Rising Call to Repentance

Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022

One of the most stirring prayers recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Unetaneh Tokef. In the traditional service, this prayer appears before the recitation of Kedusha during the cantor’s repetition of the Musaf service. In Reform liturgy, this prayer was sometimes eliminated, at times modified, was once part of the Yizkor service, and is now part of the central prayers of Shaharit. (In Reform liturgy there is no Musaf service.) The prayer begins with establishing God’s sovereignty, highlighting his role as a judge, sitting with the Book of Life, and deciding the lifespan of each creature and the manner of its demise as they pass before him. The prayer ends with a call to repentance, prayer, and charity to overturn any unfortunate decrees.

The origin story for this piyut was first recorded in the 13th century by the Or Zarua, a renowned scholar of Jewish Law. He writes that a sage named Rabbi Amnon of Mainz was called before the Archbishop who demanded he convert to Christianity. Rabbi Amnon asked for three days to contemplate a response, and upon returning home was horrified that he had not refused outright. When he did not return three days later, soldiers came to haul him in against his will. Rabbi Amnon’s response was a request to the Archbishop that his tongue be cut out to atone for his misstep. He should not have even contemplated anything other than immediate refusal. The request was denied, and instead the Archbishop had Rabbi Amnon’s limbs amputated one by one, each day giving him the opportunity to recant. As Rabbi Amnon lay dying, he composed the words of the Unetaneh Tokef prayer, which he recited in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah as he expired. Rabbi Kalonymus ben Meshullam, the 10th-century scholar, was visited by Rabbi Amnon in a dream. He implored Kalonymus to record the prayer and ensure the Jews would recite it every year as part of the High Holiday services.

This Rabbi Amnon, however, exists only in this story. We have none of his writings, nor are there any further records of his decisions of Jewish law, impact on his community, or any other fact of his life. When the three fragments (pictured below) containing the Unetaneh Tokef prayer were unearthed in the Cairo Geniza, it further called into question the veracity of the story. Based on where these fragments were located in the strata of the Geniza, as well as other contextual evidence, they likely date from the 8th century or even earlier. Scholars have also analyzed the formulation of the piyut and believe it was composed by the poet Yanai in the 6th century. To reconcile these competing narratives, some suggest that while the prayer originated in ancient Israel, it arrived in Germany through Italy, and then was popularized by the martyred Rabbi Amnon.

Geneza fragment 1Geneza Fragment 2

Geneza fragment 3 Geneza Fragment 5

The three mahzorim pictured below are from the Klau Library’s manuscript collection. The two Italian mahzorim, copied about a hundred years apart in the 15th and 16th centuries, differ significantly in the “Who will live and who will die” section, with a somewhat different order of the phrases and the deletion of death by war and wild beast in the later version. The 1702 manuscript from Ashkenaz is almost identical to the later Italian version, with an inserted addition of “Who by pestilence, and who by wild beast.” It is interesting to witness how the Geniza fragments reflect this variability. The Cambridge fragment ends this passage “Who will be serene, and who tormented.” The British Library fragment ends with “Who will be poor, and who made wealthy.” Perhaps these variations reflect something of the community’s priorities, as these differing final lines are the “rising action” before the liturgical climax “Repentance, Prayer, and Charity overcome a bad decree.”

Geneza Fragment 6 Geneza Fragment 7

 

Wishing everyone a year of serenity and wealth, both of spirit and body!

 

Klau Library Manuscript Mahzorim

Who will live, and who will die. Who at a right time, and who not at the right time. Who by fire and who by water. Who by sword and who by war. Who by earthquake, and who by plague. Who by wild beast, and who by famine. Who will be made wealthy, and who will be poor. Who will be raised, and who will be lowered. Who will rest, and who will be transient. Who will be at peace, and who will be pursued. Who shall be serene, and who tormented. MS 442 1480

Who will live, and who will die. Who at a right time, and who not at the right time. Who by fire and who by water. Who by sword, and who by famine. Who by earthquake, and who by plague. Who will rest, and who will be transient. Who will be at peace, and who will be pursued. Who shall be serene, and who tormented. Who will be raised, and who will be lowered. Who will be made wealthy, and who will be poor. MS 441 1555

Who will live, and who will die. Who at a right time, and who not at the right time. Who by fire and who by water. Who by sword, and who by famine. [Who by pestilence, and who by wild beast.] Who by earthquake, and who by plague. Who will rest, and who will be transient. Who will be at peace, and who will be pursued. Who will be serene, and who will be tormented. Who will be raised, and who will be lowered. Who will be made wealthy, and who will be poor. MS 435 1702

 

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