The shining light

12th Century

About This Entry

This poem by Menaḥem ben Makhir is a yotser, meant to be recited during the blessing before the Shema‘ that begins “He who creates (yotser) light.” It was composed for Shabbat Hafsakah (“the break Sabbath”), which falls between two special Sabbaths in Adar (roughly February or March). This period of the year contains four Sabbaths with special Torah readings: Shekalim (Exodus 30:11-16), Zakhor (Deuteronomy 25:17-19), Parah (Numbers 19:1-22), and ha-Hodesh (Exodus 12:1-20); Shabbat Hafsakah is defned as the of week between the first and the second or the second and the third. In this poem, Menahem explains the intricacies of the Jewish calendar, and in this excerpt, he details the calculations for when these special Sabbaths can fall on the calendar. This is one of many poems that treats halakhic topics, perhaps in part to educate the audience about legal intricacies, assuming that his readers could understand the dense material. Menahem closes with a desire for the Jewish people to return to the Temple.

[ . . . ] The elders, our roots, taught us the passages

that we should read—two before the megillah, and two afterwards,¹

so that memory of them should count as performance of them,² for the precious people.

They begin, on the first week, with Shekalim,

and on the second week, Zakhor, the extermination of the cursed [Amalek],

in order that the half-shekel precede the hundred light zuzim, to outweigh them.³

The commandment of Parah [the Red Heifer] is to be standard as the third,

and ha-Ḥodesh [this month] as the fourth, so that the treasured people

may be united in holiness and purity for the festival [of Passover].

The month of Adar that precedes Nisan is established,

dedicated strongly, with the mnemonic zivdu.⁴

It is made strong with commandments, to juxtapose two months of redemption.⁵

If its first day falls on the Sabbath,

they read a relevant passage [Shekalim] on that very day, and on the eighth [they read Zakhor],

and they have a break after the megillah.⁶ The mnemonic is zatu.⁷

If it falls on Monday, they push the reading [of Shekalim] earlier [to the Sabbath before Adar],

and the break will be the next Sabbath. The mnemonic is bu.⁸

And the remaining three will be read on three consecutive weeks.⁹

If it falls on Wednesday, they [also] push the reading earlier [to the Sabbath before Adar],

and the break will be the next week. The received mnemonic is dad.¹⁰

And the remaining three will be all together, one after another.

If it falls on Friday, there will be two breaks,

on the morrow and after Purim. The mnemonic is uvyu.¹¹

And only the last two [Parah and ha-Ḥodesh] will be read properly together. [ . . . ]

When will the people all assemble, for their presence to be seen in the sanctum?

As in ancient days, they will bring their offerings!

Sing with joy for Jacob, and shout out!¹²

Lo, my eyes look forward to the seasons of my times.¹³

I wait days upon days, following the secret of my secret-keepers [i.e., scholars].

Sing with joy, O heavens, for the Lord has acted!¹⁴

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[I.e., two biblical passages are read in the weeks before Purim (the day when the Megillah, the scroll of Esther, is read), and two are read afterwards.—Trans.]

[See Esther 9:28: “And these days are remembered and performed.” “Remembering” refers to the reading of the passages from scripture, and “performing” refers to observing the commandments discussed therein; in the case of the four passages that are read in the month surrounding Purim, the observances depend on having a Temple or a monarchy, so they cannot be performed in exile; they are only able to be “remembered” by means of the reading.—Trans.]

[According to b. Megillah 13b–14a, the Torah portion Shekalim precedes Zakhor so that the silver given by the Israelites to the Temple (the subject of Shekalim) can precede the silver given by Haman the Amalekite to the king to fund the extermination of the Jews (as mentioned in Zakhor), and thus the Jews’ silver outweighs his, because they have already paid up and preempted his silver.—Trans.]

[I.e., an acronym of the Hebrew letters zayin, bet, dalet, vav; these stand for the days of the week when the first of the month of Adar (preceding Nisan) can fall, corresponding to Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.—Trans.]

[In a leap year, there are two months of Adar. The second Adar is when the active commandments of the month are fulfilled: the reading of the special passages from the Torah, and the reading of the scroll of Esther on Purim. Because of Purim, this is a month of redemption and is juxtaposed with Nisan, the month of Passover, another month of redemption.—Trans.]

[The Megillah is read on the 14th or 15th of Adar; in a year when the 15th falls on the Sabbath, everyone reads it on the 14th. Thus, the Sabbath that falls on the 15th is “after the Megillah.”—Trans.]

[I.e., the Hebrew letters zayin, tet, vav: If the 1st of the month falls on Saturday (zayin), then the break will be on the 15th (tet-vav).—Trans.]

[The Hebrew letters bet, vav, i.e., if the 1st of Adar is Monday (bet), then the of-week Sabbath will be on the 6th (vav) of Adar.—Trans.]

[Zakhor, Parah, and ha-Ḥodesh will be read on the 13th, 20th, and 27th of Adar.—Trans.]

[Dalet, dalet, i .e ., if the 1st of Adar is on Wednesday (dalet), the off-Sabbath will be on the 4th (dalet) of Adar.—Trans.]

[Vav, bet, yud, vav, i.e., if the 1st of Adar is on Friday (vav), there will be an off-Sabbath both on the second (bet) of Adar, and on the sixteenth (yud-vav), after Purim.—Trans.]

[Jeremiah 31:6. The Hebrew word for “sing with joy” here is ronu, whose numerical value according to the system known as gematria is 256. Because of this verse, there was a lot of messianic speculation in Ashkenaz, especially in Mainz, during the 256th nineteen-year lunar cycle, which corresponded to the years 1085 to 1104. In the closing lines of this poem, the poet twice uses the word ronu in the context of awaiting redemption. (Sadly, these hopes did not come about, and in 1096, the eleventh year of the cycle, the massacres of the First Crusade took place. Our poet was still alive in 1096, and in a poem for the Ninth of Av, he writes about these frustrated hopes, again using the word ronu.) —Trans.]

[The vocabulary alludes to eschatological calculations in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, but it is particularly appropriate in this poem, which has been devoted mostly to more mundane calendrical calculations.—Trans.]

[Isaiah 44:23; here, too, the word for “sing with joy” is ronu. —Trans.]

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