JOSEPH BEN TANCHUM HA-YERUSHALMI
(ca. 1261-before 1330)
۞
Biography
of Joseph ben Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi
۞
Biography of Joseph
ben Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi
Joseph b. Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi, one the most talented
Hebrew poets living outside of Spain in the thirteenth century, was born in
1261/62 and died about 1300 (but not later than 1330). Probably born in
We know that at least after 1276 Joseph lived in
Fustat (Old Cairo), where he enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian nagid (head
of the Jews) Rabbi David b. Abraham Maimuni, the grandson of Maimonides, whose
family he served as a court poet. Between 1285 and 1289 Joseph was involved in
pro-Maimonist activities.
During the years 1276 to 1291 he wrote most of his
poetry and rhymed prose, which are preserved in two books: a divan (a collection of his poetry and
works in rhymed prose known as makamot
and the Sefer Arugot ha-Besamim (a collection
of short poems with homophone rhymes). Joseph himself wrote a commentary to his
last book.
Joseph adopted the technique of the Spanish school of
medieval Hebrew poetry and excelled in all genres fashionable in his period,
especially the muwashshah, or “girdle” poem, and he was the most significant
Eastern poet using this typical Spanish strophic form. He composed liturgical
poems (piyyutim),
dirges—lamentations—(kinot) for the
9th of Av, dirges on the dead, and penitential prayers (selichot), but the greater part of his work consists of secular
poetry, including praise poems, love poems, wine poems, friendship poems,
garden poems, and riddles. He also translated a number of Arabic poems into
Hebrew.
The works of Joseph b. Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi are only
partially published. My Ph.D. dissertation was a first attempt to introduce the
poet and his works to the community of literary scholars. Since my publications
on the poet, several additional publications have appeared. However, no
additional literary research has been done on the works of this poet. This
selection of his poems in English translation is either the first or largest
such selection published to date.
Bibliography
and Further
An Introduction to the Poetry of Joseph Ben Tanhum Ha-Yerushalmi and to
the History of Its Research: A Study Based Primarily upon Manuscripts from the
—Collected and translated by Dr. Hayim Y. Sheynin.
۞
THE POEMS
The following are laudatory and congratulatory
poems from the Diwan, Chapter IV.
2. Diw IV:2
And he said one praise poem more:
Rivers of blessings
encircled
and
Bright stars glowed in
her gloriously,
after they had darkened
in the twin rivers’ waters.
This poem praises the
notable dwelling in
Even though the
abundance of his kindness flies to
He
is the lord David, God’s chosen, most generous of all
the generous, head of
Ephraim’s sons.
He has united high
office, Torah, and humility;
his eminence is high as
the heavens.
If in his generosity he
would lay his hand upon a rock,
the rock would
immediately flow with water;
Every poor man would
grow rich through his generosity and kindness;
to everyone who asks his
assistance, his hands are two open palms.
The
matters of Cain’s brother are low in him, but
lofty as heaven are the
matters of Ham’s brothers.
Wisdom, ingenuity, and
perfection join in his heart,
standing out like a tree
by the waters.
With his goodness he has
revived lost branches of knowledge
and exchanged their
darkness for the
His steps are always
guarded from evil,
but he runs swiftly to
do kindness.
His words are smooth as
oil, sweet as honey,
more precious than
Parvaim gold.
These
words strengthen the heart of the wise
but weaken the knees of
wicked ones and fools;
Wise men delight in
these words,
but they corrode the
fool’s teeth like vinegar;
On the fool’s palate
these words will taste bitter as the water of Marah,
but on the wise man’s
palate they will taste sweet.
These words illuminate
the sphere of knowledge,
but their splendor makes
the sun and moon ashamed.
He
inherited from his forefathers all desirable traits
and enriched them
sevenfold.
His
soul greatly desired perfection; his abundant
wisdom is like the vast
and wide sea.
Ask
those who think they have counted his praises
whether they could weigh
mountains on a balance.
May
God set his fame high up to the awesome
heaven and glorify his
majesty twofold.
May
God grant him long life so that he is privileged to see
the Redeemer of Israel
and the rebuilding of
۞
3. Diw IV:3
And he wrote to the Nagid David—may his Rock guard him—
on the wedding of his son:
Praises were created
only for you;
therefore tongues are
unable to praise you.
Which
of your praises shall I declare?
They exceed the glories
of the world.
Your beauty is
unblemished, your excellence perfect,
and my words are like
jewels on a necklace.
My
praises struggle but fail to describe
your splendor, and fear
to approach you,
David,
who uplifts souls sick
from sorrow until they
soar to the limits of joy.
His
honey-sweet words and radiant face
are the splendor of the
lightning.
Before
this radiance I do not ask
whether the luminaries
are present or absent.
Humility masks an
excellent reputation,
but can human hand
obscure the light?
Days harness the stars
to his chariot—
they are proud of his
sons.
When his sons are away,
it is as if
the gates of knowledge
had been shut.
The standards of fate
have been raised high,
carried joyously in the
bosom.
Truly, can anyone who
has tasted the sons’ delicacies be hungry?
can anyone who has drunk
the wine of their speech be thirsty?
How good and pleasant
the name of the first son,
named for “the father of
a multitude of nations.”
Were his fame in the
world not like flowing myrrh
the residents would be
spewed forth from of their lands.
Had
he had not by his benefactions erected forts
for knowledge, its
towers would have been destroyed in a moment.
The second son is called
Solomon, and people call,
“Come here, wise people;
do not keep looking at one another.”
Do not ask wisdom of
Mahol’s sons;
we have Solomon’s words.
The third son is called
Isaac,
and the mighty lions
hide from his sight.
Even if his right arm
were uncovered in the battle of wisdom,
the giants would stay
away.
Oh, bridegroom so
radiant:
all the stars have
gathered to borrow some of his splendor.
May God sprinkle
bounteous rain upon him:
for His rain clouds are
filled with mercy.
۞
5. Diwan IV:16
And more by him like this:
Because
of your illness, O Lord, our illness
is so great; our
illness, misery and pain;
Our hearts moaned over
you;
the blood of our hearts
broke out on our cheeks.
Tears
almost wasted our souls
had not God dispersed
the clouds of our weeping.
We
shall request nothing from Time; it is enough
that your illness was
removed, enough,
For in your company we
never feared the worst trouble,
and without that company
our life would be contemptible.
The days of our happiness
are the days in your company,
while the days of your
absence are the days of our suffering,
For our joy is in the
wine of your teaching,
and when we are ill,
your generosity is our balm.
The generosity of your
right hand demands repayment,
but our tongues cannot
pay.
Rejoice forever, be
great, and adorn yourself with glory’s garments,
O crown of our honor,
adornment’s diadem!
۞
6. Diwan IV:17
And more by him a praise poem:
Did
heaven’s gates open into the universe
or did earth touch the
celestial lights,
Or
did the brilliance of the face of a certain notable
shame the luminaries,
Or
is it his glory or the pomegranate juice
or the nectar or pure
gold or his precious words,
Or
is it the aroma of his praises or the bundle of
myrrh or is it his words
or scattered crystals?
The
prince has pitched the tents of wisdom
in his heart, and in
them his heart is guarded.
He
accumulated the scattered knowledge, and his
generous contributions
are renewed each morning.
He
is slow of tongue when listening to empty words
but a man of words in
the battle of the testimony.
He
is slow when running to race but quicker
than young stags when
time to do gracious deeds.
By the goodness of his
teaching he heals hearts,
and his words revive the
dead.
His
words are as if cut out from trees of life
and carved from the
choicest of perfumes.
Compares
his mighty greatness to someone else’s
is like comparing young
lions to young goats.
He
uncovers the sealed secrets of wisdom
and restores their
destroyed towers.
He
is a diadem on the heads of the Nazirites
and excels other
notables in wisdom.
Under
the cloak of humility he
tries to hide his pure
virtues.
But
can sunlight be concealed
unless the people’s eyes
are deceived?
And how
can man hide the aroma of perfumes?
They soar as if on
eagles’ wings.
His
name is known to the ends of the world; he is unique
in this generation, the
mightiest among noblemen and rulers.
May
God glorify also the names of his
darlings who illumine the
limits of the world.
They are truly the
offspring of the blessed ancestors,
straight and upright
stocks in their own right.
May
God extend to the prince his favors flowing
like rivers and cause
his glorious light to shine.
And may God humble the pride
of his foes,
making crooked their
paths and twisted their roads.
During
the prince’s life, may God recall to his holy nation,
in
his abundant kindness, his covenant with their unblemished forefathers,
So that their foes, in
amazement, will respond in song:
“Were the gates of
heaven opened into the universe?“
۞
Numbers 9 and 10 are amorous introductions to
two laudatory poems, from the Diwan, Chapter IV).
9.
[Introduction to poem] Diw IV:7
And he wrote again to one of the
chiefs
after he returned to
She dances and pours
forth her song,
waves the fragrant crown
of spices, and drips honey.
She
glares angrily at her lovers
so that their tears of
torment flow like the sea.
They
weep, while she at their weeping
bares rows of wet
crystal and hail.
They rest between the
two thin scarlet threads, and with them she
pierces the temples of
everyone who has fallen for her.
She
has wounded the casing of my heart; her cheek
has wounded my eyes. But
why is she so enraged?
Hell and snow are joined
on her cheek;
Tears are on mine and
hell in my heart.
Were I to draw too near
her splendor,
I would find a fiery
brandished sword.
Were
she to raise her face up to heaven, the sun
would not look upon her
light
Her
saliva is the balm healing the illness of
sorrow inflicted by
fiery flame that scorches a man’s heart.
10.
[Introduction to poem Diw IV:26]
And he said again, praising one of the chiefs:
Deal gently with me,
gazelle who tears lions to pieces,
gazelle with curled
locks like snakes….
Poisonous serpents from
whose bites the bitten cannot be cured
except from themselves;
there are no healing charms.
Swords
drawn, angels guard
the garden of grace and
beauty,
Her breasts bruise
hearts;
her eyes torture souls.
Her breasts are like
pomegranates grown on shoots;
they are spears in the
hands of a warrior.
Their
shape resembles that of the red
pearls in which water
and fire join.
The
rows are filled with crystal
dipped in rivers of
honey;
The
seal of the scarlet silk covers them
so as not to shame the
light of the sun;
They
are a bough of the fragrant tree that bends and
sways like a drunkard on
the new wine that turns the poor into princes;
And
truth will be perverted when it bends because it
is not drunk merely from
wine but from the wine of the condemned.
Deal gently with me, you
with the eyes of the gazelle,
the lion heart, the
height of high trees,
Who
captures the heart of her lover
with heavy hips and slim
loins.
The
rest of the senses envy
each eye with the
pleasure of seeing her.
O sun! Move gently on
the ground,
treading under foot the
hearts of the mortally stricken,
Who pasture at night the
host of heaven,
losing hope and
despairing of dawn’s approach.
All
their days in confusion they seek
their loss in the
surroundings of your courts.
Their
eyes pour out on their cheeks the blood
of their liver and
heart, usually separated from each other. . . .
۞
Following is a homonymous mikhtam from
the
Book of the Beds of the
Spices (BBS), Garden Bed IV.
14. BBS IV:6
Make no oath to torture
me, my love,
for how I will turn you
away.
But if you reject me,
immediately kill me;
if you don’t, I am your
slave.
۞
Following are homonymous mikhtamim from
the
Book of the Beds of the
Spices, Garden Bed II.
17. BBS II:15
Look
at the apple that will swiftly bring
the joy slow in coming
to your heart,
For
when seeing the red and the green in it
you will see the faces
of the beloved and the shy lover.
18. BBS II:16
Remove any of the
delicacies in the world,
and give me the blood of
the grape as my water and bread,
For with it, the
weakling will turn into a hero,
the old man into a
suckling, and the ill will be healed
21. BBS II:26
Quench
your heart’s fire with grapes’ blood
when swallow and
turtledove rejoice over the seeds.
Drink and ignore the
warning voice,
for stupid are those who
say, “This is unseemly.”
23. BBS II:36
My friends,
hurry to the tavern, where you will find
a cure for every
sickness, healing for every injury.
This cure has aged like
spiced wine, but its glory is intact,
its aroma unchanged, its
color undimmed.
24. BBS II:40
Was
the goblet cut from the moon’s back
or taken from frozen
water?