Two Ofanim

An of an is the second poem of a yotser sequence, which was inserted into, and to some extent replaced, the part of the service that begins with the blessing: “He who creates (yotser) light” and includes the Shema‘. These poems generally varied week by week, and the congregation would listen to their recitation by the prayer leader, who might be accompanied by a choir. The first poem of the yotser, usually thematically linked to the weekly Torah reading, was recited by the cantor, and the congregation would respond, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). The cantor would then recite the second poem, the ofan, which was usually based on the theme of angels praising God, and fnally the congregation would say aloud, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place” (Ezekiel 3:12). In these two ofanim, al-Sanjari combines the subject of the weekly Torah reading with the theme of angelic speech. In the first, “Angels approaching,” the weekly theme is Moses’ request to be allowed to enter the land of Israel; the poem, written in his voice, sees him turning to the angels for help. In the second, “As the angels of heaven,” the reading includes the Binding of Isaac, and the poem portrays the angels calling to God to prevent Abraham from sacrificing his son.