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''Akdamut'', or ''Akdamus'' or ''Akdamut Milin'', or ''Akdomus Milin'' (
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
: אַקְדָמוּת מִלִּין, "In Introduction to the Words," i.e. to the ''Aseret ha-dibrot,'' the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
), is a prominent
piyyut A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...
("liturgical poem") recited annually on the
Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
of Shavuot by Ashkenazi Jews written in
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
. It was penned by Rabbi Meir bar Yitzchak (''Nehorai'') of Orléans, who was a cantor (prayer leader) in
Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had about 82,000 inhabitants . A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It wa ...
, (died ca. 1095). ''Akdamut'' consists of praise for God, His
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, and His people. ''Akdamut'' is read in almost all Ashkenazi synagogues on the first day of Shavuot during the
Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...
. The original practice was for it to be recited after the reading of the first verse (Exodus 19:1), but in the past few centuries, the practice has developed in many congregations (mainly Eastern European ones) that the poem is read after the
kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...
has been called to the Torah reading, but before he recites the blessing. The reason for the original practice was that, from Biblical times to well into medieval times, each verse of the Torah reading in Hebrew would be followed by its interpretation into Aramaic, and therefore it would be appropriate, after the first Hebrew verse was read, for another reader to provide an Aramaic gloss including this "introduction". However, when the simultaneous Aramaic interpretation fell into disuse, the recitation of ''Akdamut'' remained between the first and second Hebrew verses, where it no longer seemed an appropriate interruption, so it was relocated to before the commencement of the Torah reading. In most synagogues it is read responsively: the ''
baal keriah A baal keriah (Hebrew: , 'master of the reading'), colloquially called the baal korei (Hebrew: , 'master-reader'), is a member of a Jewish congregation who reads from the Sefer Torah during the service. As there are no niqqud, punctuation, or c ...
'' (Torah reader) singing two verses, and the congregation responding with the next two verses. Although it is considered "Judaism's best-known and most beloved piyyut", there are some synagogues where it is not recited. Its adoption into the regular liturgy took some time; it is not mentioned as part of the Shavuot liturgy until the first decade of the 15th century and the earliest prayerbook to contain it was published in 1557. Some say that it replaced an earlier piyyut, ''Arkin Moshe'', which was a folkloric poem describing the excitement among the angels when God brought Moses up to Heaven to receive the Ten Commandments, but both piyyutim appear alongside each other in many manuscripts and printed machzorim. The adoption of ''Akdamut'' into the liturgy may have been assisted by a folktale that connected its composition with a miraculous event involving the defeat of an evil sorcerer monk who was using magic to kill countless Jews.


Structure

The entire poem is 90 verses long. The first 44 verses of ''Akdamut'' are arranged as a double alphabetic
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
, two lines for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, followed by 46 verses with the initial letters spelling out the words, "Meir, son of Rabbi Isaac, may he grow in Torah and in good deeds. Amen. Be strong and have courage." The language of ''Akdamut'' is terse and complicated, and is replete with references to
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
and
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
. Each line has ten syllables and concludes with the syllable "ta" (תא), which is spelled with the last letter ( taw) and first letter (
aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez . These letter ...
) of the
Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...
. The encoded message from the author is that a Jew never stops learning Torah — when one finishes, one must start anew again. This message was appropriately chosen for Shavuot, since this holiday commemorates the Jews accepting the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
on
Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
. The language of the poem is Aramaic, – "terse, difficult Aramaic" —or even "never intelligible". Some prayerbooks, especially those intended for use in Israel, provide a running translation from the now arcane Aramaic into Hebrew. In summary, the poem begins with the greatness of God, which exceeds all ability to describe it (verses 1–14), and then the myriads of various kinds of angels created by Him and attending Him (15–26). The various angels praise God according to their categories, some praise Him unceasingly, some at recurring times, some only once (27–42). The nations of the earth seek to acquire Israel to add to their own greatness but Israel replies that its loyalty is only to God, and this is the source of Israel's attributes and strength (43–74). In the future,
Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
and Behemoth, two enormous creatures mentioned in Scripture, will be brought together, and killed and prepared by God as a banquet for the righteous in opulent furnishings (75–84). The narration concludes with a benediction and wish that the hearer might be privileged to attend this same banquet, and assures the audience that this will be so, if only they hearken to the words of the Torah (85–90).


Musical considerations

When Akdamut was first composed and introduced it was not accompanied by a specific melody. It is not chanted according to any system of accents used in Biblical cantillation. A number of different musical treatments have grown around it in various communities. Among these is a mode similar to that used for the Festival
Kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...
, a melody similar to that used on
Simchat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...
for the honoring of the "Bridegroom of the Torah" (who reads the concluding lines of Deuteronomy) – which, since the holidays share related concepts, seems very plausible, and there is also a melody of more recent vintage adopted from a German folksong.


Parallels in other works

The reference in ''Akdamut'' to all the seas being ink and all the reeds pens is found in the Talmud, Masechet Sotah in relation to the lack of ability of humans to express the praise of God. This is comparable, and almost certainly borrowed from the Talmud, to verses in the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
: "Were the sea ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail before the words of my Lord fail" (Sura 18, verse 109), and "Were the trees that are in the earth pens, were the sea ink with seven more seas to swell its tide, the words of God would not be spent" (Sura 31, verse 27). The third verse of Frederick M. Lehman's 1917 hymn "The Love of God" is based on this passage from ''Akdamut''. Medieval Christian sermons use the same imagery.


See also

* Yom Tov Torah readings#Yetziv Pitgam *
Kinnot Kinnot ( he, קינות; also kinnos, kinoth, qinot, qinoth; singular kinah, qinah or kinnah) are Hebrew dirges (sad poems) or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the Hebrew Bible, and also to later poems which are traditionally r ...
*
Piyyut A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...
*
Selichot Selichot ( he, סְלִיחוֹת, səlīḥōt, singular: , ''səlīḥā'') are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are ...


References

*Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Salamon, ''Akdamus Millin: A new translation and commentary anthologized from the traditional Rabbinic literature'',
ArtScroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll' ...
publishers (1978, 151 pages) *


External links


Audio reading of Akdamut Milin
*
A translation into Spanish
{{Authority control Aramaic-language songs Aramaic words and phrases Aramaic words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings Jewish liturgical poems Leviathan Shavuot