ArtScroll's edition of Akdamus

Akdamus Milin (or Akdamut Milin, The Introduction) is a prominent piyyut (Jewish liturgical poem) recited annually on Shavuot. It was penned by Rabbi Meir bar Yitzchak of Worms, Germany, who lived in the 11th century. Akdamus consists entirely of praise for God and is written in Aramaic. A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... Shavuot, also spelled Shavuos (Hebrew: שבועות (Israeli Heb. ... // Worms (pronounced ) is a city in the southwest of Germany. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ...

Akdamus is read on Shavuot (or its first day, in the Diaspora) during the Torah service. The original practice was for it to be recited after the reading of the first verse of the lection (Exodus 19:1), but in the past few centuries, the practice has developed in many congregations (mainly Eastern European ones) that the poem is read after the Kohen has been called to the Torah reading, but before he has made the blessing. In most synagogues it is read responsively: the baal koreh singing two verses, and the congregation responding with two more. There are some synagogues where it is not recited. The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut גלות, exile) is the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout Babylonia and the Roman Empire. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... It has been suggested that Aaronites be merged into this article or section. ... Torah reading (in Hebrew: Kriat HaTorah or Reading [of] the Torah) has followed a steady pattern for the past two thousand years following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and is still practiced by Orthodox Judaism and its adherents. ...

Structure

Akdamus is formed as as double alphabetic acrostic, and then spells out the words, "Meir, son of Rabbi Isaac, may he grow in Torah and in good deeds. Amen. Be strong and have courage." An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, extreme, and stíchos, verse) is a poem or other text written in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each verse, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. ...

Akdamus has 90 verses in total. Its language is terse and complicated, and it is replete with references to Torah and Talmud. Each verse concludes with "-ta" (tav-aleph), the last and first letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The encoded message from the author is that a Jew never stops learning Torah - when one finishes, one must start anew again. This message was appropriately chosen for Shavuot, since the holiday commemorates the Jews accepting the Torah on Mount Sinai. Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . Its original value is an voiceless alveolar plosive, IPA , The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Tau (Τ), Latin T, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Aleph ‎ is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, together with Arabic descended from Phoenician . Its original sound value was a glottal stop. ... This article is mainly about Hebrew letters. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

• Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Salamon, Akdamus Millin: A new translation and commentary anthologized from the traditional Rabbinic literature, ArtScroll publishers