It is interesting that the non-Jewish world, and the non-Orthodox world, and now the Orthodox world have this whole thing with engagement rings and wedding rings. Engagement rings are always in one direction: The bridegroom buys a very expensive item, with real economic value, for the bride -- and receives nothing in exchange.
Then (except in certain sectors of the Orthodox world), afterwards, the two parties perform a ceremony, in which each gives the other a ring, which is much less expensive than the engagement ring.
Thus, the engagement-ring thing is really a sort of a קנין -- the husband buys the wife with a 20K diamond ring. On the other hand, the wedding-ring thing is just a ceremony.
This is parallel to the halakhic Jewish way, in which Qiddushin (a קנין) is followed by Nissu'in (some kind of ritual).
But it's interesting, because the Orthodox Jews of today's America have grafted the WESTERN nissu'in onto the JEWISH qiddushin, by doing the wedding-ring ritual at the moment of the qiddushin
Isn't that interesting?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New book
Kabbalat HaAri - Yosef Avivi
Kabbalat HaAri is an entirely new work which after decades of research appeared for the first time in Kislev 5768 (12-08). R. Yosef Avivi one of the foremost authorities on Kabbala in the world has documented for the first time which all of the writings of the ARI and his students, their origins, their relationship andhow they were edited and printed. An entirely new theory to explain the system of thought of the ARI is presented.The Sefer appears in 3 volumes comprising 1568 pages (weighing almost 5 kilo) and includes 40 facsimile pages from manuscripts. It is available for a limited period through VirtualGeula for 350 shekels which is significantly less than the price in bookstores.
I think they mean "Kislev 5769". It seems that the book just came out. I was looking at it at the YU library — very interesting and well researched, and beautifully printed.
I was just now reading the section about what the Ari preferred from the Ashkenazic liturgy (viz. piyyutim on Yomim Nôro'im, 3 Regolim, and Purim), and what he preferred from the Sephardic liturgy (daily viddui in Shaharit and Minha, and more mizmorim).
Kabbalat HaAri is an entirely new work which after decades of research appeared for the first time in Kislev 5768 (12-08). R. Yosef Avivi one of the foremost authorities on Kabbala in the world has documented for the first time which all of the writings of the ARI and his students, their origins, their relationship andhow they were edited and printed. An entirely new theory to explain the system of thought of the ARI is presented.The Sefer appears in 3 volumes comprising 1568 pages (weighing almost 5 kilo) and includes 40 facsimile pages from manuscripts. It is available for a limited period through VirtualGeula for 350 shekels which is significantly less than the price in bookstores.
I think they mean "Kislev 5769". It seems that the book just came out. I was looking at it at the YU library — very interesting and well researched, and beautifully printed.
I was just now reading the section about what the Ari preferred from the Ashkenazic liturgy (viz. piyyutim on Yomim Nôro'im, 3 Regolim, and Purim), and what he preferred from the Sephardic liturgy (daily viddui in Shaharit and Minha, and more mizmorim).
Thursday, December 18, 2008
La Traviata
When Alfredo first sings the "Di quell'amor", in "Un di, felice" (http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr7293/index.html , p 40 ff.), at the syllable "cro-" (of "croce") he reaches the high "mi" note of the scale, which, in this case, is a high A, because we are in the key of F major. The same is true (albeit one octave higher) when Violetta repeats the tune (and words) as part of "A fors' è lui".
Later on, Alfredo sings the same "Amor, amor è palpito" tune from the balcony, in the middle of "Sempre Libera" (p. 66), which is in the key of A-flat major. In order to reach the "mi" note of the scale on "cro-" (of "croce"), the tenor would need to sing a high C. Either Verdi did not want to impose this on the tenor, or he had some other (artistic?) reason to not write in the high C (perhaps to diminish Alfredo's rôle here, since he's only on the sidelines), so he wrote in an G, which always sounds terribly unsatisfying to me.
But that's the whole point -- the tension between whether the tenor will sing the G or the high C! Most tenors should do the G, because most of them would sound bad on the high C. But there's an implicit high C there, because, of course, it's the same tune from before, which reached the "mi" note every time it was merely in the key of F.
And thus, one waits there to hear whether the tenor will or will not sing the higher note, and there's a time-period of tension, and then disappointment if he sings the G, but orgasmic release-of-tension if he sings the high C.
When I was growing up, we had a recording of Maria Callas and Alfredo Krauss, in which he does sing the high C. I looked on Youtube, and found no other recordings with the high C, but I did find the Callas/Krauss one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofYDpBKAhY
Later on, Alfredo sings the same "Amor, amor è palpito" tune from the balcony, in the middle of "Sempre Libera" (p. 66), which is in the key of A-flat major. In order to reach the "mi" note of the scale on "cro-" (of "croce"), the tenor would need to sing a high C. Either Verdi did not want to impose this on the tenor, or he had some other (artistic?) reason to not write in the high C (perhaps to diminish Alfredo's rôle here, since he's only on the sidelines), so he wrote in an G, which always sounds terribly unsatisfying to me.
But that's the whole point -- the tension between whether the tenor will sing the G or the high C! Most tenors should do the G, because most of them would sound bad on the high C. But there's an implicit high C there, because, of course, it's the same tune from before, which reached the "mi" note every time it was merely in the key of F.
And thus, one waits there to hear whether the tenor will or will not sing the higher note, and there's a time-period of tension, and then disappointment if he sings the G, but orgasmic release-of-tension if he sings the high C.
When I was growing up, we had a recording of Maria Callas and Alfredo Krauss, in which he does sing the high C. I looked on Youtube, and found no other recordings with the high C, but I did find the Callas/Krauss one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofYDpBKAhY
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Very Cute Piyyut for Shabbath Hanukka
(This poem is published in Anthology of Hebrew Poetry in Greece, Anatolia and the Balkans. Leon J. Weinberger. Cincinnati, 1975.)
Weinberger writes: Fourteenth century poets from Greece, Anatolia, and the Balkans include [ . . . ] Solomon Sharbit ha-Zahab from Ephesus who wrote works on grammar [ . . . ] . His ten surviving liturgical works were included mostly in the Maḥzor Roumania as well as in the rituals of Korfu and Kaffa. In his Mi Kamocha for the Sabbath that falls on Hanukka he describes in jesting form a lively debate between the Sabbath and Hanukka each of which claims priority in Jewish law and tradition.
(A "Mi Kamokha" is a piyyut inserted in the berakha after קראית שמע, before the verse מי כמכה. Minhag Roumania has not existed for the past few centuries; sadly, the Jews of Romania, Greece, and the Balkans [and their descendants] have adopted the Sepharadic rite instead of the old Maḥzor Roumania. --G.W.)
Weinberger writes: Fourteenth century poets from Greece, Anatolia, and the Balkans include [ . . . ] Solomon Sharbit ha-Zahab from Ephesus who wrote works on grammar [ . . . ] . His ten surviving liturgical works were included mostly in the Maḥzor Roumania as well as in the rituals of Korfu and Kaffa. In his Mi Kamocha for the Sabbath that falls on Hanukka he describes in jesting form a lively debate between the Sabbath and Hanukka each of which claims priority in Jewish law and tradition.
(A "Mi Kamokha" is a piyyut inserted in the berakha after קראית שמע, before the verse מי כמכה. Minhag Roumania has not existed for the past few centuries; sadly, the Jews of Romania, Greece, and the Balkans [and their descendants] have adopted the Sepharadic rite instead of the old Maḥzor Roumania. --G.W.)
מִי כָמוֹךָ שַׁבָּת וַחֲנוּכָּה נִגְּשׁוּ וַיְרִיבוּן לְפָנָי / זֶה יֹאמַר לַיְיָ אָנִי וְזֶה יִקְרָא בְאָזְנָי
מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לָאֵלֶּה הַיּוֹם נֶגֶד נְכוֹנָי / עָשִׁיר וְרָשׁ נִפְגָּשׁוּ עוֹשֶׂה כֻלָּם יְיָ.
אָמַר שַׁבָּת לַחֲנוּכָּה: לִי מִשְׁפַּט הַבְּכוֹרָה / וּמִי אַתְּ וּמִי מִשְׁפַּחְתֵּךְ הַצְּעִירָה
כִּי בִי שָׁבַת אֵ-ל גָּדוֹל וְנוֹרָא / מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא
אָמְרָה חֲנוּכָּה לַשַּׁבָּת: מַה תִּתְנַפֵּל עָלַי וְתִתְגּוֹלֵל / כִּי שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים גּוֹמְרִין לִי הַלִֵּל
וְאַתְּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד בְּלֹא זֶה, וּמַה תְּמַלֵּל? / שׁוֹמֵר מַה-מִלַּיְלָה שׁוֹמֵר מַה-מִלֵּיל.
אָמַר שַׁבָּת לַחֲנוּכָּה: מוּסָפִי יוֹרֶה עָלַי דִּין עֲלִיָּה / עוֹלַת שַׁבַּת בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ עַל עוֹלַת הַתָּמִיד עֲשׂוּיָה
וּמַה תִּתְהַלֵּל עָלַי בְּעַד הַלְלוּיָ-הּ? וְאַתְּ מִמּוּסָף עֵרוֹם וְעֶרְיָה.
אָמְרָה חֲנוּכָּה לַשַּׁבָּת: זִיו נֵרוֹתַי מַדְלִיקִין תְּחִלָּה וְנֵרוֹתֶיךָ אַחֲרֵיהֶם / וְזִכְרִי בְּבִרְכַּת הָאָרֶץ וְזִכְרְךָ בְּבִרְכַּת רַחֵם
וְכָל עִנְיָינֶיךָ וּדְבָרֶיךָ הֲלֹא הֵם / אַחֲרוֹנָה יִסְעוּ לְדִגְלֵיהֶם.
אָמַר שַׁבָּת לַחֲנוּכָּה: הִנֵּה אֲנִי תָדִיר כְּאֵשֶׁת נְעוּרִים תְּמִימָה / קְרוּאָה לְשִׁבְעַת יָמִים כִּכְבוּדָּה בַּת מֶלֶךְ פְּנִימָה
וְאַתְּ כְּפִלֶגֶשׁ בַּלֵּילוֹת בְּאֵימָה / לְמוֹעֲדָהּ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה.
אָמְרָה חֲנוּכָּה לַשַּׁבָּת: בְּנֵרְךָ מִסְתַּכְּלִין וּמִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין / וַאֲנִי כִּגְבֶרֶת עַל אֲנָשִׁים וְנָשִׁים
וְשִׁירְךָ לְשָׁרִים וּלְשִׁירַי יוֹרְשִׁים / יְהִי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קֹדֶשׁ קֳדָשִׁים.
אָמַר שַׁבָּת לַחֲנוּכָּה: אֲנִי הַגֶּבֶר הַמְשׁוּבָּח וְהַמְהוּלָּל / וְאַתְּ כְּאִשָּׁה הֵעֵזָה פָנֶיהָ וְתִשְׁלוֹל שָׁלָל
וַהֲרֵי אָמְרוּ חַכְמֵי הַיּוֹפִי וְהַמִּכְלָל / אֵין מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בְּאִשָּׁה כְלָל.
אֲנִי עָנִיתִי: שׁוּבוּ לָכֶם מִן הַמְּרִיבָה / כִּי הַיּוֹם חֻבַּרְתֶּם בְּחִיבָּה
שׁוּבוּ נָא אַל תְּהִי עַוְלָה וְשוּבוּ עוֹד צִדְקִי בָהּ / הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אַל נָא תְהִי מְרִיבָה
מַה תָּעִירוּ וּמַה תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת הָאַהֲבָה.
שַׁבָּת רִאשׁוֹן בְּמוֹעֲדִים יִכְלוּ טַעֲנוֹתֶיךָ / יָפְיָפִיתָ מִבְּנֵי אָדָם הוּצַק חֵן בְּשִׂפְתוֹתֶיךָ
אַךְ גּוֹאֵל אַתָּה וְאֵין לִגְאוֹל זוּלָתֶךָ / וּפָרַשְׂתָּ כְנָפֶיךָ עַל אֲמָתֶךָ.
הַמְּשׁוּבֶּצֶת זָהָב הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בִּגְבוּלוֹ / הִנֵּה מַלְאָךְ יָבֹא לַָךְ צַדִּיק וְנוֹשַׁע הוּא וְחֵילוֹ
וַיִּתְאַו הַמֶּלֶךְ יוֹפְיֵךְ וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ לְקוֹלוֹ / כִּי הוּא אֲדוֹנַיִךְ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִי לוֹ.
אֱ-לֹהַי מִמְּכוֹן שִׁבְתְּךָ הוֹפִיעָה / וַהֲשִׁיבֵנוּ וְהָאֵר פָּנֶיךָ וְנִוָּשֵׁעָה
כִּי אַתָּה תַּשְׁקִיט וּמִי יַרְשִׁיעַ / וּמִבַּלְעָדֶיךָ אֵין לָנוּ גּוֹאֵל וּמוֹשִׁיעַ.
Weinberger writes: In this poem he [the paytan] also satirizes what was probably a form of Platonic love in his day as may be seen from the following:
"אמר שבת לחנוכה: 'אני הגבר המשובח והמהולל / ואת כאשה העזה פניה ותשלל שלל
והרי אמרו חכמי היופי והמכלל: אין משתמשין באשה כלל.' "
note 65: Cf. I Davidson, Thesaurus of Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry, (New York, 1924-33), Shin 317. See below poem #34. There is a double entendre in the use of the word ’isha which means both “woman” and “fire”. Used in the former sense it is a polemic against the sexless love of the Platonist; in the latter sense it refers to the Rabbinic prohibition against making use of the light from the Chanukka candles.
Sandek
Hillel I. Newman. "Sandak and Godparent in Midrash and Medieval Practice. JQR (Jewish Quarterly Review), Winter 2007. pp. 1-28 (+four pages of appendix).
Basically, he argues that the Jewish institution of sandak is derived from a similar Christian institution: not compater* (co-parent, who has a social link to the parents), but patrinus (godfather, who has a social link to the child).The problem is that the Greek word for compater is anadokhos, whereas the Greek word for patrinus is synteknos.
Why, then, should the Jewish compater be called "sandak" (or, in many manuscripts, sandiknus, seemingly from synteknos)? Newman argues that it is based on a misinterpration of a passage from Midrash Tehillim, which says that one uses one's knees to make a sandikos for an infant who is being circumcised. Newman argues that the original meaning of this passage is "to make a box [sandyx] for the infant.*
*(The common distinction in modern practice between sandak and Yiddish קוואַטער is a late development; see A.N.Z. Roth, "Millim be-milah", Yeda‘ ‘Am 13 (1968), 52-53.)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Medieval Censorship
There is a famous poem by Yehuda Hallevi, beginnnig יום שבתון אין לשכוח, which many of us sing every Sabbath (usually at the lunch table).
The first two stanzas are well known, and are not relevant to this post. However, the third and fourth stanzas, as written by Yehuda Hallevi himself, read as follows:
ומתוך ערפל האיר אופל
ועל עב הרים יושבי שפל
ומגדל צרי אראה נופל
אך אנכי מלאתי כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
דרוך בנעל אויבים וצרים
וגם המעד קרסולי זרים
ואז יענו לך עמי בשירים
אל המהלך על כנפי רוח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
Because these stanzas ask for the destruction of the enemies of the Jewish people, they were removed at some point, and replaced with the following stanzas:
ובאו כולם בברית יחד
נעשה ונשמע אמרו כאחד
ופתחו וענו יי אחד
ברוך הנותן ליעף כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
דבר בקדשו בהר המור
יום השביעי זכור ושמור
וכל פקודיו יחד לגמור
חזק מתנים ואמץ כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
Moshe Menachem-Mendel (Morris Mitchel) Siegel has pointed out to me the interesting fact that unlike many cases of censorship, which result in an ugly (and sometimes meaningless) text, the replacement stanzas here are quite poetic and beautiful. Thus, the censor, whoever this was, must have been a skillful poet.
Interesting.
The first two stanzas are well known, and are not relevant to this post. However, the third and fourth stanzas, as written by Yehuda Hallevi himself, read as follows:
ומתוך ערפל האיר אופל
ועל עב הרים יושבי שפל
ומגדל צרי אראה נופל
אך אנכי מלאתי כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
דרוך בנעל אויבים וצרים
וגם המעד קרסולי זרים
ואז יענו לך עמי בשירים
אל המהלך על כנפי רוח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
Because these stanzas ask for the destruction of the enemies of the Jewish people, they were removed at some point, and replaced with the following stanzas:
ובאו כולם בברית יחד
נעשה ונשמע אמרו כאחד
ופתחו וענו יי אחד
ברוך הנותן ליעף כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
דבר בקדשו בהר המור
יום השביעי זכור ושמור
וכל פקודיו יחד לגמור
חזק מתנים ואמץ כח
(יונה מצאה בו מנוח
ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח)
Moshe Menachem-Mendel (Morris Mitchel) Siegel has pointed out to me the interesting fact that unlike many cases of censorship, which result in an ugly (and sometimes meaningless) text, the replacement stanzas here are quite poetic and beautiful. Thus, the censor, whoever this was, must have been a skillful poet.
Interesting.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Beis Halleivi on Beshallach
I saw a beautiful בית הלוי today, on פרשת בשלח. I don't have the text in front of me, so let's see how well I can recall it:
כשושנה בין החוחים כן רעיתי בין הבנות -- the Medrosh says that God compares Israel to a שושנה (lily or rose), because at the moment of the Exodus, Israel gave up her idolatrous ways, and immediately started performing mitzvôs, singing praises to God in the שירה. Thus, she smelled fragrant like a rose.
The בית הלוי points out that this is because Israel's naughty behavior had not been due to internal causes, but to environmental causes. (See the Rishônim on the verse שחורה אני ונאוה.) Thus, she was like a fragrant flower, which has been placed near a pile of filth. As soon as you remove the flower from the filth, its fragrance will again clearly fill the air. Similarly, as soon as Israel was removed from the idolatrous environment of Egypt, her fragrant deeds were exuded, strong and clear.
On the other hand, when bad deeds are due to internal causes, the habituation (הרגל) of doing them makes it difficult for one to stop. Thus, in order to set a new pattern of behavior, one must go through a perioud of habituation to the good behavior.
The בית הלוי compares this distinction to a distinction in the Laws of Niddo. If a woman has a וסת קבוע, a set time each month when her period always comes, this וסת is assumed to be halakhically still valid until she has lived through three months without seeing blood on the scheduled day. However, if this וסת קבוע is due not to her internal biological clock, but to some other, external factor (such as eating garlic), then even having a single time (of, say, eating garlic) without seeing blood is enough to annul the halakhic validity of this וסת. Thus, even though an externally-caused וסת can be a וסת קבוע, we treat it as a וסת שאינו קבוע with regard to this rule.
Thus, we see that habituation that is caused by external causes is much easier to break than habituation that is caused by internal causes, because the former does not require a new habituation-period to break the old habituation.
כשושנה בין החוחים כן רעיתי בין הבנות -- the Medrosh says that God compares Israel to a שושנה (lily or rose), because at the moment of the Exodus, Israel gave up her idolatrous ways, and immediately started performing mitzvôs, singing praises to God in the שירה. Thus, she smelled fragrant like a rose.
The בית הלוי points out that this is because Israel's naughty behavior had not been due to internal causes, but to environmental causes. (See the Rishônim on the verse שחורה אני ונאוה.) Thus, she was like a fragrant flower, which has been placed near a pile of filth. As soon as you remove the flower from the filth, its fragrance will again clearly fill the air. Similarly, as soon as Israel was removed from the idolatrous environment of Egypt, her fragrant deeds were exuded, strong and clear.
On the other hand, when bad deeds are due to internal causes, the habituation (הרגל) of doing them makes it difficult for one to stop. Thus, in order to set a new pattern of behavior, one must go through a perioud of habituation to the good behavior.
The בית הלוי compares this distinction to a distinction in the Laws of Niddo. If a woman has a וסת קבוע, a set time each month when her period always comes, this וסת is assumed to be halakhically still valid until she has lived through three months without seeing blood on the scheduled day. However, if this וסת קבוע is due not to her internal biological clock, but to some other, external factor (such as eating garlic), then even having a single time (of, say, eating garlic) without seeing blood is enough to annul the halakhic validity of this וסת. Thus, even though an externally-caused וסת can be a וסת קבוע, we treat it as a וסת שאינו קבוע with regard to this rule.
Thus, we see that habituation that is caused by external causes is much easier to break than habituation that is caused by internal causes, because the former does not require a new habituation-period to break the old habituation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)