Shoshanat Yaakov (The Rose of Jacob)
Shoshanat Yaakov is an old and anonymously composed Piyut that is central the holiday of Purim in the Ashkenazi tradition. This Piyut is sung in conjunction with the reading of Megillat Esther (the scroll of Esther), both on the eve and during the day of Purim. On the eve of Purim, only the last refrain is sung, opening with the words, Shoshanat Yaakov or the rose of Jacob. The text of the Piyut is essentially a poetic expansion of the blessing that is said after the recitation of Megillat Esther.
The meter and style of the Piyut hint that it was likely composed no later than the 5th century C.E. This Piyut is also an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet (the first letter of each line spells out the aleph bet), which is characteristic of Piyutim composed during this period. Shoshanat Yaakov is written in fairly simple and accessible language, likely in order to teach the story of Esther. On first glance, it appears that the Piyut is a poetic retelling of the Purim story as it is found in the Bible. However, upon closer inspection, we find that the version of the story that is put forward in this Piyut is in fact distinct from the one found in Megillat Esther. In the megillah text, God’s name is never evoked, though we are to intuit that he is the ‘cause of all causes.’ In Shoshanat Yaakov, the Paytan emphasizes both in the beginning and end of the Piyut the role of God as the savior of the Jewish people. For example, the Piyut opens with: “he who brought to naught the council of nations, and thwarts the designs of the cunning,” and ends with, “you were their salvation forever, their hope in every generation.”
