Though one God created us: For Lag b’Omer

Joseph Yedidya Carmi

1626

This poem says that wellbeing [shalom] is ours, since we have God as our king, and we have the Torah, whose paths are wellbeing, even though we have acted wrongly and have been trapped by bad hatred, and our holy, glorious Temple has been destroyed. And it says that this all started when David said to Mephibosheth: You and Ziba should divide the field (2 Samuel 19:30), for then a divine voice went forth and said: “Jeroboam and Rehoboam will divide the kingdom” [b. Shabbat 56b]. And it says that due to this sin, 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died, as it tells further on. Therefore, it encourages the pursuit of peace. [ . . . ]

Though one God created us, though we all have one father,
We1 have the glorious, profitable advantage of his covenant of shalom [wellbeing].
And moreover, we have the incense of myrrh and frankincense to keep,2
From Mount Sinai it was spoken to us; it speaks only wellbeing!
O generation, see that we have always had wellbeing to support us.
God dwelled among us, and convened with us, the God who rescues.
Whether in the tent, with its curtains,3 or in the house, with its narrowed rests.4
We, like a wolf, would always consume the blood of our enemies, in chief revenge.5
From Jeroboam and Rehoboam,6 the kingdom began to be damaged,
The glory was dimmed due to the sin of the calves,7 and the bad intents and thoughts.
Zion was burned, the sanctum was torn up, and then, just as the first time, the second time went bad.
Because of all the hatred within the people, everything was lost, everything went lacking.8
Moreover, there passed away, from the Festival of Passover until this day,
Many men, who were valorous unto the great sprinkler,9 twelve thousand pairs.
Therefore, let us become pure and fit, let us pursue peace and become upright,
For in this way, following the seer’s words, we will merit the coming of the day of hearts of flesh.10
Justice and righteousness and uprightness—may we pursue them, attain them, and lift up our voices
To the Rock on high, with songs of songs, with prayer, beseeching, and supplication.
May he bring down the Temple, built with fire, upon a boulder, a rock, and a cornerstone,
And may it last forever, for all generations, surrounded with [divine] favor like a shield.

Translated by
Gabriel
Wasserman
.

Notes

[The Jewish people.—Trans.]

[I.e., the Torah, metaphorically called thus because it is as pleasant as a sweet fragrance.—Trans.]

[I.e., the Tabernacle.—Trans.]

[I.e., the Temple; see 1 Kings 6:6.—Trans.]

[See Deuteronomy 32:42.—Trans.]

[The first kings of the divided monarchies, Judah and Israel.—Trans.]

[Jeroboam set up golden calves as objects of worship, a heinous sin. See 2 Chronicles 13:8.—Trans.]

[See b. Yoma 9b.—Trans.]

[Meaning uncertain. Perhaps: these scholars were valorous for the sake of God (by studying his Torah), who sprinkles down rain from heaven. Or perhaps: they were students of Rabbi Akiva, who “sprinkled”—i.e., spread, his teachings.—Trans.]

[I.e., the day in the messianic future when people’s hard hearts will be replaced with caring hearts; see Ezekiel 11:19.—Trans.]

Credits

Joseph Yedidya Carmi, “Though One God Created Us (For Lag b’Omer),” in Sefer kenaf renanim (Wings of the Ostrich) (Venetia: Bragadini, 1626), pp. 87b–88a.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Joseph Yedidya Carmi

b. ca. 1590

Joseph Yedidya Carmi arrived in Modena in his childhood and subsequently became a teacher. In 1623, the Usiglio family established a synagogue and appointed Joseph as its cantor. They also requested that he compose a prayer book for the synagogue’s devotional confraternity, Shomrim la-boker (“Morning Watchers”). This collection, which includes laments, prayers, and liturgical songs, demonstrates clear kabbalistic influences and also draws heavily on midrashic material. The work was at the center of a polemic prior to its publication. Joseph’s brother-in-law, Aaron Berekhiah of Modena, who had compiled a similar prayer book for the confraternity he established, criticized the innovative nature of Carmi’s work, claiming that the recitation of new poems or prayers was forbidden. He also argued that that the extensive use of midrash made the collection unsuited to the current climate and highlighted contradictions with Lurianic kabbalah. However, rabbis ruled in favor of the work’s publication. A number of responsa by Carmi have survived in manuscript.

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