October 13, 2024 ~ SUKKOT. SIGAH/AJAM/BAYAT

Mahour - مهر

Introduction

Mahour - מאהור - is a higher pitched version of Maqam Rast. The way to end each stanza in Maqam Mahour is at a high tone, instead of a low tone; that is, it starts lower and ends higher.

Ma'hour means chagrinned and disappointed in Arabic. The maqam expresses anxiety and emotional distress.

According to Red Book, only used twice a year; Shabbat Toledot & Balaq. During these two Torah portions, both Esau and Balaq are disappointed and angered. Mahour can also be applied for Shabbat Sheqalim, and according to Abraham E. Shrem and Gabriel A. Shrem, also for Shabbat Vayigash.

Maqam Mahour, or in Egypt, Nagham Kerdan, is the same scale as Maqam Rast, but in the early 20th century practice, the term "Rast" was often use to mean Suznak. The term Mahour/Kerdan also usually implies that the upper part of the scale will be developed.

Index of Pizmonim

Pizmon Page Song CommentaryRecordings Application
168 145 ענני רחמן Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript Arabic
169 145 חסדך קדם Raphael Tabbush Shabbat Bereshit, the Shalosh Regalim, as well as Purim. Tabbush. Turkish. G. Shrem
Kedusha
I. Cabasso - Qedusha
G. Shrem
Recording
R Elnadav- Naqdishakh
Y Nahari- Qedusha
Nahari- Nishmat
I Cabasso- Naqdishakh
נקדישך
170 146 אל חון על בת המענה Baby Girl. I. Cabasso - Hahodaot
G. Shrem
Recording
Moshe Dwek
Moshe Dwek - EH
Moshe Dwek - Qaddish
Moshe Dwek - Mimisrayim
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
ה' מלך
171 146 רצה נא Raphael Tabbush Salah Abd ElHai singing the Arabic "'Ishna WeShofna". This includes a Sama'i and Mawal. In 1939, Ashear used the pizmon Resseh Na on page 146 for Qaddish. Arabic- Salah Abd El Hai
E. Menaged
E. Menaged 2
Recording
Y Nahari- Qaddish
Maury Blanco
S Antebi- Qaddish
קדיש
172 147 אל לעבדך Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript Kaddish - Recording
Hayim Eliyahou- Qaddish
Maury Blanco
קדיש
173 147 רם בך יגל לבב Raphael Tabbush Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript S. Salem
S. Salem 2
G. Shrem
Recording
174 147 יחיד האל ומהלל Raphael Tabbush Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript Yosef Hamaoui
I. Cabasso - Qaddish
G. Shrem
Recording
I Cabasso
קדיש
175 148 מגיני רצני Raphael Tabbush Tabbush Manuscript S. Salem
Recording
176 148 רוממת עם נבחרי Raphael Tabbush Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript Hayim Eliyahou
Qaddish
177 149 חובי מלכי סלח Raphael Tabbush I. Cabasso- Nishmat
G. Shrem
Recording
נשמת
178 149 עד ה' אלהיך ונשובה EAttiah Associated with the Days of Repentence. Hamaoui Manuscript Attiah Manuscript Ezra Attia Manuscript G. Shrem
Fule Yanani
G. Shrem
Recording
H Abraham Zafrani
אל ההודאות
179 149 ידך תנחני ישראל Yadekha Tanheni is a composition written by the legendary poet and Sephardic rabbi H Israel ben Moshe Najara (1555-1625). Based on the words in Psalms 139:10, the pizmon opens with the words "Your hand will guide me, O Living God, my maker." Throughout his life as a refugee (from Safed, to Damascus, and then to Gaza) filled with personal tragedy (loss of his wife and daughter at an early age), Najara manages to keep his faith in the Almighty and relies on Him for support. Still questions are asked of God, "Where is David? Where is Ben Yishai?" - referencing the Messiah and a promised redemption. In the prayers, H Moshe Ashear uses the MAHOUR melody of this pizmon on Shabbat Toledot for Semehim. This relates to the narrative of this perasha, because we are introduced to Jacob, also named Israel; an individual who also had a very difficult life but nevertheless relies on God for support. Hamaoui Manuscript Attiah Manuscript Mosseri-Kozli Manuscript A Z Idelsohn notes, 1923 I. Cabasso- Semehim
G. Shrem
Recording
Recording
Iraqi Recording
Isaac Cabasso- Semehim 2
Moshe Dwek
Moshe Dwek - Semehim
Moshe Dwek - Yadekha Tanheni
ה' מלך
180 150 יתן טל יה מימינו Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript G. Shrem
Moshe Dwek
ממצרים
181 151 חנון רחם Raphael Tabbush This pizmon (MAHOUR, page 151), whose title can be translated as "Merciful One, Have Compassion on Your Beloved People," is a song for the Shalosh Regalim, the three times of the year when Jews make the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is composed by H Raphael Antebi Tabbush, and the acrostic of this 4 stanza song spells "Hayim" (סימן חיים), or ‘life’. The melody of this song is from the Arabic song “Midlam Minina.” Traditionally, our community sings this melody as the PIZMON SEFER TORAH on the second day of Sukkot. The first part of this song (first two stanzas) is a prayer for God to have compassion on His nation, and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, because the “time has come” for the redemption. The restoration of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland and the end of their exile is represented by “living waters flowing out of Jerusalem,” and this is alluded to clearly in Zecharia 14:8. The second part of this song (the last two stanzas) goes on to express the great happiness that will befall the Jewish people (like the happiness of a bride and groom) once God performs these miracles of providing the new Temple, ending the exile; and having the Messiah announce the good news about the redemption. When these things happen, the Jewish people will be extremely happy and praise God, their Merciful Father. Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript M Kairey
Albert Cohen Saban
G. Shrem
Recording
I Cabasso
פזמון
182 151 שבתי שבתי Raphael Tabbush This pizmon (MAHOUR, page 151), whose opening words are translated as “I Have Returned,” is a song for the Aseret Yeme Teshuba, or the ten days of repentance, and more specifically, for the Pizmon Sefer Torah on Shabbat Shuba. This melody, which can fit into the prayer piece of Mimisrayim, is said to have originated from Turkey, but no exact source of this melody can be identified. It is composed by the great Jewish poet H Raphael Antebi Tabbush (d. 1918) from Aleppo, Syria, and it is about the author’s personal journey to repentance. In this piece, the author starts by stating that he has returned to God by his refraining from the three categories of sins: Het (חטא), Avon (עון), and Pesha (פשע). In addition, he is offering God his constant praises and his heartfelt prayers. The prayers that he is asking for, mentioned in the second stanza, is for the general blessings of God’s kindness and a forgiveness for his transgressions. He then asks God for his own personal redemption and gathering of his community towards their redemption. The second stanza with the open question: Why do I continue to sit in this exile for such a long time? The song concludes with a prayer to God to strengthen the Jewish nation, send “their messenger” (צירם) and to reveal the end of days. He considers the hidden nature of God to be a sign of the nation's unworthiness and is trying to convince God that the nation is worthy of having God act in a more revealed way so that the nation can have God reign over them as their king forever. G. Shrem
I. Cabasso - Halleluyah
G. Shrem
Recording
M Habusha- Mimisrayim
I Cabasso
Eliahu Saal- Qaddish
I Cabasso- Mimisrayim
Moshe Dwek
שמחים
183 152 חי ורם Raphael Tabbush J. Mosseri
Recording
184 152 ידידי אמרו Raphael Tabbush Arabic is "Fouadi Amro 'Agib," in Maqam Mahour, sung by the great Sheikh Yousef El Manyalawi. In 1936, Hakham Moshe Ashear used this for Qaddish of Perashat Toledot. E. Menaged
Recording
Maury Blanco
קדיש
185 153 אל בחסדך גאלנו Raphael Tabbush Hamaoui Manuscript Tabbush Manuscript G. Shrem
G. Shrem
E Menaged
I Cabasso- Nishmat
נשמת
186 153 נעימה לי Moses Ashear Eli S Haddad. Ashear Manuscript E. Menaged
S. Salem
G. Shrem
Recording
Eliahou Ozen- Shavat
Isaac Cabasso- Shavat
Nahari- Mimisrayim
I Cabasso- SA
Shabetai Laniado- HM
Moshe Dwek
שועת עניים
187 154 ריבה ריבה Moses Ashear Gabe Shasho. Ashear Manuscript G. Shrem
Recording
I Cabasso- EH
Moshe Dwek
Moshe Dwek - Halleluya
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
ואני תפלתי
188 155 מהלל אל עוררו נא Moses Ashear Ashear Manuscript
189 155 מלכי צורי יה ידידי Moses Ashear Ezra Obadiah HaKohen. Same tune as the Syrian National Anthem of prior to 1936. Ashear Manuscript E. Menaged
G. Shrem
Recording

Nahari- Nishmat
Moshe Dwek
190 155 לביתך יה ארוצה Moses Ashear Shalom. For Yom Kippur. Ashear Manuscript I. Cabasso
Recording
191 156 בואי ברנה Moses Ashear Bo'ee BeRina is one of the most beautiful compositions authored by H Moshe Ashear (d. 1940). This pizmon was written for the groom, Seymour Charles Semah, in honor of his wedding to Sara Ashkenazie (daughter of Lulu and Aharon Ashkenazie). The content of the pizmon is written from the point of view of the Hatan talking to his new wife. Although the acrostic is Moshe- named after the author, the names Shaul, Sion, and Semah are alluded to in the first, second, and last stanzas, respectively. The melody of this pizmon is from the Arabic "Hawad Min Hina," sung by Egyptian singer Munira al-Mahdiya (1884-1965). Although this song is only listed in Maqam MAHOUR, Ashear made another melody to this pizmon in Maqam HIJAZ. It is the HIJAZ version that Ashear applied to Semehim on Shabbat Haye Sara in 1940. The pizmon relates to this Torah portion, because Isaac becomes a groom. Ashear Manuscript G. Shrem
S. Salem
I. Cabasso- Shav'at
I. Cabasso- Hijaz
G. Shrem
Recording
Eliahou Ozen- El Hahodaot
Nahari- Shavat
G Shrem 2
Moshe Dwek
Moshe Dwek - Qaddish
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
שמחים
192 157 יה הרם סלה Moses Ashear Haddad. Ashear Manuscript G. Shrem
Recording
Moshe Dwek
Moshe Dwek - SA , BY , EH
Moshe Dwek - Naqdishakh
193 157 ישירו לאלהים Moses Ashear Shabot. Ashear Manuscript G. Shrem
Moshe Dwek
194 158 חי רם על כל רמים Moses Ashear Abraham Obadia Ades Bar Misvah. June 1935. Leaflet Abdel Wahab
195 160 יחיד ברצונך Moses Ashear Isaac Harry Franco wedding. Kislev 1931. Leaflet
196 161 יה ניבי לך Moses Ashear Isaac Harry Franco wedding. Kislev 1931. Leaflet G. Shrem
Arabic: Ya Sidi
I Cabasso
I Cabasso
Moshe Dwek
197 162 האהבה האהבה Ezra Dweck Dweck Bar Misvah. 1962. Leaflet G. Shrem
Moshe Dwek
197.1 162a ירחיב יי גבולך ישראל ששון Attiah Manuscript Abraham Sitehon Manuscript G. Shrem
Recording
ממצרים
254.991 203o ארנן אליך רם Raphael Tabbush Siman: Aharon. Song for wedding. Mahour or Ajam. Shir Ushbaha, 1921 F. Yanani
Recording
samfranco.com