Tsiltsele shama‘ (Resounding Cymbals)

And therefore, with that, I, the young man, said that I will make a little book of my “Hymns for the Cantor with My Tunes” for the public benefit. Perhaps the one who makes use of them will do so for the sake of heaven, and I will thereby fulfill that which the sage wrote of Moses, that he merited to perform mitzvot and enabled the multitude to merit likewise. Moreover, all those who hear these hymns and songs effectively seek me daily, and delight to know my ways [see Isaiah 58:2], as they say to me all day: where is [see Psalms 42:4] this petitionary prayer? Give it to me. And so that I should not be, God forbid, one of those who withholds goods from people, I must set aside all my business in order to seek, ask, demand, search, and spy out the expression of my lips in the writings. This involves much effort, and sometimes I find the desired poem partly in one place and partly in another. Due to the toils of the treacherous time, in my sins, terrors are turned upon me (Job 30:15), surround and encircle me, besiege me and beset me. And it is not fitting that I should give it in that state to those who asked for it, as I have found it, in scattered pieces. I must arrange it whole in a single work so that I can give it to those who want it, who seek out my face. This is certainly a difficult task, and it is for this reason that I lost a good number of hymns which I can no longer recall.

I have therefore resolved from this moment forward to record the remaining ones in a book together, all of them, with the help of the Creator, may He be praised, so that nothing will be left out of them. And I cast my prayer before every reader of this little book of mine, that if perhaps his heart leads him to be amused with lovers’ words, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies (Song of Songs 6:2) from this minor work of mine, let him not impair holy items by using these hymns and the lovers’ songs written on the tablets for any purpose other than observing a mitzvah, as a game for his own enjoyment. Only let this be his intention at least when he opens his mouth: to thank, praise, laud, glorify, and exalt the One who spoke and the world came into being, since virtually all of them are founded upon sockets of fine gold, gathered from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the words of the sages of blessed memory, especially from the Song of Songs.

The sages have stated that “One who reads a verse from Song of Songs [and renders it a form of song, and one who reads any verse at a banquet house, not at its time, introduces evil to the world,] as the Torah girds itself with sackcloth [and stands before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and says before Him: Master of the Universe, Your children have rendered me like a harp on which clowns play.]” [b. Sanhedrin 101a]. Parenthetically, what is the reason why the Torah wears sackcloth? I would like to suggest that these verses were stated only in order to ornament the exalted bride, and they are her adornments. Therefore, if someone recites them not for the sake of Heaven, the bride does not get to enjoy them. On the contrary, this causes a handmaiden to usurp her mistress, and that is why the Torah wears sackcloth. Consequently, one who guards his soul will keep a distance (Proverbs 22:5) from this and similar things, and his eyes and his heart will always, every day, be focused on the unity of the Holy One. For by means of good and upright intentions one brings abundance to all the worlds. And certainly he will receive his share as well, and one who listens to me will dwell in security.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is if a man accustoms himself to arising at dawn to go to the gate of the synagogue, which is called a miniature temple (Ezekiel 11:16), and be among the first ten to prayers. Then he can ask for his needs from the blessed God through words of song and prayer. He will be a watcher for the morning, when he can specify the attribute of night during the day [see b. Berakhot 11b] with the words of the song “To the Chief Musician on the Morning Star” (Psalms 22:1) with dread and veneration and in tears in great measure [see Psalms 80:6]. He will certainly find repose and feel better with these prayers and requests that are written in this little volume of mine. And I know all who see it will be pleased with it, and certainly his soul will bless me. And for my part, I too will thank him, as it is no little thing. For the sages of blessed memory said in the Gemara [b. Berakhot 8a]: There are old people in Babylonia [b. Berakhot 8a] etc., it is written: upon the land (Deuteronomy 11:21). The Gemara explains that the people go to synagogue early. In my opinion, this should be interpreted in light of a statement of the sages in another place, that synagogues and study houses outside of the land of Israel will in the future be placed in the land of Israel. As they are worthy of being placed in the land of Israel, due to their sanctity, we can apply the principle that something which is fit to be mixed, not being mixed does not impede it [see b. Menaḥot 103b], and therefore they are considered as if they were already located in the land of Israel, in fulfillment of the verse “upon the land.” Now, not all people have the privilege to be in the House of Study, but only the Torah scholar, and yet there are also old people in the multitude. Furthermore, regarding the synagogue itself, even though anyone can enter there, one will not be in the synagogue at every hour of the day, because everyone is occupied with his work from morning to evening, while at night he needs to rest and he cannot set aside a time to sit in the synagogue. However, in the early morning, when he awakens from his sleep, and it is not yet time for work, and the doors of the market are closed and he cannot venture forth to seek his livelihood, at this hour a man can place himself in the synagogue. He should consider himself as though he had placed himself in the land of Israel, and he will thereby merit length of days. And this is the meaning of the Gemara’s answer regarding those who come to synagogue early.

Permission is also granted to anyone to use these poems for practice or to thank and praise God, blessed be His Name. They may also be used to gladden a groom and bride and the like, provided that one does so for the sake of heaven. For example, when he says the words groom and bride, he should have in mind the unity of the name of the Holy One and His presence, and the same applies in other such cases. In sum, his intention in all the songs should always be for the sake of heaven, and then his actions will be proper and acceptable to me. Happy is the man who listens to me. Let the name of this little book of mine among the holy books be called Tsiltsele shama‘, since most of these poems and their contents are new and came up of late [see Deuteronomy 32:17].

Some of the new ones that I composed refer to the motion of a waterwheel and the motion of a mill and the like. Others I learned from someone else, but not all are familiar with them, and when a person hears a new, beautiful, and pleasant melody he wants to hear it time after time until he knows that melody. I divided the work into three parts. The first part I called “Golden Settings,” for my name is hinted in the title.¹ I called the second part “Gates of Song” [zimrah], for obvious reasons, as it comes from the word for singing and poetry, or from the phrase “to prune [zamir] the tyrants,” as it is said. One thing have I asked of the Lord (Psalms 27:4), that by means of these songs, the shell will be cut off, to remove abominations from the lofty land above, and God will be king. The third part will be called “And Moses Sang”; the reason is clear. At the end of the book I will write some dirges, and they will be entitled “In Memory of the Destruction,” in fulfillment of the verse: If I do not set Jerusalem above my foremost joy (Psalms 137:6). For when a man takes this small work in hand and studies its hymns and songs, with their melodies, which are more desirable than gold and fine gold [see Psalms 19:11], his heart will rejoice and be happy. At this point, his hand will turn to the end of the book, and he will remember the destruction, and he will set the destruction of Jerusalem above his foremost joy. How good would it be if he were to open the book from back to front, for in that case he would first of all remember Jerusalem, may it be speedily rebuilt in our days, Amen.

In order not to end not on a negative note, I will write a few elegies and prayers and reproaches that are relevant for all penitents over any sin, for me and my peers. For as the kabbalists have said, a penitent must mourn and weep for his sins so that he will be fully remorseful and not add crimes to his sins. There is a mnemonic for this idea in the word Repentance, because the Hebrew word is an acronym for fasting, sackcloth, ashes, weeping, mourning.² I therefore called this section “The Gates of Repentance.” Before all of this, I will present to every reader a good and proper prayer, which I have called “A Prayer of Moses” (Psalms 90:1); how good and pleasant it is for a person to accustom himself to reciting it in a great state of seclusion and in awe and great love. May it be His will that it should be desirable and accepted before Him, may He be praised, Amen, so may it be His will.

This day, Tuesday, 17 Adar, in the year of 1712.

Thus spoke the young man, as lowly as the day’s sawdust, which is called la,³ an abject servant of the God who created all creatures,

bound and shackled in the thick chains of love of God and His Torah, which shall not be detached nor removed.