[Avodah] l'Dovid Hashem Ori

[Arie Folger]

R Allan Engel wrote:
> Rabbi Leiman also says in that interesting shiur that he doesn't think that
> the author of the Chemdas Yomim was a Sabbatean.

Actually, that is not what he says; he says that it was assumed to
have been written by Nathan of Gaza, Shabbetai Tzvi's "prophet," based
on the inclusion in CY of a poem by Nathan of Gaza. However, RDSZL
does not feel that the conclusion is warranted, and considers that the
author is unknown and *may* even have been a non Sabbatean. For the
sake of clarification, I discussed this with him about three weeks
ago, and he confirmed that the jury is still out there regarding
whether or not CY's author was a Sabbatean.

I would add that regardless of who wrote it, I would ask: do you want
to rely on an anonymous author who either intentionally or even
unintentionally published material by Nathan of Gaza?

However, whoever mentioned that RDSZL found sources earlier than CY
for the recitation of LeDavid HaShem Ori during Elul->Yom Kippur, is
right.

However, those sources explain little, and are no conclusive proof of
a non Sabbathean origin of the custom, since they are writing decades
after Sabbetai Tzvi.

LeSchono tauwo tikossewu wetejchotejmu!
-- 
Arie Folger,
Latest blog posts on http://ariefolger.wordpress.com/
* Educating Children About the Evil of Nazism
* Complex Memories – the Notion of ה’ זכרך
* Judentum und westliche Gesellschaft im Einklang
* How did Psalm 30 Land in the Morning Service