communities. Joseph’s poems are full of midrashic references and halakhic rulings. He also wrote a commentary on the Pentateuch, but nothing from that work has survived.

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