Those who say father, son, and spirit

Joseph Ibn Abītūr

Late 10th or Early 11th Century

Those who say: Father and Son and Spirit, the third
Those who gather on Sunday and also observe Friday
Those who create a form of clay to worship
Those who are gathered to replace dignity by ignominy
Those who bear witness the one hanged before the sun
Those who bow to the bowed one and [to] fve liars
Those who sin against the Living God and…
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This piyyut, meant to be recited on Yom Kippur as part of the Amidah, directly after the verse “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts, whose glory flls the whole earth” (Isaiah 6:3), is an explicitly anti-Christian polemic. Christians interpreted that verse as referring to the Trinity, so Ibn Abïtûr takes the opportunity to attack those who worship on Sunday and observe Friday, perhaps by fasting. Many of Ibn Abïtûrr’s negative images refect ideas from the polemical Toledot Yeshu (The Life of Jesus), including references to “those who create a form of clay to worship” and the crucifxion of Jesus on a “cabbage stalk.”

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Liturgical Poetry (Piyyut)

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Joseph Ibn Abītūr

ca. 940-after 1024

Joseph ben Isaac Ibn Abïtûr, sometimes known as Ibn Shatnash, was a prominent Spanish poet active during the period of the great Jewish courtier Hasday Ibn Shaprût (ca. 915-ca. 970). Unlike Ibn Shaprût and his circle, Ibn Abïtûr was apparently more loyal to eastern modes of writing and thinking than to the emerging Andalusi traditions. Abraham ibn Dâ’ûd (ca. 1110-ca. 1180) recounted that Ibn Abïtûr interpreted the entire Babylonian Talmud in Arabic for the Muslim ruler. Ibn Dâ’ûd further wrote that, following a leadership dispute in Spain, Ibn Abïtûr was placed under a ban of excommunication and traveled to the East, where he sought to enlist some support. Ibn Abïtûr was a prolific poet; more than four hundred of his poems survive.

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