Poetry
פיוטים
Not translated into English
Eleazar ha-Kalir · 600
Synopsis
More than two hundred hymns preserved in prayer books: kerovot that adorn the prayer of the pilgrimage festivals, pieces for particular sabbaths and fast days, some twenty laments on the destruction of the Temple, recited on 9 Av, and two prayers asking, one for rain, the other for dew. The language is the Hebrew of the Bible and the Mishnah, laden with new words, rare terms and allusions to the midrashim, and held within acrostics, rhymes and refrains; several of the midrashim he draws on are now lost.
Context
His dating rests in part on a line of reasoning: his poems return to the misfortunes inflicted on Israel by Edom, that is, the Christians, and never name Ishmael, the Arabs; they would therefore predate the Arab conquest. His manner, known as kalirique, served as a model for centuries. Adopted in the Romaniote, Italian and Ashkenazi rites, he was rejected by the Jews of Andalusia, and Abraham ibn Ezra condemned his language; the maskilim of the nineteenth century took up the criticism. He was being commented on as early as the eleventh century. Shulamit Elizur published his pieces for several festivals in four volumes.
Who it is for
Pieces scattered through the liturgies, with no overall French translation. It is as well to know that each is recited at a specific moment of the service.
Prizes and reception
Pieces preserved from the East to Eastern Europe; liturgical poets imitated him for centuries.
Sources for this page 2
The pages consulted to check this page.