The Poetry of Kabbalah : Mystical Verse from the Jewish Tradition

Introduction . . ix

POEMS OF THE PALACES AND EARLY LITURGICAL HYMNS

Anonymous
Hymn to the Heavens . . 6
A Measure of Holiness . . 7
Awe and Adornment . . 9
Each Day . . 10
From Whose Beauty the Depths Are Lit . . 12
To Rise on High . . 13
Blessed Is the Eye . . 14
The Priest's Appearance . . 20
Windows of Worship . . 23

Yannai
Angel of Fire . . 24
From the Sky to the Heavens' Heavens . . 25

Eliezer Kallir
King Girded with Might . . 27
Creatures Four-Square About the Throne . . 32

Anonymous
Release, Please . . 34

THE BOOK OF CREATION
from Sefer Yetzirah . . 42

AL-ANDALUS AND ASHKENAZ

Shelomoh Ibn Gabirol
He Dwells Forever . . 55
Angels Amassing . . 59
I Love You . . 61
from Kingdom's Crown . . 62

Yehudah HaLevi
True Life . . 70
Where Will I Find You . . 71
Lord, [All My Desire] . . 73
A Dove in the Distance . . 75

Yehudah HeHasid
Hymn of Divine Glory . . 81

THE KABBALAH IN SPAIN

Moshe ben Nahman
Before the World Ever Was . . 94

Ya'akov HaKohen
Prayers for the Protection and Opening of the Heart . . 97

The Zohar
On Awakening and Drawing Near . . 105
Incantation Against Lilith . . 107

Avraham Abulafia
from the Book of the Sign . . 113

Yosef Gikatilla
The Nut Garden . . 121

THE SAFED CIRCLE (GALILEAN KABBALAH)

Shelomoh Alkabetz
Hymn to the Sabbath . . 133

Anonymous
Peace Be upon You . . 136

Eliezer Azikri
Soul's Beloved . . 137

Yitzhak Luria
Hymns for the Three Sabbath Meals . . 149
Why, My Desire . . 160

Avraham ben Maimon
Hidden God . . 162

Yisrael Najara
To the Shekhinah . . 165
Your Kingdom's Glory . . 166

EXTENSIONS EAST AND WEST

Shalem Shabazi
Who Kissed Me . . 176
The Myrtle's Scent . . 177

Shimon Lavi
Bar Yohai . . 180

Ya'akov Ifargan
In Praise of the Name and Its Mystery . . 183

JEWISH MUSLIMS/MUSLIM JEWS

Shabbatian Hymns
Meliselda . . 198
I Have Found Bliss . . 199
The Valley of Ishmael . . 201
On the Extinguishing of the Lights . . 203
Secret Pleasure . . 205
On the Destruction of the Law . . 207
The Ghazal of Goodness . . 208

ITALIAN KABBALAH

Moshe Zacut
The Light Concealed . . 218
You Readied a Light . . 221

Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto
Messiah . . 228

HASIDIC DEVOTION

Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev
Song of You . . 236

Shneur Zalman
from the Tanya . . 238

THE SEEDS OF SECULAR MYSTICISM

Hayyim Nahman Bialik
from The Pool . . 246
Bring Me in Under Your Wing . . 249

Notes . . 251
Afterword, by Aminadav Dykman . . 435
Poems in Hebrew and Other Languages
Acknowledgments . . 447