[Avodah] Solving Nishmas

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 04:08:20AM +0000, David Wacholder via Avodah wrote:
: 1. Machzor Vitry 148-153 is entitled Pisron Nishmas. MV -- actually Rashi
...

R' Yochanan knew of Nishmas.

Up to "lekha levadkha anachnu modim" is the Birkhas haShir to be said
at the seder. (R' Yochanan in Pesachim 118a)

Part 2, "ilu finu" until "kol qomah lekhah mishtachaveh" or until "ani
ve'evyon migozelo" is part of the hoda'ah al hageshamim, also R' Yochanan
(Berakhos 59b, Taanis 6b).

The rest (up to Yishtabach, velo ad bikhlal) is a ge'onic addition.

I would think that any analysis of Nishmas would need to analyze each
prayer seperately and only then the point being made by connecting these
particular tefillos together in the order we have them.


There is a belief that Shim'on ben Shetach wrote the whole thing. Which
explains the notriqon: "SHokhein ad", "Mi yidmeh", "`Ad heina", "Ve'ilu
finu" (the vav was news to me), "Nishmas". Toledos Yeishu says it it was
a diffrent Shim'on, as TY has a whole theory about Peter being a Perushi
shill sent into the early Notzri leadership to make sure the religion
wouldn't be confused with, and adulterate, Yahadus. Peter is known to
have only eaten fish while in Roman prison, it's easy to attribute that
to trying to keep kosher. And thus this theory says that Peter, while
acting for the right reasons, still wanted to do teshuvah for his years
of teaching apiqursus, so he writes Nishmas while in that jail. Machzor
Vitri vehemently rejest this opinion.

Either would have reason to write "umibal'adekha ein lanu melekh go'el
umoshia" as an intentional snub of Yeishu -- one being the rebbe who
blamed himself for Yeishu going OTD, the other being a false talmid.

The Avudraham says that the Yitzcha"q and "Rivq"a" acrostics of "Befi
Yesharim" refer to the author and his wife, not the couple of that name
buried in Chevron.


When I did a series of shiurim on the siddur, I suggested the following
chiddush. How do we say "ilu finu malei shirah qayam" -- that we are
unfit to praise HQBH", and then just a little while later say "al kein
eivarim shepilagta benu, velashon asher samta befinu"?

I suggested that the reisha is saying that we could not create enough
praise fitting for HQBH. However, our bodies, our organs, their design
is itself -- "hein heim" -- the very fact that we have tongues that
could attempt praise Him, is greater praise than we could craft.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Friendship is like stone. A stone has no value,
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