Unetanneh Tokef Explained

Untanneh[1] Tokef, Unthanneh Toqeph, Un'taneh Tokef, or Unsanneh Tokef   (ונתנה תקף) ("Let us speak of the awesomeness ") is a piyyut that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some traditions of rabbinical Judaism for centuries. It introduces the Kedusha of Musaf for these days. It is chanted while the Torah ark is open and the congregants are standing.[2] It is the "central poem of the High Holy Day [of the Day of Atonement]."[3] The ArtScroll machzor calls it "one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Days of Awe."[4]

Origin

Traditional account

The following story is recorded in the 13th-century halakhic work Or Zarua, which attributes it to Ephraim of Bonn (a compiler of Jewish martyrologies, died ca. 1200):[5]

I found in a manuscript written by Rabbi Ephraim of Bonn that Rabbi Amnon of Mainz wrote Untanneh Tokef about the terrible event which befell him, and these are his words: "It happened to Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, who was the greatest of his generation, and rich, and pedigreed, and handsome, that the bishop and his officials began to ask him to convert to their faith, but he refused to listen to them. Thus they spoke to him day after day, but he did not listen to them, so the bishop became angry with him. When they arrested him, he said 'I wish to consult and to think upon this matter for three days.' Though he said this only to delay them, he was immediately consumed by guilt, for he had implied that he doubted the word of God and could be convinced to apostatize. He went home, but he could not eat nor drink, and he sickened. All his friends and family came to comfort him, but he would not be comforted, saying 'I will follow my words to a mournful death', and he wept and his heart was bitter. On the third day, as he sat in pain and worry, the bishop sent for him, but he said 'I will not go". The bishop sent numerous and distinguished messengers, but still he refused to go. Now the bishop ordered that he immediately be brought by force, and he was brought. He said to Amnon, 'Why did you not come to me at the time which you appointed, to answer me and fulfill my request?', and Amnon answered, "Let me be struck dumb, for the tongue which lied to you deserves to be severed', wishing to sanctify the name of God because of what he had said. But the bishop said, 'I will not sever the tongue which has spoken so well, but I will cut off those legs which failed to bring you to me at the appointed time, and mutilate the rest of your body'. This villain cut off Amnon's fingers and toes, joint by joint, and after every cut he would ask, 'Will Amnon now convert to our faith?', but Amnon always replied 'No'. When at last this was complete, the evil bishop ordered that he be placed upon a shield, with his fingers and toes beside him, and carried home. Thus was he called 'Rabbi Amnon', for he believed (he'emin) in the Living God enough to suffer these terrible wounds for his faith, out of love, all because of the words which he had said.

When Rosh haShanah came around, Amnon asked his family to carry him to the synagogue with his preserved fingers and toes, and to place him next to the cantor, which they did. When the cantor reached Kedusha, Amnon said to him, 'Wait a moment, and I will sanctify the Great Name'. And he cried aloud, Uv'khen l'kha ta'aleh k'dusha, viz. 'I have sanctified your name for your majesty and unity'. And then he said Un'taneh tokef k'dushat hayyom, and he said Emet ki atah hu dayyan umochiakh, to justify the verdict. So he continued, saying V'chotem yad kol bo, to ask that his own hand be received before God, which had been severed for the sake of His unity. And vatifkod nefesh kol chai, for this had been decreed for him on Rosh haShana. So the whole poem [was a personal response to his experience]. When he had finished, he disappeared from this world right before their eyes. About him did the Psalmist say: 'Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee'.

Three days after Amnon was taken away to the Heavenly Academy, he appeared in a dream-vision to Rabbi Kalonymus ben Rabbi Meshullam ben Rabbi Kalonymus ben Rabbi Moses ben Rabbi Kalonymus, and taught him this poem, viz. Untaneh tokef k'dushat hayyom, and he told Rabbi Kalonymus to distribute it throughout the diaspora, to be for him a memorial and a legacy, and so he did".[6]

Modern scholarship

It was once speculated that Kalonymus is the true author of the poem.[7] However, both the language and style are different from the other poems of Kalonymus.[8] In addition, there is evidence that a very similar piyyut was being recited in Italy in contemporary with Kalonymus.[9]

Since then, a copy of the poem was discovered in the Cairo Geniza, Fragment Cambridge T-S H8.6, originally dated by Eric Werner to the 8th century.[10] [11] Ben Outhwaite thought this date unrealistic considering the paper and script, instead dating it to the 11th century.[12]

While medieval history testifies amply to the intense persecution of Jews by Christians at the time of the Crusades, there are difficulties with the legend that it was composed by Amnon. Not least of these is its portrayal of Amnon as an illustrious Torah giant, while Jewish history of that period provides no record of a 'Rav Amnon of Mainz' at all. It seems unlikely that a person of such tremendous stature would be remembered only in a single legend.[13] The received story has all the qualities of an urban legend - a heroic rabbi of whom there is no disparaging or even tedious information, an extremely cruel gentile villain (also without the problem of additional biographic details), the esteemed name and endorsement of Kalonymus, miraculous or extraordinary events, and supernatural instructions to include the poem in the annual liturgy.[14] Scholars have long known that there is no historical foundation for the story of Rabbi Amnon and that this story may have been inspired or derived from the Christian legend associated with Saint Emmeram of Regensburg.[15] Moreover, the discovery of the Unetaneh Tokef prayer within the earliest strata of the Cairo Geniza materials, dating well before the 11th century, makes it almost impossible that the prayer could have been composed as the legend claims.[16]

Additionally, some scholars see parallels with non-Jewish hymnology, suggesting that elements of the prayer stemmed from other sources.[17] It is possible that the Rabbi Amnon story was entirely invented, not necessarily by the author of Or Zarua, to legitimize a piyyut of doubtful origin or simply to satisfy popular curiosity about the background of such an impressive liturgical work. Indications of this are the absence of evidence of the existence of a Rabbi Amnon, the fact that the name Amnon is a variant of the Hebrew word for "faithful", the extravagance of the story, the conspicuous inclusion of Kalonymus, and evidences that this piyyut or something very similar was already in use before the time ascribed.[18]

Yaakov Spiegel has argued that the prayer was written by Yannai in the sixth century.[19] [20] Authorship from Israel is supported by internal evidence, such as the concluding three-part remedy of 'repentance, prayer, and charity', which is found in exact permutation [21] in Genesis Rabbah (composed in the Land of Israel), yet not in Babylonian sources (e.g., Talmud Bavli cites a four-part remedy). Stylistically, the prayer indicates its composition in the land of Israel during the Byzantine period (namely 330–638).[22]

Position in the prayer service

In the Ashkenazi rite, Untanneh Tokef is inserted during the Mussaf, when the hazzan repeats the Amidah, as a silluk (parting poem) just before intoning the kedusha. In the Sephardic rite, Untanneh Tokef is usually omitted; however, some Sephardic congregations, mainly Moroccan, recite it immediately prior to the commencement of the Mussaf and some have the custom to recite it during the repetition on the first day.[23] In many communities, the Torah ark is opened and the congregation stands up to chant it.

It is one of the few piyyutim that is recited on both days of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur in the Polish and Italian[24] traditions, whereas it is only said on Rosh Hashanah by Sephardim and Western Ashkenazim, who have another silluk for Yom Kippur: "Mi Ya'arokh Eilekho". In Reform practice, it was taken from the recitation of the Amidah and presented as an independent item in both Mincha and Yizkor services. Early Reform practice had the line about the angels trembling deleted, but it has been restored in more recent Reform prayerbooks.[25]

In the version of the Italian Rite practiced in Rome, a variant of Untanneh Tokef is recited in the Mussaf service for Hoshana Rabbah, Kabbalistically considered the official conclusion of the Days of Awe. In this variant, the line וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן "and on Yom Kippur they are sealed" is replaced with וּבְיוֹם הוֹשַׁעֲנָא רָבָּא יֵחָתֵמוּן "and on the day of Hoshana Rabbah they are sealed."[26]

Themes and sources of Untanneh Tokef

Untanneh Tokef is recited immediately prior to and as an introduction for the kedusha prayer, during which the angelic sanctification of God is mentioned. Untanneh Tokef adapts this daily praise to the specific elements intrinsic to the High Holidays, namely the Divine judgment of all existence. In most printed editions, Untanneh Tokef consists of four paragraphs, each reflecting a different aspect of this general topic.

The theme of a divine decree being written derives, at least in part, to a Talmudic teaching:

On Rosh Hashana, three books are opened [in Heaven] – one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for those in-between. The thoroughly righteous are immediately inscribed clearly in the Book of Life. The thoroughly wicked are immediately inscribed clearly in the Book of Death. The fate of those in-between is postponed from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur, at which time those who are deserving are then inscribed in the Book of Life, those who are undeserving are then inscribed in the Book of Death.[27] As a token of this belief, the common greeting on Rosh Hashana is לשׁנה טוֹבה תּכּתב (Leshana tovah tikatev) – "May you be inscribed for a good year."[28]

Fear and trembling

The first paragraph depicts the judgment day, where the angels in heaven tremble at the awe-inspiring event of the annual judgment of all creation, with the implication that man should also approach this day with trepidation. The heavenly Book of Chronicles is opened, in which every human being's fate will be inscribed.[29]

God judges us

The second paragraph continues this point, depicting how every event that will occur in the upcoming year is "written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur". This paragraph is known by its opening words, BeRosh Hashana, and it is traditional that the litany of possible destinies is read with increasing speed from the phrase "Who shall rest and who shall wander" to the end of the paragraph.

This paragraph reaches its climax with the final line, said by all the congregants in unison, "But repentance, prayer, and righteousness avert the severe decree." This verse expresses the formula by which a man may obtain a reduction in the severity of the original decree, as expressed in the Bible (2 Chronicles 7:14), the Talmud (T.B., Rosh Hashana 16b; T.J. Ta'anith 2:1) and Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 44:13).[32] A Talmudic reference (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 2) has the sequence as prayer, charity, and repentance; and a prayer book from Salonika, handwritten in 1522, has this verse rearranged to conform to the Talmudic sequence.[33] Interpreters disagree on whether to translate this line as "annul the severe decree" or as "annul the severity of the decree". This distinction because the phrasing is ambiguous – and it would seem that the decree itself – namely, death in some form – cannot be totally and permanently avoided but that the immediacy or the cruelty of that death might be mitigated.[34] [35] [36]

This line is usually printed in emphatic typeface. Usually, in smaller type, the words "fasting", "voice", and "money" appear above "repentance", "prayer", and "righteousness" respectively – those words are not read aloud but are intended as instructions on how to perform the three acts necessary to avoid (or reduce) the dire punishments. Additionally, in gematria each of the three words in small type have a value of 136, which is interpreted as meaning that each is equally important in averting stern judgment.[37] Moreover, the words are each an acronym: צום (fasting) is an acronym צעקה ושנוי מעשה ("cry out and change your ways"), קול (voice) represents קדושה וטהר לבנו ("become more holy and purify our hearts"), and ממון (money) is an acronym for מוציא מחברו וגם נותן ("encourage others to give and oneself to give").[38]

We are helpless

The third paragraph begs for Divine mercy on the basis of the fact that man by nature is sinful and innately impotent and mortal, which conditions will cause a merciful Deity to forgive his trespasses. The passage here echoes the despair found in the book of Koheleth (Ecclesiastes), but concludes—as does 40:8 HE, from which it apparently draws—with the contrasting affirmation that God is eternal and enduring. The text of אדם יסודו מעפר ("A man's origin is from dust") is very similar to, where it is presented as the philosophy which the Book of Wisdom sets out to discredit.

God is enduring

Finally, the fourth paragraph lyrically praises God as exalted above all existence, and begs Him to sanctify His Name by redeeming Israel – transitioning directly into the kedusha:

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Notes and References

  1. Book: The Koren Yom Kippur Mahzor : [Hebrew/English High Holiday prayerbook]]. 2012. Koren Publishers. Jonathan Sacks . 978-965-301-345-2. Rohr family. Jerusalem. 793572925.
  2. Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) s.v. Unetaneh Tokef, page 332; The Orot Sephardic Yom Kippur Mahazor (1997, NJ, Orot Inc.) page 1090.
  3. Wouk, Herman, This is My God (1959, NY, Doubleday) chap.6, page 88.
  4. The Complete ArtScroll Machzor – Yom Kippur (Nusach Ashekenaz), (1991, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns Ltd.) page 530; similarly, Birnbaum, Philip, High Holyday Prayer Book, (1951, NY, Hebrew Publ'g Co.) page 359; Golinkin, David, Solving a Mahzor mystery, Jerusalem Post, 7 Oct 2005; Munk, Elie, The World of Prayer (1961, NY, Feldheim Publ'rs) vol. 2, page 209.
  5. Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) s.v. Unetaneh Tokef, page 332; The Orot Sephardic Rosh Hashahhah Mahazor (1996, NJ, Orot Inc.) page 512; The Orot Sephardic Yom Kippur Mahazor (1997, NJ, Orot Inc.) page 1089; Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1916) vol.1 page 525-526, s.v. Amnon of Mayence.
  6. Web site: Ohr Zarua, Volume II 276:1 . 2024-04-15 . www.sefaria.org.
  7. Munk, Elie, The World of Prayer (1963, NY, Feldheim) vol.2, pages 209, citing Zunz.
  8. Idelsohn, A.Z., Jewish Liturgy and Its Development (1932, NY, Henry Holt) page 220.
  9. Hoffman, op.cit., page 23.
  10. Werner, Eric, The Sacred Bridge (1959, NY, Columbia Univ. Press) page 253 (quoting the liturgical scholar Menahem Zulay). Planer, John H., The Provenance, Dating, Allusions, and Variants of U-n'taneh tokef and Its Relationship to Romanos's Kontakion, Journal of Synagoague Music, vol. 38 (Fall 2013) page 166. Photograph in Brander, Kenneth, U'Netaneh Tokef: Will the Real Author Please Stand Up , (2013, NY, Yeshiva University) The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah-to-Go, Tishrei 5774, page 14. http://ebookbrowsee.net/rosh-hashanah-to-go-5774-pdf-d557435989
  11. Mack, Hananel, Day of Judgment for Angels, too, Haaretz, Sept. 26, 2003 (which suggests it dates to the period of Yannai (6th or 7th century).
  12. Web site: Jacobus . Helen R. . "The Story of Leonard Cohen's 'Who by Fire,' a prayer in the Cairo Genizah, Babylonian astrology and related rabbinical texts," (2015) Pages 201–217 in Reception History and Biblical Studies. Theory and Practice. Eds. E. England and W. J. Lyons, London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark. .
  13. Web site: YUTorah Online – U-Netaneh Tokef Kedushat Ha-Yom: Medieval Story and Modern Significance (Rabbi Dr. Jacob J Schacter) . Yutorah.org . 2005-10-02 . 2013-03-14.
  14. Ivan G. Markus, Une Communauté Pieuse et le Doute: Mourir pour la Sanctification du Nom en Achkenaz et l'historie de rabbi Amnon de Mayence. Annales Histore Sciences Sociales, 49th year, Nr. 5 (Sept-Oct 1994) pages 1031-1047.
  15. Martin, Bernqrd, Prayer in Judaism (1968, NY, Basic Books) page 209. Emmeram is not included in Butler's Lives of the Saints and his story resembles Rabbi Amnon only in the prolonged execution by amputation, no miraculous prayer or hymn involved.
  16. Brander, Kenneth, U'Netaneh Tokef: Will the Real Author Please Stand Up , (2013, NY, Yeshiva University) The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah-to-Go, Tishrei 5774, page 14. http://ebookbrowsee.net/rosh-hashanah-to-go-5774-pdf-d557435989
  17. Web site: Blog Archive » Un'tanneh Tokef – the prayer that tears the heart . OzTorah . 2013-03-14. . Werner, Eric, The Sacred Bridge (1959, NY, Columbia Univ. Press) pages 252–255.
  18. Hoffman, Lawrence A., Who By Fire, Who By Water – Un'taneh Tokef (2010, Vermont, Jewish Lights Pub'g) pages 13–25; Gillman, Neil, Reading the Liturgy Through the Spectacles of Theology: The Case of U-n'taneh Tokef, Journal of Synagogue Music, vol. 33 (Fall 2008), pages 48–49; also "The Origin of the Piyut Unetanneh Tokef", newsletter of Beurei HaTafila, Aug. 3, 2012, page 5, http://www.beureihatefila.com/files/2012-08-03_Tefila_Newsletter.pdf . Mayence, in 1096, the time of Kolonymus was the scene of terrible slaughter of Jews (see Rhineland massacres) as an incident of the First Crusade. See "The Crusades as the Story of Rabbi Amnon", newsletter of Beurei HaTafila, Aug. 17, 2012, page 8, http://www.beureihatefila.com/files/2012-08-17_Tefila_Newsletter-1.pdf .
  19. Hoffman, Lawrence A., Who By Fire, Who By Water – Un'taneh Tokef (2010, Vermont, Jewish Lights Pub'g) pages 23–24; Werner, Eric, The Sacred Bridge (1959, NY, Columbia Univ. Press) pages 253 (quoting Menahem Zulay); Brander, Kenneth, U'Netaneh Tokef: Will the Real Author Please Stand Up , (2013, NY, Yeshiva University) The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah-to-Go, Tishrei 5774, page 14, http://ebookbrowsee.net/rosh-hashanah-to-go-5774-pdf-d557435989 .
  20. Web site: The Piyyut (Poem) Akdamut Milin: The Enigma and Perseverance of Tradition Duke Center for Jewish Studies. Jewish Studies at Duke University. 3 June 2014 . 2016-09-08.
  21. Schmeltzer, Menahem, 'Penitence, Prayer, and (Charity?),' in Minhah le-Nahum: Biblical and other studies presented to Nahum M. Sarna in honour of his 70th birthday, ed. Brettler, Marc and Fishbane, Michael, p.291, Scheffield Academic Press 1993.
  22. Planer, John H., The Provenance, Dating, Allusions, and Variants of U-n'taneh tokef and Its Relationship to Romanos's Kontakion, Journal of Synagogue Music, vol. 38 (Fall 2013) page 171.
  23. Book: Maḥzor avotenu le-Rosh ha-Shanah : mesudar metuḳan lefi nusḥaʼot minhage kol ʻare ha-Maʻarav ṿe-rabotenu ha-ḳedoshim Ḥakhme Maroḳo ṿeha-ezmor ha-Sefaradi, ʻim halakhah u-masoret ṿe-divre ṭaʻam le-tefilot Yamim Noraʼim, be-tosefet murḥevet le-ṭaʻame ha-minhagim. ʻAtiyah, Meʼir Elʻazar . Mekhon "Mishkan Rabi Eliʻezer". 20 November 2016. Hotsaʼat Ḳoren . 9789653012585. 668193722.
  24. In the Italian rite, it is recited on Yom Kippur after the silluk "mi yemalel gevurot chayalech", see Angelo Piattelli and Hillel Sermanita, Yom Kippur machzor, pages 347-355.
  25. Friedland, Eric L., Were Our Mouths Filled with Song: Studies in Liberal Jewish Liturgy (1997, Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College Press) pages 25–26, 38, 125.
  26. Book: Piattelli . Angelo . Sermoneta . Hillel . Machazor le-Sukkot ke-minhag benè Roma . 2014 . Hevrat Yehudè Italia . Jerusalem . 138 . 15 September 2020 . he.
  27. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashana 16b
  28. Jacobson, B.S., Yamim Noraim – Days of Awe, Programme of Study and Analysis of Sources (1936, German ed., 1978, English transl., Tel-Avin, Sinai Publ'g) page 53; Gold, Avie [& Scherman, Nosson], Rosh Hashana – Its Significance, Laws, and Prayers (1983, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) pages 94–95.
  29. The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, commentary to Deuteronomy 29:19 and elsewhere
  30. Gruber, Mayer I., "Tur-Sinai's Job in the Jewish Liturgy", Review of Rabbinic Judaism, vol. 6, nr. 1 (Feb. 2003) pages 87–100, suggests that Unetanneh Tokef is the earliest piyyut to invoke Job's dream vision in defense of mankind (page 92), and relays (page 93) the opinion from Goldschmidt, Daniel, High Holiday Prayerbook According to the Rites of the Ashkenazim (1970, Jerusalem, in Hebrew) vol. 1, page 169, that the word דקה ("gentle") is a later addition to the piyyut, inspired by First Kings 19:12, added to the phrase from Job.
  31. Chabad Lubavitch World HQ news, "A Conversation with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks", Oct. 2, 2014 http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2031299/A-Conversation-With-Rabbi-Jonathan-Sacks-Podcast.html .
  32. Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) s.v. Berosh Hashana, pages 97–98; Orot Sephardic Rosh Hashannah Mahazor (1996, NJ, Orot Inc.) page 524; Munk, Elie, The World of Prayer (1963, NY, Feldheim) vol.2, pages 209–210; Scherman, Nosson, The Complete ArtScroll Machzor: Rosh Hashanah (1985, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) pages 480–481; Montefiore, C.G., Rabbinic Conceptions of Repentance, Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 16, nr. 2 (Jan. 1904) page 232.
  33. Munk, Elie, The World of Prayer (1961, NY, Feldheim Publ'rs) vol. 2, pages 209–210; Brander, Kenneth, U'Netaneh Tokef: Will the Real Author Please Stand Up , (2013, NY, Yeshiva University) The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah-to-Go, Tishrei 5774, page 13. http://ebookbrowsee.net/rosh-hashanah-to-go-5774-pdf-d557435989
  34. Marc Saperstein, “Inscribed for Life or Death?” Journal of Reform Judaism 28:3 (1981), 19.
  35. Web site: A Linguistic Analysis of the Phrase Ma'avirin et Ro'a HaGezeirah . https://web.archive.org/web/20170709132542/https://thetorah.com/linguistic-analysis-of-maavirin-et-roa-hagezeirah/ . 2017-07-09 . 2024-02-04.
  36. Gillman, Neil, in Proceedings of the Cantors Assembly, Jubilee Celebration, NY, June 1998 page 30; the ArtScroll machzorim render this line "remove the evil of the decree", the Orot machzorim render it "nullify the evil aspect of the decree".
  37. Toledano, Eliezar, Mahazor Kol Yehudah, The Orot Sephardic Yom Kippur Mahazor (1997, NJ, Orot Inc.) page 1093; Scherman, Nosson, ed., Rosh Hashana – Its Significance, Law and Prayers (1983, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'g) page 71; Munk, Elie, The World of Prayer (1961, NY, Feldheim Publ'rs) vol. 2, page 210.
  38. "Teshuvah, Tefillah, Tzedakah", Kosher Spirit, Tishrei 5770 (Sept. 2009) page 23.
  39. Although the next line is clear and unambiguous in its image of shepherd inspecting his lambs, this line is obscure and ambiguous. This and the next line appear together in the Talmud, Mishna Rosh Hashana I.2 (16a), and the same translation problems exist there. The sentence begins clearly enough, "All humanity will parade before You as if ...." but the last words (Kivnei maroen) are obscure. This phrase appears in the Mishna and Talmud, as cited – and both the Rodkinson and Soncino translations render it "like the children of Maroen" – referencing a place or person not mentioned in Scripture (one theory was that Maroen was intended to read marom – "the heights" or "heaven" [as in Job 25:2, Jeremiah 25:30, etc.], so it meant "the children of heaven" – possibly angels), and in the Talmud two pages later (18a) the sages disagree on the meaning of the phrase. "Here [in Sura, Babylonia] they translated it (using a term that suggests that it was not a Hebrew or Aramaic phrase, but from some other language) 'like lambs' (evidently from the equally obscure Syriac Aramaic 'emruna' – lamb). Resh Lakish [in the land of Israel] said 'like the ascent of Beit Maron" [a place not mentioned in Scripture, Rodkinson translates this – with even less justification – "like the steps of the Temple"; some Talmud manuscripts and medieval commentators render this instead "like the ascent of Beit Horon" – a place mentioned several times in the Bible and other ancient sources] (suggesting a narrow and steep ascent in which climbers must go single file and carefully). Rav Yehudah said in the name of Samuel, 'like the soldiers of David.'" This last suggestion has gotten support from Greek; if, instead of two words this expression is one long word (a possibility for which there is some evidence, such as a Vienna manuscript of the Talmud), it could mean "like soldiers being reviewed", borrowing the Greek work noumeron – a numbering, a mustering. The three suggestions convey very different attitudes of the humanity that is being inspected, respectively (1 – sheep) timid with eyes downcast, (2 – ascent) terrified with every step, and (3 – soldiers) courageous and determined; Riskin, Shlomo, Rejoicing in the Temporary, Jerusalem Post, 28 Sept 2011; Philologos, "Passing Before the Divine Eye", The Forward, 14 Sept 2007; Brüll, Nehemiah, Jachbücher für Jüdische Geschichte und Literatur (1874, Frankfurt) vol. 1, page 187. And Marcus Jastrow, in his Dictionary of Aramaic, did not need to go to the Greek; he supposed that maroen is related to the Biblical Hebrew marah – מרה – to rebel, to disobey, as in First Kings 13:26, Jeremiah 4:17, etc., and suggests that maroen means "rebels who surrender". (Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim ..., 1903, page 838 left column, s.v. מרוֹן.), which would suggest that, in the Days of Awe, mankind presents itself for Divine inspection, in humiliation and dread, like the defeated ragtag rebels that they are. Planer, John H., The Provenance, Dating, Allusion, and Variants of U-n'taneh tokef and Its Relationship to Romanos's Kontakion, Journal of Synagogue Music, vol. 38 (Fall 2013) pages 173–174, 180–181; Weider, Naphtali, A Controversial Mishnaic and Liturgical Expression, Journal of Jewish Studies (Oxford), vol. 18 (1967), pages 1–7; Riskin, Shlomo, Rejoicing in the temporary, Jerusalem Post, 28 Sept 2011; Hoffman, Joel, Count on it, Jerusalem Post, 11 Sept 2009; Golinkin, David, Solving a Mahzor mystery, Jerusalem Post, 7 Oct 2005; Philalogos, On Language: Passing Before the Divine Eye, The Forward, 14 Sept 2007. Rashi preferred the first interpretation, of counting sheep, and that is the translation given in the vast majority of mahzorim.
  40. The word used here – רעשׁ – ro'ash – used in both Biblical Hebrew and in Aramaic, suggests a natural and widespread disaster and is usually translated as "earthquake", sometimes as "tempest".
  41. Web site: ונתנה תוקף - Unetaneh Tokef. YouTube.
  42. Web site: Who by fire, who by water . Hadassahmagazine.org . 1973-10-06 . 2013-03-14.
  43. Web site: Book Excerpt: Who by Fire, Who by Water. 17 August 2010.
  44. Web site: Leonard Cohen's Lyricism . The Jewish Week . 2012-09-27 . 2013-03-14.
  45. News: ZELERMYER. CANTOR GIDEON. Leonard Cohen's Temple of Song. The Globe and Mail. 17 January 2017.

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