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by Guy Shaked

IMMANUEL HAROMI AVENUE, TEL-AVIV:

Keywords: bell, Dante Alighieri, Cangrande della Scala, The Divine Comedy, La Divina Commedia, Hebrew Literature, Immanuel ben Solomon, Immanuel Haromi, Immanuel of Rome, Immanuel the Roman, Italian Literature, Jewish-Italian poetry, lyre, kinor, Manoello Giudeo, Manoello Romano, nevel, paamon

Biography: Immanuel the Roman (Immanuel Romano, Immanuel ha-Romi, Manoello Romano, Manoello Giudeo, Immanuel ben Solomon ben Jekuthiel), is the most important and famous Italian-Hebrew poet. His poetry reflects the Jewish-Roman culture and life at the fourteenth century.

His main work, the Mahbarot, consist of twenty-eight booklets of poetry in Hebrew. The work deals with the everyday life of an Italian poet of that time. It tells of the poet's exile from his home town, and his difficult life being dependent for food on the generosity of various patrons.

Immanuel was the son of Solomon and Justa, and a brother (or step-brother) of Judah (Leone Messer Daniel) and Daniel.

Immanuel's wife is referred to only indirectly in the Mahbarot (hinting to her name as possibly Esther). The lady who apparently died in 1321 (the same year that Dante died) as we can learn from Bosone's sonnet to Immanuel, is probably Immanuel's lover (as was suggested by Cassuto) and not his wife.

It is known that his wife was the daughter of Rabbi Samuel, of the heads of the Roman community, and Brunetta (Italian name) or Bruria. Immanuel had probably a number of children, the name of the elder was Moses (he died in his youth), and another son was called Solomon:

Regarding Immanuel's time, the Mahbarot are quite specific. For in Mahberet 27 he speaks of event that occurred when he was still young (lines 1-2) in Vienna, and within that description mentions the year 1328 (lines 153-154). So according to his testimony, we can assume as a birth date c. 1292 or later (rejecting the previous dating by Yarden of c. 1265- c. 1330) [1]. As for the year of his death, in Mahberet 28 (lines 1-9) he mentions himself as being 60 years old, and not in best health, so a date later of c. 1352 might be a reasonable possibility.

Not much is known on Immanuel's youth and education. What is known, is the name of three of his teachers, and they are: Benjamin, Zerahiah of Barcelona, and Zedekiah ben Abraham Anav.

In about 1325, when he was about thirty-five, Immanuel lost al his fortune and had to leave Rome, and wandered in central and north Italy, in Ancona, Perugia, Camerino, cities in which he looked for the assistance of patrons (sarim).

Following, he arrived to the city of Fermo in central Italy in 1328. In the patron's house Immanuel stayed for only a month and then left Fermo (because of temptation of a woman sworn to chastity [called possibly Sarah], that was a relative of the patron) and wandered for ten years. It is possible also that Immanuel visited at that time Bosone at Gubbio, and visited Ancona and further north Verona in the court of Cangrande della Scala to whom he dedicated his frottola in Italian 'Bisbidis'. He then also went as far as Vienna.

In about 1338, Immanuel returned to the house of the patron of Fermo, which enabled him to edit the Mahbarot.

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[*] This page is an abstract of the article: Guy Shaked, Immanuel Romano: Una Nuova Biografia, Tiziana Mayer & Stefano Fumagalli (eds.), 'Mahberet Prima [Machberet Prima] (Il destino)', Aquilegia, Milano, 2002

[1] Yet the existing evidence seems to be scarce and it is possible that Immanuel's birth date was earlier or later. So that this birth date is the best assumption, waiting for more evidence to present itself

© 2002, 2007 (ed.)

1; Dante's influence on Immanuel

The twenty-eighth Mahberet differs in several ways from the previous twenty-seven Mahbarot.

Its time of writing was later than the other Mahbarot. Immanuel's reason for composing it when he already had a complete corpus for twenty and something years seem to demand an explanation. Its structure also is significantly different from the other Mahbarot as it contains only rhymed verses, while the other have in them numerous sonnets [1] and other measured poems.

From a formal point of view it seems Immanuel was not at his best when he wrote it[see Tchernichowsky's words below], and indeed this is verified by the opening lines to this Mahberet.

It seems the author was in a hurry or did not have relevant songs he could include in the piece having collected already his best ones already in the twenty-seven Mahbarot preceding it as testified in the introduction.

Perhaps because at this time limitation or bad health Immanuel did not follow the Dantescan model of the terza rima term in the Commedia like indeed later did Moses of Rieti in his 'Mikdash Meat' (little temple).

On the inferiority of Immanuel's last mahberet compared to the Dantescan model already the researchers commented profusely:

Dan Pagis (1976) wrote: 'The Mahberet of 'Hell and Heaven'' is probably the first among many creations in many languages, that followed Dante's Divine Comedy. And Immanuel's Mahberet is far less in quality than the Divine Comedy [2].

Saul Tchernichowsky (1925) said that 'in comparison [to the Divine Commedy] the 'Hell and Heaven' of Immanuel is poor and miserable. The twenty-eighth Mahberet is the weakest of all the Mahbarot, Its possible that in it he finished his literary creation and after sixty years suffered from old age's weakness' [3].

Joseph Chotzner (1905) said about the Mahberet of 'Hell and Heaven': 'the condensed imitation [of the Divine Comedy] is of course, vastly inferior to the original' [4].

Umberto Cassuto (1965) wrote: 'Immanuel intended to enrich the Hebrew literature in a creation that might give the reader an image of Dante's poetry' although in a much smaller measure, in giving a thing that its measure of greatness is to the 'Divine Comedy' as is the measure of [Immanuel's] shallow and light talent in comparison to the great spirit of Dante [5].

A significant difference between the two works is the reference of their inclusion of their time's persons in hell and heaven.

While in Dante's hell there are many figures from his time, in Immanuel there is not one! Dante's hell includes 133 figures from his time while with Immanuel there is none (The name Immanuel in verse 648 is not mentioned as an inhabitant of hell, and Hiel Bet-Haeli is mentioned in line 80 with specific reference to the Biblical world).

This picture changes drastically as we move to heaven, there Immanuel mentions twenty-one people from his time by name. Furthermore he speaks of five “hupot” (920-994) waiting for five of his friends who are still alive at his time for the time when they will die.

It is worth the effort to pay attention to these twenty-one people from Immanuel's time for they are five close family members of Immanuel including his mother two brothers mother and father in law. As to the five 'friends' of Immanuel (as they are referred to by Daniel in line 921) These are important people (sarim), that is to be understood three of them were most probably patrons of Immanuel as is said about three of them that their houses were open to guests (28:934, 949, 969).

It could be presumed therefore that the two writers intentions were of opposite nature. While Dante sought to scold and punish all those of his time he thought deserved punishment, Immanuel wanted to offer reward. His piece is about making peace. And indeed it can explain his motives he wanted to make peace with his relatives and those he was grateful to (Patrons) in this work of art when he was ill and near death. This explains his inclusion for example of the five 'hupot' for the living those that he cherished, and it also can explain the relative inferiority of his Mahberet to all the other Mahbarot and to Dante's Divine Comedy.

2: Immanuel - The Jew mentioned in the Divine Comedy?

Besides the similar motives in Immanuel's and Dante's writings which suggest similar influence on the two and perhaps more Dante's on Immanuel (as he was the later one) there is one enigmatic phrase in the Divine Comedy which might hint that perhaps there was acquaintance of Immanuel's poetry by Dante or at least acquaintance of a Jewish comic writer against the Christians in a profile that rather fits Immanuel's.

Over all, there are only three references to 'a Jew' (singular) in Dante's writings (Banquet, treatise 2:4 & treatise 4:28; Commedia, Paradiso, 5:79-81). While two of them seems rather general, not hinting to a specific person, there is in the Divine Comedy the one enigmatic reference which seems to differ from the rest:

'If evil greed cry aught to you, be you men, and not silly sheep, so that the Jew among you may not laugh at you' (Paradiso 5:79-81)

The reference speaks of a Jew in singular (Giudeo) and not Jews in plural. Furthermore, it gives the detail that this Jew laughs at Christian costumes, and especially those that follow greed (the Italian word is 'cupidigia' which could mean also lust, desire) like silly sheep follow their pastor (without thought or reason). The interesting aspect of this quote is that Dante does not attack this ridiculing Jew but calls in it for the surrounding Christian world to reform [6]. That indeed Dante was critical of his days Christianity is known from other works by him [7].

It seems Dante is referring in this text to a specific Jew he knows or just heard about who makes jokes of the Christians and their desires. The question than arises whether Immanuel meets this profile.

In his Italian sonnet 'In steso non mi conosco (As to Myself I do not know)' Immanuel speaks of the good he might benefit from each religion. While from Judaism he asks for dignity from Christianity he says he wants the eating and drinking.

In another Italian sonnet 'Amor non lesse mai l'avemaria (Love never read the Ave Maria)' he makes ridicule of Dante's notion of connecting love to the Christian faith (reference saying that). Saying love never read the 'Ave Maria' mentioned in Dante's Paradise twice (3:121-122,32:95) neither the 'Pater Noster'.

Immanuel's comic treatment of Christian subjects continues to the Mahbarot, which incorporate also early material by him, which might have already been in existence in the time of Dante. For example, in the third mahberet he convinces a Christian nun [8] to love him and break her vows. After a tenzone with her she becomes most lustful:

'and the fire of lust (heshek) burned in her, and the soul of the lustful like a river of sulfur burned inside her...' (Mahberet 3:380-381)

It seems therefore that Immanuel very well might have been the Jew who makes laugh of the Christian religious costumes. Especially fitting to Dante's reference in the story in the third Mahberet of a temptation of a Christian nun to break her vows and be consumed by lust. Also in his Italian poem he speaks for the Christians lust for eating and drinking. There remains however to show that such knowledge and perhaps meeting of Dante of Immanuel may have taken place.

The place where such a meeting might have taken place is the court of Cangrande della Scala. Dante stayed with Cangrande a number of years and under his patronship he composed the Divine Comedy. In fact he dedicated the Comedy (In the letter to Cangrande) to Cangrande.

Immanuel visited the court of Can Grande during his youth, possibly at the years Dante stayed there and dedicated his poem 'Bisbidis' to Can Grande ('A magnificenza di messer Cane De La Scala'). In this poem Immanuel describes the atmosphere of this court:

'...Here baboons (also jokers) Romans and foreign pilgrims, Jews and Muslims, You will see arriving...'

Also in both the Poet's main creation there is mention of the motive of the Ladder (Scala) which is the instrument and place where it is possible to get to heaven, hinting perhaps to the image of Can Grande of La Scala's court.

So from this poem the bisbidis we might learn of the multicultural nature of the court in a tolerant atmosphere which might have permitted words ridiculing Christianity (as well as Islam) in Italian.

The claims as to knowledge and relationship between Dante and Immanuel have been contradictory up to this time.

In the nineteenth century many researchers held the opinion that Immanuel and Dante were friends, including early ones as Shemuel David Luzzatto 'Shadal' (1800-1865). In the early twentieth century (1921) this view changed as Umberto Cassuto claimed this 'friendship' to be unfounded.

In this study, it was demonstrated that it is possible from the aspect of dates that Immanuel and Dante might have met in Can Grande della Scala's court. And that Dante knew Immanuel's poetry (perhaps the story of the temptation of a nun in the third Mahberet) or some other Jewish poet or jester from that time to which he refers in his Divine Comedy. What we can not ascertain in this time is that was any kind of friendship between the two, as was suggested by nineteenth century scholars. However, from their writing it appears that both shared a criticism of the surrounding Christian world.

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[1] Immanuel and the Hebrew sonnet has been studied extensivelly by Dvora Bregman, The Golden Way: The Hebrew Sonnet During the Renaissance And the Baroque (Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies), Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance S, 2006, 298pp.

[2] Dan Pagis, Hidush veMasoret beShirat haHol (Innovation and Tradition in the Secular Poetry), in Heb., Jerusalem: Kheter, 1976, p. 270

[3] Saul Tchernichowsky, Immanuel haRomi : Monography, Berlin: Eshkhol, 1925, p. 155

[4] Joseph Chotzner, 'Immanuel di Roma: A Thirteenth-Century Hebrew Humorist and a Friend of Dante', Hebrew Humour and Other Essays, London: Luzac, 1905, p. 101

[5] Moses David Cassuto, Dante veImmanuel haRomi, [Jerusalem]: Mosad Bialik, 1965, p. 34

[6] Other scholars have objected to the identification of this text as possibly alluding to Immanuel. See: Glenda Abramson, Dante and Modern Hebrew Literature, in 'Semitic Studies in Honour of Edward Ullendorff', G. Khan (ed.), Leiden-Boston: Brill 2005, p. 326

[7] For example it is said that 'Dante turned the Bible against the Church and its acolytes', (Peter Brand & Lino Pertile (eds.), The Cambridge History of Italian Literature, Cambridge: Cambridge Uni. Press, 1999, p. 52

[8] For the identification of the lady as a Christian nun see: Dan Almagor, 'haA'a'va lo Kar'a et 'Ava Maria'', in Heb., Moznaim, Vol. 72/3, 1997, p. 35

© 2003, 2007 (ed.)

Twelve musical instruments are mentioned in Immanuel the Roman's Mahbarot. Of these, it seems that the lyre (kinor and nevel) and the bell (pa'amon) have a symbolic meaning as representing human sexual organs.

While there is in the Jewish religious books, mention of musical instruments as having a connection with animal organs, it is not with sexual organs. So it is said in the Mishna (Mishna, Kanim, 3:6) that different musical instruments are made of each part of the animal's body.

It seems that the use of musical instruments as symbolising human sexual organs is a novelty, unique to Immanuel Romano's Mahbarot. According to it the lyre (kinor and nevel) represent the penis.

For example, when the lyre is mentioned in mahberet 1:253-257 : 'Rise up [wake up] my honour, rise up the lyre (nevel and kinor), beat [passing] time and touch the tube'. The poet is calling in this passage symbolically the impotent penis to rise up regardless of his age, and touch the vagina (tube). This is in accordance to the theme of the impotence of Immanuel mentioned in the Mahbarot in various other places. The verbal interpretation is somewhat awkward, according to it 'touching the tube' is a term somewhat unclear in the bible, signifies something connected to victory in war according to 2 Samuel 5:8.

A similar passage, in its beginning in Mahberet 3:327-328 contains a more specific and detailed symbolic description by the poet of how his penis to should act in order to make a woman reach an orgasm: "Rise up [wake up] my honor, rise up the lyre (nevel and kinor), beat Jebusite name and touch the tube. You was of the pines of desire of a guy(?) [or - of choice]. What happened to you, the sea that you retreat, the Jordan that you turn back, beat the button and the thighs will tremor. Here the harp and lyre appear as parallel to the pine tree - "pino" in Italian, the poet's native language, a word which symbolizes also penis in its shape. In this passage the poet says that in order for women's legs (artistically depicted as the houses' or the temple's doors' two supporting columns) to tremor (as she comes), you need to beat the clitoris (button). An observation suggesting a high level of sexual education by Immanuel Romano, despite the fact that he was living well before modern sexology was invented.

There is also a passage in Mahberet 16:98-100, where a woman is described masturbating : '...and she is sitting silently, skimming and plotting, and the lyre (kinor) is with her hand. She plays to diminish her sorrow and misfortune, and I ask her to know her secret, and why her eye is tearful, and she sits alone silently, sad and mournful'. In the biblical symbolic level of this passage, the woman symbolizes the destroyed and conquered Jerusalem who in the bible is artistically described as a forgotten whore playing music to herself (as she is left by herself having no longer clients) (Isaiah 23:16). In the sexual symbolic meaning of this text the woman's (biblically - a forgotten whore) uses her hand as penis, playing with herself in order to console her sadness as she is described to be alone (without a man beside her).

Another musical instrument which signifies sexual organ is the bell. In Mahberet 11:92 it is said 'In my soul (inner self) there is a beautiful deer, its coat is awesome, and an awesome and decorated bell on its edge'. Since in the bible the coat described is that of the high priest (Exodus 28:33), and it had many bells on its lower part it seems that Immanuel Romano's divergence in depicting a single bell hints that the coat mentioned in his Mahbarot is allegorical. It could be that he is giving here a depiction of a woman's vagina, having a coat of hair surrounding it, and with the single clitoris (bell) on its edge.

© 2004

In his second Mahberet it seems that Immanuel paraphrases Dante's Vita Nuova and criticizes it, as a comparison of the two texts will demonstrate.

In this Mahberet Immanuel converses with the Sir (sar), the identity of which in this Mahberet might be assumed. For Immanuel in this Mahberet uses a key word “reqaq” which directs the reader to his commentary of Genesis (Genesis 1:11) [1].

This interpretation was taken with minor changes from Samuel Ibn Tibbon's commentary on Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 1:6) as has been identified by James T. Robinson [2]. So it might be assumed that the Sir (sar) with whom Immanuel imagines a conversation might be the dead Ibn Tibbon (1150-1230). This might explain a title Immanuel refers to him by "ner ha- ma'arvi" (Mahberet 2:2). For while it might mean "a candle that never stops its light" (like the candle in the Temple) as suggested by Yarden [3] it might also mean "the candle from the west" (who never dies) referring to Spain which is on the west of Europe from which Ibn Tibbon came.

The text is a paraphrase on Dante's Vita Nuova (VN). For, in VN Dante describes two ladies approaching as if in a procession: his Beatrice and Primavera (Giovanna) "who was famously beautiful and was much beloved lady of this foremost of my friends" (VN 24:3) [4]. Immanuel, in the second Mahberet, also describes two ladies: "And there a company of women pass by, and in their head two ladies" (Mahberet 2:16). But unlike Dante who said both the ladies he saw were beautiful, Immanuel describes one as most beautiful (Tamar) and one most ugly (Bria) (Mahberet 2:17-21). Thus, while Dante says there are other beautiful ladies besides his lady (like other worthy poets' ladies) Immanuel says there is only one beautiful lady – his beloved lady.

Thus, Immanuel criticizes Dante, for Immanuel there is only one beautiful lady. This idea he reiterates later in the Mahberet in his sonnet "all the deers (=ladies) from mud (reqaq) were created" (Mahberet 2:174-181) meaning all the ladies besides his (including Dante's lady and other poets' ladies) are made of mud (base material) while his lady is immaterial (Mahberet 2:182-184). So that in stating his main idea (by using the keyword "reqaq" and the word of creation), Immanuel sends the reader to his commentary on Genesis, which follows Ibn Tibbon's commentary to Ecclesiastes.

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[1] James T. Robinson, "From Digression to Compilation: Samuel Ibn Tibbon and Immanuel of Rome on Genesis I:11, I:14 and I:20", Zutot, 2004, pp. 82-83. "Reqaq" is a rare word in Hebrew and not often used.

[2] Idem., pp.80-85.

[3] Imanuel HaRomi, Mahbarot Imanuel HaRomi, (in Heb.), Dov Yarden (ed.), Jerusalm, Mosad Bialik, 1957, p.35.

[4] Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova, Dino S. Cervigni & Edward Vasta (eds. &trs.), Notre Dame (IN), : Notre Dame Uni. Press, 1995, pp.104-105.

© 2008

Regarding these articles:

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Prof. Alan D. Corré (Uni. of Wisconsin)	the reader will do well to consult Guy Shaked's interesting website
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Dante and the Fedeli d'Amore

Elegia Giudeo- Italiana

Prof. Alan D. Corré : Judeo -Arabic text on a visit to Heaven and Hell

The first section of this page is available also in Hebrew

Romano’s poetry in English, Italian and French:

Translation to Italian of the first Mahberet (literal): Tiziana Mayer & Stefano Fumagalli (eds.), Mahberet Prima [Machberet Prima] (Il destino), Aquilegia, Milano, 2002

The text of Romano's Italian poetry (Seth Jerchower)

An excellent rhymed translation into English of a Hebrew poem by Romano: Alan D. Corré

Translation to Italian of the twenty-eighth Mahberet (literal): G. Battistoni (ed.), L'inferno e il Paradiso, La Giuntina, Florence, 2000

Translation to English of selections from the 28th Mahberet (rymed): Raphael, S. P., Jewish Views of the Afterlife, Jason Aronson, Northvale - New Jersey, 1994, pp. 218-233

Translation to English the prologue of the Mahbarot: Ed Emery (literal)

Translation to French of several poems (literal): Haes, F., de & Carmi, T., Poesie hebraique du IVe au XVIIIe siecle : choix de poemes: adapte de l'anglais en prose francaise et presente par Frans de Haes d'apres l'edition originale de T. Carmi,Gallimard, Paris, 1992

Translation to English of several poems (literal): Carmi, T. (ed), The Penguin book of Hebrew verse , Harmondsworth, Middlesex : Penguin Books, 1981, pp. 421-426

Translation to English of the 28th Mahberet (literal) : Gollancz, H., Tophet and Eden, University of London Press, London, 1921

Other articles by G. Shaked: ART - BIBLICAL STUDIES - BIOLOGY - CINEMA - LITERATURE - MUSIC - PHILOSOPHY - PHYSICS (ACOUSTICS)