אלעזר ברבי קליר: קדושתאות ליום מתן תורה [Elazar Qallir: Hymni Pentecostales] (review)

The Jewish Quarterly Review, XCIII, Nos. 3-4 (January-April, 2003) 687-688 Elizur, ed., mm ina avp niNnwnp :i->pp ira iwph [Elazar Qallir: Hymni Pentecostales] Jerusalem: Mekize Nirdamim, 2000. Pp. 336. The religious poetry of Judaism turned a corner with the prolific 7th-century hymnist from Palestine named El'azar birabbi Qallir (or Qiliri). Modern studies of medieval Jewish liturgical poetry, or piyyut have increased considerably , and many manuscripts and fragments have been discovered in several Genizah collections which offer new material from classical hymnists in the period of Late Antiquity and early Islam. Yosse ben Yosse, Yannai, Shim'on bar Megas, Yehudah, Qallir, and Yohanan ha-Kohen are the most prominent of these synagogue poets, who composed their hymns for the weekly sabbath and the festivals, predominantly in Palestinian-Jewish communities. Qallir, the greatest poet among these hymnists, reshaped the tradition of piyyut itself. His influence on classical and post-classical Hebrew religious verse was far-reaching. In his numerous compositions, exclusively intended for holidays, he showed that religious awareness needs a new language to be adequately expressed. His linguistic inventiveness led to innovations which sprang not only from complicated allusions, but also from the use of rare biblical words and the introduction of Aramaisms or new expressions with little regard for what was normative in Classical and Rabbinic Hebrew . Qallir, as well as other hymnists, created numerous forms of the verb through analogical conjugation and formation, often using forms of expression taken over from midrashic literature or the spoken language, strengthening the tendency in contemporary literary Hebrew to mix grammatically acceptable forms with novel derivations. Qallir succeeded in presenting his poetry as a mediation of the religious sensibility of his time through his personal understanding of piyyutic language and themes, for which he became the object of public admiration and criticism. Saadiah Gaon and Abraham ibn Ezra lodged traditional objections to piyyut which were strong until quite recently. Today Qallir's significance must not be judged from what the ancient grammarians said of him, because the modern critical establishment of new texts gives us a different idea of his art. Moreover, later piyyut traditions in Italy and Ashkenaz echo many features of Qallir's poetry, demanding a reassessment of his lasting contribution to the qualities of piyyutic language and style. Among the new hymns that emerged from the Genizah were his qedushta 'ot for Shevucot, the nine-part hymns which end with a recitation of Is 6:3 and are designed to adorn the benedictions of the 'amidah during the morning service on the festival. For Shevucot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, the composers of liturgical poetry were specifically attracted 688THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW to a versification of the numerous aggadot about the Sinai episode and the Ten Commandments. Qallir is particularly credited with extraordinary embellishments for the required Torah reading for Shevucot. Some of the hymns have remained part of the Shevucot liturgy to this day, but Shulamit Elizur has re-edited these texts on the basis of Genizah manuscripts together with a number of unknown fragments. Elizur is at her best when she traces the qedushta parts through Genizah materials and reconstructs the best textual witnesses. Her detailed commentaries are impressive and her analysis of poetic structures is most accurate. However, her discussion of the ideas and concepts prevailing in Qallir's hymns is often too narrow. Qallir's qedushta'ot are essentially poetic commentaries, introducing a wealth of talmudic-midrashic traditions in connection with the holiday theme. But he did not draw his inspiration only from the subjects of the Bible or Midrash; he also used popular legends and developed their themes, thus breaking new ground. Qallir enlarged the biblical and aggadic images, for instance, by presenting a version of world history up to the Sinai event which included a personified Torah who refused to be offered to Adam, Noah, or the Patriarchs. The earliest association of the Torah with a (female) personality occurs in Proverbs, but Qallir elaborates this motif and characterized the Torah as a daughter of God who was proposed to by many grooms until she chose to be married to Moses. Such an embellishment, giving the...