Chapter IV: Preface: 5 (3)

Why do ye chide me for my understanding, O ye thorns and briers of the earth? If wisdom is of light esteem to you, vile and despised are ye in her sight. Though she is closed, and reaches not your heart, lo, I shall open her chests. How shall I now abandon wisdom, since God’s spirit made a covenant between us? or how shall she forsake me, since she is like a mother to me and I am the child of her old age? or like an ornament which adorns the soul, or like a necklace on her neck. How can ye say to me: ‘Take off thy ornaments, and remove the precious chain from her neck’? In her my heart rejoices, and is glad, because her rivers of delights are pure. Throughout my life I shall make my soul ascend until her abode is beyond the clouds. For she adjured me not to rest, until I find the knowledge of her Master.

3. The Royal Crown[94]

This my prayer may avail a man to learn righteousness and purity; therein I declared wonders of the living God, briefly, not at length. I placed this hymn above all my hymns; wherefore I named it ‘Royal Crown.’

Wonderful are Thy works, and that my soul knows right well! Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the eminence, and the majesty. Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art the One exalted as head above all; and Thine are riches and glory. Unto Thee do the creatures from above and beneath testify that they shall perish, but Thou shalt endure. Thine is that power whose mystery our minds fail to fathom, for Thou art too mighty for us. Thine is the hiding-place of might, the mystery and the foundation. Thine is the name which is concealed from the men of wisdom, and the power which sustains the universe on nothing, and the ability to bring every hidden thing to light. Thine is the lovingkindness which is great toward Thy creatures, and the bliss which is stored up for them that fear Thee. Thine are the mysteries which no intellect nor mind can contain, and the life over which decay has no dominion, and the throne which is exalted above all the highest, and the habitation which is concealed in the height of the hiding-place. Thine is the existence from the shadow of whose light every being was created, of which we say: ‘Under its shadow we live.’ Thine are the two worlds between which Thou didst set a boundary: the first for deeds and the second for recompense. Thine is the recompense which Thou didst store up and hide for the righteous, for when Thou didst see that it was good, Thou didst conceal it.

Thou art one, the first of every number, and the foundation of every structure. Thou art one, and at the mystery of Thy oneness the wise are perplexed, for they know not what it is. Thou art one, and Thy oneness can neither increase nor decrease; it can neither be diminished, nor can aught be added to it. Thou art one, but not such a one as can be possessed or numbered; for neither increase nor change, neither qualification nor attribute can be conceived of Thee. Thou art one, but my imagination fails to set a limit and a bound about Thee; I have therefore said: ‘I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.’ Thou art one, too high and too exalted to be brought low and to fall, for how can the One fall?

Thou art existent, but the hearing of the ear and the sight of the eye cannot perceive Thee; nor can the How? the Wherefore? or the Whence? be applied to Thee. Thou art existent, but by Thyself, and there is none other with Thee. Thou art existent, and hadst been before time was, and didst abide without space. Thou art existent, but Thy mystery is hidden, who can reach it? exceeding deep, who can find it out?

Thou art living, but not from any fixed time, nor from any known period. Thou art living, but not through a soul and breath, for Thou art the soul of the soul. Thou art living, but not as the life of man who is like to vanity, and whose end is moth and vermin. Thou art living, and he who reaches Thy mystery shall find everlasting delight: he shall eat, and live for ever.

Thou art great, and compared with Thy greatness all greatness is humbled, and every excellence is faulty. Thou art too great for any thought, and too sublime for any composition. Thou art greater than all greatness, and exalted above all blessing and praise.

Thou art mighty, and among Thy creatures and beings there is none that can do according to Thy works and according to Thy mighty acts. Thou art mighty, and Thine is the absolute power which changes not and alters not. Thou art mighty, and because of the abundance of Thy might Thou dost pardon even in the time of Thy indignant wrath, and dost defer Thine angel to sinners. Thou art mighty, yet Thy tender mercies are over all Thy creatures: these are Thy mighty deeds that were of old.

Thou art light, and the eyes of every pure soul shall behold Thee; but the clouds of iniquity shall hide Thee from its eyes. Thou art the light which is hidden in this world, but shall be revealed in the high and beautiful world; on the mount of the Lord shall it be seen.

Thou art most high, and the eye of the intellect yearns and longs for Thee; but it can only see the utmost thereof, and cannot see the whole.

Thou art the God of gods, and all Thy creatures are Thy witnesses, and for the glory of this name every creature is obliged to worship Thee. Thou art God, and all the beings are Thy servants and Thy worshippers; yet Thy glory is not diminished because of them that worship aught beside Thee; for the intention of them all is to attain unto Thee, but they are as the blind: they set their faces toward the way of the King; but they wander out of the way: one sinks into the pit of destruction, and another falls into the abyss; they all think that they have reached their goal, but they labored in vain. But Thy servants are as the clear-sighted who walk in the straight path: they turn not from the way to the right hand or to the left until they come to the court of the King’s house. Thou art God, supporting the beings with Thy divinity, and sustaining the creatures with Thy unity. Thou art God, and there is no distinction between Thy divinity, and Thy unity, and Thy eternity, and Thy existence; for it is all one mystery: although the names of each one are different, they all go unto one place.

Thou art wise, and wisdom, which is the fountain of life, emanates from Thee; compared with Thy wisdom, every man is brutish and without knowledge. Thou art wise, prior to all first beings, and even wisdom was Thy nursling. Thou art wise, but Thou didst not learn from another, nor didst Thou acquire wisdom from any one beside Thee. Thou art wise, and from Thy wisdom didst Thou set apart the predestined will, as a workman and an artist, to draw forth the emanation of existence from non-existence (as the light, issuing from the eye, emanates and draws from the fountain of light without a bucket), and it made all things without instruments. It hewed and engraved, cleansed and purified; it called unto non-existence, and it was cleft in twain; unto existence, and it was established; unto the universe, and it was stretched out. It meted out heaven with the span; its hand joined the pavilion of the spheres, and fastened the curtains over the creatures with the loops of potentiality. Its power reaches as far as the edge of the curtain, the outermost creation, which is the extreme end of the coupling.

XV. BAHYA B. JOSEPH IBN PAKUDA

[Philosopher, talmudic scholar, and liturgic poet. Difference of
opinion exists as to the time when he flourished. It is usually
accepted that he lived in the eleventh century. But arguments,
though by no means conclusive, have been brought forth to prove that
he lived a century later. To him is due the credit of having been
the author of the first Jewish system of ethics. His ethical work
_Hobot ha-Lebabot_ (Duties of the Heart), which was written in
Arabic, has always been a great favorite in its Hebrew translation.]

Pious Reflections and Admonitions to the Soul[95]

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

O my soul, march on with strength, and bless thy Creator. Prepare a supplication for Him, and pour out thy meditation before Him. Awake from thy sleep, and consider thy place, whence thou camest, and whither thou goest.

O my soul, awake from thy slumber, and utter a song to thy Creator; sing praises unto His name, declare His wonders, and fear Him wherever thou dwellest.

O my soul, be not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; nor shouldst thou be as a drunkard that is fast asleep, or as a man that is stupefied; for out of the fountain of understanding wast thou formed, and from the spring of wisdom wast thou taken; from a holy place wast thou brought forth, and from the city of the mighty, from heaven, wast thou taken out by God.

O my soul, put on garments of prudence, and gird on a girdle of understanding, and free thyself from the vanities of thy body, in which thou dwellest. Let not thy heart beguile thee with the sweetness of its desires, and let it not allure thee with the visions of its pleasures which melt away like water that runs apace. Remember that the beginning of these pleasures is without help or profit, and their end is shame and also reproach.

O my soul, run to and fro through the streets of thy understanding, and go about in the chambers of thy wisdom, and come unto the structure of the building of thy imagery, whose foundation is in dust; is it not a despised body and a carcass trodden under foot? It is formed out of a troubled fountain and a corrupted spring, built of a fetid drop; it is burned with fire, it is cut down. It is an unformed substance resembling a worm, it is nought but terror. It is kept in a foul womb, closed up in an impure belly; it is born with pangs and sorrows to see trouble and vanities. All day long it covets pleasures, and departs from instruction and from commandments; it comes in the dark, and goes away in the dark; it is a poor, needy, and destitute wayfarer. It has no knowledge without thee, and no understanding beside thee. While alive, it is dust; and when it dies, it is ashes. As long as it lives, worms surround it, and when its end comes, vermin and clods of dust cover it. It cannot discern between its right hand and its left hand; its lot is hidden in the ground. Go thou, therefore, and reign over it, for sovereignty is meet unto the children of wisdom, and the foolish is a servant to the wise of heart. Walk not in the stubbornness of thy wicked heart, be not ensnared by its counsels, and despise the gain of its frauds; trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery; for oppression makes a wise man foolish, and a bribe destroys the heart.

O my soul, set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou didst go; for all was made of dust, and indeed unto dust shall all return. Every thing that was created and fashioned has an end and a goal to return unto the ground, whence it was taken. Life and death are brothers that dwell together; they are joined to one another; they cling together, so that they cannot be sundered. They are joined together by the two extremes of a frail bridge over which all created beings travel: life is the entrance, and death is the exit thereof. Life builds, and death demolishes; life sows, and death reaps; life plants, and death uproots; life joins together, and death separates; life links together, and death scatters. Know, I pray thee, and see that also unto thee shall the cup pass over, and thou shalt soon go out from the lodging-place which is on the way, when time and chance befall thee, and thou returnest to thine everlasting home. On that day shalt thou delight in thy work, and take thy reward in return for thy labor wherein thou hast toiled in this world, whether it be good or bad. Therefore hearken, I pray thee, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget thy people and thy father’s house. Arise, and sing unto thy King all thy day and all thy night; lift up thy hands toward Him, and bow down unto Him with thy face to the ground; let thine eyelids gush out with waters, and kneel thou upon thy knees; the King may perchance desire thy beauty, and lift up His countenance unto thee, and give thee peace. He will be gracious unto thee in the days of thy affliction in this world, and also after thou hast returned to thy rest. For as long as thou didst live He dealt bountifully with thee.

O my soul, prepare provision in abundance, prepare not little, while thou art yet alive, and while thy hand has yet strength, because the journey is too great for thee. And say not: ‘I shall prepare provision to-morrow’; for the day has declined, and thou knowest not what the next day may bring forth. Know likewise that yesterday shall never come back, and that whatever thou hast done therein is weighed, numbered, and counted. Nor shouldst thou say: ‘I shall do it to-morrow’; for the day of death is hidden from all the living. Hasten to do thy task every day, for death may at any time send forth its arrow and lightning. Delay not to do thy daily task, for as a bird wanders from its nest, so does a man wander from his place. Think not with thyself that after thou hast gone forth from the prison of thy body thou wilt turn to correction from thy perpetual backsliding; for it will not be possible for thee then to do good or evil; it will not avail thee then to turn away from backsliding or to repent of wickedness, guilt, and transgression. For that world has been established to render accounts—the book of the hidden and concealed deeds which every man commits is sealed—and it has been prepared to grant a good reward to them that fear the Lord and think upon His name, and to execute the vengeance of the covenant upon them that forget God, who say unto God: ‘Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?’[96]

O my soul, if thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; and if thou scoffest, thy error remains with thee. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Lay continually to thy heart the words of Koheleth the son of David: ‘The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole man. For God will bring every work into judgment concerning every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.’[97] Forget not that He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom He has made may know it.[98] Remember likewise that there is no darkness and no thick darkness wherein the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.[99] Seek the Lord thy Maker with all thy might and strength. Seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be that thou wilt be hidden in the day of God’s anger, and in the day of His fierce wrath, and that thou wilt shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the sun when it goes forth in its might. The sun of righteousness with healing in its wings shall shine upon thee. Now arise, go and make supplication unto thy Lord, and take up a melody unto thy God. Praise thou God, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.

XVI. AHIMAAZ B. PALTIEL

[Liturgic poet and author of a family chronicle. He was born at
Capua, Italy, 1017, and died at Oria about 1060. His Chronicles
(_Sefer Yuhasin_) is an important source for the history of the
early Jewish settlement in Italy.]

Shephatiah Before His Death on Rosh ha-Shanah Declares that the Tyrant
Basil Is Dead[100]

And Rabbi Shephatiah was old and well stricken with age; and God blessed him with all pleasant qualities. The Dweller of the high heavens gave him the Torah as a possession, and made him great with riches and immense wealth. He endowed him with a son who was worthy and perfect; the father and the son were faultless. With them was Rabbi Hananel who was great and perfect; they were all steadfast in the fear of God. They were brothers and friends, and were pleasant in their friendship. They continually occupied themselves with the Torah and with the commandments and lovingly fulfilled God’s statutes. They exalted their King with strength and with glory, and magnified their Maker with honor and majesty, and made for their Creator a wreath, and a crown, and a diadem of fine gold. They ascribed strength and power to their Maker, and came in the evening and in the morning to the assembly of prayers. All the days that they were upon earth they bewailed with grief the exile and the destruction, and lamented with bitterness and desolation over the persecution. They cried and made supplications to Him who turns wise men backward,[101] by whose knowledge the depths were broken up, and who established and founded the rivers and seas, that He should make foolish the knowledge of the enemy, and that He should lay his kingdom waste. They asked understanding from Him who is full of mercy, that the decree of persecution should be brought to nought and be abolished. Because of their cry which they cried to the Highest of all high, the decree did not pass across from the other side of the seas, and His servants who were perfect in His laws He delivered from filth, and dirt, and foul waters: from being made to kneel to the deaf and mute, and from worshipping the blind and sightless, and from bowing down to idols and images. He thundered with the voice of thunders upon their enemies, and was filled with indignation against their persecutors; He delivered His beloved ones from the hand of them that rise up against them; and spared their soul from the coals of broom; that they may occupy themselves with the Torah, and meditate therein, and that they may smell the savor of the spices and perfumes which are hidden and sealed up in the treasuries and store-houses, which are closed up in the Eden of the venerable and ancient fathers. Then Rabbi Shephatiah, the teacher among the wise, yielded up his soul completely to the Judge of the widows and the Father of orphans. He tasted the cup of his ancestors, which the father of the serpents caused all mortals to drink.[102]

On New Year’s day, Rabbi Shephatiah, being the worthiest man in a worthy congregation, had to blow the horn, for the sake of the glory of God and His people. That day he was feeble, bent down by illness; but all the congregation whispered to him persuasively: ‘Our master that art clothed with light, radiance of our splendor, light of our eyes, blow thou the horn for us; all the days that our God will keep thee among us no other man shall blow the horn in our midst.’ And they burdened him with the blowing of the horn. He stood up, and blew the horn; but he was without strength and power, and the blowing of the horn did not come out in a fitting manner. Whereupon the righteous man cried out aloud unto them, and justified God’s judgment against himself: ‘My children, may this be a good omen unto you; for on account of my transgressions fortune has changed against me.’ He left the synagogue of his congregation, went to his house, and lay down upon his bed. And all the congregation came after him to his bed-chamber. He then turned his face toward them, and thus said he unto them: ‘I am going to my eternal rest, to my lot with the ancient fathers; and I make known unto you, my dear sons, my three beloved sons, that Basil[103] the oppressor and apostate is dead. He passes before me now, bound with chains of fire, and is handed over to the destroying angels. And He whose name is the Lord of hosts sent for me to go to meet Basil, and to contend against him in judgment, because of all the evil which he had done unto His people, in order to cut off his name and the name of his seed, his root, his offspring, and his plant.’ (And they wrote down the day and the hour. Some days later a report came that Basil who had done evil died; in accordance with the words of the righteous man did the letter arrive. For thus the emperors of Constantinople were wont to do according to their custom; when a king died, they would send an explicit letter to Bari,[104] and write down the day and the time, which brought the terrible tidings of the king’s death.) ‘Blessed be He who alone does wondrous things, who destroyed him from this world, and cut him off from the world to come. Blessed be His name, and blessed be the name of His glory. Now I am to be gathered unto my people, and I shall go to my place. And ye, my children, the children of my trials, all the congregation of my multitudes, may God be with you. He kills, and makes alive; He is named I AM THAT I AM, when He brings to life the righteous of Benjamin and the lion’s whelp.’[105]

XVII. MOSES B. JACOB IBN EZRA

[Poet, philosopher, and philologist. He wrote gracefully in Arabic
and Hebrew. He was born about 1070 at Granada, and died in the first
half of the twelfth century. His best works are still in manuscript,
but even his published books show him to have been a man of great
talent. His poetry was chiefly praised for the beauty and polish of
its diction. Judah ha-Levi addressed several panegyrics to him.]

1. Dirge on the Death of His Brother[106]

Oh mourn, my soul, and with a mourning cloak be clad, and put ropes upon thy sackcloth; be gathered to go to the right and left, awake to wail and to strip off thy train. Sell thy joy forever; it shall never be redeemed, nor shall it have a jubilee. Write a bill of divorce to rejoicing, take wailing instruments instead of harps. No longer shalt thou dread the wrath of time, nor fear the burning anger of the world; for what more can it do to thee? It has harmed thee grievously, and brought thee dire distress! Now that my brother is fallen, time is powerless to do me good, or to wound me. It smote, and did not spare; it broke all thy strength and glory, as a vessel made of clay. It hurled down thy height with wrath; how canst thou say that thy lot is cast in pleasantness?

Since my brother is gone my world is no more wide; it is a prison, and the earth is like shackles. He that upheld the glory of all things, how is it that his back is now burdened with dust? Because he is gone the sun is the companion of jackals, the moon is the brother of mourning since his death.

Now shall all understand that heaven’s host will fade and shrivel as a withering bud (all this shall vanish as a clod of earth, and yet the memory of his glory never shall grow old). When my brother went to the grave, I knew that all creation is but vanity.

2. Poem Addressed to One of His Noblest Friends[107]

A prisoner,[108] whose heart is made to boil like a pot by a burning flame, and whose eyes are laden with a cloud of tears! He thought to relieve his illness with his tears, but when he shed them, lo, it was rain making things to grow: a smoking furnace which, without a hand, sprinkles soot upon the brightness of his face and forehead. From his scalding tears the mountains crumble, just as when he roars the raging seas are calmed. In Edom’s field he wanders without pasture (regarded by none), like lost sheep which a lion thrust aside.

For him the daughters of the Great Bear moan, for him Orion makes baldness like an eagle. The hand of time went forth against him for evil, until with wrath it banished him out of the West.

How long shall he traverse the surface of the earth? how long shall he not loose his girdle and his belt? His brothers stood at a distance to gloat over him in his distress, and all his friends broke their covenant. With willful hand they shed his blood, and how could they have thought to cover it on a rock? But when God saw his strength was spent, He appointed thy right hand, O my lord, to shelter and to cover him. In his misty night thou didst shine as a star, and he beheld the light of companionship in the gloom of exile. His feet had slipped, but when he saw thy dwelling-place, they stood up firmly as in strongholds and on rocks. He came to the midst of the garden, and through thy sweet words his soul was made secure on fields of ease. Thou art honey to the palate, sunlight to the eye of him that looks, and myrrh unto the nostril of him that smells. Thou art the foundation of kindness, glory’s pillar, and art the plank and bar of the abode of truth. Ere thou hadst knowledge to cry: ‘My father’, and ‘My mother’, thy Maker caused thee to delight in the fear of God. Thou hast prudent counsels, wherewith thou annoyest thine enemies and gladdenest the souls of thy friends. With the breath of thy mouth thou makest the foolish wise, and with thy pen’s fluid washest off the blood of time’s ignorance. Thou art like a cedar that grew high in wisdom’s garden, so that the other shoots set forth their meditations unto thee. They are like an airy dream, like flying chaff, but thou renewest thy strength, and buddest by the glorious waters. Thy hand built for thee dominion with hewn stones, while other rulers plastered it with vanity. Thou art generous like thy fathers, and how pleasant it is to eat the second growth with grace, when the first is gone! Thou turnest thy right hand’s rivers as a honey stream, and makest them flow into the mouths of them that ask. Thou softenest thy generous heart toward the needy, but hardenest it like flint[109] against thy wealth. Thy soul urges thee to make the indigent rich, so that thou causest the name of poor to be forgotten. The sorrow-stricken man cheers up, on seeing thee: his wish is granted, when he calls thee by thy name.

Fain would I speak more of thee, but tempestuous is the sea of exile—who shall make its waves subside? I long to see the image of thy features in my dream, if only my pain allowed me to sleep! Thou art a garden of delights, but closed are its openings, that I should not smell the myrrh thereof. Time is thy slave, and yet it sends against me, day by day, the indignation and wrath of men. Hadst thou rebuked it, thou wouldest have pacified its wrath and its fierce anger, and it would have ceased to vex me.

My words have reached thee; command thou thy bounty that it should judge between me and between thy slave.[110] Here is the song, it is perfumed oil; take it, I pray, O man that art to be anointed with it now! A necklace! a word of glory on thy golden checker work, a speech on thy variegated chain.

3. Poem in Honor of the Wedding of Solomon b. Matir[111]

Is it a scent of myrrh, which pervades the air; or a breeze, which shakes the myrtles? A cloud, or a great mass of spicery? Lightning, or the sparkling of wine cups? Is it the clouds that pour out perfumes, or do the drops come from the myrtle tops? Is it the mouthless mountains that burst forth with joy, or doves and birds on boughs? The clothing of the earth is inwrought with gold, its coats are made of variegated silk. Its paths are straight to him that treads on them, and mountain-ridges have become like plains. The houses jubilantly shout, and the stone from the wall and the wooden beams respond. The erstwhile gloomy faces are now clad with joy, and men of grief are merry and exult. The lips of stammerers now plainly speak, to build the house of mirth that was destroyed. Indeed the mysterious wonders now appear, that have been hidden in the heart of time. The tent of glory has now been coupled, hooks have been placed into the loops of praises. The days have brought together bone to bone, and separated bodies are now joined together. Upon the mounts of myrrh have joys been set high, they are assembled on the hills of frankincense.

On morning’s wings a voice proclaims unto the world (not on swift runners, nor on horses): ‘Solomon has lovingly betrothed a noble maid,’ as though the moon and sun had been betrothed.

Upon the path of prudence are his steps, his feet walk and tread upon instruction. From early youth his thoughts were on the skies, his meditations were borne onto the constellations. He excels all men of his own age, as sons of men excel all beasts and worms. His deeds are far more precious than theirs, as rubies are more precious than clay. They run to reach the dust of his feet—how can a sparrow pursue the hawks?

Oh answer: how can Orion meet Pleiades on earth, while none inquires, nor takes notice? Is this not so? Are not their radiant wings spread upon their charming countenances? How did they steal the light of the stars? Were men ever seen robbing and despoiling heaven’s lights?

O all his friends, make haste to drink to-day the wine of friendship in the bowls of joy. Be ready to increase your merriment, and open ye the store-houses of ease. The goblets are like frozen water, and the burning coals have been dissolved in their midst. Drink now as he appointed in his house; drink ye at your desire, without being forced.

O youth, rejoice in the lovely hind, and sing ye both in ecstasies of joy. Delight thou in a figure graceful as a palm-tree and lithe as the myrtle-twigs. Fear not the sound of her neck’s ornaments, at twilight, nor the rustling of her veils. And be not terrified by dove-like eyes, drunk with the wine of passion’s violence. Take courage, when embraced by arms bedecked with bracelets and with bangles of pure gold. Nor shouldst thou shun the snake-like locks that fall on a face bathed in maiden modesty; indeed, they come to thee in peace, though they conceal and hide the splendor of her face.[112]

And know that time is the slave of thy desire, assembled are its sons to do thy wish: they hasten to bring near what thou seekest, but drive away the sorrows of thy heart.

This song is from a friend whose heart rejoices in thee, whose thoughts fly and hasten to thee; it is a glorious robe which shall never grow old, till the foundations of the world are demolished. Indeed the water of his friendship is as pure as snow and is not fouled by feet; if in my heart it is concealed from thee, it is to be sought in the gardens of thy mind. For rubies are for men of intellect, while for the vain are fatlings of lambs; the brave men crave for words of eloquence, but fools hunger after fattened geese.

O noble scion, live at ease with the daughter of nobles, sheltered under the shadow of the Almighty!

XVIII JUDAH B. SAMUEL HA-LEVI

[Lucid thinker and melodious singer. Born at Toledo in the last
quarter of the eleventh century, and died in the Orient in the
middle of the twelfth. His philosophic work, written in Arabic, has
always been a household word in Jewish homes in its Hebrew
translation under the title _ha-Kozari_. His poems are the outburst
of a deeply religious soul, and often describe his fervent love for
Zion. Though under the influence of Arabic literature, his poems are
more Jewish than those of the other great poets of that brilliant
epoch.]

1. Ode to Zion[113]

O Zion, wilt thou not inquire about the peace of thy captives, they that seek thy peace and are the remnant of thy flocks? From west and east, from north and south, greetings from them that are far and near take thou on all sides. Greetings also from a slave of yearning, who sheds his tears like Hermon’s dew, and longs that they fall on thy mounts.

I am like a jackal to bewail thy woe; but when I dream of thy restoration, I am a harp for thy songs. My heart moans for Bethel, and Peniel, and for Mahanaim, and all the meeting-places of thy pure ones. There God’s Presence dwells near thee, and thy Creator opened thy gates toward the gates of heaven. The glory of the Lord alone was thy light; the sun, the moon, and stars illumined thee not.

I yearn that my soul be poured forth in the place where God’s spirit was poured out on thy chosen ones. Thou art a royal house, thou art the throne of God, how then can bondmen sit upon the thrones of thy princes?

Would that I were roaming about in the places where God appeared unto thy seers and messengers! Who would make me wings, that I may fly away? I would cause my broken heart to move amidst thy mounts of Bether! On thy ground fain would I lie prostrate; I would take pleasure in thy stones, and would love thy dust! Then standing by the sepulchres of my fathers, I would gaze with rapture on thy choicest graves in Hebron. I would pass through thy forest and Carmel, and stand in Gilead, and gaze with rapture on mount Abarim;—mount Abarim and mount Hor, where are thy two great luminaries, thy teachers who gave thee light.

Thine air is life for the souls, like myrrh are the grains of thy dust, and thy streams are like the honeycomb. It would be pleasant for me to walk naked and barefoot among thy desolate ruins, where once thy temples stood; where thy ark was hidden, and where thy Cherubim dwelled in thy innermost shrines.

I will pluck and cast away the beauty of my locks, and curse fate which denied thy Nazirites in an unclean land. How can it be pleasant unto me to eat and drink, when I see that the curs drag thy young lions? or how can the light of the day be sweet to my sight, when I see the flesh of thine eagles in the mouth of ravens?

O cup of sorrow, gently! desist for a while! for my reins and soul are already filled with thy bitterness. When I remember Oholah, I drink thy poison; and when I remember Oholibah, I drain thy dregs.

O Zion, perfect of beauty, thou hast of yore combined love and grace, and the souls of thy companions are bound up with thee; they that rejoice in thy bliss, are grieved at thy desolation, and bewail thy misfortunes. From the pit of captivity they pant toward thee, and prostrate themselves, each from his place, toward thy gates; the flocks of thy multitude, that are exiled and scattered over mountain and hill, yet do not forget thy folds; that cling to thy skirts, and strive to go up and seize the boughs of thy palm-trees.

Can Shinar and Pathros in their greatness be likened to thee? can they compare their vanity to thy Truthfulness and Light?[114] Unto whom can they compare thy anointed and thy seers, unto whom thy Levites and thy singers? The crown of all vain kingdoms shall change and pass away, but thy strength is for ever, thy crowns are for all generations.

Thy God desired thee for His dwelling, and happy is the man whom He chooses and draws near to dwell in thy courts. Happy is he who waits, and will yet live to see the rising of thy light, when upon him shall thy dawns break forth, to behold the bliss of thy chosen ones, and to exult in thy joy, when the pristine glory of thy youth is restored to thee.

2. Meditations in Mid-Ocean[115]

Wilt thou at fifty still pursue childhood’s folly, while thy days are ready to fly away? Wilt thou flee from the service of God, but eagerly serve men? wilt thou seek the multitude, but forsake the presence of the One who is sought in all affairs? Wilt thou neglect to make provision for thy journey, and sell thy portion for a pottage of lentils?

Unto thee thy soul has not yet said: ‘Enough!’ but her lust bears new fruit each month; turn aside from her advice, and seek God’s counsel; keep away from the five senses. Reconcile thyself to thy Creator in the remainder of thy days which hurry and hasten. Seek not His good will with a double heart, and go not toward enchantments. Be strong as a leopard to do His will, swift as an antelope, and mighty as lions.

Let thy heart not fail in mid-ocean, when thou seest the mountains totter and move to and fro. Worn out are the hands of sailors, and skilful workers keep silence; they walk forward cheerfully, but they turn back, and are ashamed. The ocean is thy only refuge, there is no way to escape, the snares are all around.

The sails flutter and wave, the planks tremble and shake. The wind sports with the waters, like them that cast about the sheaves for threshing; for a while it flattens them like threshing-floors, and then it heaps them up like stacks. When the waves grow mighty, they are like lions; but when they subside, they seem like serpents; billow follows billow, fiercely chasing, like adders that will not be charmed.

The mighty vessel is well-nigh overthrown by a mighty breaker, and the mast and the riggings are loosened. The chambers of the ark are in confusion: no one knows which are the lower, the middle, or the upper ones. They that pull the riggings are in anguish, men and women are sorely grieved; troubled is the spirit of their captains—the bodies are weary of the souls. The strength of masts is of no avail, and the counsel of greybeards no longer pleases. Masts of cedar are counted like stubble, cypress-trees are turned into reeds. Weights of sand are like straw on the surface of the ocean, iron and stone are like chaff.

Then each man prays to his holiness, but thou turnest to the holy of the holies. Thou rememberest the wonders of the Red Sea and the Jordan, which are engraved on every heart. Thou then praisest Him who stills the roaring of the ocean, when its waters cast up mire. Thou mentionest to Him the iniquity of unclean hearts, but He remembers for thee the merit of the holy fathers. He renews His miracles, when thou renewest before Him the song of the dancing of the Mahlites and Mushites.[116] He restores the breath of life unto the bodies, and the dry bones live again. In a moment the billows are stilled, and seem like flocks scattered upon the face of the earth.

The night is (when the sun descends on the degrees, and out comes the heavenly host with its captain) like a Cushite woman whose clothing is inwrought with gold, wrapt up in a diamond-spangled cloak of blue. The stars are perplexed in mid-ocean, like strangers driven out from their dwelling-places; they reflect their light, in their likeness and their image, in the midst of the sea, like flames and fires. The waters and the sky are like brilliant and bright ornaments on the night.

The sea is like the heaven in appearance, they are thus two encompassing seas; and between them is my heart a third sea, when the billows of my new hymns arise.

3. Letter Addressed to Nathan b. Samuel[117]

To the store-house of understanding and stronghold of faith, the crown of the scholars and chief of the speakers, the pride of the Torah and the bowl of the candlestick, our master and teacher Rabbi Nathan the scholar, son of the glory of the greatness of the holiness of our master and teacher Rabbi Samuel the scholar, of blessed memory, from one who bows himself down before him and longs to behold his countenance, Judah the Levite, son of Rabbi Samuel (may his soul be in paradise!).

Stones of the crown lifted on high, glorying in the crown of our generation, deriving their genealogy from the Foundation Stone, and mocking every other precious stone! Thou art the crown that is set upon the stone of salvation; all thy border is of desirable stones: the chief stone is above thee, graceful stones are at thy right and at thy left, and thou hast rays coming forth from thy hand. I shall divide the seas, and stir up the shades, for I shall arouse myself to sing, when Nathan the prophet comes to me. The meditations of my heart are in commotion, and my thoughts impel me to write. Thou didst humble me, yet didst thou delight me, for thou didst lead me with honor, though with heaviness, and put upon me the crown and the testimony. Thou didst robe me with thy raiment, attire me with thy mitres, and strengthen me with thy power. But who can don thy crowns, and who can put on thy wreaths? Gates of justice are thy gates, lofty mountains are thy mountains, and twilights of desire are thy dawns. When thou devisest a law, thou causest the advice of others to fail; when thou counsellest, thou breakest every rod; every mouth becomes dumb, even the eloquent feels ashamed, and they who compose songs have mouths, but speak not: their fountains are stopped up, and they themselves are still as a stone in the presence of a fountain whose waters fail not. Thy heavens do not become black, and thy rains are not withheld. Thy store-houses are filled, and thy spices send forth their fragrance. The manna descends upon him that hearkens to thy words. Wonderful are thy words, and thy compositions are awe-inspiring; they fly to the west and to the south, and speak from on high. Shall Egypt detain such a man, while Jerusalem, as well as the land of Merathaim,[118] longs for thee? Thou art a bundle of myrrh held in the hands and sought betwixt the breasts; thy fame tells concerning thee and likewise about thy thoughts. The mixtures of thy perfumes proclaim before thee: ‘Bow the knee’; and thy books reveal thy secrets. Thy name gave[119] forth thy taste and thy pleasant dainties; the wonderful sage, the exalted crown; yea, thy name is greater than all; our master and teacher, Nathan the scholar, the crown of scholars, the son of the glory of our master and teacher Samuel the scholar, the righteous, of blessed memory. From one who is a portion of thy lights and a tributary of thy rivers, Judah the Levite, thy disciple, the gleaning of thy harvest, and the fallen fruit of thy vintage; who sends his heart ahead of his writings; who is fearful and faint-hearted to consider his affairs. Shall I prosper when I come forth with my ploughshare and coulter to meet the Cherethite and Pelethite, a mighty nation that arranges battle-lines like Benaiah and Ethan? Who am I, what is my life, and what is my desire and wish? Worthless dust, crushed and ill; fearful on account of my iniquity and the sins of my youth and old age. Yet I ventured to stand upon thy thresholds with my supplications, though I am but a wayfarer that turns aside to tarry for a night, a Levite who sojourns there. Wherewith shall I draw nigh, and how shall I vie with the ruler and potentate? I summoned counsels from afar, took up my weapons, came in, and went out; but I found nothing better than silence. I was humiliated, and put to shame, and despaired of an answer; I lost heart to come out to meet thee; I groped for the wall in the dark, and felt my way like the blind, and sought hiding-places, until I met taskmasters, who were urgent, persistent, and pressing; they came from the wonderful sage, the lord, the exalted nobleman, our master and teacher Halfon the Levite, who speaks in thy name, and endeavors to take hold of thee, O my lord and my pride, may he be exalted and lifted up, and may he be very high. He stands between us to join our hearts with the exchange of our writings and the purity of our love. He importuned me, pressed me, urged me, aroused me, and brought me out hastily from the dungeon of slothfulness. He coaxed me, without restraining himself, saying: ‘Come now, I will prove thee; finish thy work, and give the best thereof which is full of understanding; perform at thy old age the deeds of youth. Know before whom thou art about to render the account, near whom thou writest, and near whom thou signest.’ Thy enchanters hurried, and thy magicians did great things, until they annulled my vows, and made my bonds void. Then my bands dropped off, my youth was renewed, my songs thronged tumultuously, my lyres were sounded, and forgotten were my fears and the years of the life of my sojournings. I remembered not that the day declined toward evening, that the eternal lodging-place was near by, while there was yet abundant work. I mingled with the throng, aroused myself with youth, eagerly sought the dawn of life, and dissembled hoariness, as one dissembles a stolen thing, though my leanness testified against me. Then I took some of thy words, and with wrestlings did I wrestle with the lion, and prevailed; I rescued a piece of an ear, and made merry with myself, for I was likened to the scribes of the king and to them that have ability to stand in the king’s palace. My lord, in thy kindness pardon thy servant, and be not too exacting with me, and weigh not my words; judge me in the scale of merit, and bring me not into the judgment of thy wisdom. Behold, here is the fruit of my intellect, the choicest of my musing, and the best of my meditations, according to the ability of my hand and tongue, until I come unto my lord to watch at thy doors, to gather thy pearls, and to sing thy praises. Lo, these are but the outskirts of thy paths, and a little of the splendor of thy moons. He that makes peace in His high places shall increase thy peace, shall make thy friends perfect, shall fight against thine enemies, and establish thy plans, that thou mayest spend thy days in prosperity. I conclude with peace. Amen.

XIX. ABRAHAM B. MEIR IBN EZRA

[Poet, philologist, and astronomer. He was born in Spain about 1092,
and died in 1167. He acquired great fame as grammarian and biblical
exegete, as poet, and as astronomer. The greater bulk of his poems
are liturgic; but he also has a number of fine secular poems. His
commentaries are based on sound principles of exegesis, and his
poems are replete with deep feeling.]

1. Plaintive Song[120]

Where is thy might, O right hand of the Lord?—I heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;—but now I have despaired of lifting up my head, as though I had never known of thee.

The fire of jealousy burns within me for the queen that now languishes in bonds; she is the derision and scorn of all creatures, bound to a life-long widowhood. My foes are prosperous and at rest, but I am an exile, and wander to and fro.

The hand of the polluter rules over me, and he taunts me: ‘I am holier than thou; how canst thou hope, while generations have passed, and thou art still in my bondage?’

Enough have I been sitting in the dark, pondering with grief on my misfortune; how can I hope to find a cure for me, while my God dwells not in my midst? I weep for my soul, and how shall I give respite to my heart?

Ask, O city of Ariel, ask if I have ever forgotten thee; tears flow like rivers from mine eyes, for I left thee without glory.

In visions of appointed seers I meet not the end of my captivity; and I seek among all the prophets, but I know not the mystery of my redemption. My trespasses have caused me grief; yet I heard a voice which gladdened me. Each prophet said to my inheritance: ‘How can I abandon thee? Because of the affection of the days of youth I bear for thee an everlasting love.’

2. Penitential Prayer[121]

I prostrate myself with my face to the ground, since nothing lower exists; I humbly cast myself down before the Most High, who is the highest of all high.

O, wherewith shall I meet His countenance? if with my spirit, comes it not from Him? if with my choicest flesh? He gave it life, and man has nought that is nobler than his soul! There is no end and no beginning to His greatness—how can my tongue extol Him? Much farther is He than the heavens of the heavens, yet near to my flesh and bone.

Behold, I come to Thee, my God, because there is none besides Thee that can benefit. Have not all the hosts of heaven and of earth like me been created by Thy hand? How shall I then seek help from them? Is not the help of all created things in vain? A slave can flee to none for refuge, but unto his master who acquired him.

Why should I expect to know aught, knowing that Thou hast created me for my good? Thy lovingkindnesses are more than can be told, but my sins exceed the sand. How shall I lift up mine eye unto Thee, since mine eye also has grievously transgressed? What more shall my lips utter in response, since also they have dealt very wickedly? The wantonness of my heart did unto me that which my adversary could not do. Hot wrath has overtaken me because of that; woe unto me, for I rebelled! My evil inclination led me astray, for I desired not to provoke Thee. My evils harmed only me, but Thou alone wilt show me lovingkindness. Make known to me a way to profit me, for Thou didst teach me all that I know. I caused the prayers of my heart to be heard by mine ears; mayest Thou hear them in heaven!

3. The Epistle of Hai b. Mekiz[122]