Pirkei Shira – Mantova, 1661 – First Edition

Pirkei Shira – Mantova, 1661 – First Edition

Pirkei Shirah with commentary by R. Hananiah of Monselice Jagel, and his son R. Gamliel an Italian scholar who lived at Ferrara, later at Parma, in the seventeenth century. He filled the position of chief rabbi or head of the Talmudical schools of the province of Parma.

Attributed to King David and his son, King Solomon, Pirkei Shirah contains the prayers on the animals and birds to the Al-mighty. This work, the first commentary on this Kabalistic prayer, seeks to associate the liturgies with their assigned through Kabbalistic teachings. The verse is comprised of 70 songs based on biblical verses organized into six chapters. In some liturgical rites a chapter is recited each day, with Shir haYihud being said on Shabbat. The inclusion of Pirei Shirah as part of the liturgy was initially restricted to Jewish mystics, particularly in Safed, and only later, through their influence, became more widely accepted as part of daily prayers.