This is the people… / Isaiah 43:21.
I will bring them back… / Psalms 38:23.
The counsel of the Lord… / Psalms 25:14.
Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar and the wicked Titus / Non-Jewish rulers responsible for the destructions of the First and Second temple in Jerusalem, and exiles of the Jewish people.
Section of Song / Perek Shira is a poem-like collection of Biblical and Talmudic verses of praise to God placed in the figurative mouths of the heavenly bodies, the elements of the natural world, the various members of the vegetable, animal, bird, marine and insect kingdoms. The text appears in authoritative editions of the prayerbook, but is not part of the liturgy. Author and date are unknown but the work may go back to Talmudic times.
The voice of the Lord… / Psalms 29:3.
My help cometh… / Psalms 212:2.
For a small moment… / Isaiah 54:7.
And the ransomed… / Isaiah 35:10.
Burnt a garment and covered the blood / The blood of a slaughtered animal or fowl must be covered over with earth or ash, cf. Lev 17:13.
Setting aside part of the Sabbath loaf / Numbers 15:20.
Come Ye Forth and See / Tze’nah u-Re’nah, late 16th century Yiddish anthology of Jewish writings organized around the weekly Torah portion. Written for women, the work was immensely popular and widely distributed.
Song for the Sabbath Day / Psalm 92; central passage in the prayers for welcoming the Sabbath.
And his Land doth make… / Deut. 33:42.
Go to the ant… / Prov. 6:6.
Hosannah willows / Willow branches used as part of the rituals of the concluding day of the Sukkot festival; the meaning here is — in the Land of Israel they, too, have actual this-worldly food to eat.
Students’ riot / Schiller gileif, anti-Semitic riot led by Jesuit seminary students.
Godfather / Sandek; the one who holds the baby on his lap during the circumcision.
Who has hallowed… / Blessing recited at circumcision.
Rolled the light away… / From the evening prayer.
Stambul / Istanbul, then the capital of the the Ottoman Empire.
Desire of the Days / Hemdat Yamim, kabbalistic work detailing various customs and laws of the holidays.
Holy Tongue / Hebrew.
Rabbi Joseph Karo / Renowned halakhist and mystic (1488–1575), author of the Shulhan Arukh.
Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai / 1st century mishnaic rabbi and mystic, purported author of the Zohar. The 33rd day of the Omer (Lag BaOmer), the anniversary of his death, is marked by pilgrimages to his grave in the Galilee region of northern Israel.
Karaites / Sectarian movement which broke from Rabbinic Judaism, rejecting the Oral interpretation of the Torah.
Moses ben Maimon / Maimonides (1135–1205), gretaets medieval rabbinic figure, author of the encyclopedic Mishenh Torah, also known as the Yad HaHazakah (‘The Mighty Hand’).
Rabbi Hayyim ben Attar / Talmudist, kabbalist and author of the popular Torah commentary Or HaHayyim (‘Light of Life’) (1696, Morocco — 1742, Jerusalem).
Grave of Job / The Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, holds the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, not the Biblical Job, a 7th century figure whose tomb was mistakenly conflated with that of the Biblical Job.
Ordination of the Sages / R Naftali ben Yitzhak HaKohen Katz of Ostrowo, Ukraine (1660–1719), rabbi and kabbalist, died in Istanbul en route to the Land of Israel.
The Additions to the Zohar / Tikkunei Zohar, a collection of mystical hymns, part of the collection of early kabbalistic literature.
Woman who is waiting for him to marry… / Cf. Deut. 25:9.
Isaac Luria / Known by the acronym Arizal (1534–1572), preeminent medieval kabbalist.
Moshe ben Nahman / Nahmanides or Ramban (1194–1270), leading Spanish rabbi, philosopher, halakhist and exegete. Arrrived in the Holy Land in 1267.
Rakkath / Cf. Josh. 19:35.
May it be my lot… / Shabbat 118b.
Sea of Kinnereth / Sea of Galilee.
Revival of the dead will commence at Tiberias / Rosh HaShanah 31b.
Midnight Mourning / Tikkun Hatzot. Elegies of kabbalistic orientation recited at midnight in mourning for the destroyed Temple and in hopes of Redemption from exile.
Cast away their sins / The Tashlich ritual prayer recited on the first day of Rosh HaShanah near a body of water, symbolizing the casting away of sins.
Rabbi Nahman of Horodanki / Disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and grandfather of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov; arrived in the land of Israel in 1764.
Who shall ascend… / Psalms 24:3.
Rabbi Shmelke / Shmuel Horowitz (d. 1778), rabbi in Nickolsburg.
Song of the Red Sea / Exodus 15.
Leviathan / According to rabbinic legend this will be the meal served to the righteous at the feast of the End of Days.
We shall go up at once! / cf. Numbers 13:30.
River of Fire / Rabbinic metaphor for the Milky Way, cf. Hagigah 14a.
Sons of the Heavenly Hall / Bnei heikhala — Aramaic hymn composed by Isaac Luria, about the longings for revelation. Commonly sung at the final Sabbath meal.
I rejoiced when they said… / Psalms 122:1.
The Lord loveth the gates of Zion… / Psalms 87:2.
The third day of the week / Gen 1:10 and 1:12 — Tuesday (third day of creation) is only day twice indicated as “good”.
Place below Jerusalem called Motza… / Mishnah Sukkah 4:5.
Who are these that fly as a cloud? / Isaiah 60:8.
Abraham ibn Ezra / 1089–1164, Spanish exegete, philosopher and poet.
Bought the parcel of land / Genesis 33:19.
Sabbath eve feast before a circumcision / Custom of Shalom Zakhar, visiting with the newborn on the Friday evening prior to circumcision.
Mine eyes and My heart… / Chronicles II 7:16.
Priestly blessing / Numbers 6:24–26.
I am the Lord… / Isaiah 49:23.
The Lord is good… / Lam. 3:25.
Ten sanctities whereby the Land of Israel is sanctified / Mishnah Kelim 1:6.
And His feet shall stand… / Zach. 14:4.
The heavens are the heavens… / Psalms 115:16, from the Hallel prayer recited on the first of the New Month.
But a good word… / Prov. 12:25.
But those who wait for the Lord… / Psalms 37:9.
In the Prime of Her Life
“My father sighed. We walked on and skirted the town, and my father placed his hand in my own and said, This way. As we approached the outer limits of the town we suddenly came upon an old woman digging in her yard. My father greeted her and said, Please tell us, good lady, is Mr. Mazal home?”
~ ~ ~
My mother died in the prime of her life. She was barely thirty-one years old. Few and harsh were the days of her life. She sat at home the entire day and never stirred from within. Her friends and neighbors did not visit, nor did my father welcome guests. Our house stood hushed in sorrow, its doors did not open to a stranger. Lying on her bed my mother spoke scarcely a word. But when she did speak it was as though limpid wings had spread forth and led me to the hall of blessing. How I loved her voice. Often I would open her door just to hear her ask, Who’s there? I was still a child. Sometimes she rose from her bed to sit by the window. She would sit by the window dressed in white. She always wore white. Once a relative of my father’s was called into town and seeing my mother, took her for a nurse, for her clothes misled him and he did not realize it was she who was unwell.