אֵיךְ מִשְׁכְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן | Éikh Mishkenai Elyōn — reshut №3 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon, by Joseph ibn al-Bensuli “the Cantor” of Toledo

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Yosef ibn al-Bensuli of Toledo

Shared on:

17 July 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tags:

acrostic, Acrostic signature, phonetic acrostic translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, רשויות reshuyot, rhyming translation, שבת חזון Shabbat Ḥazon

“Éikh Mishkenai Elyōn” is the first reshut offered before Nishmat at the outset of Shaḥarit (concluding the Zemirot). It is the third reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

The color red indicates text found in the oldest manuscripts and which is necessary for the completion of the acrostic, but which is not found in many printings.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֵיךְ מִשְׁכְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן לְשַׁמָּה נִתְּנוּ בָּנִים בְּגָלוּת מִגְּבוּלָם רָחֲקוּ׃	Inhabitations on high, how they are given to ruin, Banished are the sons, far from their riding!
נָֽצוּ וְנָֽעוּ בֵּין כְּפָרִים שָׁאֲגוּ אָכֵן צְעִירֵיהֶם עֲלֵיהֶם שָׂחֲקוּ׃	Nomadically they wandered, roaring among the villages: Alas, their lessers are mocking them, deriding!
לֹא עָמְדוּ יוֹם מִפְּנֵי זָר נֶהְדָּֽפוּ בִּבְכִי יְגוֹנוֹתָם אֲבָנִים שָׁחֲקוּ׃	Let in was the stranger, none stood to ward them off; Bewailing in grief, the rocks eroded, dividing!
נָשׂוּ כְלִמָּתָם וְחֶרְפָּתָם בְּכֵן שִׂפְתֵי מְשׁוּבָתָם בְּלַעַג פָּשְׂקוּ׃	Now they bore their shame and disgrace, therefore Schismatic lips mockingly gaped in their backsliding!
וַיִּסְפְּקוּ כַף בַּעֲוֺנָם שָׁקְעוּ לֹא שָׁקְעוּ רִשְׁפֵּי לֶהָבִים נָשְׁקוּ׃	Upon clapping their hands, they sank in their sin, Light ones, unsunk, were kissed by flames coinciding.
יוֹם יוֹם יְחַלּוּ אֶת־פְּנֵי צוּר גָּבְהוּ הָרֵי חֲסָדָיו גַּם שְׁפָטָיו צָדְקוּ חוֹבֵשׁ לְשֶֽׁבֶר נִֽשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵב נִכְסְפוּ אֶל־נָעֳמוֹ יוֹם עַל־דְּלָתָיו דָּפְקוּ	In each day they beg for the high face of their Rock, THEir mountains of mercy, Their judgements abiding. CAst the breakage of the broken-hearted yearning for their Nice One, when They knock on the doors with good tiding.
זֶֽמֶר לְהִדָּבֵק בְּיוֹצְרָם יִשְׂאוּ נַפְשׁוֹת חֲסִידִים בֵּאלֹהִים דָּבְקוּ׃	TO join in with song, exalting their creator, Righteous souls in with God are residing!

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also translates and authors his own original works.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Yosef ibn al-Bensuli of Toledo

Yosef ibn al-Bensuli of Toledo (יוסף בנסולי), was a paytan and ḥazzan. We currently lack any additional information concerning his life and career, save that his piyyutim were collected and published by the scholar Yonah David (1919-2009).

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)

אֵיךְ מִשְׁכְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן | Éikh Mishkenai Elyōn — reshut №3 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon, by Joseph ibn al-Bensuli “the Cantor” of Toledo

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