Page 31 - Jewish News_March 2021

JEWISH INTEREST March 2021 31A

K’zohar Ha-Ivrit

Learn about our growing Shir – Song
Jewish community in this comprehensive
population study of Sarasota-Manatee
By Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin
ime marches on and Pesach is
at our door. Pesach, Chag Ha-
ledodi vedodi li, ‘I am my beloved’s
It is not surprising, therefore, that
from Ugarit, where the verb shr meant
‘to sing.’ In Hebrew, the verb la-shir,
and my beloved is mine.’ (6:3)
TAviv, “the Holiday of Spring,” is ing ‘song,’ which entered the Hebrew the air and lovers woo, whispering Ani a free nation.
the rabbis chose this beautiful poetry
a major holiday in the Jewish calendar. ‘to sing,’ appears 86 times in the Bi- The collection entered the Canon to be recited during Pesach, the holi-
This is the holiday that reminds us each ble, and the noun shir, namely ‘song,’ with the help of Rabbi Akivah who day of spring, a collection associated
year that our fore- is mentioned 77 times. elevated this poetry to the height of with love, loyalty, passion and nature’s
fathers were freed Also, we should mention the word kodesh ha-kodashim, or ‘holy of ho- renewal.
from slavery and me-shorer, ‘a poet,’ appearing four lies.’ (Yadayim 3:5) And since then, Happy Pesach – the holiday of
marched under times, and shirah, meaning ‘poetry,’ in Jewish tradition, Shir Ha-Shirim spring – to all.
the leadership of which is mentioned 13 times in the became the poetic metaphor describ- Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor
Moses, Aaron and Text, are also derived from the same ing the relationship of love and trust of biblical literature at Spertus Col-
Miriam to free- root. between Israel and God. And, just as lege in Chicago, and a retired adjunct
dom and eventual The plural form of shir is shirim, nature has awakened from its winter professor of Hebrew and Bible at New
statehood. meaning ‘songs’ or ‘poems.’ Through repose, so has Israel, with the love of College in Sarasota.
It is fascinat- the years, Hebrew shirim were written God, budded on the face of history as
Dr. Rachel Dulin ing to note that on a variety of subjects. For example,
the biblical writers made sure we re- shir mizmor means ‘a psalm,’ and shir
1 ST during the spring, as it is written, “Ob- moledet, meaning ‘homeland song,’
member that this major event occurred
te-hi-lah means ‘song of praise.’ Shir
population study
serve the month of Aviv…for it is in
expresses love of country, whereas
in 20 years!
the month of Aviv, at night, that the
shir-am means ‘folk song.’ Shir le-
khet, literally ‘a song to walk by’ is a
Lord your God freed you from Egypt.”
2019
a grant from:
‘spring,’ a word used in the Bible eight
is a lullaby.
Jewish Community Study Sponsored in part by (Duet. 16:1) In Hebrew, Aviv means march. and shir eres, ‘a cradle song,’
times in association with the Exodus.
Unlike any of the shirim composed
Cohen Center Authors: A socio-demographic portrait of the Jewish (Ex. 23:15; 34:18; et al) in Hebrew, the collection of Shir Ha-
Matthew Boxer
Matthew A. Brookner community in Sarasota-Manatee
Traditionally, the biblical scroll
Eliana Chapman
Janet Krasner Aronson Shir Ha-Shirim, the “Song of Songs,” Shirim has a special place in Hebrew
literature. Even though the word ap-
jfedsrq.org/CommunityStudy
jfedsrq.org/CommunityStudy is recited on Pesach’s intermediate pears only once in the Bible, Shir Ha-
Shirim, by its very name, attests to the
Shabbat service. The question arises,
For more information, why did the rabbis choose this Megilah fact that it is considered by the collec-
tors to be the best collection of poems
to be read on this important holiday?
contact Kim Adler The answer lies in the nature of the expressing the passionate love between
941.552.6300
kadler@jfedsrq.org poetry. Shir Ha-Shirim is a superlative a man and a woman. In these poems,
phrase meaning ‘preeminent song.’ It nature comes to life as spring arrives in
is derived from the word shir, mean- the land of Israel. (2:11-13) Beauty fills
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