אִכְלוּ מַשְׁמַנִּים וְסוֹלֶת רְבוּכָה תּוֹרִים וּבְנֵי יוֹנָה שַׁבָּת וַחֲנוּכָּה הַאי הַאי בֵּית כּוֹר תִּמְכּוֹר תַּחְכּוֹרתִּשְׂכּוֹר בֵּית כּוֹר לְצוֹרֶךְ שַׁבָּת חֲנֻכָּה בַּרְבּוּרִים אֲבוּסִים בְּשַׁפּוּדִים צְלוּיִם וְכָלִיל לָאִישִׁים אֶחָד מִן הַמְנוּיִם הַאי הַאי בֵּית כּוֹר תִּמְכּוֹר תַּחְכּוֹרתִּשְׂכּוֹר בֵּית כּוֹר לְצוֹרֶךְ שַׁבָּת חֲנֻכָּה רַךְ וָטוֹב וְשָׁמֵן צְלִי אֵשׁ וּמַצּוֹתעֲנוּ וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן וְאִכְלוּ בְּדִיצוֹת הַאי הַאי בֵּית כּוֹר תִּמְכּוֹר תַּחְכּוֹרתִּשְׂכּוֹר בֵּית כּוֹר לְצוֹרֶךְ שַׁבָּת חֲנֻכָּה הַקּוֹלוֹת יֶחֱדָלוּן מִנִּסּוּךְ הַמָּיִם בְּבֵית הַיַּיִן נָלוּן בְּכֹל יוֹם פַּעֲמָיִם הַאי הַאי בֵּית כּוֹר תִּמְכּוֹר תַּחְכּוֹרתִּשְׂכּוֹר בֵּית כּוֹר לְצוֹרֶךְ שַׁבָּת חֲנֻכָּה מִקּוֹלוֹת מַיִם רַבִּים תְּצִּלֶנָה אָזְנֵיכֶם וְכָל מִשְׁרַת דַּם עֲנָבִים לֹא יָמוּשׁ מִפִּיכֶם הַאי הַאי בֵּית כּוֹר תִּמְכּוֹר תַּחְכּוֹרתִּשְׂכּוֹר בֵּית כּוֹר לְצוֹרֶךְ שַׁבָּת חֲנֻכָּה
Click here : to listen to the Ashkenaz version
Clck here : to listen to the Bobov version
Click HERE to listen to Chazzan Chaim Adler
An interesting article, about An ancient, anonymous song for Shabbos Chanukah, Ichlu Mashmanim, appears in siddurim and is chanted in some communities. The whole composition sings the praises of food, meals, meat dishes, wine and miscellaneous culinary delights to be consumed on that Shabbos and the line ending each stanza goes: “A beis kur sell or lease; rent a beis kur for Shabbos Chanukah!”
In his Responsa (137), Mahari of Bruna, a pupil of the Terumas HaDeshen, remarks that no Torah scholar could have written the song as a Chanukah meal is not defined as a se’udas mitzvah. Others even stress (sefer shaar yissochor) that only foolhardy people or a laitz could have composed it, as evident from its contents (Orchos Chayim, 670:8). On the other hand, some rebbes, such as Rebbe Pinchas of Koritz zt”l, sang it on Shabbos Chanukah and a few scholars attribute it to Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra as the initial letters of its lines form Avraham.
Those favoring the song were somehow able to lend its contents a spiritual connotation and some surmise that beis kur is used as a pun: In Old French a yard for raising and fattening poultry was called a bas court (“low courtyard” – the final s was then, as in certain dialects today, pronounced). The message, then, is “Sell your beis kur” – your field – and rent a bas court for Shabbos Chanukah.
Others explain the reference to Bais hayayin is talking about the Bais hamikdosh.
link.
I have been doing work and research into both the verse for Ichlu Mashmanim and the music known for it. In terms of the lyric, this is a typically terse, paytanistic piece, and I have no reason to doubt that the Avraham of the five stanzas is Ibn Ezra, as this is stylistically reminiscent of other material of his (or so it seems to me). The notes above, and in particular the supposed views of the Mahari of Bruna, are so wide of the mark as to be comical. I will explain.
ReplyDeleteThe "Beit Kor" is a courtyard in the Temple measuring 5,000 cubits squared. I am pretty surprised that nobody has spotted this rather important point. Those who have looked at Masechet Eruvin will recall much discussion as to how this is calculated, because the length of each side must therefore be somewhere between 70 and 71 cubits in length. The use of this term is a metaphor for the Temple itself: this is a classic technique of the paytan. It is a forced rhyme, as are the other words of the chorus.
The bit about there being no Se'udat Mitzvah associated with Chanukah is also pretty silly. If you run with my argument that Beit Kor is a metaphor for the Temple, then either this is a fanciful interpretation by Ibn Ezra of what took place when the Maccabees rededicated their Temple, or (which I prefer), it is a reference to how we will mark Chanukah and its Sabbath in the Third and Rebuilt Temple of messianic times.
I have come across no less than 6 melodies for this zemer. (So those who know the words but only think to sing it to the hackneyed "Maoz Tzur" tune, as I have heard, need to do some more homework.)
(1) The first I learnt was a tune from my wife's family, who have Sadiger origins, so I am assuming it is a Sadiger nigun in origin.
(2) I next encountered what I took to be a traditional Dutch Jewish melody, given by Katan & Staal, in a booklet of Shabbat songs and rituals published in Amsterdam at Purim time in 1940 (less than three weeks before the Nazi invasion - how's that for poignant?).
(3) Katan & Staal claimed in their publication that their musical examples all came from Arno Nadel's book of zemirot music, published in Berlin in 1937 (also a rather poignant date), although when I checked this, the Ichlu tune given was quite different.
(4) Idelssohn, in vol. 9 of his Thesaurus, gives a melody which is just described as East European.
(5) If you google "Ichlu Mashmanim", the tune that comes up most regularly is a melody attributed to the Me'or Enayim, the founder of the Chernobyl Hasidic Dynasty in the mid-18th century. There is a lively recording of a performance by Rabbi Jonathan Stenzel to be found. This is a truly great melody, and I recommend it.
(6) My google searches also turned up a traditional Bobov tune.
I am sure there are others. These should be better known. It is a shame for this music to die out from ignorance, simply because this gets sung once a year normally and most zmironim have not bothered to print the text.
An interesting feature of these melodies, which are all quite differently paced from each other, is that the chorus always starts "hai hai" or "ay ay". This suggests to me that these non-verbal syllables must have been a part of the original poem, rather than Hasidic space fillers.
I have just completed a choral arrangement (SATB with piano and clarinet) of the Me'or Enayim version noted above. I will share this by PDF with any who are interested.
Daniel Tunkel
London, UK
Daniel.tunkel@googlemail.com