https://opensiddur.org/?p=39045יוֹם זֶה לְיִשְׁרַאֵל | Yom Zeh l'Yisrael, a piyyut by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Nina Salaman, 1914)2021-09-18 14:26:11A translation of the piyyut Yom Zeh l'Yisrael.Textthe Open Siddur ProjectAharon N. Varady (transcription)Aharon N. Varady (transcription)Nina Davis Salaman (translation)Yitsḥak Luriahttps://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/Aharon N. Varady (transcription)https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Se'udat Yom Shabbatזמירות zemirotפיוטים piyyutim16th century C.E.54th century A.M.Acrostic signatureיום זה לישראל Yom Zeh l'Yisrael
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Thou badest us standing assembled at Sinai
That all the years through we should keep thy behest—
To set out a table full-laden, to honour
The Sabbath of rest.
When the work of the worlds in their wonder was finished,
Thou madest this day to be holy and blest,
And those heavy-laden found safety and stillness,
A Sabbath of rest.
If I keep Thy command I inherit a kingdom,
If I treasure the Sabbath I bring Thee the best
The noblest of offerings, the sweetest of incense
A Sabbath of rest.
Restore us our shrine —O remember our ruin
And save now and comfort the sorely opprest
Now sitting at Sabbath, all singing and praising
A Sabbath of rest.
This poem, “This day is for Israel light and rejoicing,” is remarkable for the lyric pathos of its second verse. It introduces the idea of the over-soul, which resides in man during the Sabbath (T. B. Betsa 16, Taanith 27)—the Sabbath quietude and delight raise the soul as it were to a higher spiritual sphere. Among the Scriptural references are Esther 8:16, Psalm 76:12, Psalms 119:4, Genesis 2:2, Genesis 43:34, Exod. 20:10, Jeremiah 40:5, Jeremiah 48:41. The author of the poem is named in the acrostic “Isaac,” and Zunz includes this author among the writers of the thirteenth century (Literaturgeschichte 555). Hirschfeld attributes the hymn to Isaac Luria (16th century). He detects the name Luria in the fourth verse. He also suggests the reading חַזֵּק for חַדֵּשׁ at the beginning of the fifth verse, thus completing the acrostic signature to יצחק לוריא חזק. The translation is by Mrs R.N. Salaman. –Israel Abraham
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“יוֹם זֶה לְיִשְׁרַאֵל | Yom Zeh l’Yisrael, a piyyut by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translation by Nina Salaman, 1914)” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
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 naqeniשְׁגִיאוֹת 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.)
Paulina Ruth "Nina" Salaman (née Davis) (פָּאוּלִינָה רוּת ”נִינָה” דֵעוִיס שָׂלָמָן; 1877 – 1925) was a British Jewish poet, translator, and social activist. She is best known for her English translations of medieval Hebrew poetry, especially of the poems of Judah Halevi. Paulina Ruth Davis was born on 15 July 1877 at Friarfield House, Derby, the second of two children of Louisa (née Jonas) and Arthur Davis. Her father's family were secular Jewish precision instrument makers, who had immigrated to England from Bavaria in the early nineteenth century. A civil engineer by trade, Arthur Davis became religiously observant and mastered the Hebrew language, becoming an accomplished Hebraist noted for his study of cantillation marks in the Tanakh. The family moved to Kilburn, London when Nina was six weeks old, later settling in Bayswater. There, Davis gave his daughters an intensive scholarly education in Hebrew and Jewish studies, teaching them himself each morning before breakfast from the age of four, and taking them regularly to the synagogue. The Davises moved in learned Jewish circles, and friends of Nina's parents included the families of Nathan Adler, Simeon Singer, Claude Montefiore, Solomon Schechter, Herbert Bentwich, and Elkan Adler. Arthur Davis was one of the "Kilburn Wanderers"—a group of Anglo-Jewish intellectuals that formed around Solomon Schechter in the 1880s—members of which took an interest in Nina's work and helped her find publication for her writings.
Yitsḥak Luria Ashkenazi (1534 – July 25, 1572) (Hebrew: יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי, English: Isaac ben Solomon or Yitzhak ben Shlomo Lurya Ashkenazi), commonly known as "Ha'ARI" (meaning "The Lion"), "Ha'ARI Hakadosh" [the holy ARI] or "ARIZaL" [the ARI, Of Blessed Memory (Zikhrono Livrakha)], was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah, his teachings being referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah. The works of his disciples compiled his oral teachings into writing and spread his fame which led to his veneration and the acceptance of his authority. Every custom of the Ari was scrutinized, and many were accepted, even against previous practice. Luria died at Safed on July 25, 1572 (5 Av 5332). He was buried in the Old Cemetery of Safed (from wikipedia)
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