[Avodah] V'hu Rachum Authorship

[Yitzchok Zirkind]

This version can be found in many places including the Pirushei haTfila of
the Rokeach.

A brief on-line search will show that this term is found also about:
Nvuchadnetzar - Yerushalmi Megila 7:7, Maseces Sofrim 14:7
Turchinas - Eicha  Rabba Parsha 1
Rufus (Turnsrufus?) - Yerushalmi Taanis 4:5

According to Eicha Rabba Ksav Yad Rome, printed by S. Buber it says about
Espasyonus this title, even though in footnote 392 he thinks that over there
is should say Adriyonus.

This is by no means an exhaustive answer or list.

Kol Tuv,
Yitzchok Zirkind

2010/10/31 Moshe Y. Gluck <mgluck at gmail.com>

> Avodas Yisroel (Roedelheim 1868, p. 112) quotes a manuscript dating to 1407
> that V’hu Rachum was authored by three people from the Yotzei Yerushalaim,
> who were exiled by אספסיינס שחיק עצמות, which refers to, I think,
> Vespasian.
> The problem I have with that is that:
> a. Hadrian is the one who was usually referred to with the epithet שחיק
> עצמות, and,
> b. Hadrian is the one who crushed Yerushalaim in the time of Bar Kochva;
> Vespasian wasn't even in Eretz Yisroel in the time of its first capture -
> he
> left and his son Titus took over.
>
> So I see four possibilities:
> 1. R' Seligman Baer misquoted the manuscript he copied from, and it should
> have said Hadrian.
> 2. It really did say Vespasian, but this author who he's quoting (R' Yehuda
> Bar Eliezer Tzvi, student of R' Menachem Shatz of Troyes) was happy that
> Vespasian's bones be also crushed
> 3. The author of the manuscript (R' Yehuda, above) should have written
> Hadrian, but he mixed the two up;
> Or, most likely:
> 4. My ignorance of all things historical is showing itself, and I'm
> completely missing the boat.
>
> Can anyone help? (I have not yet found anyone else besides Avodas Yisroel
> to
> bring this version of V'hu Rachum's origin, so I have nothing to compare
> to.) (Cced some people I thought might be able to shed some light here.)
>
> KT,
> MYG
>
>
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