Se‘adya ha-Levi

Little is known about the Yemenite poet Se‘adya ben Solomon ha-Levi. Three of his poems have reached us in manuscript form. It seems that he was the brother of poet David ben Solomon and that he was born in northern Yemen, in the ancient fortress town of Al-Ma’mar, northeast of Sana’a. His poem Gezerat ha-‘atarot (The Headdress Edict) was written in 1666/7. As a reaction to the Sabbatean messianic excitement that swept through Yemenite Jewry, harsh decrees and punishments were imposed on the country’s Jews. This included a prohibition on wearing elaborate headdresses and the imprisonment of the Jewish leadership.