The Kinot collection – From 11th century Spain to 13th century England.
Both Rabbi Yehuda Halevi and Meir of Norwich1,2 wrote poetry that subscribed to the “Kinah” (singular) “Kinot” (plural) tradition, a category of Jewish Liturgical poetry, otherwise known as “Piyut” (singular) or “Piyyutim” (plural). For reference, “Liturgy is, broadly, a description of the drama of worshiping God” in Judaism.3 A Piyut or Kinot, therefore, captures this notion in poetical form, presenting verses meant to be recited, sung, or chanted.4
The Kinot has its roots in the bible, where the word “Kinah” indicates elegy or lament. According to MyJewishLearning, “Eicha”, the ancient book read on the holiday of Tisha B’Av, was originally titled “Sefer Kinot” which translates to “the book of Lamentations.” Sefer Kinot is an anthropology about the biblical origin of Kinot. In this collection Kinot are depicted as “religious poems written to memorialize the tragedies that befell the Jewish people on Tisha B’Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem.”5 Early Kinot are embalmed with “references to Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash”6 making them difficult to parse even for experienced Hebrew speakers and readers.
In addition to Eicha, Rabbinical poets wrote Kinot to commemorate Tisha Ba’av – Eleazar Ha-Kallir (c. 570 – c. 640) being the one of the earliest contributors in this phenomenon. According to Jewish Virtual Library, “Kallir wrote piyyutim for all the main festivals (sometimes more than one for the same festival), for the special Sabbaths, for weekdays of festive character, and for the fasts.” Kallir’s Kinot were abound with biblical and midrashic references and allusions, auditory imagery and discriminate word-choice that evidenced his scholarship in Judaic texts. He has contributed over fifty Kinot poems for Tisha B’Av, many containing unnerving descriptions of real events.5
Most Kinnotim are serious and devout in tone, and often memorialize tragic events throughout Jewish history – the events of Tisha Ba’av are obviously overrepresented, but it is not the only event that is primarily referenced. MyJewishLearning writes that, in addition to recounting the suffering of the Jewish nation that occurred during the destruction of the two Temples, Kinnotim also portray, “the experience of exile, the death of prominent rabbis, and the rituals of the bygone Temple period.” Additionally, “many also focused the sins of Israel as a cause of this suffering, although some end with a plea for redemption because the suffering far outweighed any deserved punishment.” Contemporary Kinnotim write about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
R. Kallir marks the earliest recorded rabbinical contribution to Kinot. Fast forward from the 6th century to the 11th century7 and we see this tradition continued with the Rabbinical Medieval scholar Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. The Kinot poem by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi featured in this collection is called “Tzion Halo Tishali”. The poem begins with the question, “Zion, why hast thou not asked after the well-being of your prisoners?” An echo of the aggrieved side of the Kinot tradition. Like many other Kinot, Tzion Halo Tishali dramatizes the physical destruction of the temple and its spiritual ramifications for the Jewish nation. Ultimately though, it envisions a return to Israel in its closing. Rabbi Halevi himself immigrated to Israel from Muslim Spain in 1140. His family and friends received letters of his death in 1141. It is unknown if he ever actually made it to Jerusalem, a destination he pined over in his writings.8