''Azharot'' ( he, אזהרות), "exhortations") are didactic liturgical poems on, or versifications of, the

613 commandments The Jewish tradition that there are 613 commandments ( he, תרי״ג מצוות, taryag mitzvot) or mitzvot in the Torah (also known as the Law of Moses) is first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that i ...

in rabbinical enumeration. The first known example are 'Ata hinchlata' and 'Azharat Reishit', recited to this day in some Ashkenazic and Italian communitities, and dating back to early Geonic times. Other versions appear in the tenth century Siddur of Saadia Gaon, as well as by two Spanish authors of the Middle Ages: Isaac ben Reuben Albargeloni and

Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...

and the French author Elijah ben Menahem Ha-Zaken.

Etymology

The name of the poetical form derives from the first word of one of its earliest examples, he, אזהרות ראשית לעמך נתת. Two attempts to ascribe special meaning to that choice of term have been suggested: # Chazal sometimes refer to biblical prohibitions as ''azharot''. # The

numerological Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters ...

sum of a condensed form of the word (אזהרת, instead of אזהרות) equals the number of commandments.

Criticism

Abraham ibn Ezra ("Yesod Moreh," gate 2, end) compared ''azharot'' to counting medicinal herbs enumerated in medical works without knowing anything of their virtues.

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

claims in the introduction to Sefer HaMitzvot, his own prose enumeration of the commandments, that he was motivated to compose that work because of errors in the ''azharot''. Deference to Maimonides' criticism led major rabbis (18th-century Rabbi Haim Yosef David Azoulai ; 20th-century Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef) to prefer reading Maimonides' prose list to the poetic ''azharot''. In 1971, Rabbi

Yosef Kapach Yosef Qafiḥ ( he, יוסף קאפח , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a dayan of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Israel, and o ...

composed ''azharot'' based upon Maimonides' list.

Poems

* he, אזהרות ראשית לעמך נתת - Recited during Musaf of the second day of Shavuot in the Ashkenazic rite, and on the first day in the Italian rite. * he, אתה הנחלת תורה לעמך - Referred to variously as "''Azharot of the Rabbis of the Academy''" or "''Azharot of Elijah'' or ''Azharot Elijah the Tishbite''". Its authorship is disputed, but its origin seems to have been in the academies of

Pumbedita Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa; arc, פוּמְבְּדִיתָא ''Pūmbəḏīṯāʾ'', "The Mouth of the River,") was an ancient city located near the modern-day city of Fallujah, Iraq. It is known for having hosted t ...

. - Recited during Musaf of the first day of Shavuot in the Ashkenazic rite, and in an abbreviated form on the second day in the Italian rite. * he, אנכי אש אכלה - Written by

Saadia Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

* he, אחגור חיל לרומם הבורא (lit. "I will gird me with strength to extol the Creator") - According to Isaac b. Todros, to be found in the

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ' ...

Amram Gaon Amram Gaon ( he, עמרם גאון, or Amram bar Sheshna, Hebrew: עמרם בר רב ששנא, or sometimes: Amram ben Sheshna or Amram b. Sheshna; died 875) was a ''gaon'', head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura during the 9th century. ...

, but scholarship suggests possibly actually written by

Isaac Gikatilla Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He wa ...

. * he, אוכלה אלקיך אש -

Ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...

(edited by Sachs-Halberstamm, "Ḳobeẓ 'al-Yad," 1893) * he, איזה מקום בינה (lit. "Where is the abode of understanding?") - Isaac b. Reuben Albargeloni * he, אמת יהגה חכי (lit. "Truth shall my mouth indite") - Elijah ha-Zaḳen b. Menahem of Mans, first published by Luzzatto in "Literaturblatt des Orients," 1850, part 16 * he, ריש לדברות אנכי - by Eliezer b. Nathan, for the evening service of the second day of Shavuot * he, אני בינה שוכנת אמונה (lit. "I, Understanding, dwell on high") - by Isaac Petit b. Mordecai Kimḥi * he, ארוממך ה' מלכי (lit. "I will extol Thee, O Lord, my King") - by Krespia ha-Naḳdan * he, אברך לא-ל נורא (lit. "I will bless the God Tremendous") - by Elijah ha-Kohen Tchelebi * "Pour forth Thy mercy" - written by Menahem Tamar. * he, מה' מאוד נעלה אשאלה - Menahem Egozi * he, אדנ-י בם - by Elijah Adeni (of Aden) (Amsterdam ed., 1688) * - by Joshua Benveniste * - by Joseph b. Solomon Yaḥya (Source)

Commentaries

While the original intent of the ''azharot'' may have been educational, its terse and cryptic poetic form led to a need for its content to be explained. Commentaries include: * "Netiv Mitsvotekha" (Livorno, 1841), by Rabbi

Saul ibn Musa ha-Kohen of Jerba Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of ...

(1772–1848) * "Mahzor Shelom Yerushalayim" for Shavuot (New York, 1994) by Rabbi Shimon Hai Alouf and Rabbi Ezra Labaton (pages 279-287). * Rabbi David Bitton (1979), on Ibn Gabirol's Azharot (Missvot 'Aseh). * Yonah Frankel, Shavuot Machzor, pages 615-651.

Liturgical Customs

In the Ashkenazic and Italian rites, Azharot are recited in the

mussaf Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to t ...

service. This was the Sephardic practice in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

as well, but due to Halakhic concerns they were moved to other places in the liturgy.Yona Fraenkel, Shavuot Machzor
Page 14 of introduction
As such, most Sephardic communities have moved them to the

mincha Mincha ( he, מִנחַה, pronounced as ; sometimes spelled ''Minchah'' or ''Minḥa'') is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "present", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacri ...

arvit ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms ...

service, or to the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

prior to Shavuot. Some Sephardic diaspora communities chant the Positive Commandments of the ''azharot'' on the first day of

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

, and the Negative Commandments on the second day. Sephardic/Eastern communities recite the ''azharot'' of Ibn Gebirol, while North African communities of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya may recite (either instead of or addition to Ibn Gebirol) the ''azharot'' of Barceloni.

References

{{reflist, refs = {{cite web , title = Azharot , work = Sephardic Pizmonim Project , url = http://www.pizmonim.org/section.php?maqam=Azharot , access-date = October 13, 2015 {{cite book , last = Davidson , first = Israel , translator-last = Zangwill , translator-first = Israel , author-link = Israel Davidson , title = Selected Religious Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol , series = Schiff Library of Jewish Classics , publisher = JPS , date = 1924 , location = Philadelphia , pages = 247 , lccn = 73-2210 , isbn = 0-8276-0060-7 , at page xx {{cite journal , last = Elbaz , first = Andre E , last2 = Hazan , first2 = Ephraim , title = Three Unknown Piyyutim by David Ben Hasin , publisher = Cambridge Univ Press , journal =

AJS Review ''AJS Review'', published on behalf of the Association for Jewish Studies, publishes scholarly articles and book reviews covering the field of Jewish Studies. From biblical and rabbinic textual and historical studies to modern history, social ...

, volume = 20 , issue = 1 , pages = 87–98 , date = April 1995 , url = http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4503112 , doi = 10.1017/S0364009400006310 , access-date = October 13, 2015 "... Among North African and other Oriental Jews, the most popular azharot are two eleventh-century works from Spain, ''Shemor libbi ma 'ane,'' composed by Shelomo Ibn Gabirol, and '' 'Ei ze meqom bina,'' by Yishaq Ben Reuben Al-Bargeloni" {{cite encyclopedia , last1 = Gottheil , first1 = Richard , last2 = Brody , first2 = H. , author-link1 = Richard James Horatio Gottheil , author-link2 = Henrik Bródy , title = Azharot , encyclopedia = Jewish Encyclopedia , url = http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2215-azharot , date = 1906 , access-date = October 13, 2015

External links

pdf of Azharot of Solomon Ibn Gabirol in Hebrew

in the Jewish Virtual Library (written by Abraham Meir Habermann in the

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, lan ...

).
Azharot
page at th
Sephardic Pizmonin Project
Jewish liturgical poems Jewish prayer and ritual texts Shavuot Mitzvoth Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings