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56* Wout van Bekkum and Naoya Katsumata
those with which he was acquainted;22 however, we have found more
convincing comparisons to the seder published in 1995–1999.
Throughout his compositions, Samuel the Third stresses the themes of
hope for redemption and the reestablishment of Jerusalem as the center of
pilgrimage for all Jews of his time. The historical–biblical example of God
saving the people of Israel from capture by the Egyptians at the Sea of
Reeds, which is the main theme of the wayyosha text, inspired Samuel the
Third to emphasise the speedy return of divine salvation to Israel within his
own historical context: ַה ִגּי ָדה ִלּי ַת ְכ ִלית ֵקץ ַה ְגּאוּ ָלּה, “Tell me when
redemption will be fulfilled.”233F2 Therefore, Samuel the Third repeatedly
invokes the union between Ishmael and Edom, representing the Arab and
Byzantine authorities that oppose the Jewish community in Jerusalem:
ִה ְשׁ ַבּ ְע ִתּי ֲהמ ֹו ַניי ִמ ְמּר ֹוד ְבּ ֶפ ֶרא ְואָד ֹום, “I implore you, my multitudes [Israel],
not to rebel against Pere (wild) and Adom (red).24F24 Similarly, in the present
seder, one finds references to both kingdoms: ָר ֵמי ק ֹו ַמת ֱאד ֹום ְו ִי ְשׁ ָמ ֵעאל,
“The haughty leaders of Edom and Ishmael” (line 206); ְתּ ַא ֵבּד ֵמ ֱאד ֹום
ְו ִי ְשׁ ָמ ֵעאל י ֹו ְשׁ ֵבי ְכ ַר ִכּים ְו ִעי ִרים וּ ְכ ָפ ִרים, “[God], You will destroy the
inhabitants of cities and towns and villages of Edom and Ishmael” (line
389); ְל ַה ְק ִדּים י ֹום ָנ ָקם ַעל ֱאד ֹום ְו ִי ְשׁ ָמ ֵעאל ַי ַחד, “to bring speedily the day of
vengeance on Edom and Ishmael together” (line 524).
Finally, in the last stanza, Samuel the Third inserts the names of the
twelve signs of the zodiac and the seven planets of the solar system in a
particularly ornamental manner, describing them with the aid of his
22 For instance, one striking example can be found in the following lines.
From this seder:
ְבּ ֵכן ְשׁמ ֹו ִנים ֵיי ַחתּוּ ְו ֵי ָר ְגזוּ/ ִשׁ ִשּׁים אוּמּ ֹות ִמ ַפּ ְח ְדּ� ָה ְר ְגּזוּ421–22
From the seder of Samuel the Third:
ְבּ ֵכן ְשׁמ ֹו ִנים ְט ֵפיל ֹות ְלת ֹו ְלד ֹו ֵתי ֶהם ִי ַח ְד ָתּה/ ִשׁ ִשּׁים ֻאמּ ֹות ִעי ָקּר ִמ ְשּׁ� ָשׁה ִה ְפ ַר ְד ָתּה421–22
23 Yahalom and Katsumata, The Yotserot of R. Samuel the Third, 855.
24 Yahalom and Katsumata, The Yotserot of R. Samuel the Third, 860. This verse is
based on Shir Ha-Shirim Rabbah 2, 7, 1: “Israel has sworn not to rebel against the
yoke of the kingdoms.”
