"The words of the song are compounded of the mystic names": The Language of the Kaliver Nigun and Its Hidden Meaning (Hebrew)

• In Event: Song, Tale, and Prayer in Hasidic Devotion

Abstract

Contemporary researchers of Hasidic folklore typically examine the non-Jewish language found in certain Hasidic songs through the lens of intercultural connections. My task in this paper will be to explore their language through the prism of Hasidic mystical doctrine. The research will be based on the analysis of various Hasidic sources and archival materials, describing Hasidic doctrine and practices. This will be exemplified by the famous Kaliver Nigun "Szól a kakas már," whose Hungarian language was hailed by many Jewish Hungarian patriots as a symbol of Jewish integration into Hungarian culture. "I think the most astonishing thing about the deeds of the miracle-working rabbi was that he sang in Hungarian," exclaims József Mandel, who first recorded the words of this Hasidic song. This position was reflected in academic research as well.
However, the language of the song also held significance for Hasidim in other places who had nothing in common with Hungary and Hungarian patriotism. It was sung in Hungarian in the Hasidic courts of Galicia by simple Hasidim and tzaddikim who did not speak Hungarian at all and who generally had a negative attitude towards the use of non-Jewish languages. It is told that the famous rabbi, Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, worked on his pronunciation to sing this song authentically. What drove them?
In order to understand the significance of the language of the song for the Hasidim, we will consider its place in the common Hasidic genre of allegorical songs and will analyze its meaning from the perspective of the mystical doctrine of concealment and Kabbalistic practices of "yichudim". The significance of the song is not exhausted by two layers of meaning, the direct and the allegorical. The foreign language introduces also a third layer, hidden in the combinations of letters. A close analysis of the song will demonstrate how the language of the song sets several layers of hidden meaning. It will allow for a new perspective on both the Kaliver nigun and other Hasidic songs in foreign languages and will shed light on the use of non-Jewish languages in Hasidic mystical practices.

Author

• Hava Vannikov-Shmulevich