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Lyrical Aspects of Samuel the Thirdʼs
Poetry

Review of Joseph Yahalom and Naoya Katsumata (eds.),
Yotserot of R. Samuel the Third: a Leading Figure in
Jerusalem of the 10th Century, Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben
Zvi, 2014, Two Volumes.

Wout van Bekkum

Samuel ben Hosha‘na the Third is an outstanding and important poet whose
entire oeuvre has now been collected and edited, reclaiming a tradition of
synagogue poetry which, in large part, had lapsed into the obscurities of
medieval Jewish literary history. The reintroduction of Samuel the Third
by Yahalom and Katsumata enables researchers of piyyut to read Samuel’s
hymns anew and to (re-)discover their richness and diversity. This new
edition contains the full cycle of yotser compositions for each Sabbath,
regular and special, and for each festival; introductory reshuyot in Aramaic
for the reading of Haftarot and Targum; eulogies for the deceased; historical
piyyutim; and even personal letters. The edition also identifies and completes
various poems and letters that were known since the earliest publications of
Jacob Mann (1920) and Israel Davidson (1928). A large majority of the poems
in this edition have been published here for the very first time. The editors,
Joseph Yahalom and Naoya Katsumata, have carefully studied hundreds of
Genizah manuscripts, noting many reading variants in individual poems.
The arrangement of the edition follows the liturgical year. All poems are
vocalised and provided with textual and explanatory notes. The substantial
Hebrew introduction (unfortunately, an equivalent English introduction
is lacking) covers the discussion of historical and political circumstances
during Samuel’s life, his professional career, and his artistic abilities, placing
emphasis on the language and structure of his yotsrot. No less relevant is the
fact that Samuel the Third’s lyrical achievements herald the coming of the

GQinezdeiem
11 (2015)