Chapter 23

POETRY ATTRIBUTED TO RASHI

Almost immediately upon the birth of liturgical poetry in the time of the Geonim, an illustrious representative arose in the person of Eleazar ha-Kalir,[130] who came to exercise a profound influence upon his successors, and in Rashi's day this poetry attained a high degree of development. That was the time when Jews, instead of merely listening to the officiating minister, commenced to accompany him with their voices in antiphonal chants.

Like most of the rabbis of his time, Rashi wrote liturgical poems, the number of which Zunz, with more or less surety, places at seven. Three are still preserved in some rituals. According to Luria, Rashi composed more than this number.

It is fair to question whether a Talmudist is fashioned to be a poet, and whether it is possible for love of discussion and dialectics to accord with poetic sensibility and imagination. Indeed, the liturgical poetry of the Jews of France and Germany has not the least artistic value. It shows neither concern for originality, nor knowledge of composition, and the poets were strangers to the conception of art and beauty. Moreover, they imposed upon themselves rather complicated rules, the most simple forms adopted being rhyme and acrostic. Sometimes they accomplished veritable feats of mental gymnastics, whose merit resided in the mere fact that a difficulty was overcome. Too often a play upon words or alliteration takes the place of inspiration, and ideas give way to factitious combinations.

These defects disappear in a translation, which is all the more acceptable for the very reason that it does not reproduce the vivid coloring of the original. The following, recited on the Fast of gedaliah ( az terem nimteju (Alef zayin, Mem resh Final_Mem, Nun mem Tav Het Vav) ), may serve as an example. Rashi uses certain Midrashim in it which describe the throne of God and the heavenly court. Such poetry as there is - and there is some - is overlaid and submerged by the slow development of the thought and the painfully detailed enumerations, strongly reminiscent of the Bible. It should be said that the language of Rashi is far simpler than that of his contemporaries.

Before yet the clouds were gathered in a canopy, Before yet the earth was rounded as a sphere, Thou didst prepare seven in Thy abode: The sacred Law, the splendid throne, the backslider's return, Paradise in all its beauty, and insatiable hell, The atonement place for sacrificial offerings, And the resplendent name of him who delays to come because of all our sins. Two thousand years before our globe were these, Set as jewels in the sky, whence earthward gleamed their light; In the realms above they ready stand round Him enthroned between the Cherubim. Firm established is the heavenly throne for the King supreme Whose glory is shed upon all within His presence: By His right hand the Law engraved with flaming letters He caresses like a child beloved. Toward the south lies the ever-fragrant Garden, Hell with its ever-burning flames to the north, Eastward Jerusalem built on strong foundations, In the midst of it the sanctuary of God, And in the sanctuary the altar of expiation, Weighted with the corner-stone of the world, Whereon is graven the Messiah's holy name Beside the great Ineffable Name. In the centre [center sic] before Him who is the source of all blessings stands Repentance, The healing balm for the suffering and afflicted soul, Appointed to remove each blemish, array the repentant in unsoiled garments, And pour precious oil on the head of sorrowing sinners. Thus we all, both old and young, appear before Thee. Wash off our every taint, our souls refine from every sin. Backsliding children, we come to Thee as suppliants, Seeking Thee day by day with humble, urgent prayers. Account them unto us as blood and fat of offerings, Like sacrificial steers and rams accept our contrite words. O that our sins might be sunk in abysmal depths, And Thy brooding infinite mercy bring us near to Thee.

In the first part of this poem the imagination displayed cannot be said to call forth admiration either by reason of fertility or by reason of brilliance. Any ordinary student of the Talmud and the Midrash might have produced it. Nevertheless Rashi awakens a certain sort of interest, it may even be said that he touches the emotions, when he pours out all his sadness before God, or rather - for his grief is impersonal - the sadness of the Jew, the humble sinner appealing to the mercy of God. When his feelings rise to their most solemn pitch, their strong pulsations visible through the unaccustomed poetic garb, the cloak of learned allusions drops of itself, and emotion is revealed under the strata of labored expressions. All the poems by Rashi belong under the literary form called Selihot , penitential psalms, recited on fast days.

What has been said of the first specimen quoted applies equally to the next ( Hashem Elohei Hatzevaot Bore Baolionim (Yod Yod, Alef Lamed He Yod, He Tsadi Bet Alef Vav Tav, Bet Vav Resh Alef, Bet Ayin Lamed Yod Vav Nun Yod Final_Mem) ), for the eve of the Day of Atonement. It would have been more effective, had there been less emphasis and a more consecutive development of the thought.

... Of all bereft we appear before Thee, -- Thine is the justice, ours the sin, -- Our faces flushed with shame we turn to Thee, And at Thy gates we moan like doves. Vouchsafe unto us a life of tranquil joy, Purge us of our stains, make us white and pure. O that our youthful faults might vanish like passing clouds! Renew our days as of old, Remove defilement hence, set presumptuous sins at naught; The purifying waters of truth sprinkle upon us, For we confess our transgressions, we rebellious, faithless children.

* * * * *

O that a contrite spirit, a broken, repentant heart Be acceptable to Thee as the fat of sacrifices! Accomplish for the children Thy promise to the fathers. From Thy celestial abode hearken unto us who cry to Thee! Strengthen the hearts of those inclined to pay Thee homage, Lend Thy ear unto their humble supplication. Yet once more rescue Thy people from destruction. Let Thy olden mercy speedily descend on them again, And Thy favored ones go forth from judgment justified, -- They that hope for Thy grace and lean upon Thy loving-kindness.

The final specimen ( tefilah lekadma (Tav Pe Lamed He, Lamed Qof Dalet Mem Final_Nun ) is still more pathetic in its tearful contrition. The last lines even rise to unusual beauty when they point down a shining vista of happy, serene days.

At morn we order our prayers, and wait to offer them to Thee. Not sacrificial rams we bring to Thee, but hearts contrite and tender. O that the tribute of our lips might plead our cause, When suppliants we stand before Thy threshold, watching and waiting. The early dawn awakens us, and our faces are suffused with shame. Our hearts beat fast, we whisper softly, hoarse and weary with calling on Thee. We are cast down, affrighted, -- Thy judgment comes. To Thy teaching we turned deaf ears, And unto evil were seduced. Rebellious were we, when Thou camest to guide us aright, And now we stand abashed with lowered eyes.

Our ruin Thou didst long past see -- Is Thy fiery wrath still unappeased? We sinned in days agone, we suffer now, our wounds are open, Thy oath is quite accomplished, the curse fulfilled. Though long we tarried, we seek Thee now, timid, anxious, --we, poor in deeds. Before we perish, once more unto Thy children join Thyself. A heavenly sign foretells Thy blessing shall descend on us. Brute force is shattered, and with night all round about, Thy affianced spouse, loving, yearning, Calls on Thy faithfulness; she pleads with her eyes, and asks, is still she Thine, Is hers Thy love for aye?

The uniformity and monotony of this poetry, it must be admitted, weary the reader. The author never goes beyond a narrow circle of ideas, and general ideas at that. It is impossible to make out whether the allusions are to contemporaneous events, the persecutions connected with the First Crusade, for instance, or whether they refer to the ancient, traditional wrongs and sufferings. Nowhere is Rashi's poetry relieved by a touch of personal bias. It cannot be denied, however, that the poems testify to a fund of sincerity and enthusiasm, and that is noteworthy in a period of literary decadence, when it often happens that sincerity of sentiment fails by a good deal to find sincere expression for itself. Esthetic inadequacy should by no means be taken as synonymous with insincerity. Rashi proves, that without being an artist one can be swayed by emotion and sway the emotions of others, particularly when the dominant feeling is sadness. "The prevailing characteristic of Rashi's prayers," says Zunz, the first historian of synagogue poetry as well as the first biographer of Rashi, "is profound sadness; all of them are filled with bitter plaints." Finally, if the Selihot by Rashi fall far short of our idea and our ideal of poetry, they at least possess the interest attaching to all that relates to their illustrious author.