Sjimon den Hollander
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Yehuda haLevi 
​



​You can watch Part 1 of this lecture (Yehuda haLevi's Life and Thought) HERE
You can watch Part 2 of this lecture (Yehuda haLevi's Poetry) HERE
You can watch a video on a Muwaššaḥ  by Yehuda haLevi  HERE

​

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An entirely different translation is by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887).
Emma Lazarus is most known for her poem "The New Colossus"
which she wrote in dedication of the Statue of Liberty.
The poem is inscribed in the Statue's pedestal. 

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Emma Lazarus did not know Hebrew.
What was her source and why did she interpret the poem
​in an homo-erotic way? 
I discovered that her version was based on
​a German translation of our poem:


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The conclusion then has to be that the poem is not about a young child
on his lap, but that instead it has an erotic connotation.
Given the fact that, in the poem, he talks about a male figure,
the conclusion then has to be that this is another example of the
homo-erotic genre that we have seen before (See: Andalusian Poetry). 
​I then revised my translation as follows:
​

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Whether Yehuda haLevi was indeed involved at some point
in homo-erotic relations, or if he merely wrote this poem
​to cover yet another popular genre, remains anyone's guess.

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The next poem is built around the "Tetragrammaton"; the Four-Letter-Name of God which, according to Jewish tradition, is never pronounced as such. Instead, ones says "Adonai" (Lord).
The four letters are י (Y,
'yod'), ה (H, 'hey'), ו (W, 'waw'), ה (H, 'hey').
Parallel to the four letters of the divine name, the poem has four strophes. Every line in the poem begins and starts with "Adonai". As far as the line in between these two mentionings of 'Lord', each verse in the first strophe begins and ends with the letter 
י (Y), each verse in the second strophe with the letter  ה (H), each verse in the third with ו (W), and each verse in the fourth and last strophe with ה (H).
On top of these features, Yehuda haLevi builds another 'special effect' in this poem...  Hebrew letters also have a numerical value (like Roman letters: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, etc.) The Hebrew letters Y, H, and Wresemble the numbers 10, 5, 6, and 5. HaLevi has in the first strophe (for Y) ten verses, in the strophe focused around H five verses, in the third strophe built around the W six verses, and in the final strophe again five verses for H.



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Here is a recording of Ya Shema in a Medieval,
​almost Gregorian style:



And here is a recording of "Yah Shema" in a Sephardi tune
​used in North Africa and the Middle East:



The following poem by Yehuda haLevi is a so-called Muwaššaḥ.
Perhaps the most obvious feature of early 
Muwaššaḥs is that its last two lines (which are called the djar
ḥa) are in a different language than the rest of the poem. If the poem is in Hebrew, the djarḥa can be in Arabic,
or Berber, or in Mozarabic (Spanish).
Usually, the djar
ḥa is an already existing, popular song or poem.


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​In 1140, Yehuda leaves his possessions and family in Spain behind
and travels to the Holy Land, stopping on the way in Egypt.


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  • Personal
    • Introduction
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • My Journey to Judaism
    • Testimonials
  • JUDAISM
    • Judaism - Introduction
    • Jewish History >
      • Paleo Hebrew
      • The Pentateuch
      • Stories of Creation
      • Stories of the Flood
      • Priestly Writings
      • Prophets of Israel and Judah
      • Biblical Poetry
      • Flavius Josephus
      • The Dead Sea Scrolls
      • Midrash
      • Oral Torah and Talmud
      • Origins of Christian Anti-Jewish Attitudes
      • Byzantine Jews Before the Advent of Islam
      • Yannai
      • Jews Under Islam
      • Byzantine Jews After the Advent of Islam
      • Qara'ites
      • Saadia Gaon
      • The Jewish Golden Age (part 1): Hasdai ibn Shaprut
      • The Jewish Golden Age (part 2) Andalusian Poetry
      • The Jewish Golden Age (part 3) Samuel haNagîd and Ibn Gabirol
      • Christian-Jewish Polemics
      • The Crusades and Maoz Tzur
      • Rashi
      • The Tosafists
      • Yehuda haLevi
      • Ritual Murder and Blood Libel
      • The Ḥasidé Ashkenaz
      • Toledot Yeshu
      • Moses Maimonides, Philosopher
      • Moses Maimonides, Rabbi, Leader, Physician
      • Abraham Maimonides
      • Maimonidean Controversies
      • Host Desecration Libels
      • The Barcelona Disputation
      • Qabbala and the Zohar
      • The Cairo Geniza
      • The New Sephardi Identity
      • David Reubeni and Shelomo Molkho
      • Shabbatai Tzevi
      • Da Costa and Spinoza
      • Yiddish Texts
      • Ḥasidism
      • The Jewish Enlightenment
      • Modern Jewish Thinkers
    • Jewish Thought >
      • On Modern Orthodoxy
      • Could Jews Accept the Prophets ​of Christianity and Islam?
    • Jewish Law >
      • A Mikwèh in Uganda
      • Shabbat Distance
  • Scripture
    • Torah - Pentateuch >
      • Genesis
      • Exodus
    • Nebi'im - Prophets
    • Ketubim - Further Scriptures >
      • Tehillim - Psalms
      • Ruth
      • Lamentations
      • Esther
  • Liturgy
    • Daily Prayers
    • Shabbat Eve in Synagogue
    • Shabbat Eve at Home
    • Shabbat Morning
    • Purim
    • Passover/Pesach
    • Omer Counting
    • Shabhu'oth
    • Tish'a beAv Evening Service
    • The Month of Elul
    • Rosh haShana Eve in Synagogue
    • Rosh haShana Eve at Home
    • Rosh haShana Morning in Synagogue
    • Yom Kippur
    • Sukkot
    • Ḥanukka
  • CHRISTIANITY
    • Christianity - Introduction
    • Jesus, the Jewish Messiah
    • Could Jews Accept Jesus as a Prophet?
    • Why do Jews not Accept Jesus as the Messiah?
    • The Barcelona Disputation
  • ISLAM
    • Islam - Introduction
    • Islamic Dietary Laws
    • Torah and Qur'an >
      • Tafsîr Al-Tabarî
      • Tafsîr Al-Qurtubî
      • Tafsîr Al-Mîzān
    • Why Do Jews not Believe ​in the Prophet Muhammad?
    • Do Jews Follow the Sunna of Moses?
  • (DIS)COURSES
    • Biblical Hebrew
    • Medieval Hebrew Texts >
      • Syllabus
      • Course Classes >
        • Introduction and Important Information
      • Prep Readers
      • Paragraph Assignment >
        • Assignment Explanation
        • Original Text
        • Guidelines for your Paragraph Assignments
        • Finished Chapters
      • Essay Assignment
      • Glossary
    • The Jews of Medieval Western Christendom >
      • Introduction
      • Chapter 1. Prior Legacies >
        • 1A. The Muslim Legacy
        • 1B. The Christian Legacy
        • 1C. The Jewish Legacy
      • Chapter 2. The Roman Catholic Church >
        • 2A. Theological Doctrine
        • 2B. Ecclesiastical Policies
        • 2C. Imagery of the Jews
        • 2D. Cultural Creativity
        • 2E. Looking Ahead
      • Chapter 3. The Older Jewries of the South >
        • 3A. Southern France
        • 3B. Christian Spain
      • Chapter 4. Northern France and England >
        • 4A. Northern France
        • 4B. England
      • Chapter 5. Germany and Eastern Europe >
        • 5A. Germany
    • Judeo-Arabic Philosophers
    • Sermons >
      • Rosh haShana >
        • Hardships That Generate Inspiration (2019)
        • Rosh haShana Meditation (2018)
        • Abraham’s Struggles and What We Can Learn From It (2014)
        • The Blessings of Monotheism (2013)
        • Rejecting Human Sacrifice (2012)
      • Yom Kippur >
        • Confession: Guilt Trip, or Acknowledgement? (2019)
        • Yom Kippur and Being Connected (2015)
        • Changing Your Brain (2014)
        • Grow Up and Become a Better Person (2012)
    • Holocaust Commemoration
  • OTHER LANGUAGES
    • عربي
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    • Bahasa Indonesia >
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        • Thora >
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        • Profeten
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          • Klaagliederen
          • Esther
      • Liturgie >
        • Daily Prayers
        • Sjabbat Avonddienst
        • Sjabbatavond Thuis
        • Sjabbat Ochtenddienst
        • Sjabbatochtend
        • Poeriem
        • Pesach
        • Omertelling
        • Sjaboe'ot
        • Tisj'a be-Ab
        • Rosj haSjana Avonddienst
        • Rosj haSjana Ochtenddienst
        • Kipoer
        • Soekot
        • Chanoeka
      • Joodse Geschiedenis
    • Português >
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