Shofeṭ Kol Ha-Areẓ ("Judge Of All The Earth")

Important Pizmon of six verses, each ending with a phrase from Num. xxviii. 23. Being signed with the acrostic "Shelomoh," it is often ascribed to Solomon ibn Gabirol; but by Zunz ("Literaturgesch." p. 312) it is attributed to Solomon bar Abun, the younger. The hymn and its traditional tune are alike given places of honor in both the northern and southern rituals. With the Ashkenazim, who utilize only the first five verses, the hymn is the chief poem in the Seliḥot for the day preceding New-Year, and again in those of the morning service for the Day of Atonement. On both occasions it is differentiated from all other seliḥot by the special declamation, to the solemn penitential melody (see Ashre ha-'Am), of the applicable Scriptural texts which immediately precede it. In the German order of seliḥot, when another hymn is substituted on Sabbath morning, such hymn is still sung to the tune of "shofeṭ." With the Sephardim it precedes the "Nishmat" in the morning service for New-Year.

Its melody is chanted in the Spanish rituals, to different passages of solemn importance in the penitential services—chiefly such as are recited by the ḥazzan alone—almost as often as the frequently-repeated melody of "Le-ma'anka" (for which see Adonai Beḳol Shofar) is sung to the congregational hymns. It is thus used for the special reshut "Oḥilah," which ushers in the Atonement additional service, and in some lines of tradition for the 'Abodah as well. On New-Year it is similarly used to precede the additional service; and, in Italy, for 'Alenu as well as universally for the first utterance of the thrice-repeated prayer ("Ha-Yom Harat 'Olam") which follows the sounding of the Shofar.

Thus, alike by Ashkenazim and by Sephardim, the ancient melody for this hymn is regarded as one of the most important associated with the Ten Days of Repentance. It exists in several variants—an evidence merely of its age. The Ashkenazic and Sephardic forms differ very considerably in detail, betraying respectively a distinct German or Arab influence, with a corresponding modification of structure. Each usage, again, differs within itself according to local tradition. The variants of Amsterdam (De Sola, "Sacred Melodies," No. 27, London, 1857) and of Leghorn (Consolo, "Libro dei Canti d'Israele," No. 308, Florence, 1892) are by no means in agreement in detail. Four forms, two Polish and two German, are presented by Baer ("Ba'al Tefillah," No. 1426, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1883). The link is supplied by the Italian tradition, which utilizes the characteristic Sephardic form for the initial verse, and approximates closely to the Ashkenazic in those that follow. Benedetto Marcello in his "Parafrasi Sopra li Salmi," published between 1724 and 1727, uses as a theme for Ps. xxi. (Vulgate numbering = Ps. xx. in the Hebrew) another variant, which, however, is close to one of the German forms of the melody. Four of the most characteristic variants—Spanish-Dutch (probably the original), Italian, German (that used by Marcello), and Polish—are given in the accompanying transcription.

A. F. L. C.