The imagination that began it all: The Persian-Jewish poet bringing Genesis back to life - opinion

An opinion piece explores how 14th-century Persian-Jewish poet Shahin Shirazi used epic poetry to reimagine the Genesis narrative, blending Jewish tradition with Persian aesthetic language. The author argues Shahin's work offers a model for Israeli identity that embraces external cultural influences without losing its own essence, challenging dichotomies of East versus West and tradition versus modernity.

Dr. Benyamin Yakovian writes that as the annual Torah reading cycle begins, the familiar story of Creation can feel exhausted of surprises. He introduces Shahin Shirazi, a 14th-century Persian-Jewish poet who dared to inject risk, color, and imagination back into the narrative. Shahin's monumental oeuvre included poetic cycles dedicated to Moses, Ezra, Esther, and the Creation, with his final masterpiece, Genesis-Nama, weaving together memory, faith, Midrash, and fantasy. The author argues Shahin harnessed the Persian epic form not apologetically or to assimilate, but out of conviction that Judaism could engage with Iran's cultural landscape in its own distinct voice. The piece explores Shahin's treatment of Azazel, created from fire and light, who judges the human being formed from earth as inferior—a failure of vision that Shahin subverts by showing earth as that which sustains and nurtures life. Yakovian draws contemporary parallels, arguing this offers a lesson for an era that worships the immediate and flashy over what is built patiently. He positions Shahin as dismantling narrow narratives of Jewish culture—East versus West, tradition versus modernity—and bringing the vibrant spiritual world of Iranian Jewry to center stage. The article acknowledges the Bama Tova organization and supporters including the Ganji and Mahfar families for preserving Persian-Jewish heritage.