כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת | Ki Eshmerah Shabbat, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), David de Aaron de Sola (translation) and Avraham ibn Ezra

Shared on:

24 January 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Se'udat Yom Shabbat

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Acrostic signature, rhyming translation, 50th century A.M., כי אשמרה שבת Ki Eshmerah Shabbat, זמירות zemirot, acrostic, פיוטים piyyutim, 12th century C.E.

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת אֵל יִשְׁמְרֵֽנִי, אוֹת הִיא לְעֽוֹלְמֵי עַד בֵּינוֹ וּבֵינִי׃	When the Sabbath I duly keep, God will also guard me; For an eternal covenant and “sign It is between Him and me.” (Exodus 31:13)
אָסוּר מְצֹא חֵֽפֶץ מֵֽעֲשׂוֹת דְּרָכִים, גַּם מִלְּדַבֶּר בּוֹ דִּבְרֵי צְרָכִים, דִּבְרֵי סְחוֹרָה אַף דִּבְרֵי מְלָכִים, אֶהְגֶּה בְּתֽוֹרַת אֵל וּתְחַכְּמֵֽנִי׃ כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת וכו׳	Thereon it is prohibited to transact business, to travel, to discuss political, commercial, or private affairs. But I must meditate in the divine law, that its instructions may improve my knowledge.
בּוֹ אֶמְצָא תָמִיד נֹֽפֶשׁ לְנַפְשִׁי, הִנֵּה לְדוֹר רִאשׁוֹן נָתַן קְדוֹשִׁי מוֹפֵת בְּתֵת לֶֽחֶם מִשְׁנֶה בַּשִּׁשִּׁי, כָּֽכָה בְּכָל שִׁשִּׁי יַכְפִּיל מְזוֹנִי׃ כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת וכו׳	On that day I find rest for my soul. Behold, to a former generation the Most Holy gave a wondrous sign, by granting them a double portion on every sixth day. (Exodus 16:22) May He also on that day ever double my portion.
רָשַׁם בְּדַת הָאֵל חֹק אֶל־סְגָנָיו בּוֹ לַעֲרֹךְ לֶֽחֶם פָּנִים בְּפָנָיו, גַּם בּוֹ לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בּוֹ עַל פִּי נְבוֹנָיו אָסוּר לְבַד מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּר עֲוֹנִי׃ כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת וכו׳	It was commanded to His chiefs and priesthood to arrange thereon, according to law, the shewbread before Him; but to fast on that day has been prohibited by the sages, except it be the Day of Atonement for our sins.
הוּא יוֹם מְכֻבָּד הוּא יוֹם תַּעֲנוּגִים, לֶֽחֶם וְיַֽיִן טוֹב בָּשָׂר וְדָגִים מִתְאַבְּלִים בּוֹ אָחוֹר נְסוּגִים, כִּי יוֹם שְׂמָחוֹת הוּא וַיְשַׂמְּחֵֽנִי׃ כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת וכו׳	This glorious day is one of delights, which we also honour by the enjoyment of savory food and drink. The afflicted must on that day abstain from mourning, for it is a day of joy, on which God caused me to rejoice.
מֵחֵל מְלָאכָה בּוֹ סוֹפוֹ לְהַכְרִית, עַל כֵּן אֲכַבֶּס בּוֹ לִבִּי כְּבֹרִית, אֶתְפַּלְּלָה אֶל־אֵל עַרְבִית וְשַׁחֲרִית, מוּסַף וְגַם מִנְחָה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנִי׃ כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת וכו׳	He who works on that day will assuredly be cut off. Therefore will I purify my heart of every unseemly thought. I will pray to the Almighty evening and morning, address to Him the additional and afternoon prayers, that lie may answer me!

This translation of “Ki Eshmerah Shabbat” by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת | Ki Eshmerah Shabbat, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

David de Aaron de Sola (translation)

David de Aaron de Sola or David Aaron de Sola (1796 – 1860) (Hebrew: דוד אהרן די סולה) was a rabbi and author, born in Amsterdam, the son of Aaron de Sola. In 1818, D.A. de Sola was called to London to become one of the ministers of the Bevis Marks Congregation under Haham Raphael Meldola (who would also later become his father-in-law). De Sola's addresses before the Society for the Cultivation of Hebrew Literature led the mahamad (board of directors of the congregation) to appoint him to deliver discourses in the vernacular, and on March 26, 1831, he preached the first sermon in English ever heard within the walls of Bevis Marks Synagogue (all previous ones being spoken in Spanish or Portuguese). His discourses were subsequently published by the mahamad. Of his style, one observer wrote: "Though a scholar and a thinker, yet he...used the most unpedantic terms and assumed a quiet, colloquial manner.

Avraham ibn Ezra

Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם בֶּן מֵאִיר אִבְּן עֶזְרָא‎ ʾAvraham ben Mēʾīr ʾībən ʾĒzrāʾ, often abbreviated as ראב"ע; Arabic: إبراهيم‎ المجيد ابن عزرا‎‎ Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra; also known simply as Ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167) was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela in northern Spain.

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כִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה שַׁבָּת | Ki Eshmera Shabbat, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (rhyming translation by Israel Abrahams, 1914)

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אֱלֹהִים יִסְעָדֵנוּ | Elohim Yisadenu, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

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כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

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יָהּ רִבּוֹן | Yah Ribōn, a piyyut by Rabbi Yisrael Najara (16th c.) translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1857)

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צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי | Tsam’ah Nafshi, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Avi Shmidman & Tzvi Novick)

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יוֹם זֶה לְיִשְׁרַאֵל | Yom Zeh l’Yisrael, a piyyut by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

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שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1857)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17