Avodah: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur

1. Atah Barata

1. Atah Barata “You Created” A tah Barata is perhaps the earliest poetic treatment of the themes of the Avodah. It is an introduction to the Avodah service and therefore ends not with a comprehensive description of the sacrifice but with the statement that God “informed [Aaron’s sons] so that they might serve before [Him].” This leads naturally into the description of the sacrifice, which presumably takes place in a separate composition. In two manuscripts Atah Barata is used as the introduction to Shi5vat Yamim, indicating a close relationship.1 However, it is difficult to know if they were composed together. The main evidence for its antiquity is its literary style: like the earliest stage of piyyut, it employs lines composed of four feet, and it uses unrhymed acrostic. Unlike later piyyut, which is usually dense with allusions, this poem uses them more sparingly .2 Despite its brevity, however, Atah Barata is not without interest. For example, the poem tells that the angels protested to God when he commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, contrasting God’s promise to Abraham with his command to kill his son. Although in Midrash Genesis Rabbah the angels are said to have wept when Abraham attempted to slaughter Isaac, their specific protest does not appear in that text. This is then an early attestation to the motif of the angels’ protest to God.3 Another interesting feature is the author’s concentration on the genealogy of Aaron in his tracing of Israel’s history, even to the exclusion of Moses. This translation is based on Zvi Malachi’s edition (Ha-“5Avodah,” 2:125‒26). 1. The known manuscripts of Atah Barata are ts h.5A .6, ts h.10.122, and ns 156.172. Our thanks to Professor Ezra Fleischer for this information. According to Malachi, Ha-“5 Avodah,” 2:125, the composition serves as the introduction to Shi5vat in mss ts ns 1562 and ts h5a19 . 2. Malachi, Ha-“5 Avodah,” 1:13‒15. 3. See Ginzberg, Legends, 1:281 and 5:251 n. 242. 44 avodah You created the entire world; with great intelligence You established it in love and mercy. In wisdom and intelligence You made the heavens and spread out the earth with understanding and knowledge. Also from it You formed Adam and You caused his descendants to thrive like the sands of the sea. The generation of Nephilim rejected Your word; they also said to You, “Go away from us.” You showed them the magnitude of Your anger and by that which they vilified You water You dealt with them.4 Then there arose among them a small remnant: this is Noah whom You called “righteous.” From his descendants You produced a pure and upright man: Abraham, who loved You with all his heart. 4. That is, the generation said, “We have our own water and we don’t need God.” Therefore, God punished them with water. See Mirsky, Yose ben Yose, 139, note to line 73 of Azkir Gevurot, citing Sifre Deut =Eqev 43:16. atah barata 45 z`xA dY`©¨¨¨¨ FNeM mlFrd lM z¤̀¨¨¨ª FYppFM lkU aFxA§¥¤©§ mingxaE cqgA§¤¤§©£¦ lMUde dnkgA§¨§¨§©§¥ dziUr minẄ©¦¨¦¨ ux` Yrwxe§¨©§¨¤¤ zrcaE dpEazA¦§¨§©© dPOn mB©¦¤¨ dYxvi mc`¨¨¨©§¨ dziAxd ei`v`ve§¤¡¨¨¦§¥¨ mId lFgM§©¨ militPd xFC©§¦¦ LixaC Eq`n̈£§¨¤ Kl Exn` mbe§©¨§¨ EPOn xEq¦¤ mzF` dzi`xd¤§¥¨¨ LiqrM aFx z¤̀©£¤ E LEtxigW dOa min ©¤¤¥§ mYpC mdĤ©§¨ mdn cnre§¨©¥¤ hrnM cixܦ¦§© gp df¤
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¥¨ Kad`W mdxà df¤©§¨¨¤£¥¨ Faal lkA§¨§¨ 46 avodah You announced Your devotion to all who come into the world and at one hundred years You gave him the fruit of the womb. Before he grew up Isaac You tested him Abraham when You said to him, “Offer him before Me as a burnt offering.” Your angels became agitated when they saw him bound; when he arose to slaughter him, they all cried out: “ ‘So shall your descendants be’5 is how You blessed his father, and if this one is slaughtered how can it be a blessing?” So You decided to spare him from the fire and from the knife You saved his offspring. From him You produced a beloved from the womb: this is Jacob whom You called firstborn. You found comfort in his children so You created what You created for their sake.6 5. Gen 15:5. The angels argue that God promised Abraham that...