Yanai (Payetan)
Encyclopedia
Yannai was the first payyetan to employ rhyme and introduce his name in acrostics. He flourished, probably in the land of Israel
, in the first half of the 7th century. He was apparently a very prolific poet, for reference is made to "the liturgical poems of Yannai"; he is also said to have composed "ḳerobot" for the "orders of the year" (perhaps for the weekly lessons). Most of his poems are lost; some are perhaps still extant, but they cannot be recognized with certainty as Yannai's work. It is speculated that he may have composed the famous Unettaneh Tokef prayer. In 1938, Zulay published poems of Yannai collected from Geniza fragments.
The following fragments remain to show his style:
Yannai, like his predecessor Jose b. Jose
, is not as obscure in his vocabulary and in his metaphors as is Kalir, who is said to have been Yannai's pupil and to have been killed by his master out of jealousy.
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, in the first half of the 7th century. He was apparently a very prolific poet, for reference is made to "the liturgical poems of Yannai"; he is also said to have composed "ḳerobot" for the "orders of the year" (perhaps for the weekly lessons). Most of his poems are lost; some are perhaps still extant, but they cannot be recognized with certainty as Yannai's work. It is speculated that he may have composed the famous Unettaneh Tokef prayer. In 1938, Zulay published poems of Yannai collected from Geniza fragments.
The following fragments remain to show his style:
- אוני פטרי רחמתים: A "ḳerobah" for Sabbath ha-Gadol. It is said to include also הפלאת בלילה אז רוב נסים, found in the Pesaḥ Haggadah.
- שיר השירים אשירה נא לידידי : A "shib'ata" for the seventh day of Pesaḥ. The middle portion is missing. It is designated as דרמושה (this reading must be substituted for the senseless לרמושה in the superscription), i.e., "bolt" or "beam" (δρόμος, otherwise called רהיט), and forms a sort of textual variation of Song of SongsSong of songsSong of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
, following the conception and interpretation of that book in the MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
.
- תעו אז בפתרוס: A "silluḳ" for Sabbath Shim'u, i.e., the second Sabbath before the Ninth of Ab.
Yannai, like his predecessor Jose b. Jose
Jose b. Jose
Jose b. Jose was an early payyetan who lived in Palestine in the 6th century CE. Some of his poetry is preserved in the contemporary Hebrew payer books....
, is not as obscure in his vocabulary and in his metaphors as is Kalir, who is said to have been Yannai's pupil and to have been killed by his master out of jealousy.
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia article on Yannai written by Gotthard DeutschGotthard DeutschGotthard Deutsch , also spelled Gottard Deutsch, was a scholar of Jewish history.- Education :...
& H. Brody.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Rapoport, in Bikkure ha-'Ittim, 1829, p. 111;
- idem, in Kerem Ḥemed, 1841, vi. 25;
- LuzzattoLuzzattoLuzzatto is an Italian surname. According to a tradition communicated by S. D. Luzzatto, the family descends from a German Jew who immigrated into Italy from the province of Lusatia, and who was named after his native place.It may refer to:...
, Mebo, p. 10; - ZunzZunzZunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
, Literaturgesch. p. 28; - Landshuth, Ammude ha-'Abodah, p. 102;
- HarkavyHarkavyHarkavy is surname which may refer to:* Abraham Harkavy , historian* Alexander Harkavy , writer* Yehoshafat Harkabi military historian...
, Studien und Mittheilungen, v. 106; - S. A. Wertheimer, Ginze Yerushalayim, ii. 18b.