Yedei Rashim Medley | London and Amsterdam

Yedei Rashim is a Piyyut by Yehudah Halevi traditionally sung as an introduction to the Kaddish that precedes Barekhu on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Its liturgical placement, however, is not uniform across Sephardi communities. Many congregations of the Edot HaMizrach regard the insertion of such poems at this point as an interruption in the prescribed sequence of prayer. In those traditions, the Piyyut is consequently deferred to the end of Shachrit and sung following Kaddish Titkabbal. Neither arrangement, however, reflects the original intention of the Paytan, who composed the poem for insertion within the Yotser blessing itself. This practice, however, was vehemently challenged by the majority of halakhic authorities, who objected to the inclusion of liturgical poetry within the statutory blessings. The poem consists of five strophes and has an intricate rhyming scheme which combines internal paired rhymes within each line, with a single recurring dominant rhyme repeated at the end of every line in the stanza. The melody associated with Yedei Rashim is used for several other texts during the penitential season including En Kelohenu, Adon Olam, and Yigdal. The version sung by Spanish and Portuguese Sephardim is closely related to a Baghdadi cognate heard today in many 'Yerushalmi' synagogues. By contrast, however, the tune is not widely known among communities of North African origin. Interestingly, within the Spanish and Portuguese tradition, itself, a significant melodic divergence is preserved. While the Amsterdam and New York versions are closely related, the London variant departs from both in a particularly striking manner: in the third bar, there is a tonal modulation which is sustained until the coda when it returns to the original key. The origin of this curious feature is uncertain, though it may have arisen during the process of its transcription for de Sola and Aguilar’s anthology, 'The Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews', published in 1857. The present recording brings together two versions of the melody: the opening stanza follows the London tradition, while the final strophe is sung in the Amsterdam style. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more music from the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi tradition. Headphones recommended for full polyphonic texture Links Hazzan Daniel Halfon https://www.danielhalfon.com/ The Halfons - A Cappella https://www.facebook.com/ TheHalfons/    / @משפחתחלפון   ANU Museum of the Jewish People https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c... To download mp3s of more than 250 tracks please visit: https://www.danielhalfon.com/multitra...