Rabbi Moses ben Kalonymus was an 11th-century
paytan (liturgical poet) born in northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
who immigrated to
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
.
[Joseph Solomon Delmedigo]
"Matzref Lechochma" p. 42
/ref> His piyyutim were influenced by the Land of Israel liturgical tradition. There is an ancient tradition that he was the composer of the piyyut "''Eimat Noratekha''" which is recited on Shevi'i shel Pesach
Shevi'i shel Pesach is the seventh and last day of the Passover holiday, which falls on the 21st of Nisan. On this day, according to the jewish tradition the splitting of the Red Sea occurred. Beyond the commandments that exist on each of the seven ...
.
He wrote of himself in one of his piyyutim "I have now devoured death for more than nine hundred years, I waited to see salvation" from which we learn that he lived 900 years after the destruction of the Second Temple (around 970 CE).
The Shabbat songs Menucha veSimcha and Kol Meqadesh Shevi'i
"Kol Meqadesh Shevi'i" is an ancient hymn, possibly composed by Moses ben Kalonymus. The hymn is first found in Additional manuscripts, Add MS 27200, a 13th-century copy of the 11th-century Machzor Vitri, Machzor Vitry, as the first hymn for the Sa ...
were both composed by a paytan named Moses, as hinted in the acrostic. Some have conjectured that both were composed by the same poet, Rabbi Moses ben Kalonymus.[Responsa of Shlomo Luria (Shu"t Maharshal]
29
/ref>
R' Moses was from the Kalonymos family which played an important role in the spiritual development of northern Italy and Germany, composing piyutim and halakhic works. Notable among the family was Rabbi Meshullam ben Kalonymus. They transmitted the Ashkenazi mystical tradition from generation to generation. According to Joseph Solomon Delmedigo
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (or Del Medigo), also known as Yashar Mi-Qandia (; 16 June 1591 – 16 October 1655), was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theory, music theorist.
Born in Heraklion, Candia, Crete, a descendant of E ...
, Moses received that tradition from Aaron ben Samuel ha-Nasi, who emigrated from Babylon to Europe.
Eimat Noratekha
Sources describing the migration of the Kalonymus family mention that Moses was the author of the "Imat Noraoteikh." The piyyut itself also mentions the author as "Moses bar Kalonymush" and the most common understanding is that it refers to this Moses ben Kalonymus, who immigrated from Italy to Mainz.
However, some have questioned this assumption based on a mention of a sage named Hananel Kalonymush. Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport
Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (; June 1, 1786 – October 15, 1867) was a Galician and Czech rabbi and Jewish scholar.
Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", שי"ר occasionally שיל"ר, formed by the initial letters of his Hebrew n ...
argues that Hananel was the son of a later Kalonymus sage who lived in Mainz around 1020, and had two sons – Moses and Hananel. Moses was the primary writer, and Hananel his brother helped. He says the mention of "Hananel bar Kalonymus" refers to "Hananel ben Rabbi Kalonymus".[cited by ] However, Avraham Grossman rejects this hypothesis and maintains the author was the first Moses ben Kalonymus. The mention of Hananel does not preclude that possibility, and there may have been another unknown son in the family named Hananel who lived at that time.
Family members to 1080
, -
, style="text-align: left;", Notes:
(after the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906)
Further reading
* Avraham Grossman,
The Migration of the Kalonymos Family from Italy to Germany
References
{{Reflist
11th-century rabbis
Jewish liturgical poets