"Ma'oz Tzur" (Hebrew: מעוז צור), widely known in English as "Rock of Ages", is a Jewish liturgical poem or piyyut. It is written in Hebrew, and is usually sung on the holiday of Hanukkah, after lighting the festival lights. It was originally sung only in the home, but has been used in the synagogue since the nineteenth century or earlier. Of its six stanzas, often only the first stanza is sung. Hebrew redirects here. ... Rock of Ages is a popular Christian hymn with lyrics by Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady, and music by Thomas Hastings. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... 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. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎), Festival of Rededication (also known incorrectly as the Festival of Lights) is an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, which can occur in very late November, or throughout December. ... A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul; Ladino אסנוגה esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...

In English it is common to sing a non-literal translation by Marcus Jastrow and Gustav Gottheil, based on the German by Leopold Stein (1810-1882).^[1] Marcus (Mordechai) Jastrow (1829-1903) was a renowned Talmudic language scholar, most famously known for his authorship of the popular and comprehensive A Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature. ...

Content

The hymn is named for its first two words in Hebrew, which mean "Stronghold of Rock" as a name or epithet for God. At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ...

"Ma'oz Tzur" may have been written in the middle of the 13th century, during the Crusades, as Zunz ("Literaturgesch." p. 580) is inclined to believe. The first letters of the first five stanzas form an acrostic of the composer's name, Mordechai (the five Hebrew letters מרדכי). He may have been the Mordecai ben Isaac ha-Levi who wrote the Sabbath table-hymn "Mah Yafit" (Majufes), or even the scholar referred to in Tos. to Niddah 36a. Or, to judge from the appeal in the closing verse, he may have been the Mordecai whose father-in-law was martyred at Mayence (now Mainz, Germany) in 1096. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... Leopold Zunz (1794-1886), Jewish scholar, was born at Detmold in 1794, and died in Berlin in 1886. ... 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. ... Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew), in Judaism, is technically a state of marital separation when a woman is menstruating and seven subsequent days until she immerses in a ritual bath known as a mikvah. ... Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ...

Another acrostic is found in the first letters of the opening words of the final stanza. As in many examples of piyyut, they congratulate the poet with the word hazak (meaning "[may you be] strong").

The poem recalls the many times when Jewish communities were saved from the people around them. The second stanza tells of the exodus from Egypt. The third stanza tells of the end of the Babylonian captivity. The fourth retells the miracle of the holiday of Purim. The fifth tells of the Hasmonean victory that is commemorated by Hanukkah. The Exodus, more fully The Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, was the departure of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron as described in the biblical Book of Exodus. ... Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ... Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm Lots, from Akkadian pūru) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Persian Jews from Hamans plot to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books...

The first and last stanzas are written in the present tense. The first expresses hope for the rebuilding of the Temple and for the defeat of enemies, who are mentioned in canine terms (menabe'ach, barking). The final stanza once again calls for an uprising against the enemies of the Jewish people. The term "Admon", meaning "the red one", is understood by some to refer to the emperor, Friedrich Barbarossa, whose name means Frederick "Redbeard". This stanza was dropped from many printings of the poem, perhaps from fear of a Christian reaction against it. The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was the primary resting place of the Gods presence (shechina) in the physical world according to classical Judaism. ... Frederick Barbarossa in a 13th century Chronicle. ...

In her book Ve-Higadeta Le-Vanekha (title meaning "you shall tell your children"), Mikhal Gur-Arie explains (in Hebrew) why "Ma'oz Tzur" is sung especially on Hanukkah rather than Purim or Passover, whose events are also mentioned in the poem: Pasch could also refer to the mathematician, Moritz Pasch, and the surname. ...

On Passover we read in the Haggadah: "In every generation there are those who rise up to finish us off, but the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hands." On Purim, after the reading of the Megillah in the synagogue, we say the blessing "Blessed are You... Who plead our plea, ...and rose against those who would rise against us...." There is no need to say "Ma'oz tzur" except on Hanukkah.

Thus the singing of "Ma'oz tzur" on Hanukkah may be a substitute for the ritual storytelling that takes place on Purim and Passover. Haggadah for Passover, 14th century Haggadah in Hebrew means Telling. ... The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ...

Tune

The bright and stirring tune now so generally associated with "Ma'oz tzur" serves as the "representative theme" in musical references to the feast (comp. Addir Hu; Aḳdamut; Hallel). Indeed, it has come to be regarded as the only Hannukah melody, four other Hebrew hymns for the occasion being also sung to it (comp. Zunz, l.c. pp. 422, 429; D. Kaufmann, in "Ha-Asif," ii. 298), as well as G. Gottheil's paraphrase, "Rock of Ages," in the "Union Hymnal" (No. 107). It was originally sung for "Shene Zetim" ("Olives Twain"), the "Me'orah," or piyyut, next preceding the Shema 'in the Morning Service of the (first) Sabbath in the eight days of the Feast of Dedication. Curiously enough, "Shene Zetim" alone is now sometimes sung to a melody which two centuries ago was associated rather with "Ma'oz tzur." The latter is a Jewish-sounding air in the minor mode, and is found in Benedetto Marcello's "Estro Poetico Armonico," or "Parafrasi Sopra li Salmi" (Venice, 1724), quoted as a melody of the German Jews, and utilized by Marcello as the theme for his "Psalm XV." This air has been transcribed by Cantor Birnbaum of Königsberg in the "Israelitische Wochenschrift" (1878, No. 51)

The present melody for the Hanukkah hymn has been identified by Birnbaum as an adaptation from the old German folk-song "So weiss ich eins, dass mich erfreut, das pluemlein auff preiter heyde," given in Böhme's "Altdeutsches Liederbuch" (No. 635); it was widely spread among German Jews as early as 1450. By an interesting coincidence, this folk-melody was also the first utilized by Luther for his German chorals. He set it to his "Nun freut euch lieben Christen gmein" (comp. Julian, "Dictionary of Hymnology," s. v. "Sing praise to God who reigns above"). It is familiar among English-speaking people as the tune for a translation by F. E. Cox of the hymn "Sei lob und ehr dem höchsten gut," by J. J. Schütz (1640-1730). As such it is called "Erk" (after the German hymnologist), and, with harmonies by Bach, appears as No. 283 of "Hymns, Ancient and Modern" (London, 1875). The earliest transcription of the Jewish form of the tune is due to Isaac Nathan, who set it, very clumsily indeed, to the poem "On Jordan's Banks" in Byron's "Hebrew Melodies" (London, 1815). Later transcriptions have been numerous, and the air finds a place in every collection of Jewish melodies. It was modified to the form now favored by English Jews by the delicate liturgical taste of Mombach, to whom is due the modulation to the dominant in the repetition of the first strain, shown in the transcription above.

Modern creative mention

The piyyut inspired Israeli songwriter Naomi Shemer to write the song "Shivchei Ma'oz" (meaning "praises of the fortress"), as performed by the band Pikud Darom in 1969. In this song Shemer drew a connection between the Jewish hymn and the military positions that were attacked in the War of Attrition of the time. Naomi Shemer (July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was one of Israels most important and prolific song writers, considered by some the First Lady of Israeli Song. Shemer wrote both words and lyrics to her own songs, composed music to words by others (such as the poet Rachel), and... Combatants Israel Egypt Soviet Union Strength unknown Egyptian: unknown Soviet: 10,700–12,300 Casualties 367 killed more than 3,000 wounded 10,000 Egyptian soldiers and civilians killed¹ 3 Soviet pilots killed The War of Attrition (Hebrew: )(Arabic: ‎) was a limited war fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968...

Hebrew Text

Transliteration

Ma'oz Tzur Yeshu'ati, lecha na'eh leshabe-ah. Tikon beit tefilati vesham todah nezabei'ach. Le'et tachin matbe-ach mitzar hamnabei-ach. Az egmor beshir mizmor chanukat hamizbe-ah.

Ra'ot sav'ah nafshi, b'yagon kochi kilah. Chayai meireru b'koshi, b'shiabud malchut eglah. Uv'yado hagdolah hotzi et hasgulah. Cheil Par'oh vechol zar'oh yardu khe-even mtzulah.

D'vir kodsho hevi-ani vegam sham lo shakateti. Uva nogesh v'higlani ki zarim avad'ti. V'yein ra-al masachti kimat she-avarti. Ketz Bavel Zerubavel l'ketz shiv'im nosh'ati.

Krot komat b'rosh bikesh Agagi ben Hamdatah. V'nih'yata lo (lefach) (u)l'mokesh vega'avato nishbata. Rosh y'mini niseta ve-oyev shemo machita. Rov banav v'kinyanav al ha-etz talita.

Y'vanim nikbtzu alai azai bimei Chashmanim. Ufartzu chomot migdalai vetim'u kol hashmanim. Uminotar kankanim na'aseh nes lashoshanim. B'nei vinah yemei sh'monah kavu shir urnanim.

Chasof z'roa kodshecha v'karev ketz hayshua. Nekom nikmat dam avadecha me-uma haresha'a. Ki archa lanu hasha-a ve-ein ketz limei hara-ah. Deche admon b'tzel tzalmon hakem (lanu) ro'im shiv'ah.

References

1. ^ "Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)" at Jewish Heritage Online Magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2006.

• Much of the content of this article comes from מעוז צור (Ma'oz tzur) in the Hebrew-language Wikipedia, retrieved January 13, 2006. That article cites the following references:
• Sarah Friedlander Ben-Arie, Ma'oz tzur, a study in piyyut (in Hebrew), at site "Invitation to Piyyut"
• Various performances of Ma'oz tzur (in Hebrew), at site "Invitation to Piyyut"
• Rabbi David Chai Ha-Kohen, Ma'oz tzur (in Hebrew)
• Yosef Rot Rottem, Thoughts for Hannukah on "Ma oz" tzur (in Hebrew; pun in title means "what is the power of the rock"), at site of Beit Beryl school

Bibliography of Jewish Encyclopedia

• Cantor Eduard Birnbaum, Chanuca-Melodie für Pianoforte, mit Vorbemerkung, Königsberg, 1890;
• E. Breslaur, Sind Originale Melodien bei den Juden Geschichtlich Nachweisbar? p. 70, Leipsic, 1898;
• Cohen and Davis, Voice of Prayer and Praise, No. 294 (and especially Mombach, in Nos. 64 and 66), London, 1899;
• Journal of the Folk-Song Society, i. 36, London, 1900;
• Jewish Chronicle (London), Nov. 23, 1888; Dec. 20, 1889; Dec. 5, 1890; Dec. 25, 1891;
• Louis Lewandowski, Chanukka-Hymne (two voices and piano), Berlin;
• J. Rosenfeld, Chanukka Hymne für Kinderstimmen, Berlin;
• D. Rubin, Maoz Tsur für Chor und Orgel;
• A. Schoenfeld, Nationalgesang zur Erinnerung an die Siege der Makkabär, Posen

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. [1]

by Cyrus Adler, Francis L. Cohen

WrocÅ‚aw Aryeh Löb ben Ḥayyim Breslau (Aryeh Löb ben Chayyim Breslau), German Talmudist and rabbi Joseph b. ... // Cohen (Hebrew: kōhÄ“n, means: A Priest) is a Jewish surname of biblical origins (see: Kohen). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Jewish Telegraph is a Jewish Newspaper in Britain. ... Louis Lewandowski (April 23, 1823 - February 4, 1894, Berlin) was a German composer of synagogal music. ... Bella Rosenfeld, or Bella Chagall, the wife of Marc Chagall Bobbie Rosenfeld Daniel Rosenfeld Fanny Rosenfeld, see German article Gastão Rosenfeld Jakob Rosenfeld, Austrian physician. ... Rubin can refer to the following people: Alan Rubin, American musician Chanda Rubin (b. ... PoznaÅ„ ( ; full official name: The Capital City of PoznaÅ„, Latin: , German: , Yiddish: פּױזן Poyzn) is a city in west-central Poland with over 578,900 inhabitants (2002). ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Cyrus Adler (1863 - 1940) was a U.S. educator, Jewish religious leader and scholar. ...

External links

• "Maoz Tzur", a literal translation into English at site of the Orthodox Union. Retrieved January 13, 2006.
• Irwin Oppenheim, "Chanukah Songs" at Chazzanut Online. Web page includes MIDI audio of the German and Italian tunes for Maoz Tzur and of the Dutch tune for Shene Zetim.
• Sephardic Pizmonim Project: Contains the song and can be heard according to Sephardic tradition.