שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Nina Salaman (1901)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=39123

Date: 2021-09-21

Last Updated: 2025-03-31

Categories: Morning Baqashot

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

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	At the dawn I seek thee, Refuge, rock sublime; Set my prayer before thee in the morning, And my prayer at eventime.
לִפְנֵי גְדֻלָּתְךָ אֶעְמֹד וְאֶבָּהֵל כִּי עֵינְךָ תִּרְאֶה כָל מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבִּי	I before thy greatness Stand and am afraid: All my secret thoughts thine eye beholdeth Deep within my bosom laid.
מַה זֶּה אֲשֶׁר יוּכַל הַלֵּב וְהַלָּשׁוֹן לַעְשׂוֹת וּמַה כֹּחַ רוּחִי בְּתוֹךְ קִרְבִּי	And withal what is it Heart and tongue can do? What is this my strength, and what is even This the spirit in me too?
הִנֵּה לְךָ תִּיטַב זִמְרַת אֱנוֹשׁ עַל כֵּן אוֹדְךָ בְּעוֹד תִּהְיֶה נִשְׁמַת אֱלֹהַּ בִּי	But indeed man’s singing May seem good to thee; So I praise thee, singing, while there dwelleth Yet the breath of God in me.

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The invocation: “At the Dawn I seek thee,” was written by Solomon Ibn Gabirol, who lived in Spain in the 11th century. As is shown by the last words of this poem, it was intended immediately to precede that early passage in the morning prayer which begins “O my God, the soul which thou gavest me is pure” (אלהי נשמה). It will be noted that the initial letters of the poem form an acrostic on the author’s name, Solomon (שלמה). The English version here printed is by Mrs R. N. Salaman. –Israel Abrahams

Source(s)

 

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Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Nina Davis Salaman (translation)
  Bio: 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.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Salaman
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/nina-salaman
• 
  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)