Were Our Mouths Filled with Song (Aramaic Version)

Unknown

5th to 10th Century

About This Entry

This unusual fragment from the Cairo Geniza contains an Aramaic version of the Hebrew prayer Ve-ilu finu (“Were Our Mouths [Filled with Song]”). This prayer is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Berakhot 59b). During the geonic period it became a standard part of the closing of the morning psalms–daily in Palestinian communities and on Sabbath and festivals in Babylonian communities. A variety of versions of the prayer survive. This Aramaic version clearly sought to mimic the Hebrew one. A number of Aramaic piyyutim (liturgical poems) for Sabbaths and festivals were composed in Byzantium, suggesting a possible source for this text. This version may have been meant specifically for Passover.

Were our mouths filled with thanksgivings and ancient psalms,
  our tongues like stormy winds that know no rest,
Our lips like the expanse of skies and lands,
   our eyes like two lamps, burning torches,
Our hands like eagles rising in the air,
   our feet like harts and deer racing with speed,
And heaven and earth were scrolls and pages,
   and all trees sprouted strong quills,
And our eyes flowed with ceaseless ink,
   and all who could speak, youths and children,
And were those who compose praises to try, they would not cover
   all the miracles He performed for the people who were redeemed from Pithom.
He reproved the Anamim [Egyptians] with agonies and blistering boils.
   He rained down manna for His people, and they were pampered with quails [see Exodus 16];
He brought us out openly, in sight of all the foes.
   He cleaved rocks and water emerged.
He gave us His Torah for our study,
   His writing etched on the tablets, an engraving of these precepts,
And He let us hear His sayings through thunder and lightning,
   so we should fear His name and not be harmed [see Exodus 20:16].
He led us to the holy abode to inherit thrones of glory,
   and until now He has helped us, and His mercies have not left us.
We have come together to bless His name, a gathering of the elderly and the young,
   so that our bodies will be receptacles for His commandments.
Accept our prayers like the cries of young asps,
   may His name be blessed forever, He who answers the oppressed.
From Egypt You redeemed us, Lord our God.

Source: CUL T-S NS 160.11.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

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

Engage with this Source

This unusual fragment from the Cairo Geniza contains an Aramaic version of the Hebrew prayer Ve-ilu finu (“Were Our Mouths [Filled with Song]”). This prayer is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Berakhot 59b). During the geonic period it became a standard part of the closing of the morning psalms–daily in Palestinian communities and on Sabbath and festivals in Babylonian communities. A variety of versions of the prayer survive. This Aramaic version clearly sought to mimic the Hebrew one. A number of Aramaic piyyutim (liturgical poems) for Sabbaths and festivals were composed in Byzantium, suggesting a possible source for this text. This version may have been meant specifically for Passover.

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Early Medieval Prose Liturgy

5th to 12th Century
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What is the Cairo Geniza?

10th to 13th Century

The Cairo Geniza collection is one of the most important sources for the history of the Jewish community in premodern Egypt and the entire medieval Mediterranean world.

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