Kinnot (; also kinnos, kinoth, qinot, qinoth; singular kinah, qinah or kinnah) are Hebrew

dirge A dirge () is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as may be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegy, elegies. Dirges are of ...

s (sad poems) or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

In the Bible

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

, especially as sung by Jewish professional mourning women. The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

refers to Isaiah 47 as a ''qinah'' or "lament for

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

", and to Ezekiel 19 as a ''qinah'' or lamentation over the rulers of Israel. A. W. Streane suggests that , on the prophesied downfall of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, is written "in Ḳinah metre".

Tisha BeAv recitation

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

traditionally recite a series of elegiac poems, known as ''kinnot'', after the evening and morning prayers. These poems mourn the destruction of both the First and

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

in Jerusalem and other tragedies in

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

, including the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, the

Expulsion of Jews from Spain The Expulsion of Jews from Spain was the expulsion of practicing Jews following the Alhambra Decree in 1492, which was enacted to eliminate their influence on Spain's large ''converso'' population and to ensure its members did not revert to Judais ...

and

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. The kinnot are generally recited on the night of Tisha B'Av after reciting the

Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...

, which was also called ''Kinnot'' in the Talmudic eraSee, e.g., Bava Batra 14b before it assumed its more familiar name ''ʾĒkhāh'' (although some communities recite some Kinnot before beginning the evening service).

Development of the Ashkenazic kinnot

Many kinnot were composed by Rabbi Elazar Hakalir,See who likely lived in the 6th-7th centuries. His kinnot resemble the structure and content of the

. For example, one of his kinnot begins each stanza with the word ''ʾĒkhāh'', the opening word of Lamentations. He often writes stanzas in an alphabetical acrostic, similar to the first four chapters of Lamentations. The style deals primarily with the destruction of the Second Temple, similar to Lamentations which mourns the destruction of the First Temple. The main impetus for creation of new kinnot during 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 ...

was the Crusades, in which Christian mobs decimated many Jewish communities. The kinnot deal with the then-current tragedy of the Crusades, no longer focusing on the destruction of the Temple in the past. The loss of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and its scholars, instead of the loss of the Temple, occupies a central theme. Rabbi

Judah Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

wrote a kinnah of a different nature of the kinnot. In his poem ''Tziyon Halo Tishali'', rather than expressing pain and despair over the tragedies of the distant or near past, he expresses a longing for returning to Jerusalem. Many later poets copied him.

Sephardic kinnot

The various Sephardic communities of North Africa and the Middle East have a rich tradition of kinnot. The following is an extensive list based on the practices of North Africa (Morocco and Tunisia). See also the Hebrew wikipedia page קינות לתשעה באב

Evening kinnot

# ''Divrey Nevi'im'' (דברי נביאים) # ''Lu Yishqelu Re'ay'' (לו ישקלו רעי) # ''Nishmat Shedudim'' (נשמת שדודים) # ''Shanah BeShanah'' (שנה בשנה אהגה כיונה / כי עיר עדינה היתה לזונה) # ''Yonah Nikh'avah'' (יונה נכאבה נפשה דאבה / היכל דר ערבות יום יום סובבה) # ''Shim'u VeHa'azinu'' (שמעו והאזינו ואדברה אני / אומרה לאל סלעי למה שכחתני) # ''Nishmat Yeladim'' (נשמת ילדים שוממים על חורבן אריאל) # ''Et Oyveḥa El'' (את אויביך אל תשמיד ותחריב / בעגלה ובזמן קריב) # ''Yom Kemo Ned'' (יום כמו נד עמדו דמעי בפני / על קדושים זרע ברוכי ה׳) # ''Ad An Tzvi Muddaḥ'' (עד אן צבי מדח ואין מקבץ לו / נגש וגם נענח גבר מאד חילו ) # ''Ashaher Adati'' (אשחר עדתי) # ''Eftaḥ pi Lehodot'' (אפתח פי להודות) # ''Aryeh Sha'ag'' (אריה שאג) # ''Eykh Mishkani Elyon'' (איך משכני עליון) # ''HaLanofelim Tequmah'' (הלנופלים תקומה) # ''Nishmat Emunim'' (נשמת אמונים) # ''Nilah lehelil'' (נלאה להיליל) # ''Heikhal Adonai'' ('היכל ה) # ''Yom Nilḥamu Bi'' (יום נלחמו בי) # ''Qol Aholah Tityapeaḥ'' (קול אהלה תתיפח) # ''Bore Ad Ana'' (בורא עד אנא) #: ''Al Naharot Bavel'' (על נהרות בבל) is read from Tehillim #: Then the evening Arvit service is said. The kinnot continue after the

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

: # ''Lemi Evkeh'' (למי אבכה) #: Megillat Eykhah/ Lamentations (מגילת איכה) is then read, followed by: # ''Az Baḥata'enu'' (אז בחטאנו חרב מקדש)
Text and Melodies
# ''Zekhor Adonai Meh Hayah Lanu'' (זכר ה׳ מה היה לנו) # ''Beleyl Zeh Yivkayun'' (בליל זה יבכיון) # ''Midey Shanah Qinnah'' (מדי שנה קינה בליל זה מזומנה) # ''Al Zeh Hayah Daveh Libenu'' (על זה היה דוה לבנו ועל אלה חשכו עינינו) # ''Al Leyl Ḥorban Heykhal Miqdash'' (על ליל חרבן היכל מקדש / מדי ליל זה ספד יחדש / על עיר קדש ועל המקדש) # ''Oy Ki Yarad Esh Min Hashamayim'' Liyrushalayim (אוי כי ירד אש מן השמים לירושלים עיני עיני יורדה מים) # ''Zechor Adonai Liyhudah Ulefrayim'' (זכור ה' ליהודה ולאפרים) # ''Alekhem Edah Qedoshah'' (אליכם עדה קדושה אשאל מכם שאלות / מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות

# ''Oy Ki Qinat Rabbat'' (אוי כי קינת רבת מפי בן ומפי בת / ויהי נעם נשבת במוצאי השבת), said only at the conclusion of

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

# ''Ani Hagever'' (אני הגבר אקונן), said only at the conclusion of

# ''Az Baḥata'enu'' (אז בחטאנו חרב מקדש), composed by Eleazar ben Killir #: The years since the destruction of the Temple are then counted (מניין שנות החורבן). #: Some communities recite the following kinnah: # ''Al Heykhali Ḥevli KeNahasḥ Noshe'' (על היכלי חבלי כנחש נושך ולשממות ציון אשב בחושך), composed by rabbi Israel Najara

Morning kinnot

See קינות תשעה באב (Hebrew)

Kinnot in memory of the Holocaust

Although the fast of Tisha B'Av was founded to mourn the destruction of the Temple, over the years other travails of the Jewish

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

have been added to its observance and memorialized in the kinnot. Despite this, few kinnot have been composed in the last several centuries, and none of them had entered the standard kinnot service. After the Holocaust, many people felt that it was inappropriate to mourn on Tisha b'Av for the destruction of cities during the Middle Ages without mourning the even greater tragedy of the Holocaust. For this reason, many people recommended the composition and recitation of new kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust. These people, including many important rabbis, argued that in every generation, kinnot were composed to address the difficulties of that generation. Some added that it was essential to incorporate such kinnot into the Jewish liturgy, lest the Holocaust be forgotten by future generations. One popular Kinnah on the Holocaust is ''Eli Eli Nafshi Bekhi'', composed by Yehuda Leib Bialer. However, many other rabbis dissented on the grounds that they could not create new kinnot because the existing kinnot were holy and were composed by the greatest individuals of their respective generations, but today there is nobody who can write like them. Others claimed that any individual community could recite new Kinnot as they wished, but only the greatest rabbis would have the authority to institute new Kinnot into the communal service in the entire Jewish world community. Rabbi Yaakov Ariel claims that the kinnot service, unlike 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 ...

and other Jewish rituals, was not created by authority of the rabbis, but rather developed based on the acceptance of communities and the decisions of the printers who produced printed copies. Thus the new kinnot could gradually enter the accepted roster of kinnot. However, since many congregations now recite kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust, this may become an integral part of the service without a formal decision.

References

External links

Sephardic Pizmonim Project, Ekha and Tisha B'Ab

Piyut.co.il - Texts and archival recordings of Sephardic and Ashkenaz Qinot (Hebrew)

* ttps://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/tohen.asp?id=131 Kinnot L'Tisha B'Av Nusakh Ashkenaz(Hebrew language)
Tishah B'Av - A Guide to the Service (including a synopsis of the kinnot)

Kinot Insights from Members of the YU Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago

A Sample of Kinnot and Their Translations for Consecutive Reading on Tisha B´Av
{{The Three Weeks Jewish liturgical poems Tisha B'Av Laments