Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome (c.1261–c.1328) known as Manoello Giudeo was an exceptional master of the Hebrew language, which he played like a violin. The tongue-in-cheek poem about heaven and hell is an example of his often playful poetic gifts. He wrote the Mahbarot, an amalgam of poems on love, friendship, wine and many other topics. It also includes a poem which was abridged to provide the Yigdal hymn sung frequently in synagogues all over the world. He introduced the Petrarchian sonnet into Hebrew, of which these are examples. For further information see Encyclopaedia Judaica, volume 8, column 1295, and the interesting web site about him by Guy Shaked.
The lament by the poor girl who is unable to raise a dowry encapsulates a true social problem. Many Jewish congregations had a charitable fund to dower poor girls; the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London, England, founded in the seventeenth century, continues to manage such endowments, and awards the funds to deserving brides. The figure at the beginning derives from the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel, particularly verse 7. The growth of her breasts and [pubic] hair indicates her physical maturity. This is quoted in the haggada for Passover where it is used to express God's caring for Israel. The quotation is made more poignant by the fact that Israel's nakedness (=lack of homeland) was covered by God, and the blood and filth of birth were wiped away, whereas there is none to cover her nakedness (=lack of means.) This poem is a deeply felt protest at a crying social evil.