posted 05-31-1999 02:18 PM            

Torah

Hymn for the Sabbath Eve by Rabbi Isaac Luria - part 1.

HYMN FOR THE SABBATH EVE (FRIDAY SUNDOWN)
by Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari Zaal

I sing in hymns to enter the gates of the Field of holy
apples.
A new table we prepare for Her, sheds its light upon us.
Between right and left the Bride approaches,in holy jewels and festive garments.
Her Husband embraces Her in Her foundation, giving Her pleasure, squeezing out his strength.
Torment and trouble are ended.
Now there are joyous faces and spirits and souls.
He gives Her great joy in twofold measure.
Light shines upon Her and streams of blessing.
Bridesmen go forth and prepare the Bride's adornments,
food of various kinds and all manner of fish.
To beget souls and new spirits on the thirty-two paths and three branches.
She has seventy crowns and the supernal King,that all may be crowned in the Holy of Holies.
All the worlds are engraved and concealed within Her,
but all shine forth from the "Ancient of Days."
May it be His will that He dwell among His people,
who take joy for His sake with sweets and honey.
In the south I set the hidden candelabrum, I make room in the north for the table with the loaves.
With wine in beakers and boughs of myrtle to fortify the Betrothed, to strengthen the weak.
We plait them wreaths of precious words for the crowning of the seventy in fifty gates.
Let the Shekhinah be adorned by six Sabbath loaves
connected on every side with the Heavenly Sanctuary.
Weakened and cast out the impure powers, the menacing demons are now in fetters.

=======================================================

ANNOTATION OF THE SABBATH HYMN BY R. ISAAC LURIA
by Yakov Leib haKohain

At the outset let me say that it is an arrogance for
anyone, and most of all myself, to even attempt to "explain" anything by R. Isaac Luria. This poem is to be understood by the Heart and not by the head, by the Soul and not by the brain. Its power lies in its
mystery and not in its "meaning." Therefore, I have no intention of "interpreting" it. That is for the reader to do. What I will do, however, is to explain various key symbols in the hymn, leaving their "interpretation" to the reader's Soul. Finally, I put my name to what follows not out of pride, but to clearly indicate that whatever errors it contains are mine and not the Ari Zaal's.

KABBALISTIC MEANING OF THE SABBATH

According to the Oral Torah, after the destruction of the Second Temple, YHVH -- no longer having "a place to dwell among them" -- left this world and returned to the supernal realm of Atziluth. Every seven days,
however, his "Shekinah" (the indwelling feminine presence) is invited back by her "Groom," the Community of Israel, to re-inhabit (and, therefore, sustain) the world for another six days. Israel does this by preparing the Table of the Sabbath Meal, which is a recreation of the Temple and, therefore, a "landing field," if you will, for God. The Sabbath Table becomes such a "landing field" by always including the following symbols: lighted candles (= the Holy Golden Candlestick or "Menorah"), salt (= purification of the altar), bread (= the grain
sacrifice and also the "shew bread"), meat (= the animal sacrifice), wine (= the blood sacrifice), and fish (= a symbol of the Sabbath itself). The Hymn alludes to these symbols in the lines,

>A new table
>we prepare for Her,
>a lovely candelabrum
>sheds its light upon us.

and also,

>Bridesmen go forth
>and prepare the Bride's adornments,
>food of various kinds
>all manner of fish.

and,

>With wine in beakers. . .
>I make room in the north
>for the table with the loaves.

"Foods of various kinds" alludes to the fact that
eating the Sabbath Meal is done for much more than physical nourishment.
It is, in itself, a re-enactment of the "Trumah," or remains of the temple sacrifice eaten by Priests. Moreover, God's sustaining re-entry
into the world that takes place every Sabbath Eve is alluded to by the lines,

>To beget souls
>and new spirits

Thus, the Ari Zaal's "Hymn for the Sabbath Eve"
celebrates the Sabbath Table and its mystical meaning as a "landing field" for the Shekinah, or indwelling Spirit of God.

THE AYTZ CHIAM, OR "TREE OF LIFE"

The centerpiece of Kabbalistic theosophy, its virtual paradigm of God's creation, entry, withdrawal from, and re-entry into the world is the Tree of the Ten Sephiroth. Consequently, the Sephiroth are referred to in several places by the Ari. For example, in the opening of the hymn he
declares:

>I sing in hymns
>to enter the gates
>of the Field
>of holy apples.

In which "The Field of holy apples" refers to the
Third Sephira, "Binah/Mother," which is also called "The Apple Orchard" since the apple itself is a symbol for the Shekinah, and the Third Sephirah is her illumination. Moreover, the lines

>on the thirty-two paths
>and three branches.

are a reference to the thirty-two "paths" connecting
the Ten Sephiroth with each other, while the "three branches" are a reference to the Right, Left, and Center Columns of the Sephirotic Tree.

The Sephiroth, and particularly their "Partzufim" (see
my previous post on this) are referred to in the lines,

>She has seventy crowns
>and the supernal King,
>that all may be crowned
>in the Holy of Holies

which refer to the Sephiroth Keter which has the
meanings of "Crown" and "Supernal King" as does the phrase "Ancient of Days" in the lines:

>All the worlds are engraved
>and concealed within Her,
>but all shine forth
>from the "Ancient of Days."

THE MYSTICAL WEDDING

The entire hymn is a metaphor, using the various Kabbalistic symbols described above, for the hyrosgamous, or "Mystical Union" between God
and the world of His creation. On the Sabbath Eve he enters the world as his "Shekinah" or female aspect, who "marries" her "Groom", the Community of Israel thereby renewing the world for another six days,
during which time the Shekinah gradually withdraws to her Source, to be coaxed back again by the Sabbath Table at the next Sabbath Eve. In the words of the Zohar,

"And that time is a time of Grace for all; when the
Holy King holds out to Israel, and all who are with her, his Sceptre of the Thread of Grace so all may be wholly united to the Holy King."
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Hymn for the Sabbath Eve by Rabbi Isaac Luria

posted 05-31-1999 10:25 PM            

I enjoyed your web pages. I really like the music.

Torah

[This message has been edited by Torah (edited 05-31-99).]

[This message has been edited by Torah (edited 06-01-99).]

posted 05-31-1999 11:28 PM            

Jeremiah 7:17,18

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings into other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

I didn't come out of "christian" idolatry just to be a part of what appears to be Jewish idolatry.

Sorry sisters, I don't know how to be tactful some times.

posted 06-01-1999 12:48 AM            

I will not deny the beauty of Israel's melodies to her most worshipful Prince. But I have reservations when it comes to the suggestion that another partner may be involved.

quote:

---

O crown of her husband. Since the Sabbath and Yisra'el have been designated as mates, the Shabbat is given the title Shlomo (Solomon) bestowed upon a 'woman of accomplishment.' (Mishle/Prov. 12:4) (Etz Yosef).

---

This arrangement strikes me as a little wierd. I thought Elohim was the groom, and we(Israel) are the bride? Who is this other woman?

Uriah7