Shaarei Avnei Hamakom
The final piece of my N’ilah Practicum at HUC-JIR (recording can be found on the video page) — Shaarei Avnei Hamakom — is a reimagining of the classic N’ilah piyyut, Shaarei Armon. I developed this new text (still fitting the acrostic) to universalize the liturgy.
Changes from Rabbi Simeon ben Isaac ben Abun’s original text of Shaarei Armon are marked in bold, explicated in the notes below.
².שַׁעֲרֵי אַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם¹ מְהֵרָה תִפְתַּח לְבָּאִים לַמָּקוֹם
⁴.שַׁעֲרֵי הַגֳּרָנוֹת³ מְהֵרָה תִפְתַּח לְדַּחֲלַיָּא
.שַׁעֲרֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם⁵ מְהֵרָה תִפְתַּח לִוְעוּדִים
⁷.שַׁעֲרֵי זֵבֶדִים⁶ מְהֵרָה תִפְתַּח לְחוֹלֵמִים
⁹“.שַׁעֲרֵי טַף⁸ מְהֵרָה תִפְתַּח וְיֵאָמֵר ”וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָֽעְתִּי
Speedily open the Gates of the stones of the Place¹ to those who come to the Place.²
Speedily open the Gates of the threshing floors³ to those who fear.⁴
Speedily open the Gates of Heaven⁵ to communities.
Speedily open the Gates of gifts⁶ to dreamers.⁷
Speedily open the Gates of youth,⁸ and it will be said, “And I — I did not know.”⁹
The stones of the Place — The stones that Jacob uses as a headrest and stele (Gen. 28:11). Could also be stones of the Presence, ie. Presence of God.
Those who come to the Place — Jacob (Gen. 28:11), his descendants, and all who come into this holy space: a house of God.
The threshing floor — A reference to the Temple Mount/Mount Moriah (identified with Jacob’s Beit Elohim) before it was purchased from Ornan the Jebusite (II Sam. 24:16-25, II Chron. 3:1). Also invokes the promise of Joel 2:24: “The threshing floors shall be full of grain, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.”
Those who fear — As Abraham proves himself to fear God (Targ. Gen. 22:12), we are meant to fear God. The same word is used in the Targum of Ps. 135: “House of Levi, bless the Eternal; Those who fear the Eternal, bless the Eternal.”
The Gates of Heaven — Jacob recognizes the Place as the Gate of Heaven (Gen 28:17).
Gifts — A hapax legomenon of Tanakh, Leah exclaims upon the birth of her sixth son, “God has given me a good gift” (Gen. 30:20), and names him Zebulun.
Dreamers — As in the eschatological hope of Ps. 126:1: “When the Eternal returns us to Zion, we will be like dreamers.”
Youth — Moses instructs the Israelites to recite the teaching with the whole community, including the youth: “Gather the people — the men and the women and the children and the strangers among you” (Deut. 31:12).
In response to his vision, Jacob proclaims, “God was in this place, and I— I did not know” (Gen. 28:16)