Syria (Aleppo)
El [sic] shaare ratson le-hipateah
From the Collection of Isaac Lurie
Songs of Palestinian Jews
El [sic] shaare ratson le-hipateah
El [sic] shaare ratson le-hipateah. (Mitpalet [mitefilat] Rosh ha-Shanah. Akedat Yitshak.) At this holy time, the gates of heaven are about to open. (Performed on Rosh ha-Shanah. The Sacrifice of Isaac.) Piyyut composed by R. Yehuda ben Shmuel ibn Abbas (circa 12th century), describing the story of the binding of Isaac. Performed by hazzan Halevi on July 15th, 1913. Cylinder # 619. 1:58
This is one of the best-preserved tracks in the collection. The singer performs the first two stanzas of the poem. This simple, repetitive melody is characteristic of the Aleppo tradition. It was transcribed by Idelsohn (HOM IV, no. 246), probably from an individual belonging to the same circle of hazzan Halevy that gravitated around the Great Ades Synagogue of the Aleppo Jews founded in Jerusalem in 1901.
