D'ror Yikra
D'ror Yikra (also spelled Dror Yikra, Deror Yikra and Dror Yiqra) is a piyyut (Jewish religious song or hymn) traditionally sung during Sabbath meals, particularly the first meal of Friday evening.[1] It was written in 960 CE in Córdoba in Spain[1] by the poet, linguist and musician Dunash ben Labrat (915-70), who is said to have been born in Fez, Morocco but moved to Spain after a period of study in Baghdad under the rabbinic scholar Saadia Gaon.[2]
The Poem
The poem consists of six four-line stanzas with the rhyme-scheme a a a a, b b b b, c c c c, etc. The first stanza is as follows:
- <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />דְּרוֹר יִקְרָא לְבֵן עִם בַּת * וְיִנְצָרְכֶם כְּמוֹ בָבַת
- <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" /> נְעִים שִׁמְכֶם וְלא יֻשְׁבַּת * שְׁבוּ נוּחוּ בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת
- D'ror yikra l'ven im bat
- V'yintsorchem k'mo vavat.
- Na'im shimchem velo yushbat
- Sh'vu nuchu b'yom Shabbat.
- "Freedom shall He proclaim for His sons and daughters
- and will keep you as the apple of His eye.
- Pleasant is Your name and will not cease to be;
- repose and rest on the Sabbath day."[3]
The first letters of each line in this stanza, and also in stanzas 2, 3, and 6, make up the name "DUNASH".
Metre
The poem was unusual for the time since unlike previous piyyutim, its language is entirely Biblical, rather than a mixture of Biblical and later Hebrew. Secondly, Dunash was apparently the first Jewish poet to write Hebrew using Arabic quantitative metres (up to his time, Hebrew poetry had been based on stress, not on quantity). Dunash's two innovations caused a revolution in Jewish poetry and influenced all later poets.[4]
The metre itself is the hazaj metre (in Hebrew <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />הַמִּשְׁקָל הַמַּרְנִין, ha-mishqal ha-marnin), which is based on a repeated rhythm of short-long-long-long. It is sung to two or three different tunes, not all of which follow the rhythm of the metre.[5]
Biblical references
The poem is full of Biblical references and quotations, sometimes adapted to suit the demands of the metre. For example, the opening words are based on Leviticus 25:10: "You shall proclaim release throughout the land" and Jeremiah 34:15: "Proclaim a release for them". "He will keep you as the apple (or pupil) of His eye" is based on Deuteronomy (32:10): “He engirded him, watched over him, guarded him as the pupil of His eye”. "Pleasant is Your name" is based on Psalm 35:3: "Sing hymns to His name, for it is pleasant"; and "Repose, rest" comes from Numbers 22:19 ("sit and rest").[6]
References
Bibliography
- Rosenfeld-Hadad, Merav (2011) Mishaf al-Shbahot - The Holy Book of Praises of the Babylonian Jews: One Thousand Years of Cultural Harmony between Judaism and Islam. In M.M. Laskier and Y. Lev. "The Convergence of Judaism and Islam: Religious, Scientific, and Cultural Dimensions. University Press of Florida.
External links
- Deror Yikra text, translation, notes (shituf.piyut.org)
- Website of Hebrew liturgical melodies compiled by Mauro Braunstein. D'ror Yikra is under Shabbat dinner/Z'mirot.
- D'ror Yikra sung by the Maccabeats
- D'ror Yikra sung by Rabbi Batzri
- D'ror Yikra sung to a Yemeni tune
