שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1857)

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Date: 2022-01-24

Last Updated: 2024-12-17

Categories: Morning Baqashot

Tags: 11th century C.E., 49th century A.M., Dawn, rhyming translation, פיוטים piyyutim, רשות reshut, שחר אבקשך Shaḥar Avaqeshkha

Excerpt: The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ צוּרִי וּמִשְׂגַּבִּי אֶעְרֺךְ לְפָנֶיךָ שַׁחְרִי וְגַם עַרְבִּי	In the early morn I seek Thee, my Refuge and Rock! And address unto Thee my morning and evening prayers.
לִפְנֵי גְדֻלָּתְךָ אֶעְמֹד וְאֶבָּהֵל כִּי עֵינְךָ תִּרְאֶה כָל מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבִּי	When contemplating Thy greatness, I remain and stand amazed; For to Thine all-seeing eyes my innermost thoughts are revealed.
מַה זֶּה אֲשֶׁר יוּכַל הַלֵּב וְהַלָּשׁוֹן לַעְשׂוֹת וּמַה כֹּחַ רוּחִי בְּתוֹךְ קִרְבִּי	How feeble is the power of heart and tongue to conceive and praise Thy might, And how inadequate that of the spirit which is within me!
הִנֵּה לְךָ תִּיטַב זִמְרַת אֱנוֹשׁ עַל כֵּן אוֹדְךָ בְּעוֹד תִּהְיֶה נִשְׁמַת אֱלֹהַּ בִּי	Yet Thou deignest to accept the praise of mortal man, Therefore will I praise Thee, whilst Thy divine spirit shall animate me.

This translation of “Kol Beruei” by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857).

Source(s)

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: David de Aaron de Sola (translation)
Bio: David de Aaron de Sola or David Aaron de Sola (1796 – 1860) (Hebrew: דוד אהרן די סולה) was a rabbi and author, born in Amsterdam, the son of Aaron de Sola. In 1818, D.A. de Sola was called to London to become one of the ministers of the Bevis Marks Congregation under Haham Raphael Meldola (who would also later become his father-in-law). De Sola's addresses before the Society for the Cultivation of Hebrew Literature led the mahamad (board of directors of the congregation) to appoint him to deliver discourses in the vernacular, and on March 26, 1831, he preached the first sermon in English ever heard within the walls of Bevis Marks Synagogue (all previous ones being spoken in Spanish or Portuguese). His discourses were subsequently published by the mahamad. Of his style, one observer wrote: "Though a scholar and a thinker, yet he...used the most unpedantic terms and assumed a quiet, colloquial manner.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_de_Aaron_de_Sola
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/david-de-aaron-de-sola

Name: Shlomo ibn Gabirol
Bio: Solomon ibn Gabirol (also Solomon ben Judah; Hebrew: שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול‎ Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول‎ Abu Ayyub Sulayman bin Yahya bin Jabirul, Latin: Avicebron or Avencebrol) was an 11th-century Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics, and satire.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_ibn_Gabirol
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/shlomo-ibn-gabirol

Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: 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 naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת 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.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

Featured Image:

Title: ground-mist-illinois-dawn-3890569_960_720
Caption: Ground mist Illinois dawn (credit: MikeGoad, license: PD)