רָאשֵׁי עָם עֵת הִתְאַסֵּף | When the chiefs of the people meet, a muwassaha poem by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)

Contributor(s):

Herman Prins Salomon (translation) and Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi

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17 July 2022 under the Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)

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Se'udah haShlishit

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משיח Moshiaḥ, 12th century C.E., 49th century A.M., the River Sambatyon, muwassaha

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
רָאשֵׁי עָם עֵת הִתְאַסֵּף וּמְלָכִים בְּסוֹדָם כֻּלָּהַם הוֹדוּ לְיוֹסֵף כִּי הוּא עֵין כְּבוֹדָם לִמְשֹׁל בְּיַד אֱלוֹהַּ כֹּסֵף וְכֵן משֵׁל בְּאָדָם	Ⅰ. When the chiefs of the people meet with kings in their council All of them praise Joseph for he is the fount of their glory To rule by the hand of God he aspires and thus he rules over men
חֶמְדַּת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר כֹּל יַגִּיד אַחַת הִיא וּבָרָה מִשְׂרָה מוּכָנָה לְנָגִיד הִיא לִצְבִי עֲטָרָה	The choicest man whose every utterance is clear and pure The high dignity suited for the ruler is a crown of beauty.
כָּל חֶמְדַּת אֱנוֹשׁ אִם יָקְרָה תֵּבֵל עִם מְלוֹאָהּ אָמַרְתִּי הֲכִי הִיא אָמְרָה עִנְיָנָהּ נְשִׂיאָהּ יוֹסֵף צוּר לְשִׁבְתּוֹ יְצָרָהּ לֹא תֹהוּ בְרָאָהּ	Ⅱ. Were it to exceed all human treasure the world and its fullness Yet I heard her say that her chief desire is her Prince As a throne for Joseph God fashioned her not for naught did He create her.
בּוֹ נָקֵל עַבְטִיט מַכְבִּיד כִּי גָבַר וְשָׂרָה וּבְמִגְדַּל הָעֹז הֶעֱמִיד עִם נוּסוֹ עֲשָׂרָה	Through him the heavy burden was lightened for he overcame and ruled And in the tower of strength he established with his ten who fled.
בֵּן פֹּרָת בְּאֵיתָן קַשְׁתָּךְ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ בְּכִשְׁרוֹן טוּב יָמִים הֲלֹא מֵאִתָּךְ וּלְךָ חִדְּשׁוּ רֹן אַתְּ שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמָטָר נִתָּךְ אַךְ מֵהֶם בְּיִתְרוֹן	Ⅲ. Ben Porat with your bow kept taut your deeds excel The goodness of the days is from you and for you they broke into fresh song You are the sun and the falling rain yet greater are you than they
זָרְחוּ בָךְ מְאוֹרֵי תָמִיד וַתּוֹפַע נְהָרָה עַל אָרֶץ וְגַם הִיא תָעִיד כִּי בָךְ נֶעֱזָרָה	Ever burning lights shone out through you and radiance broke forth Upon the earth; she too will testify that she was helped by you.
מַה זֶּה שָׁם הֲמוֹן עָם נִקְלֶה עַל הַזְּמָן חֲמָסָיו עַד הוּסַר סִלּוֹן עוֹלֶה נִשְׂרָף בְּאֵשׁ הֲמָסָיו לִפְנֵי בּוֹא יְקָר אֵל מָלֵא עֹמֵד בֵּין הֲדַסָּיו	Ⅳ. What is that multitude of abused people heaping blame upon their fate Before the swelling thorn was plucked out burning in consuming fire Before the coming of the worthy God inspired man standing among his myrtles
כִּי שָׁאֳגוֹ שָׂרִים הֶחְרִיד וְקָלַע בַּשְּׂעָרָה שָׂמָהוּ אֱלֹהָיו יָחִיד מִבְצַר עֹז בְּצָרָה	For his roar frightened princes he hit in the eye of the target His God appointed him a leader a fortress of strength in time of distress.
שָׁטְפוּ נַחֲלֵי הַשֶּׁמֶן נַחַל הָאֲבָנִים בִּבְשׂרוֹת גְּבִיר הָאֹמֵן עַם אֵל בַּעֲדָנִים יְחִי הַשָּׂר אִמְרוּ אָמֵן וַיִּשְׂאוּ רְנָנִים	Ⅴ. Rivers of oil overflowed the river of stones With good tidings announcing the lord who nurtures God’s people with delights Long live the Prince: say ye “Amen” and they raised their voices singing
דש כנד מוסדילה בניד תן בונה אלבשארה כם ראיה דשול אשיד אן ואד אלחגארה.	As soon as my lord comes such a good tiding Flashes out like a ray of the sun in Guadalajara.

“Roshei am et hitasef umlekhim b’sodam” by Yehuda Halevi was translated by Herman Prins Salomon in “Yehuda Halevi and his ‘Cid’” and published in The American Sepharadi (1978), pp. 22-46. The Hebrew offered here was transcribed by Project Ben Yehuda and corrected according to Salomon’s romanized text.

17 U.S. Code 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

“רָאשֵׁי עָם עֵת הִתְאַסֵּף | When the chiefs of the people meet, a muwassaha poem by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)” 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.

Herman Prins Salomon (translation)

Herman Prins Salomon (1 March 1930 - 31 January 2021) was a Dutch-American linguist and historian who specialized in the history of the Portuguese Jews, the New Christians, and the Inquisition. Salomon was a professor of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany). He also was editor of the American Sephardi, a scholarly magazine published by Yeshiva University. In June 2011, he was knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands into the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi

Yehudah haLevi (also Judah ha-Levi; Hebrew: יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi יהודה בן שמואל הלוי; Arabic: يهوذا اللاوي‎; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in the Holy Land in 1141, at that point the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Yehudah haLevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets, celebrated both for his religious and secular poems, many of which appear in present-day liturgy. His greatest philosophical work was The Kuzari.

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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