Bidspirit auction | Krovetz. Amsterdam, 1670. Rare.

Krovetz. Amsterdam, 1670. Rare. - A rare High Holy Day prayer book for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, containing Krovot (liturgical compositions), Yotzrot, and piyutim, translated into the Ashkenazic vernacular (early Yiddish), and printed in Tzur type. Before us is an important and impressive liturgical volume, reflecting the spiritual world of Ashkenazic Jewry, which sought both to preserve the ancient tradition of sacred poetry and to make its content accessible to readers not proficient in the Holy Tongue. What Is a Krovah / Krovetz? A Krovah is a structured cycle of liturgical poems recited by the cantor during the repetition of the Amidah. For many generations, the krovah was considered the most elevated and central form of synagogue poetry used in festival worship. During the classical age of piyut (from the sixth through the eighth centuries), many of the greatest liturgical poets devoted themselves to composing krovot, foremost among them Yannai and Rabbi אלעזר בירבי קליר (Eleazar beRabbi Kalir), to the extent that scholars later referred to that era as the “Age of the Krovah.” These liturgical cycles developed into several subtypes, depending on whether the Amidah consisted of eighteen blessings or seven blessings, and according to the placement of the Kedushah within the repetition. Among Ashkenazic communities, the krovah was often called Krovetz. Some interpreted the term as an acronym for: Kol Rinah ViYeshuah BeOhalei Tzadikim (“The voice of joy and salvation is in the tents of the righteous”) Others maintain that it is simply a linguistic development of the word Krovot. Before us is a rare Amsterdam edition, printed in one of the foremost centers of Hebrew printing in the seventeenth century, preserving the ancient liturgical poetry of Ashkenaz in a form accessible and understandable to the community. 90 leaves. 28.5 cm. Condition: Good. Browned leaves. Tears to the lower margins of the final leaves, without loss of text. Restored tears to the final leaf with slight text loss. Worn early vellum binding.