Devai Haser is a

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 ...

by Dunash ibn Labrat (920/925 – after 985), whose first name is signed in the first verse by acrostic. Ashkenazi Jews incorporate the first stanza of the piyyut into the Birkat Hamazon for weddings and Sheva Brachot. This piyyut, like Dunash's

D'ror Yikra D'ror Yikra (Hebrew: ; also spelled Dror Yikra, Deror Yikra and Dror Yiqra) is a piyyut (Jewish religious song or hymn), of the kind known as zemer, traditionally sung during Sabbath meals, particularly the first meal on Friday evening.Rosenfeld-Ha ...

, was originally intended for the Sabbath; the content of the piyyut suggests that it is meant to be recited immediately before the Priestly Blessing. Some say that the practice of reciting the first stanza after weddings and sheva brachot owes to the general obligation to temper celebration with reminder of the destruction of the temple, à la "Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy." One 15th-century machzor describes the first stanza as "a song for weddings by Dunash ibn Labrat, in the metre of

Adon Olam Adon Olam ( he, אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם; "Eternal Lord" or "Sovereign of the Universe") is a hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Shabbat (Sabbath) liturgy since the 15th century.Nulman, Macy, ''Encyclopedia o ...

." Originally the stanza was recited responsively.

Versions

Some prayerbooks contain slight variations in wording, such as replacing "Guide the blessing of the sons of

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

" with "Guide the blessing of the sons of

Jeshurun Jeshurun ( he, יְשֻׁרוּן ''Yəšurūn''; also ''Jesurun'' or ''Yeshurun'') is a poetic name for Israel used in the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. It is generally thought to be derived from a root word meaning upright, just or straight, but may ...

" when there are no kohanim present. In many recent prayerbooks, both options are printed: "Guide the blessing of the sons of Jeshurun, the sons of Aaron."

Abraham David Wahrman Abraham David Wahrman of Buchach (1770 at Nadvirna – 1840 at Buchach) (Hebrew: אברהם דוד מבוטשאטש), was a Galician Talmudist. Biography He began studying Talmud as a boy. When he was ten years old, Zvi Hirsch Karo, the author of ...

suggested that, in order to make this fit with the meter of the preceding line while enhancing the rhyme, one should read "Steer us to the right path and success; Make the blessing of Jeshurun like that of the sons of Aaron". Geniza fragments evidence at least three more verses (preserved are 1,3,6-7) but none have survived complete.

Words

Four verses are preserved in T-S K8 86:

References

{{Reflist Marriage in Judaism Jewish liturgical poems