Jewish Folklore 2

As I have so often mentioned, there were huge differences between the Talmud Yerushalmi and the Talmud Bavli in both practicum and outlook. Even when the rulings of the Bavli became standard, the Yerushalmi left its imprint on many communities, particularly the Ashkenazim. One striking difference was in prayer. The rabbis of the Yerushalmi wrote poetry for every occasion, that became part of the order of prayer. In the Bavli, we never find this, as an off-topic prayer inserted into the amidah or other blessings, was seen as a "hefsek", an interruption, which might even invalidate the prayer. Even today, German Jews say lengthy poetic additions in the reader's repetition, and sometimes in the blessings of the Shema', at every special occasion. A Shabbat coinciding with Rosh Hodesh, for example, has additions to the service that take about forty minutes to say. Other Ashkenazic communities have much less, and on fewer occasions, but they are present. Sepharadim, following the Bavli, have few poetic additions, and those that they do have, are recited at non-critical parts of the service. (The exception is Yom Kippur, when a few additions are in the reader's repetition. I am searching for an explanation for this). Therefore, if one visits a Sepharadic synagogue on Rosh HaShanah, the service is only slightly longer than a Shabbat service, while the Ashkenazi service will typically begin around 8 am, and continue well into the afternoon. We have a tradition not to speak any dire words, or even to have dire thoughts, on Rosh HaShanah. In fact, many people even deliberately mispronounce the Shehechiyanu blessing, so as not to include something that may sound unpleasant. Yet, at the very heart of the Ashkenazi Musaf prayer, there is a long, albeit beautiful, description of death and suffering that will come upon those whose fate is so decreed. It is called "Unetaneh Tokef"; "let us speak the awesomeness of the day...even the angels are in terror, the fate of each creature is determined for life or death, who by fire, who by water, who by stoning, who by strangulation..." After the list, the haunting melody continues without words, hinting at more means of punishment. Rabbi Nachman said that many horrible things come into the world due to the implied punishments in the melody. It always bothered me how this fits into the Rosh Hashanah idea of only happy thoughts and words. The answer is a very old and beloved legend. Because of the legend, the Unetaneh Tokef is seen as the height of the service. It was even adopted by many Sepharadic communities, albeit not said during the amidah. I have a Sepharadic High Holiday prayer book in my possession that even tells the legend in Ladino. The legend became world-famous when Menachem Begin, being pressured by Jimmy Carter to make suicidal concessions, told the story at the press conference following a meeting between the two men. Carter was gnashing his teeth through his signature smile. The story goes like this. Rabbi Amnon of Mayence, referred to as "the Gadol HaDor" (Great One of his generation), was constantly pressured by the local archbishop to convert to Christianity. After many years of this pressure, Rabbi Amnon unthinkingly said "give me three days to think about it". He immediately deeply regretted his words, and did not come to the archbishop on the agreed-upon day. The archbishop sent men to bring him by force. "Why did you not come". Rabbi Amnon said that he did not mean it, and urged the archbishop to cut out his tongue which had spoken these words. "No! Your tongue spoke well. Your legs are guilty for not coming!" He thereupon had Rabbi Amnon's legs cut off. He asked to be brought to the synagogue, where Rosh HaShanah prayers were in progress. He stopped the prayers, saying the words of the Unetaheh Tokef, proclaiming G-d as Sovereign and Judge, waxing eloquence about human suffering. When the recitation was finished, he died. Everyone present was overwhelmed by the beauty of the prayer, but no one could remember his words exactly. Three days later, his friend and colleague, Rabbi Kalonymos (d. 1096) saw Rabbi Amnon in a dream, in which Rabbi Amnon taught him the prayer. But the story has problems. Although Rabbi Kalonymos is well known, we search in vain for any reference to Rabbi Amnon outside this legend. If he was the Gadol HaDor, where are quotes of his teachings, or mentioning who were his teachers and disciples? The story is first referenced in the thirteenth century, with the prayer first coming into liturgical use in Europe in the sixteenth century. Moreover, manuscripts of prayers from Eretz Yisrael consisting of poetic insertions have been found which contain this prayer, predating the legend by about 400 years. The real story may be nowhere nearly as dramatic as the legend, but I believe that there is a deeper story here. That is the reconciliation of an ancient E.Y. approach with a Bavli approach, spoken out of the pain of persecution. We find a similar phenomenon among the annusim from Iberia. The most common women's name among them was Susanna. The annusim saw the apocryphal Book Of Susanna as a paradigm of their own plight. In the story, Susanna is a woman who is suffering greatly at the hands of corrupt judges. Daniel, still a child, comes forward and proves the judges false. They are subsequently executed, and Susanna vindicated. Frustration at their treatment by the authorities, and the hope for vindication and true justice, made this apocryphal story so real for them. I believe the same goes for Rabbi Amnon. Just because something did not happen, doesn't mean it isn't true.