{"id":29,"date":"2022-01-17T20:39:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T20:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2025-02-10T06:15:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T06:15:38","slug":"the-kinnotin-collection-an-introduction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/the-kinnotin-collection-an-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kinot Collection: an introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Kinot collection – From 11th century Spain to 13th century England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Rabbi Yehuda Halevi and Meir of Norwich1<\/a>,2<\/a><\/sup> wrote poetry that subscribed to the “Kinah” (singular) \u201cKinot\u201d (plural) tradition, a category of Jewish Liturgical poetry, otherwise known as “Piyut” (singular) or \u201cPiyyutim\u201d (plural). For reference, \u201cLiturgy is, broadly, a description of the drama of worshiping God,\u201d in Judaism.3<\/a><\/sup> A Piyut or Kinot, therefore, captures this notion in poetical form, presenting verses meant to be recited, sung, or chanted.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kinot has its roots in the bible, where the word “Kinah” indicates elegy or lament. According to My Jewish Learning, “Eicha”, the ancient book read on the holiday of Tisha B\u2019Av,  was originally titled \u201cSefer Kinot\u201d which translates to \u201cthe book of Lamentations.\u201d Sefer Kinot is an anthology about the biblical origin of Kinot. In this collection Kinot are depicted as \u201creligious poems written to memorialize the tragedies that befell the Jewish people on Tisha B\u2019Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem.”5<\/a><\/sup> Early Kinot are embalmed with \u201creferences to Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash\u201d6<\/a><\/sup> making them difficult to parse even for experienced Hebrew speakers and readers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Eicha, Rabbinical poets wrote Kinot to commemorate Tisha Ba\u2019av\u2014Eleazar Ha-Kallir (c. 570 \u2013 c. 640) one of the earliest contributors to this phenomenon. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, \u201cKallir 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 <\/em>the fasts.\u201d Kallir\u2019s Kinot were littered 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\u2019Av, many containing unnerving descriptions of real events.5<\/a><\/sup>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Kinot are serious and devout in tone, and often memorialize tragic events throughout Jewish history\u2014the events of Tisha Ba\u2019av are 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, Kinot also portrays, \u201cthe experience of exile, the death of prominent rabbis, and the rituals of the bygone Temple period.” Additionally, \u201cmany 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.\u201d Contemporary Kinot focuses on the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Kallir marks the earliest recorded rabbinical contribution to Kinot. Fast forward from the 6th century to the 11th century7<\/a><\/sup> 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 \u201cTzion Halo Tishali.” The poem begins with the question, \u201cZion, why hast thou not asked after the well-being of your prisoners?\u201d 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 made it to Jerusalem, a destination he pined over in his writings.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
1. The Poetry of Meir of Norwich. \u201cThe Poems.\u201d The Poetry of Meir of Norwich<\/em>, http:\/\/horstwebdev.com\/meirwebsite\/thePoems.html.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
2. Literary Norfolk. \u201cMeir of Norwich.\u201d literarynorfolk.co.uk<\/em>, https:\/\/www.literarynorfolk.co.uk\/Norwich\/meir_of_norwich.html.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
3. \u201cJewish Liturgy.\u201d My Jewish Learning<\/em>, https:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/article\/jewish-liturgy\/. Accessed 2022.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
4. Raphael, Y., and Abraham ben Azriel. \u201cPiyyut.\u201d Jewish Virtual Library<\/em>, https:\/\/www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org\/piyyut.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
5. KAUNFER, ELIE. \u201cKinot: Poems of Lament.\u201d My Jewish Learning<\/em>, https:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/article\/kinot-poems-of-lament\/<\/a>.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
6. alephbeta.org. Kinot for Tisha B’Av<\/em>. https:\/\/www.alephbeta.org\/tisha-bav\/kinot<\/a>.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
7. Jewish Virtual Library: A Project of Aice. \u201cEleazar Kallir.\u201d Jewish Virtual Library<\/em>, https:\/\/www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org\/kallir-eleazar<\/a>.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
8. thegreatthinkers.org. \u201cJudah Halevi.\u201d Great Thinkers<\/em>, https:\/\/thegreatthinkers.org\/halevi\/biography\/<\/a>.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

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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) \u201cKinot\u201d (plural) tradition, a category of Jewish Liturgical poetry, otherwise known as “Piyut” (singular) or \u201cPiyyutim\u201d (plural). For reference, \u201cLiturgy is, broadly, a description of the drama… Continue reading The Kinot Collection: an introduction<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robbins.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/medhebrew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}