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Praise and song for Elijah the prophet, recounting the glory of his name and deeds and where he sits at the time of berit milah, and on the atonement that he atones for Israel. On his deeds to arouse Israel to repentance and on the testimony that he provides on the mitzvot performed by all of Israel and his favorable intercession on behalf of transgressors who return and accept their tribulations. Also, on Elijah’s coming every motzei Shabbat, all of the foregoing compiled from the writings of the sages and from the Ari (R. Isaac Luria). There is an introduction from R. Sithon, a preface, and the text, set in a single column in rabbinic letters.
R. Habib Hayyim David b. David Sithon (1837-1906) was a distinguished scholar and av bet din of Tiberius. R. Habib was a grandson of R. Gabriel Sutton on his father’s side and of R. Aaron Chabot on his mother’s side. His mother, Masudah, married R. Habib’s father in fulfillment of the mizvah of yibum, (levirate marriage), after the death of her first husband R. Habib Sutton. R. Habib’s father was David Sutton, brother of Habib Sutton. Shortly after his birth R. Habib’s father died, so that he was named after his father, his uncle, and given the added name Hayyim to protect him. His teachers were R. Aaron Chabot and R. Hayyim Samuel Kovarti, the last known as the Senor of Tiberius. As one of the sages of Tiberius he oftentravelled abroad to raise funds for the cities’ institutions. In Fez the chief rabbi, R. Abner ha-Sarfati, came out to greet him, something he had never done before. The reason he did so, he explained, was that he saw a light shining above the head of Hakham David (Habib) indicative of his greatness in Torah and holiness. R. Abulafia appointed R. Habib to his position as av bet din in Tiberius. In his later years R. Habib resettled in Haifa, where he founded the Yeshiva Eliyahu ha-Novi.
The reference to Elijah and berit milah refers to the special chair placed at the right of the sandak (godfather) at the circumcision ceremony and left unoccupied. The chair is symbolically meant for Elijah the prophet, called "The Angel of Covenant" (Mal. 3:1; covenant = berit = circumcision). It is usually richly carved and ornamented with embroideries. The Shulhan Arukh (YD 265:11) prescribes the reservation of a special chair or seat for Elijah, and the mohel (circumciser) refers to it in the opening prayer preceding the circumcision: "This is the chair of Elijah, blessed be his memory." The chair is also mentioned in the special piyyut for circumcision when the rite is performed on a Sabbath. Midrashic literature links the custom to Elijah's plaint to God that "the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant" (I Kings 19:10, 14). According to the homiletic interpretations of this verse, Elijah had complained that the Jewish people had disregarded the commandment of circumcision and God is said to have replied: "Because of excessive zeal for Me you have brought charges against Israel that they have forsaken My covenant; therefore you shall have to be present at every circumcision ceremony" (PdRE 29; Zohar, Gen. 93a). Since "the messenger [angel] of the Covenant," spoken of in Malachi 3:1, was identified with the prophet Elijah, it was only proper that the Angel of the Covenant should be present whenever a Jewish child entered the Covenant of Abraham (i.e., circumcision). Scholars have suggested that the custom is rooted in the belief in guardian angels for the newborn; Elijah is identified as the guardian angel of the Jewish child. Most probably, the biblical story (I Kings 17:17–24) in which Elijah revived the child of the widow was instrumental in creating this concept. Elijah is also the child protector in the inscription on amulets against Lilith . These were placed above the bed of the mother and the newborn child. |
