Shalom Shabazi


Shalom ben Yosef ben Avigad Shabazi of the family of Mashtā, also Abba Sholem Shabazi or Saalem al-Shabazi, was a Jewish poet who lived in 17th century Yemen. He is now considered the 'Poet of Yemen'.

Life and works

Shabazi was born in 1619 in the town of Najd Al-Walid. His family's pedigree has been traced back to Zeraḥ, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob who is called Israel. At the death of his father, Yosef Mashta, Shalom moved to the small town of Shabbaz, near the city of Ta'izz.
Not long thereafter, he again moved and settled in Ta'izz where he built a house of prayer and a ritual bath outside of the city, beneath Jebel Ṣabir. It was from here that he and his family were expelled, along with most of the Yemenite Jews in 1679. He died in ca. 1720. His father, Yosef ben Abijad ben Khalfun, was also a Rabbi and a poet. Shabazi's extant poetic diwan, comprising some 550 poems, was published for the first time by the Ben-Zvi Institute in 1977. He wrote in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Judeo-Arabic. Shabazi's other works include a treatise on astrology and a kabbalistic commentary on the Torah. Shabazi's grave in Ta'izz is revered by Jews and Muslims alike.
He wrote a commentary on the Torah called Hemdath Yamim. His leadership was instrumental in helping the Jews of Yemen survive some of the worst persecution in its history. Mori. Shabazi wrote a kinah for recitation during the Ninth of Av, recalling the terrible exile of Jews in his lifetime from all cities and towns in Yemen to an inhospitable desert called Mawza, duringtime the Jews were banished there of which 20% perished.
The Diwan of Mori Shabazi alludes not only to that dreadful event in 1679 but also to the Decree of the Headgear in 1667. Shabazi's Diwan has become an essential part of Yemenite Jewry's spiritual and cultural lives.
According to Professor emeritus, Yosef Tobi, "the fundamental revolutionary change in the poetry of Yemen occurred with the work of Yosef ben Yisrael, when poetry became the primary tool for spiritual expression of Yemenite Jewry, and when the subject of exile and redemption took on vitality and had the most concrete political significance. Even more so, we find this change in the poetry of his younger relative, Shalom Shabazī."
In Shabazi's Diwan there can be found many long eschatological poems, numbered at several dozen, and which open with the words, Baraq burayq, or with compounds that are similar to them, said to be a sign of some supernatural occurrence, as one of the signs heralding the coming of the Messiah. The founder of these genres of poetic visions of redemption is Yosef ben Yisrael in whose footsteps followed many poets, including Shabazī who is said to have refined it. An example of Shabazi's sublime poetic style is seen in the following lyric although the rhyme has been lost in the translation:
Mori Shalom Shabazi is said to have written nearly 15,000 liturgical poems on nearly all topics in Judaism, of which only about 850 have survived the ravages of persecution, time and the lack of printing presses in Yemen. He wrote his Diwan in Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. When rumors reached Yemen concerning Shabbetai Zevi in 1666, many of the Jews of Yemen were drawn after him, including Shabazī himself, even though the rabbinic court at Ṣanʻā’ had completely rejected the faith in this pseudo-Messiah. In Shabazi's poem, Adon ha-kol meḥayye kol neshama, he alludes to Shabbetai Zevi in these words: "We have heard singing from the end of the earth: / A righteous gazelle has appeared in the East and West." The “righteous gazelle” is an allusion to Shabbetai Zevi. Mori Shalom Shabazi is also said to have composed several poems concerning the Exile of Mawza, which he witnessed in his day.
Currently, the Israeli government and the Chief Rabbinate are trying to bring the remains of Rabbi Shabazi to Israel. Many of his poems have elaborate detailed premonitions of returning to Israel, with his people.

In popular culture

Shabazi's poem "Im Nin'alu" became a hit single sung by Israeli singer Ofra Haza whose family is of Yemenite origin, and it has also been interpreted by Yemenite singer Daklon. Other songs, such as "As'alak", were also performed by Ofra Haza as well as Zion Golan, Aharon Amram and Shoshana Damari.
Another famous poem, "Ahavat Ra'aya Retzoni", was performed by Zohar Argov. The Israeli metal band, Orphaned Land, sang one of his poems in ita song "Olat Ha'tamid". There is also a small street named after him in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem.

זוהר פני רעיה. לבי בסוד החיה. יום הנדוֹד
אוזל חמד קריה. אוהל לתושיה. נבחר לדוֹד
ואני בתוך שביה. חשקי רְאוֹת צביה. לה אחמוֹד
“The face of my companion shines,
My heart by secret was enlivened,
On day of wandering.
Uzal is a delightful city!
A tent of sound-wisdom.
'Twas chosen for my beloved!
But I am in the midst of captivity.
My desire is to see the gazelle,
, I shall ever covet her!”
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זאת הישיבה. המה באוזל מטיבה. שוהם וספיר ואחלמה
“This seat ; They are in Uzal, working good; The onyx, sapphire and garnet.”
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שמעתי חכמת בני אוזל
ואני בין אויבי נגזל
יקר כספי חשך ונתפרזל
“I have heard the wisdom of the sons of Uzal.
Yet, I am taken away by force amongst mine enemies.
My precious silver has turned dim, , has become like unto iron!”

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יא משתּאק לאלעלם ואלחכּמה
זור צנעא. חית' פאצ'ת אלנעמה
פיהא אֲחבאר. תּפתּיךּ בכֻּל כּלמה
“O, he who would long for knowledge and wisdom, go visit San'a, for there an endowment of happiness. Therein are wise men capable of answering your every question.”

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