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

613 commandments According to Jewish tradition, the Torah contains 613 commandments (). Although the number 613 is mentioned in the Talmud, its real significance increased in later medieval rabbinic literature, including many works listing or arranged by the . Th ...

in rabbinical enumeration. The first known example are 'Ata hinchlata' and 'Azharat Reishit', recited to this day in some Ashkenazic and Italian communities, and dating back to early Geonic times. Other versions appear in the tenth century

Siddur of Saadia Gaon A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Judaism, Jewish prayer book containing a set order of List of Jewish prayers and blessings, daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books a ...

, as well as by two Spanish authors of the Middle Ages:

Isaac ben Reuben Albargeloni Isaac ben Reuben Albargeloni (born 1043) was a Jews of Spain, Spanish Talmudist and liturgical poet born in Barcelona, Catalonia. He was a Dayan (rabbinic judge), judge in the Dénia, Denia community, where he became connected with ibn Alḥatosh ...

and

Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah (, ; , ) was an 11th-century Jews, Jewish poet and Jewish philosopher, philosopher in the Neoplatonism, Neo-Platonic tradition in Al-Andalus. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical ...

and the French author Elijah ben Menahem HaZaken.

Etymology

The name of the poetical form derives from the first word of one of its earliest examples, . Two attempts to ascribe special meaning to that choice of term have been suggested: # Chazal sometimes refer to biblical prohibitions as ''azharot''. # The numerological sum of a condensed form of the word (אזהרת, instead of אזהרות) equals the number of commandments.

Criticism

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

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

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

claims in the introduction to ''

Sefer HaMitzvot ''Sefer Hamitzvot'' ("Book of Commandments", ; ) is a work by the 12th-century rabbi, philosopher, and physician, Moses Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "''Sefer Hamitzvot''" without a modifier refers ...

'', 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 Chaim Yosef David Azulai; 20th-century Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ) to prefer reading Maimonides' prose list to the poetic ''azharot''. In 1971, Rabbi

Yosef Qafih Yosef Qafiḥ ( , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli posek, authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a Dayan (rabbinic judge), dayan of the Judiciary of Israel#Jewish courts, ...

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

Poems

* - Recited during Musaf of the second day of Shavuot in the Ashkenazic rite, and on the first day in the Italian rite. * - 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 ( ''Pūm Bəḏīṯāʾ'', "Mouth of the Bedita"See The river "Bedita" has not been identified.) was an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq. It is known for having hosted the Pumbedita Academy. History The city of Pumbedita was s ...

. - 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. * - Written by

Saadia Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

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

siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; 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, ''tef ...

Amram Gaon Amram bar Sheshna or Amram Gaon ( or ; died 875) was a gaon or head of the Academy of Sura in Lower Mesopotamia in the ninth century. He authored many responsa, but his chief work was liturgical. He was the first to arrange a complete liturg ...

, but scholarship suggests possibly actually written by Isaac Gikatilla. * - Ibn Gabirol (edited by Sachs-Halberstamm, "Ḳobeẓ 'al-Yad," 1893) * (lit. "Where is the abode of understanding?") - Isaac b. Reuben Albargeloni * (lit. "Truth shall my mouth indite") - Elijah ha-Zaḳen b. Menahem of Mans, first published by Luzzatto in "Literaturblatt des Orients," 1850, part 16 * - by Eliezer b. Nathan, for the evening service of the second day of Shavuot * (lit. "I, Understanding, dwell on high") - by Isaac Petit b. Mordecai Kimḥi * (lit. "I will extol Thee, O Lord, my King") - by Krespia ha-Naḳdan * (lit. "I will bless the God Tremendous") - by Elijah ha-Kohen Tchelebi * "Pour forth Thy mercy" - written by Menahem Tamar. * - Menahem Egozi * - 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 (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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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 (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered ...

or arvit 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, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

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

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

, 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

External links

pdf of Azharot of Solomon Ibn Gabirol in Hebrew

in the

Jewish Virtual Library The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL, formerly known as JSOURCE) is an online encyclopedia published by the American foreign policy analyst Mitchell Bard's non-profit organization American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). It is a website cove ...

(written by Abraham Meir Habermann in the

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-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, Jewish holida ...

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