עַל אַהֲבָתְךָ אֶשְׁתֶּה גְבִיעִי | Al Ahavatekha Eshteh Gəvi'i, a piyyut of Yehudah haLevi (partial translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=59896
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license Date: 2025-01-31
Last Updated: 2025-02-18
Categories: Se'udat Leil Shabbat
Tags: 12th century C.E., 49th century A.M., זמירות zemirot, על אהבתך Al Ahavatekha, פיוטים piyyutim
Excerpt: This is a partial English translation of Al Ahavatekha offered by rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman to accompany a video by Nigunim Ensemble presenting their musical setting of the piyyut on Youtube in 2018. . . .
Content:
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עַל אַהֲבָתְךָ אֶשְׁתֶּה גְבִיעִי
שָׁלוֹם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי
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I raise a glass in honor of my beloved
Welcome! Shalom to you- the seventh day
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שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי מַעֲשֶׂה לָךְ כַּעֲבָדִים
אִם אֶעֱבֹד בָּהֶם אֶשְׂבַּע נְדוֹדִים
כֻּלָּם בְּעֵינַי הֵם כְּיָמִים אֲחָדִים
מֵאַהֲבָתִי בְּךָ יוֹם שַׁעֲשׁוּעִים
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The six weekdays are like servants to you
If I serve them I will be overwhelmed with wandering
They are, in my eyes, only a few days away
From my true love, the day of my delight.
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אֵצֵא בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָאכָה
לַעֲרוֹךְ לְיוֹם שַׁבַּת הַמַּעֲרָכָה
כִּי הָאֱלֹקִים שָׁם שָׂם הַבְּרָכָה
אַתָּה מְנַת חֶלְקִי מִכָּל יְגִיעִי
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מָאוֹר לְיוֹם קָדְשִׁי מֵאוֹר קְדוֹשִׁי
יָרֵחַ וְכוֹכָבִים קִנְּאוּ בְשִׁמְשִׁי
מַה לִי לְיוֹם שֵׁנִי אוֹ לַשְּׁלִישִׁי
יַסְתִּיר מְאוֹרוֹתָיו יוֹם הָרְבִיעִי
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אֶשְׁמַע מְבַשֵּׂר טוֹב מִיּוֹם חֲמִישִׁי
כִּי מָחֳרָת יִהְיֶה חֹפֶשׁ לְנַפְשִׁי
יוֹם לַעֲבוֹדָתִי עֶרֶב לְחָפְשִׁי
קָרוּא אֱלֵי שֻׁלְחָן מַלְכִּי וְרוֹעִי
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אֶמְצָא לְיוֹם שִׁשִּׁי נַפְשִׁי שְׂמֵחָה
כִּי קָרְבָה אֵלַי עֵת הַמְּנוּחָה
אִם נָע וָנָד אֵלֵךְ אֶמְצָא מְנוּחָה
עֶרֶב וְאֶשְׁכְּחָה נוֹדִי וְנוֹעִי
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On the sixth day my soul will find happiness
Because the day of rest is near
If I wander to seek wellbeing
By the evening my to and fro will be forgotten
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מַה נָעֲמָה לִי עֵת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת
לִרְאוֹת בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת פָּנִים חֲדָשׁוֹת
גִילוּ בְתַפּוּחִים הַרְבּוּ אֲשִׁישׁוֹת
זֶה יוֹם מְנוּחָה זֶה דּוֹדִי וְרֵעִי
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How I love twilight time
To see the Sabbath like greeting someone for the first time
Bring on the apples! Pour on the delicacies!
This is my day of rest, my beloved, my friend
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אָשִׁיר לְךָ שַׁבָּת שִׁיר הַיְּדִידוֹת
גַם יָאֲתָה לָךְ אַתְּ יוֹם הַחֲמוּדוֹת
יוֹם תַּעֲנוּגִים יוֹם שָׁלֹשׁ סְעוּדוֹת
תַּעֲנוּג לְשֻׁלְחָנִי תַּעֲנוּג יְצוּעִי
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עִמָּךְ מְקוֹר תּוֹרָה עִמָּךְ נְהוֹרָא
יָמִים לְפָנַיִךְ אֶל מוּל מְנוֹרָה
כִּי לַיְּהוּדִים אַתְּ שִׂמְחָה וְאוֹרָה
אַתָּה כְלִיל רֹאשִׁי וּצְמִיד זְרוֹעִי
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This is a partial English translation of Al Ahavatekha offered by rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman to accompany a video by Nigunim Ensemble presenting their musical setting of the piyyut on Youtube in 2018.
Contributor: Levi Weiman-Kelman (translation)
Co-authors:
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Name: Levi Weiman-Kelman (translation)
Bio: Levi Weiman-Kelman is the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Haneshama, a Reform community in Jerusalem devoted to prayer, study and social action. He is a founding member of Rabbis for Human Rights and teaches at the Hebrew Union College.
Website: http://www.kolhaneshama.org.il
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/levi-weiman-kelman
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Name: Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi
Bio: 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.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_Halevi
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/yehudah-ben-shmuel-halevi
Featured Image:
Title: Detail of an illustration accompanying the qiddush for Qadesh in the Amsterdam Haggadah 1741
Caption: Detail of an illustration accompanying the qiddush for Qadesh in the Amsterdam Haggadah 1741. (from the Rosenthaliana Collections - Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. Digitization by Ardon Bar-Hama, The National Library of Israel. Ktiv Project, The National Library of Israel)