יציב פתגם - מהותה ואמירתה בחג השבועות

On the second day of שבועות, following the first פסוק of the הפטורה [1], a פיוט beginning יציב פתגם is sung by the בעל קריאה. This פיוט is part of a series of פיוטים related to the קריאות of שבועות, the original purpose of which was to serve as a נטילת רשות [2] to say the תרגום of the הפטורה [3]. (Evidently there was a custom to say the Aramaic translation of the הפטורה, similar to the custom - today practiced only by Yemenites [4] - of saying the תרגום of the פרשה during קריאת התורה.) Today, to my awareness, there is no community that says תרגום of the הפטורה, but the custom of saying the נטילת רשות stuck.

Being that יציב פתגם is a נטילת רשות for saying תרגום, it is said/sung following the first פסוק of the הפטורה, which is where the תרגום would, theoretically, begin.

Addenda

This custom is not completely universal: in Pozna it was not said (לבוש או"ח תצד:א). All of the various shuls I have attended over the years on the second day of שבועות do say it; considering, however, that they all, broadly speaking, follow נוסח אשכנז - מנהג פולין, this does not necessarily indicate much as regards other traditions. As for specific communities that I have not personally visited, I have only been able to find written record of יציב פתגם being said in Telz (מנהגי ישיבת טלז פרק ט - יום שני דשבועות). [5] It also appears in סידור קרני הוד (מכון מעדני אשר תשסד), which intends to be a completely accurate נוסח ספרד סדור, as indicated by the inside cover.

As an aside, the standard (מנהג פולין) tune for יציב פתגם is (nearly) identical to the rendition of אדון עולם sung at the end of davening in many ישיבות.

[1] ר אברהם Klausner, מ"ב תצד:ב; ספר המהנגים אות קלב. According to שו"ע הרב (או"ח תצד:ז), however, this would be considered a הפסק, to which end, he suggests placing prior to the ברכות of the הפטורה, or, better yet, not saying it altogether. This is indeed the custom in Lubavitch today (told to me by R Avrohom Bergstein of Anshei Lubavitch - Fair Lawn).

[2] lit. "taking permission", a נטילת רשות typically takes the form of a paragraph and/or פיוט which serves to introduce other פיוטים etc. that are not part of the ordinary סדר התפלה. See, for example, paragraph beginning מסוד חכמים ונבונים at the beginning of  חזרת השץ (according to נוסח אשכנז) on יו"ט.

[3] https://www.toviapreschel.com/yetziv-pitgam/

[4] told to me R Ronen Shaharabani of Cong. Magen Abraham (Mill Basin - נוסח תימן)

[5] I am unsure as to the מנהג הגרא on this matter: on one hand, סידור ווילנא (Mesores 5753) does include יציב פתגם in the הפטורה for the 2nd day of שבועות, whereas סידור אזור אליהו (מכון אזור אליהו תשפ), as well as סידור ע"פ נוסח הגרא (מוסד הרב קוק 2019) does not.

מנהגי לג בעומר for the non-Kabbalistically Inclined

In our times there are many customs associated with לג בעומר that stem from קבלה. This is because ר שמעון בר יוחאי, author/compiler of Kabbalistic works such as אידרא רבא, אידרא זוטא, died on לג בעומר. He also revealed many secrets to his תלמידים immediately preceding his death, which were later contained in the זהר. In fact, he specifically told them that his entire life he desired to see this day (i.e. the day he would die) upon which revealing those secrets would be opportune, and therefore it is a day of rejoicing for the whole world. [1]

Those who are not Kabbalistically inclined in particular may find it a challenge to ascribe today with any religious significance. To this end, I have collected all the מנהגים that I could find, related to לג בעומר, that do not stem from קבלה [2].

In general, לג בעומר is referred to by the פוסקים [3] as a day of joy and feasting, for then the plague that killed רבי עקיבא's תלמידים subsided. [4]

ר יוסף צבי Dunner related that in his childhood hometown of Keln לג בעומר was a day of שמחה  for children, and that in the תלמוד תורה the מלמדים would take their תלמידים on an outing. דינרי זהב explains that רבי עקיבא began teaching his 5 greatest תלמידים (among whom was רבי שמעון בר יוחאי) on לג בעומר in order to return תורה to the world. Indeed, that same day he gave them סמיכה. For this reason, לג בעומר was made a יו"ט for תלמידי ישיבה [5].

[1] אוצר דינים ומנהגים ערך לג בעומר

[2] The מנהגי אבלות, such as restrictions against music, haircuts and the like, that are lifted today are halachic in nature and are beyond the scope of this discussion.

[3] שו"ע או"ח תצג:ב; מהריל, בין פסח לשבועות אות ז ע"פ רוב כת"י

[4] An additional cause for joy is that on יח אייר the מן began to fall in the מדבר. See חת"ס יו"ד סי' רלג

[5] מנהגי מהריץ הלוי פרק טו אות ב. See דינרי זהב there where the customs of various communities in this regard are discussed at length.

יקום פורקן - המשך

A perusal of the ספרדי סדורים that I have collected indicates that ספרדים [1] do not say יקום פורקן. This would seem to be a result of the fact, as discussed here, יקום פורקן is a תפלה for the ריש גלותא, a no-longer extant position. To this end, ספרדי communities do not say יקום פורקן.

A slightly different objection to saying יקום פורקן was apparently made to the Chief Rabbi of England, namely that יקום פורקן is an anomaly, in that the ריש גלותא and the ישיבות of בבל are no more. He responded that this is a mistaken view in light of the addition (in his text of the סדור) of the words די בכל ארעת גלותנא (my translation: "in all the lands of our exile") making the תפלה applicable to our own times. Nevertheless, the omission of יקום פורקן was, as of the publication of The Authorized Daily Prayer Book, sanctioned in English Synagogues. [2]

[1] specifically Syrian (Siddur Abir Yaacob, Sephardic Press 2002), Kavkazi (סידור תפילה רינת קווקז, גבריאל דוידוב תשפ), Persian (A Sephardic Daily and Sabbath Siddur, Sephardic Traditions Foundation 2016), Spanish-Portuguese (Book of Prayers According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Union of Sephardic Congregations 1997), as well as סידור יחוה דעת (מכון יחוה דעת תשנה), which is not particular to any specific local custom but rather follows the פסקים of ר עובדיה יוסף.

Anyone who can provide me with access to סדורים of other distinct communities (ספרדי or otherwise) would be much appreciated.

[2] Hertz, 1948; see pgs. 499-503