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57-470: 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): 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

114-425: A controversy with several rabbis concerning the legal status of a betrothed girl who had been forced by circumstances to adopt Christianity and had afterward returned to Judaism . His anxiety about correct observance led him to counsel the more difficult rather than the easier ritual practise. His mystical studies account for his belief in miracles. He was held in high regard by his pupils, and, like other teachers of

171-610: A good year." 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. The great shofar will be sounded : Isaiah 27:13 The still thin sound : 1 Kings 19:11 , Job 4:16 Guilt of angels : Job 25:5 , Isaiah 24:21 , Job 4:18 , Job 15:15 The second paragraph continues this point, depicting how every event that will occur in

228-516: A long but unsteady and troubled life. He saw the law compelling Jews to wear the yellow badge put into force in France and he deplored the 1241 pogrom in Frankfurt and the extortions practised upon them by the nobles of Austria. His son-in-law was Samuel ben Shabbethai of Leipzig ; his son, Chaim Eliezer, called Or Zarua , like him a scholar, carried on a comprehensive halachic correspondence,

285-512: A long time at Vienna , and became closely identified with the city, as he is usually quoted as "Isaac of Vienna." From among the many scholars at Regensburg he selected for his guide the mystic Judah ben Samuel. About 1217 he went to Paris , where the great Talmudist Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon became his chief teacher. He also visited for a short time the yeshiva of Jacob ben Meir in Provins . Then he returned to Germany, and studied under

342-696: A part of which (251 responsa ) was printed under the title Sefer She'elot uTeshubot (Leipzig, 1860). Toward the end of his life, about 1260, Isaac composed his halachic (legal) work Or Zarua. He is usually quoted as "Isaac Or Zarua." It was printed from the Amsterdam incomplete manuscript by Lipa and Höschel in Zhytomyr , 1862. Other manuscripts are at Oxford and in the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City . In

399-440: A person of such tremendous stature would be remembered only in a single legend. 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

456-621: A pilgrimage to Rome. At this point, Uta named Emmeram as the father. When Duke Theodo and his son Lantpert learned of Uta's pregnancy, Lantpert went after the bishop. Lantpert caught up with Emmeram in Helfendorf (now part of the Munich suburb of Aying ) on the old Roman road between Salzburg and Augsburg on the Via Julia Augusta and greeted him as "bishop and brother-in-law". According to popular tradition, wanting to protect

513-505: A reputation as a pious man. He founded the monastery that later bore his name. He then went on a pilgrimage to Rome, but after a five days' journey, at a place now called Kleinhelfendorf , south of Munich , he was set upon by the Duke's son Lantpert of Bavaria , who tortured him cruelly. He died shortly afterwards at Aschheim , about fifteen miles distant. The cause of this attack and the circumstances attending his death are not known. As

570-464: 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

627-468: A treatise couched in words to whose meanings mystical significance is attached. It is an imitation of the Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph and was composed at the order of Isaac's teacher Eleazar ben Judah of Worms . Isaac's son Chaim Eliezer arranged a compendium of this work which exists in several manuscripts. The Or Zarua succeeded in displacing all the older ritual works. It is very important also for

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684-1042: A value of 136, which is interpreted as meaning that each is equally important in averting stern judgment. 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"). בְּראֹשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן מִי יִחְיֶה וּמִי יָמוּת. מִי בְקִצּוֹ וּמִי לא בְקִצּוֹ. מִי בַמַּיִם וּמִי בָאֵשׁ. מִי בַחֶרֶב וּמִי בַחַיָּה. מִי בָרָעָב וּמִי בַצָּמָא. מִי בָרַעַשׁ וּמִי בַמַּגֵּפָה. מִי בַחֲנִיקָה וּמִי בַסְּקִילָה. מִי יָנוּחַ וּמִי יָנוּעַ. מִי יִשָּׁקֵט וּמִי יִטָּרֵף. מִי יִשָּׁלֵו וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר. מִי יֵעָנִי וּמִי יֵעָשֵׁר. מִי יִשָּׁפֵל וּמִי יָרוּם. וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רעַ הַגְּזֵרָה On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from

741-431: Is but flesh and blood : Genesis 3:19 , Isaiah 40:7 , 40:23 , Psalms 90:3 , Psalms 144:4 , Job 7:1 , Job 14:1 , Ecclesiastes 6:12 , Ecclesiastes 12:7 ; see also Wisdom of Solomon 2:1 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: There is no set span to Your years and there

798-483: Is no end to the length of Your days. It is impossible to estimate the angelic chariots of Your glory and it is forbidden to pronounce Your Name. Your Name is worthy of You and You are worthy of Your Name, and You have included Your Name in our name." You have included Your Name in our name : The name Israel (ישראל) contains within it El (אל), one of the names of God. Rashi on Numbers 26:5 Or Zarua Isaac ben Moses of Vienna , also called Isaac Or Zarua or

855-636: Is supported by internal evidence, such as the concluding three-part remedy of 'repentance, prayer, and charity', which is found in exact permutation 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). In

912-401: 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

969-672: 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

1026-598: The Catholic Calendar of saints is September 22. Arbeo of Freising wrote a biography of Emmeram in 750, the Vita Sancti Emmerami , about 100 years after the saint's death. The literature tells the story of Emmeram, born to a noble family in Aquitaine . According to Alban Butler and others, he became Bishop of Poitiers , although this cannot be verified. There is speculation that he held

1083-879: The Riaz , is considered to be one of the prominent rabbis of the Middle Ages . He was probably born in Bohemia and lived between 1200 and 1270. He attained his fame in Vienna and his major work, the halachic guide known as the Or Zarua a compilation of halachic decisions and legal rulings, was very popular among Ashkenazic Jewry . He was a member of the Ashkenazi Hasidim and studied under many scholars, including Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi , Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg , Samson of Coucy and Eleazar of Worms . He

1140-402: The alms of travelers (because all four roads come together there) and other good-hearted Christians had a church built, where even today many wonders still occur! Arbeo of Freising depicted the place of his death as a "lovely, ever spring-green place, upon which a spring appeared and the local people later built a little church." When the misunderstanding of Emmeram's relationship to Uta

1197-789: The cultural history of the German Jews in the Middle Ages. According to Gross, Isaac's chief importance rests upon the fact that he introduced among the Jewish communities in Slavic lands the study of the Talmud from France and the west of Germany. Isaac was of a mild and peace-loving character and it was for this reason, perhaps, that he did not participate in the struggle against the study of secular sciences, though an incorrect ritual decision would rouse him to indignant energy. He carried on

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1254-468: 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". It was once speculated that Kalonymus is the true author of

1311-457: The Talmudic sequence. 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. This line

1368-474: 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. Yaakov Spiegel has argued that the prayer was written by Yannai in the sixth century. Authorship from Israel

1425-536: The author carried on with Talmudic scholars of Italy , France, and Austria . Older collections of halachic decisions which the author had gathered together during his lifetime seem also to be embodied in the work. Isaac explains unknown words in Bohemian (i. e. Czech ), his mother tongue, and cites the Jerusalem Talmud , to which he ascribes great authority in halachic decisions. The work is introduced by

1482-424: 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

1539-405: 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

1596-553: 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

1653-442: The cart was accompanied by men and women of two hundred persons with great sympathy and prayer . A half hour before reaching Aschheim, the saint called for a halt, as within the hour his reward of heaven was before him. Then it happened that they lifted him down from the cart and laid him upon a beautiful sward , where he gave up his ghost at once. ...The place where this happened remained fresh and green for all time until finally

1710-488: The despair found in the book of Koheleth ( Ecclesiastes ), but concludes—as does Isaiah 40:8 , 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 Wisdom of Solomon 2:1 , where it is presented as the philosophy which the Book of Wisdom sets out to discredit. God knows man's inclination : Man

1767-521: The details of the saint's martyrdom, which are certainly untrue, and the fantastic account of the prodigies attending his death show that the writer, infected by the pious mania of his time, simply added to the facts imaginary details supposed to redound to the glory of the martyr. A text printed in Munich in 1743, Officium oder Tageszeiten des wunderthätigen Bayerischen Apostels und Blutzeugen Christi St. Emmerami, zu täglichen und andächtigen Gebrauch in allen Anliegen und Widerwärtigkeiten etc. , states that

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1824-575: The earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in quietude and who will be tormented, who will enjoy tranquility and who will be distressed, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity mitigate

1881-462: The edition of Lipa and Höschel Seder Nezikin is wanting; most of the rest of the work was afterward printed at Jerusalem by J.M. Hirschensohn. The Or Zarua comprises the whole halachic corpus and is arranged according to the Talmudic tractates , while at the same time the halachot are kept together. The author, unlike Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah , does not confine himself to giving

1938-474: The halakhic decisions, but gives also the passage of the Talmud, explains the subject matter, and develops the din from it. Thus, the Or Zarua is at the same time a ritual code and a Talmudic commentary. As it contains, in addition, explanations of some passages in the Hebrew Bible , the author is also quoted as a Bible commentator. Moreover, the book contains a part of the halachic correspondence which

1995-460: The martyr. This church burned down in 1642. Emmeram's bones were found under the altar in 1645 and moved to St. Emmeram's Abbey . The church, now a basilica minor , houses his leg bones in a silver reliquary in the eastern portion under the altar. At the spot Saint Emmeram died in the year 652, a small chapel was erected in the year 1842. The church of St. Lorenz in Oberföhring has

2052-526: The mystic Eleazar ben Judah at Worms , and, at Speyer , under Simha of Speyer , his intimate friend, and Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi , author of Abi ha-'Ezri and Abi'asaf . At Würzburg , where Meir of Rothenburg was his pupil (c. 1230), he became the rosh yeshiva . Later on, Isaac returned to Regensberg, and then settled for some time in Vienna, where he held the position of Av Beit Din and rosh yeshiva. Finally, he went to Saxony and Bohemia. Isaac lived

2109-724: The office briefly between the death of Dido and the accession of Ansoaldus . Having heard of idolatry in Bavaria , he decided to travel to Ratisbon (Regensburg) some time after the year 649 to the court of Agilofing , Theodo I , Duke of Bavaria . He supposedly travelled up the Loire , crossed through the Black Forest and then followed the Danube to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where he laboured for three years carrying out missionary work. During this time, he gained

2166-507: 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." 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

2223-495: The paper and script, instead dating it to the 11th century. 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

2280-615: The poem in the annual liturgy. 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 . 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

2337-472: The poem. However, both the language and style are different from the other poems of Kalonymus. In addition, there is evidence that a very similar piyyut was being recited in Italy in contemporary with Kalonymus. 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. Ben Outhwaite thought this date unrealistic considering

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2394-531: The prayer could have been composed as the legend claims. Additionally, some scholars see parallels with non-Jewish hymnology, suggesting that elements of the prayer stemmed from other sources. 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

2451-404: The real culprit, Emmeram did not defend himself, and received numerous wounds. Lantpert and his followers tied Emmeram to a ladder and proceeded to torture him; he was then beheaded. His companions, Vitalis and Wolflete, found him still alive, lying in his own blood, and tried to bring him quickly back to Aschheim , where a walled church of Apostle Peter stood. The improbability of the tale,

2508-526: The repetition on the first day. 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 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

2565-459: 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

2622-518: 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). 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

2679-474: The severity of the Decree." God scrutinizes man : Psalms 33:13 , Psalms 8:5 , Psalms 144:3 , Job 7:17 , Job 14:3 Repentance, prayer, and charity annul the severity of the decree : 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

2736-581: 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: As a token of this belief, the common greeting on Rosh Hashana is לשׁנה טוֹבה תּכּתב ( Leshana tovah tikatev ) – "May you be inscribed for

2793-401: The story goes, Uta (or Ota), the daughter of the duke, confided to Emmeram that she was expecting a child out of wedlock. According to Arbeo, the father was one Sigipaldus from her father's own court. Moved with compassion, Emmeram advised her to name himself, whom everyone respected, as the father hoping to mitigate some of her shame. Shortly thereafter, the legend goes, Emmeram abruptly went on

2850-644: The time, was given the title HaKadosh "the Holy" by the Asher ben Jehiel . His contemporary Isaiah di Trani described him as "the wonder of the age". Emmeram of Regensburg Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also Emeram(m)us , Emmeran , Emmerano , Emeran , Heimrammi , Haimeran , or Heimeran ) was a Christian bishop and a martyr born in Poitiers , Aquitaine . Having heard of idolatry in Bavaria , Emmeram travelled to Ratisbon (Regensburg) some time after

2907-405: 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

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2964-456: 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

3021-474: 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

3078-540: The year 649 to the court of Theodo I , Duke of Bavaria . He supposedly travelled up the Loire , crossed through the Black Forest and then followed the Danube to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where he laboured for three years carrying out missionary work. During this time, he gained a reputation as a pious man. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's in Regensburg , Germany. His feast day in

3135-486: Was among the teachers of Meir of Rothenburg . In his Or Zarua , the only primary source of information on his life, he mentions two Bohemian scholars as his teachers, Jacob ha-Laban and Isaac ben Jacob ha-Lavan . Led by a thirst for Talmudic knowledge, he undertook in his youth extensive journeys to the prominent yeshivot of Germany and France . According to Heinrich Gross , he went to Regensberg first; but S.N. Bernstein conjectures that previously he stopped for

3192-573: Was revealed, he was entombed in Aschheim, whereupon legend states that it rained for forty days. Emmeram was exhumed and put upon a raft in the Isar . When the raft reached the Danube, it miraculously floated upstream to Regensburg, where Emmeram was interred in the church of St. George . (A somewhat similar tale is told of Lubentius of Dietkirchen.) His remains were later moved to a church dedicated to

3249-536: 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. 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

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