Kinnot


Kinnot are Hebrew dirges or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the Hebrew Bible, and also to later poems which are traditionally recited by Jews on Tisha B'Av.

In the Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, the term kinah or qinah refers to a dirge or lament, especially as sung by Jewish professional mourning women.
The Jerusalem Bible refers to Isaiah 47 as a qinah or "lament for Babylon", and to Ezekiel 19 as a qinah or lamentation over the rulers of Israel. A. W. Streane suggests that, on the prophesied downfall of Jerusalem, is written "in Ḳinah metre".

Tisha BeAv recitation

On Tisha B'Av, Jews traditionally recite a series of elegaic poems, known as kinnot, after the evening and morning prayers. These poems mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history, including the Crusades, the Expulsion of Jews from Spain and the Holocaust. The kinnot are recited on the night of Tisha B'Av after reciting the Book of Lamentations, which was also called "Kinnot" in the Talmudic era before it assumed its more familiar name of "Eichah."

Development of the Ashkenazic kinnot

The oldest kinnot were composed by Rabbi Elazar Hakalir, who likely lived in the 6th-7th centuries. His kinnot resemble the structure and content of the Book of Lamentations. For example, one of his kinnot begins each stanza with the word "Eichah", the opening word of Lamentations. He often writes stanzas in an alphabetical acrostic, similar to the first four chapters of Lamentations. The style deals primarily with the destruction of the Second Temple, similar to Lamentations which mourns the destruction of the First Temple.
The main impetus for creation of new kinnot during the Middle Ages was the Crusades, in which Christian mobs decimated many Jewish communities. The kinnot deal with the then-current tragedy of the Crusades, no longer focusing on the destruction of the Temple in the past. The loss of the Torah and its scholars, instead of the loss of the Temple, occupies a central theme.
Rabbi Judah Halevi completely changed the nature of the kinnot with his compositions. There is no pain or despair over the tragedies of the distant or near past, but rather a longing for returning to Jerusalem in his poem, Tziyon Halo Tishali.
The kinnot are arranged in modern printings approximately by the chronological order of their composition. Thus the reader experiences a developing feeling of deep sorrow building through the generations, combined with a yearning for the restoration of the Temple in the Messianic era. This is similar to the book of Lamentations, which waxes sorrowful with tales of woe, but ends on a note of optimism.

Sephardic kinnot

The various Sephardic communities of North Africa and the Middle East have a rich tradition of kinnot. The following is an extensive list based on the practices of North Africa. See also the Hebrew wikipedia page :he:קינות לתשעה באב|קינות לתשעה באב

Evening kinnot

  1. Divrey Nevi'im
  2. Lu Yishqelu Re'ay
  3. Nishmat Shedudim
  4. Shanah BeShanah
  5. Yonah Nikh'avah
  6. Shim'u VeHa'azinu
  7. Nishmat Yeladim
  8. Et Oyveḥa El
  9. Yom Kemo Ned
  10. Ad An Tzvi Muddaḥ
  11. Ashaher Adati
  12. Eftaḥ pi Lehodot
  13. Aryeh Sha'ag
  14. Eykh Mishkani Elyon
  15. HaLanofelim Tequmah
  16. Nishmat Emunim
  17. Nilah lehelil
  18. Heikhal Adonai
  19. Yom Nilḥamu Bi
  20. Qol Aholah Tityapeaḥ
  21. Bore Ad Ana
  22. : Al Naharot Bavel is read from Tehillim
  23. : Then the evening Arvit service is said. The kinnot continue after the Amidah:
  24. Lemi Evkeh
  25. : Megillat Eykhah/Lamentations is then read, followed by:
  26. Az Baḥata'enu
  27. Zekhor Adonai Meh Hayah Lanu
  28. Beleyl Zeh Yivkayun
  29. Midey Shanah Qinnah
  30. Al Zeh Hayah Daveh Libenu
  31. Al Leyl Ḥorban Heykhal Miqdash
  32. Oy Ki Yarad Esh Min Hashamayim Liyrushalayim
  33. Zechor Adonai Liyhudah Ulefrayim
  34. Alekhem Edah Qedoshah
  35. Oy Ki Qinat Rabbat, said only at the conclusion of Shabbat
  36. Ani Hagever, said only at the conclusion of Shabbat
  37. Az Baḥata'enu, composed by Eleazar ben Killir
  38. : The years since the destruction of the Temple are then counted.
  39. : Some communities recite the following kinnah:
  40. Al Heykhali Ḥevli KeNahasḥ Noshe, composed by rabbi Israel Najara

    Morning kinnot

See :he:קינות לתשעה באב#ק×.99× ×.95ת ל×.99×.95ם תשע×.94 ×.91×.90×.91 2|קינות תשעה באב

Kinnot in memory of the Holocaust

Although the fast of Tisha B'Av was founded to mourn the destruction of the Temple, over the years other travails of the Jewish Diaspora have been added to its observance and memorialized in the kinnot. Despite this, few kinnot have been composed in the last several centuries, and none of them had entered the standard kinnot service.
After the Holocaust, many people felt that it was inappropriate to mourn on Tisha B'av for the destruction of cities during the Middle Ages without mourning the even greater tragedy of the Holocaust. For this reason, many people recommended the composition and recitation of new kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust. These people, including many important rabbis, argued that in every generation, kinnot were composed to address the difficulties of that generation. Some added that it was essential to incorporate such kinnot into the Jewish liturgy, lest the Holocaust be forgotten by future generations. One popular Kinnah on the Holocaust is Eli Eli Nafshi Bekhi, composed by Yehuda Leib Bialer.
However, many other rabbis dissented on the grounds that they could not create new kinnot because the existing kinnot were holy and were composed by the greatest individuals of their respective generations, but today there is nobody who can write like them. Others claimed that any individual community could recite new Kinnot as they wished, but only the greatest rabbis would have the authority to institute new Kinnot into the communal service in the entire Jewish world community.
Rabbi Yaakov Ariel claims that the kinnot service, unlike the Siddur and other Jewish rituals, was not created by authority of the rabbis, but rather developed based on the acceptance of communities and the decisions of the printers who produced printed copies. Thus the new kinnot could gradually enter the accepted roster of kinnot. However, since many congregations now recite kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust, this may become an integral part of the service without a formal decision.