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 recited by Jews on
Tisha B'Av.
In the Bible
In the
Hebrew Bible, the term ''kinah'' or ''qinah'' refers to a dirge or
lament, especially as sung by Jewish professional mourning women.
The
Jerusalem Bible refers to
Isaiah 47
Isaiah 47 is the forty-seventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is a part of the Books of the Prophets.Theodore ...
as a ''qinah'' or "lament for
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
", and to
Ezekiel 19 as a ''qinah'' or lamentation over the rulers of Israel. A. W. Streane suggests that , on the
prophesied
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pret ...
downfall of
Jerusalem, is written "in Ḳinah metre".
Tisha BeAv recitation
On
Tisha B'Av,
Jews traditionally recite a series of elegiac poems, known as ''kinnot'', after the evening and morning prayers. These poems mourn the destruction of both the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Temple
The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
in Jerusalem and other tragedies in
Jewish history, including the
Crusades, the
Expulsion of Jews from Spain and
the Holocaust. The kinnot are recited on the night of Tisha B'Av after reciting the
Book of Lamentations, which was also called ''Kinnot'' in the Talmudic era
[See, e.g., Bava Batra 14b] before it assumed its more familiar name ''ʾĒkhāh''.
Development of the Ashkenazic kinnot
Many kinnot were composed by Rabbi
Elazar Hakalir,
[See ] who likely lived in the 6th-7th centuries. His kinnot resemble the structure and content of the
Book of Lamentations. For example, one of his kinnot begins each stanza with the word ''ʾĒkhāh'', the opening word of Lamentations. He often writes stanzas in an alphabetical acrostic, similar to the first four chapters of Lamentations. The style deals primarily with the destruction of the Second Temple, similar to Lamentations which mourns the destruction of the
First Temple.
The main impetus for creation of new kinnot during the
Middle Ages was the Crusades, in which Christian mobs decimated many Jewish communities. The kinnot deal with the then-current tragedy of the Crusades, no longer focusing on the destruction of the Temple in the past. The loss of the
Torah and its scholars, instead of the loss of the Temple, occupies a central theme.
Rabbi
Judah Halevi wrote a kinnah of a different nature of the kinnot. In his poem ''Tziyon Halo Tishali'', rather than expressing pain and despair over the tragedies of the distant or near past, he expresses a longing for returning to Jerusalem. Many later poets copied him.
Sephardic kinnot
The various Sephardic communities of North Africa and the Middle East have a rich tradition of kinnot. The following is an extensive list based on the practices of North Africa (Morocco and Tunisia). See also the Hebrew wikipedia page
קינות לתשעה באב
Evening kinnot
# ''Divrey Nevi'im'' (דברי נביאים)
# ''Lu Yishqelu Re'ay'' (לו ישקלו רעי)
# ''Nishmat Shedudim'' (נשמת שדודים)
# ''Shanah BeShanah'' (שנה בשנה אהגה כיונה / כי עיר עדינה היתה לזונה)
# ''Yonah Nikh'avah'' (יונה נכאבה נפשה דאבה / היכל דר ערבות יום יום סובבה)
# ''Shim'u VeHa'azinu'' (שמעו והאזינו ואדברה אני / אומרה לאל סלעי למה שכחתני)
# ''Nishmat Yeladim'' (נשמת ילדים שוממים על חורבן אריאל)
# ''Et Oyveḥa El'' (את אויביך אל תשמיד ותחריב / בעגלה ובזמן קריב)
# ''Yom Kemo Ned'' (יום כמו נד עמדו דמעי בפני / על קדושים זרע ברוכי ה׳)
# ''Ad An Tzvi Muddaḥ'' (עד אן צבי מדח ואין מקבץ לו / נגש וגם נענח גבר מאד חילו )
# ''Ashaher Adati'' (אשחר עדתי)
# ''Eftaḥ pi Lehodot'' (אפתח פי להודות)
# ''Aryeh Sha'ag'' (אריה שאג)
# ''Eykh Mishkani Elyon'' (איך משכני עליון)
# ''HaLanofelim Tequmah'' (הלנופלים תקומה)
# ''Nishmat Emunim'' (נשמת אמונים)
# ''Nilah lehelil'' (נלאה להיליל)
# ''Heikhal Adonai'' ('היכל ה)
# ''Yom Nilḥamu Bi'' (יום נלחמו בי)
# ''Qol Aholah Tityapeaḥ'' (קול אהלה תתיפח)
# ''Bore Ad Ana'' (בורא עד אנא)
#: ''Al Naharot Bavel'' (על נהרות בבל) is read from
Tehillim
#: Then the evening
Arvit service is said. The kinnot continue after the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
:
# ''Lemi Evkeh'' (למי אבכה)
#: Megillat Eykhah/
Lamentations (מגילת איכה) is then read, followed by:
# ''Az Baḥata'enu'' (אז בחטאנו חרב מקדש)
Text and Melodies# ''Zekhor Adonai Meh Hayah Lanu'' (זכר ה׳ מה היה לנו)
# ''Beleyl Zeh Yivkayun'' (בליל זה יבכיון)
# ''Midey Shanah Qinnah'' (מדי שנה קינה בליל זה מזומנה)
# ''Al Zeh Hayah Daveh Libenu'' (על זה היה דוה לבנו ועל אלה חשכו עינינו)
# ''Al Leyl Ḥorban Heykhal Miqdash'' (על ליל חרבן היכל מקדש / מדי ליל זה ספד יחדש / על עיר קדש ועל המקדש)
# ''Oy Ki Yarad Esh Min Hashamayim'' Liyrushalayim (אוי כי ירד אש מן השמים לירושלים עיני עיני יורדה מים)
# ''Zechor Adonai Liyhudah Ulefrayim'' (זכור ה' ליהודה ולאפרים)
# ''Alekhem Edah Qedoshah'' (אליכם עדה קדושה אשאל מכם שאלות / מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות
# ''Oy Ki Qinat Rabbat'' (אוי כי קינת רבת מפי בן ומפי בת / ויהי נעם נשבת במוצאי השבת), said only at the conclusion of
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
# ''Ani Hagever'' (אני הגבר אקונן), said only at the conclusion of
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
# ''Az Baḥata'enu'' (אז בחטאנו חרב מקדש), composed by
Eleazar ben Killir
#: The years since the destruction of the Temple are then counted (מניין שנות החורבן).
#: Some communities recite the following kinnah:
# ''Al Heykhali Ḥevli KeNahasḥ Noshe'' (על היכלי חבלי כנחש נושך ולשממות ציון אשב בחושך), composed by rabbi
Israel Najara
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Morning kinnot
See
קינות תשעה באב (Hebrew)
Kinnot in memory of the Holocaust
Although the fast of Tisha B'Av was founded to mourn the destruction of the Temple, over the years other travails of the Jewish
Diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
have been added to its observance and memorialized in the kinnot. Despite this, few kinnot have been composed in the last several centuries, and none of them had entered the standard kinnot service.
After the Holocaust, many people felt that it was inappropriate to mourn on Tisha b'Av for the destruction of cities during the Middle Ages without mourning the even greater tragedy of the Holocaust. For this reason, many people recommended the composition and recitation of new kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust. These people, including many important rabbis, argued that in every generation, kinnot were composed to address the difficulties of that generation. Some added that it was essential to incorporate such kinnot into the Jewish liturgy, lest the Holocaust be forgotten by future generations. One popular Kinnah on the Holocaust is ''Eli Eli Nafshi Bekhi'', composed by
Yehuda Leib Bialer
Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to:
Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms
* Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
.
However, many other rabbis dissented on the grounds that they could not create new kinnot because the existing kinnot were holy and were composed by the greatest individuals of their respective generations, but today there is nobody who can write like them. Others claimed that any individual community could recite new Kinnot as they wished, but only the greatest rabbis would have the authority to institute new Kinnot into the communal service in the entire Jewish world community.
Rabbi
Yaakov Ariel
Yaakov Ariel ( he, יעקב אריאל) is the chief rabbi of the city of Ramat Gan, Israel, and one of the leading rabbis of the religious Zionist movement. Ariel had served as the rosh yeshiva of the yeshiva in the abandoned Israeli settlement ...
claims that the kinnot service, unlike the
Siddur and other Jewish rituals, was not created by authority of the rabbis, but rather developed based on the acceptance of communities and the decisions of the printers who produced printed copies. Thus the new kinnot could gradually enter the accepted roster of kinnot. However, since many congregations now recite kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust, this may become an integral part of the service without a formal decision.
See also
*
Zionides Zionides ( he, צִיוֹנִים) are ''piyyutim'' which express the longing of the Jewish nation to see the hill of Zion and the city of Jerusalem shine again in all their former glory. They date back to the time immediately after the destruction ...
*
City Lament
References
External links
Sephardic Pizmonim Project, Ekha and Tisha B'AbPiyut.co.il - Texts and archival recordings of Sephardic and Ashkenaz Qinot (Hebrew)*
ttps://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/tohen.asp?id=131 Kinnot L'Tisha B'Av Nusakh Ashkenaz(Hebrew language)
Tishah B'Av - A Guide to the Service (including a synopsis of the kinnot)Kinot Insights from Members of the YU Torah Mitzion Kollel of ChicagoA Sample of Kinnot and Their Translations for Consecutive Reading on Tisha B´Av
{{The Three Weeks
Jewish liturgical poems
Tisha B'Av
Laments