Erev Shabbat Jewish Blogging
May. 5th, 2006 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gnomiThis week, acrostics for Shabbat.
Hebrew poetry comes in many forms. One very popular one is the acrostic. And in the Shabbat davening (prayers) and in the z’mirot, we have a number of acrostic poems.
Some acrostic poems use all the letters of the alphabet in order. Examples from the Shabbat liturgy of this type of acrostic poem are Eishet Chayil, "Woman of Valor," recited before Kiddush on Friday night and Anim Z’mirot, recited at the end of Mussaf on Shabbat morning.
Other acrostic poems use the first letters of each stanza to spell out something. The four stanzas of Yedid Nefesh (sung between Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night as well as at Seudah Shlishit on Saturday afternoon) spell out the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God. Other acrostics spell out the names of their authors: Lecha Dodi spells out "Shlomo Chazak" – Shlomo, may he be strong – for Rabbi Shlomo Halevy Alkabetz; Yom Zeh l’Yisrael spells out "Yitzchak" for Rav Yitzchak Luria; Yom Shabbaton (also known as Yona Matzah) spells out "Yehudah" for Rabbi Yehudah Ha Levi of Toledo. Ki Eshmira Shabbat spells out "Avraham" for Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.
And on this, the 22nd day of the Omer (one day for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet), I say Shabbat shalom.
Hebrew poetry comes in many forms. One very popular one is the acrostic. And in the Shabbat davening (prayers) and in the z’mirot, we have a number of acrostic poems.
Some acrostic poems use all the letters of the alphabet in order. Examples from the Shabbat liturgy of this type of acrostic poem are Eishet Chayil, "Woman of Valor," recited before Kiddush on Friday night and Anim Z’mirot, recited at the end of Mussaf on Shabbat morning.
Other acrostic poems use the first letters of each stanza to spell out something. The four stanzas of Yedid Nefesh (sung between Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night as well as at Seudah Shlishit on Saturday afternoon) spell out the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God. Other acrostics spell out the names of their authors: Lecha Dodi spells out "Shlomo Chazak" – Shlomo, may he be strong – for Rabbi Shlomo Halevy Alkabetz; Yom Zeh l’Yisrael spells out "Yitzchak" for Rav Yitzchak Luria; Yom Shabbaton (also known as Yona Matzah) spells out "Yehudah" for Rabbi Yehudah Ha Levi of Toledo. Ki Eshmira Shabbat spells out "Avraham" for Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.
And on this, the 22nd day of the Omer (one day for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet), I say Shabbat shalom.
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Date: 2006-05-05 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-05 08:14 pm (UTC)