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| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
אַיֵּךְ? |
Where are you? |
מִמְּקוֹם שֶׁאַתְּ נִסְתֶּרֶת שָׁם, יְחִידַת חַיַּי וּשְׁכִינַת מַאֲוַיַּי – הִגָּלִי־נָא וּמַהֲרִי בֹאִי, בֹּאִי אֱלֵי מַחֲבוֹאִי; וּבְעוֹד יֵשׁ גְּאֻלָּה לִי – צְאִי וּגְאָלִי |
Come, beloved, from your hiding place. Come, my only one. Show yourself. Hurry to my refuge, a royal presence. While yet I may be saved, come, rescue me. |
וּמָלְכִי עַל־גּוֹרָלִי; וְיוֹם אֶחָד גְּזֵלַת נְעוּרַי לִי הָשִׁיבִי וַהֲמִיתִינִי עִם־אֲבִיבִי. וְתַחַת שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ יִכְבֶּה־נָא נִיצוֹצִי וּבֵין שָׁדַיִךְ יוֹמִי אוֹצִיא, כִּגְוַע בַּעֲרֹב הַיּוֹם בֵּין פִּרְחֵי בְשָׂמִים צִפֹּרֶת כְּרָמִים. |
Queen of my fate give me back one day my stolen spring, kill me with my youth. Beneath your lips let my flame be quenched; let me consume my life between your breasts as a vineyard butterfly lapses at evening into fragrant flowers. |
אַיֵּךְ? |
Where are you? |
וַאֲנִי עוֹד לֹא יָדַעְתִּי מִי וָמָה אַתְּ – וּשְׁמֵךְ עַל־שְׂפָתַי רָעַד, וּכְרִצְפַּת אֵשׁ בַּלֵּילוֹת עַל־מִשְׁכָּבִי בָּעַרְתְּ בִּלְבָבִי; וָאֵבְךְּ בִּנְדוּדֵי לֵיל, וָאֶשֹּׁךְ כָּרִי וּלְזִכְרֵךְ כָּלָה בְשָׂרִי; וְכׇל־הַיּוֹם בֵּין אוֹתִיּוֹת הַגְּמָרָא, בְּקֶרֶן אוֹר, בִּדְמוּת עָב בָּרָה, בַּזַּכָּה מִתְּפִלּוֹתַי וּבִטְהָר־הִרְהוּרַי, בִּנְעִים הֶגְיוֹנַי וּבִגְדָל־יִסּוּרַי – לֹא־בִקְשָׁה נַפְשִׁי כִּי אִם־הִגָּלוֹתֵךְ, רַק־אוֹתָךְ, אוֹתָךְ, אוֹתָךְ… |
When I did not know as yet who you were and what you were your name trembled on my lips. Like Isaiah’s coal you burnt my heart. Sleepless at night upon my couch I wept and bit my pillow, my flesh devoured by the memory of you. All day long among the holy letters, in a ray of light, a white cloud, in my purest prayers, my clearest reflections, my most pleasant thoughts, and in my greatest sufferings, I sought nothing but a vision of your self, you, you. You. |
Composed by Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik in the month of Sivan 5664 (May 1904), in Mrozy, Poland. Translated by Ruth Nevo for Chaim Nachman Bialik: Selected Poems (Dvir and the Jerusalem Post 1981). Hebrew transcribed by the Ben-Yehuda Project.
Source
241 Ayekh, translated by Ruth Nevo
“אַיֵּךְ | Ayekh (Where are you?), by Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik (1904)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under their Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use), in respect to the copyrighted material included. Any additional work that is not already in the Public Domain is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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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
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