Rabbi Shalem Shabazi Stamp

This unusual stamp issued in February 1999, features a photograph of a manuscript written by Rabbi Shalem Shabazi in Hebrew on ancient parchment. Rabbi Shalem Shabazi is the greatest of Yemenite Jewish poets, considered as one of the most distinguished poets of all time. Living in a period of persecutions and messianic anticipations for Yemenite Jewry, he gave poetic expression to the sufferings and yearnings of his generation, whose national poet he became. During this time Yemenite Jews had to endure the harshest injunctions in their history, including the Edict of the Head Covering (removal of hats) passed 1667, and the expulsion to the Mavza Desert (1679-1680). Shabazi’s poems proved a great consolation, inspiring the Jews with courage to bear with the anguish of the exile. Most of his poems are concerned with exile and redemption, sharing the anguish of exile with his brethren. The gems of his poetry express the nation’s yearnings for restoration and the return to Zion. Many of his poems deal with the glorious past of the Jews in their own land, from which the author draws faith and hope for renewed greatness in the future. He describes the Redemption of Israel in vibrant language and poignant expressions, as a renewal of the marriage covenant between the Almighty and His Bride (the people of Israel).

The stamp with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet.