Poems XV–XIX: Memories of His Brother

The final set of Samuel ha-Nagid’s mourning poems for the loss of his older brother Isaac begins with Samuel relating his own loss to that of another family and then moves through Samuel’s feelings during the first year of mourning. Throughout, ha-Nagid is torn between the natural feelings that subside with the passage of time and the guilt associated with moving on from his loss. Although reminders of his brother are ubiquitous, ha-Nagid continues to curse the ephemeral nature of life and the mastery that Time (a common medieval term for fate) maintains over man. In the closing poem, he asks for divine grace and forgiveness and accepts God’s role in his brother’s illness. Ha-Nagid marks the end of this unusual set of poems with a prayer that his brother merit resurrection.