אות - רנו

The Rebbe highly praised the piyut of Akdamut , which is chanted before the Torah reading on Shavuot. 349 Akdamut Milin ("In Introduction to the Words"), written by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak of Worms, Germany, in the eleventh century.

He said, “People are so accustomed and steeped in good things that they do not realize the greatness of the praise of God in the Akdamut . If you were to know the high level of the Akdamut together with its customary melody, then you would know how wondrously unique it is.”

The Rebbe then chanted a few lines of the Akdamut .

He then said, “ Akdamut is a song of cheshek – of love and devotion.” [See the story of “The Burgher and Pauper” ( Rabbi Nachman’s Stories #10) , which also discusses the song of cheshek .]

The Rebbe spoke of this on Shavuot during the dairy meal. 350 It is customary to eat a dairy meal on Shavuot morning, before the noon dinner ( Orach Chaim 494:3 in Hagah ). He had prayed early with his group, as was his custom, and had begun his meal while the second service was in progress. When he heard the chazan chant the Akdamut , the Rebbe spoke of the high level of this holy song.