Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
---|---|
צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי לֵאלֹהִים לְאֵל חָי לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ לְאֵל חָי אֵל אֶחָד בְּרָאָנִי וְאָמַר חַי אָנִי כִּי לֹא יִרְאַנִי הָאָדָם וָחָי |
All potent God! You made me
“Alive I am,” You told me Yet no one’s eyes can see Me remaining flesh — alive. My heart and my flesh they sing to You, to You the Source of Life! |
בָּרָא כֹּל בְּחָכְמָה בְּעֵצָה וּבִמְזִמָּה מְאֹד נֶעֱלָמָה מֵעֵינֵי כָל חָי |
Brought forth we were by intent
in counsel and consent yet hidden is what this meant from us who are alive |
רָם עַל כֹּל כְּבוֹדוֹ כָּל פֶּה יְחַוֶּה הוֹדוֹ בָּרוּךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדוֹ נֶפֶשׁ כָּל חָי |
Resplendent in Your glory
all tales are but Your story praise to You who is pouring into our souls our life |
הִבְדִּיל נִינֵי תָם חֻקִּים לְהוֹרוֹתָם אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אוֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחָי |
How generous on Your side
To teach us laws which guide those who by them abide as sources of good life |
מִי זֶה יִצְטַדַּק נִמְשַׁל לְאָבָק דָּק אֶמֶת כִּי לֹא יִצְדַּק לְפָנֶיךָ כָּל חָי |
Might we be ever right
and live all in the light what are we but a mite and yet You give us life |
בְּלֵב יֵצֶר חָשׁוּב כִּדְמוּת חֲמַת עַכְשׁוּב וְאֵיכָכָה יָשׁוּב הַבָּשָׂר הֶחָי |
Born as we are of passion
at times we lack compassion if only we could fashion a God-filled way of life |
נְסוֹגִים אִם אָבוּ מִדַרְכָּם שָׁבוּ טֶרֶם יִשְׁכָּבוּ בֵּית מוֹעֵד לְכָל חָי |
Near God to be we yearn
From wicked ways to turn before bodies to dust return and souls to the Source of Life |
עַל כֹּל אֲהוֹדֶךָ כָּל פֶּה תְּיַחֲדֶךָ פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חָי |
Every way will I adore You
my fervent prayer implore You to open my path before You to sate my soul with life. |
זְכוֹר אַהֲבַת קְדוּמִים וְהַחֲיֵה נִרְדָּמִים וְקָרֵב הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר בֶּן יִשַׁי חָי |
Zeal filled our sires with fervor
do rouse us from our torpor and help us meet our saviour Of Yishai’s stock — in Life |
רְאֵה לִגְבֶרֶת אֱמֶת שִׁפְחָה נוֹאֶמֶת לֹא כִי בְנֵךְ הַמֵּת וּבְנִי הֶחָי |
Remember! we kept Your trust
May Your response be just and being fair You must decree us toward life |
אֶקּוֹד עַל אַפִּי וְאֶפְרוֹשׂ לְךָ כַּפִּי עֵת אֶפְתַּח פִּי בְּנִשְׁמַת כָּל חָי |
Awed am I, amazed at You
my arms I raise in pray’r to You my mouth will sings its praise to You Oh Source and Soul of Life! |
Source
This “praying translation” of the piyyut Tsamah Nafshi by Avraham ibn Ezra is included in Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s Sabbath Supplement to his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi ~ As I Can Say It (for Praying in the Vernacular) (2009).
The piyyut is now familiar as a Shabbat table song, although it was initially composed as an introduction to Nishmat Kol Ḥai.
Source(s)

“צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי | Tsam’ah Nafshi, a piyyut attributed to Avraham ibn Ezra (interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)” is shared by the contributors with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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