In memory of my hevruta, my teacher, Rabbi Joyce Galaski, with whom I discovered the resources on this sheet, as well as the insights discussed in a companion piece at Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations. That article offers a bit of background on the poem and our main conclusions about its import and I recommend reading it before working through this Study Sheet. This Study Sheet gives a fuller presentation of the allusions in the poem that we found interesting or important, but doesn't repeat the overall analysis or main conclusions of the Evolve article. It also doesn't list the allusions we didn't find to particularly add to the understanding of the poem.
לְכָה דודִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה. פְּנֵי שבָּת נְקַבְּלָה.
Let's go, my love, to greet [or: to meet/toward] the bride; We will welcome [literally: receive the face of] Shabbat.
כדר' חנינא דאמר ר' חנינא בואו ונצא לקראת כלה מלכתא ואמרי לה לקראת שבת כלה מלכתא
It is like that which Rabbi Ḥanina would say, as Rabbi Ḥanina would say: Come and let us go out to greet the bride, the queen. Or some quote it this way: ... to greet Shabbat, the bride, the queen.
Let's go, my love,
Let us go out to the field;
Let us lodge among the henna shrubs [or: in the villages].
As many people know, some of the kabbalists of Tzfat would literally go out to the field to greet Shabbat.
The "bride" is apparently Shabbat. More on that below. But who is "my love - dodi?"
דּוֹדִי דָּא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא.
My love - dodi - is the Holy One Blessed be He.
Because the traditional kabbalah, and L'cha Dodi in particular, make so much use of metaphors of male-female love and union, I'm translating "Hakadosh baruh hu" with masculine pronoun, rather than "the Holy Blessed One," as I would usually do. I do think a kabbalist vocabulary that moves away from essentialist notions of gender is possible and necessary, but that's a different study sheet.
(ז) ר' חנינא אומר, ... ויצא משה ובא למחנה ישראל והיה מעורר ישראל משינתם ואמ' להם עימדו משינתכם שהרי אלקיכם מבקש ליתן לכם את התורה, כבר החתן מבקש להביא את הכלה להכניס לחופה כדי ליתן לכם את התורה. באה השעה, שנ' ויוצא משה את העם וכו', ואף הב"ה יצא לקראתן כחתן היוצא לקראת כלה כן הב"ה יצא לקראתן ליתן להם את התורה שנ' ה' בצאתך משעיר וכו'.
(7) Rabbi Chanina said: ... Moses went forth and came to the camp of the Israelites, and he aroused the Israelites from their sleep, saying to them: Arise ye from your sleep, for behold, your God desires to give the Torah to you. Already the bridegroom wishes to lead the bride and to enter the bridal chamber. The hour has come for giving you the Torah, as it is said, "And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God" (Ex. 19:17). And the Holy One, blessed be He, also went forth to meet them; like a bridegroom who goes forth to meet the bride, so the Holy One, blessed be He, went forth to meet them to give them the Torah, as it is said, "O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people" (Ps. 68:7).
וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ בְּמַתְנִיתָא תָּנָא: מֵאֵימָתַי מְבָרְכִין עַל הַגְּשָׁמִים — מִשֶּׁיֵּצֵא חָתָן לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה.
Didn’t Rabbi Abbahu say, and some say it was taught in a baraita: From when does one recite the blessing on rain? From when the groom goes out to meet the bride.
"From when the groom goes out to meet the bride": Because the water collects on the ground, and when a drop falls on it, a lower drop jumps up to greet it.
Cinquain on Rain
after a comment by Rashi on “likrat kalah”
by Jeremy Schwartz
Puddle.
Pocked and stippled.
Little crowns of rain climb
to meet the falling drops of same.
Both rain.
בית א'
שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד,
הִשְמִיעָֽנוּ אֵל הַמְּיֻחָד.
ה' אֶחָד וּשְמוֹ אֶחָד.
לְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת וְלִתְהִלָּה:
Verse 1:
"Keep" and "remember" in utterance one
God voiced who is declared to be one
YHWH is one, and His name is one
in name and in splendor and in praise
שָׁמ֛֣וֹר אֶת־י֥וֹם֩ הַשַּׁבָּ֖֨ת לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוְּךָ֖֣ ׀ ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ׃
Keep the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Eternal your God has commanded you.
The two versions of the Ten Commandments, from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, are strikingly different in their language, including their first words. A midrash comments on the difference and the Zohar has it's own take:
וְהָתַנְיָא: ״זָכוֹר״ וְ״שָׁמוֹר״, בְּדִיבּוּר אֶחָד נֶאֶמְרוּ, מַה שֶּׁאֵין הַפֶּה יְכוֹלָה לְדַבֵּר וְאֵין הָאוֹזֶן יְכוֹלָה לִשְׁמוֹעַ!
Isn’t it taught [in a baraita: The two versions of the fifth of the Ten Commandments,] “Remember [the Shabbat day” (Exodus 20:8)] and “Keep [the Shabbat day” (Deuteronomy 5:12)], were spoken [by God simultaneously] in a single utterance, something that the [human] mouth cannot speak and the [human] ear cannot hear?
זָכוֹר לִדְכוּרָא שָׁמוֹר לְנוּקְבָא וְכֹלָּא חַד.
“Remember” for the male and “keep” for the female. And it’s all one.
וְהָיָ֧ה ה' לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־כׇּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִהְיֶ֧ה ה' אֶחָ֖ד וּשְׁמ֥וֹ אֶחָֽד׃
And the Eternal shall be sovereign over all the earth; on that day the Eternal will be one and Its name one.
(11) For as a loincloth clings close to a man’s loins, so I brought close to Me the whole House of Israel and the whole House of Judah—declares GOD —that they might be My people, in name, and in praise, and in splendor. But they would not obey.
The "whole House of Israel," which may be considered a name for Shechinah, is in intimate contact with the Holy One, Blessed be He. They/She clothe and yet reveal the divine "shape."
בית ב'
לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה.
כִּי הִיא מְקוֹר הַבְּרָכָה.
מֵרֹאשׁ מִקֶּֽדֶם נְסוּכָה.
סוֹף מַעֲשֶׂה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה:
Verse 2
To greet Shabbat, go on! Let's go!
For She is the well-spring of the blessing.
Fashioned from the beginning, from days of old,
End of doing, first in thought
The phrase "go on, let's go - לכו ונלכה" appears three times in Tanach. Two seem resonant here:
(14) Samuel said to the people, “Go on, let's go to Gilgal and there inaugurate the reign.”
"The reign - המלוכה" reminds one of "Malchut," one of the names of Shechinah, and all that's implied by that name of God's reign on earth. It isn't unrelated to what the Christians call "the Kingdom."
(ה) בֵּ֖ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב לְכ֥וּ וְנֵלְכָ֖ה בְּא֥וֹר ה'׃
(4) Thus [God] will judge among the nations
And arbitrate for the many peoples,
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks:
Nation shall not take up
Sword against nation;
They shall never again know war.
(5) O House of Jacob!
Go on, let's go
By the light of GOD.
(22) “The LORD created me as the beginning of His way
As the first of His works of old. (23) In the distant past I was fashioned from the ancient beginning, from the world's days of old.
The sister Evolve article to this study sheet discusses the various 'well-springs' where divinity wells up into (or becomes visible in) the world. The above allusion suggests adding Wisdom or Torah to the list, the subject of this chapter of Proverbs.
בית ג'
מִקְדַּשׁ מֶֽלֶךְ עִיר מְלוּכָה.
קֽוּמִי צְאִי מִתּוֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָה.
רַב לָךְ שֶֽׁבֶת בְּעֵֽמֶק הַבָּכָא.
וְהוּא יַחֲמוֹל עָלַֽיִךְ חֶמְלָה:
Verse 3
Sovereign's sanctuary, royal city,
Arise, leave the midst of the upheaval.
Enough of your sitting in the valley of tears (the Bacha Valley)
For He will have compassion for you.
The Evolve article sees this as a core verse in understanding what the poem is after. Note that neither of the first two phrases refer to Zion/Jerusalem in their original context:
(13) But don’t ever prophesy again at Bethel; for it is a sovereign’s sanctuary and a royal palace.”
(26) Joab attacked Rabbah of Ammon and captured the royal city.
The "upheaval" may be deeper than the Evolve article lets on. The second line of the verse plays with the escape of Lot and his wife and daughters from Sodom. And the Valley of Tears/Bakha is identified with Gehenna in some midrashim:
(14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Arise, leave this place, for ה' is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests.
(6) Happy is the one who finds refuge in You,
whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways. (7) They pass through the Valley of Baca,
regarding it as a place of springs,
as if the early rain had covered it with blessing. (8) They go from rampart to rampart, appearing before God in Zion.
(ד) אשרי יושבי ביתך עוד יהללוך סלה. אשרי אדם עוז לו בך. יכול לכל תלמוד לומר מסלות בלבבם. עוברי בעמק הבכא מעין ישיתוהו. עמק הבכא זה גהינם. אמר רבי אלעזר דהוא קטלא. מעין ישיתוהו שהדמעות שלהן נמשכות כמעין. גם ברכות יעטה מורה.
(4) "Happy are those who dwell in your house, they will still praise you, Selah. Happy is the one who has strength in you, who has set their heart on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." The phrase "Valley of Baca" refers to the valley of tears, which is identified with the punishment of Gehenna. Rabbi Elazar said that the name "Baca" is derived from the word "be-kat," which means "lamentation." The verse teaches that even in the depths of despair, the righteous can turn their tears into springs of joy.
Other sources of Bacha - Gehinom connection are Sh'mot Rabbah 7:4 and Talmud Eruvin 19a.
(5) But who will have compassion on you, O Jerusalem,
Who will console you?
Who will turn aside to inquire
About your welfare?
Alkabetz turns this upside down. Instead of Jeremiah’s ‘Your sins are so bad no one would pity you,’ he has “He will pity you.”
בית ד'
הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קֽוּמִי,
לִבְשִׁי בִּגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ עַמִּי,
עַל יַד בֶּן יִשַׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי,
קָרְבָה אֶל נַפְשִׁי גְאָלָהּ.
Verse 4
Shake yourself off, arise from the dust
Wear the clothes of your splendor, my people
At the hand of Jesse's son, the Bethlehemite
Draw near to my soul; Redeem her!
Sit [on your throne], Jerusalem!
Loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive one, Fair Zion!
(א) מִדְרָשׁ הַנֶּעֱלָם ... תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן, לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְחַיֶּה אֶת הַמֵּתִים וִינַעֵר אוֹתָם מֵעַפְרָם, שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ בִּנְיַן עָפָר כְּמוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ בַּתְּחִלָּה שֶׁנִּבְרְאוּ מֵעָפָר מַמָּשׁ, דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ מִתְקַיֵּים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית ב׳:ז׳) וַיִּיצֶּר ה' אֱלקִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה.
(ב) וּבְאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה יִתְנַעֲרוּ מֵעָפָר מֵאוֹתוֹ הַבִּנְיָן, וְיַעַמְדוּ בְּבִנְיַן מְקוּיָים לִהְיוֹת לָהֶם קִיּוּמָא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (ישעיהו נ״ב:ב׳) הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי שְׁבִי יְרוּשָׁלַםִ, יִתְקַיְימוּ בְּקִיּוּמָא. וְיַעֲלוּ מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ וִיקַבְּלוּ נִשְׁמָתָם בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
(1) (Midrash Ha'Ne'elam) .... The sages taught that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise the dead and shake the dust off them. As a result, they will no longer be made of dust, as they were when first created from dust, which does not endure, as it is written, "And Hashem Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground" (Gen. 2:7).
(2) The instant they shake the dust from their bodily frames, they will have enduring frames, as it is written, "Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, Jerusalem" (Isaiah 52:2). They will endure and rise from beneath the ground to receive their souls in the land of Yisrael.
בית ה'
עוּרִי עוּרִי שיר דַּבֵּרִי.
Verse 5
Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself!
For your light is come; arise and shine
Wake up! Wake up! Utter a song
The glory of YHWH is revealed upon you
Arise, O Jerusalem,
You who from GOD’s hand
Have drunk God’s wrath-filled cup,
You who have drained to the dregs
The bowl, the cup of reeling!
The Presence of GOD has shone upon you!
Now, Rabbi Alkabetz plays a little trick with us. Maybe he wants to wake us up! We've been hanging out in Isaiah for a couple verses. And, indeed, there are two places where Isaiah says "Wake up! Wake up - עורי עורי," Isaiah 51:9 and 52:1 (which was already alluded to in the 4th verse, though not mentioned above because it didn't add much to understanding the poem). But here, L'cha Dodi is actually picking up on Judges 5:12:
(12) Wake up, wake up, O Deborah!
Wake up, wake up! Utter a song!
Arise, O Barak;
Take your captives, O son of Abinoam!
What's Deborah doing here? Is it a way of bringing the individual and personal to the cosmic narrative? Perhaps Alkabetz is thinking of the midrash that Deborah's song in this verse is a restoration of her lost holy spirit, in accordance with much of the poem's depiction of restoration of divine connection?
בית ו'
בָּךְ יֶחֱסוּ עֲנִיֵּי עַמִּי.
Verse 6
You shall not be ashamed nor shall you be humiliated
Why should you be downcast, why disconsolate
The poor of my people will find shelter in you
and a city shall be built over her tel.
This verse is discussed in the Evolve article. The texts interestingly alluded to are included here, as well.
(1) Shout, O infertile one,
You who bore no child!
Shout aloud for joy,
You who did not travail!
For the children of the wife forlorn
Shall outnumber those of the espoused
—said GOD. (2) Enlarge the site of your tent,
Extend the size of your dwelling,
Do not stint!
Lengthen the ropes, and drive the pegs firm. (3) For you shall spread out to the right and the left;
Your offspring shall dispossess nations
And shall people the desolate towns. (4) Fear not, you shall not be ashamed;
Nor shall you be humiliated, you shall not be disgraced.
For you shall forget
The reproach of your youth,
And remember no more
The shame of your widowhood.
(א) לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח׃ (ב) כְּאַיָּ֗ל תַּעֲרֹ֥ג עַל־אֲפִֽיקֵי־מָ֑יִם כֵּ֤ן נַפְשִׁ֨י תַעֲרֹ֖ג אֵלֶ֣יךָ אֱלֹקִֽים׃ (ג) צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹקִים֮ לְאֵ֢ל חָ֥֫י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹקִֽים׃ (ד) הָיְתָה־לִּ֬י דִמְעָתִ֣י לֶ֭חֶם יוֹמָ֣ם וָלָ֑יְלָה בֶּאֱמֹ֥ר אֵלַ֥י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (ה) אֵ֤לֶּה אֶזְכְּרָ֨ה ׀ וְאֶשְׁפְּכָ֬ה עָלַ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י כִּ֤י אֶעֱבֹ֨ר ׀ בַּסָּךְ֮ אֶדַּדֵּ֗ם עַד־בֵּ֥ית אֱלֹ֫קִ֥ים בְּקוֹל־רִנָּ֥ה וְתוֹדָ֗ה הָמ֥וֹן חוֹגֵֽג׃ (ו) מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וַתֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣לִי לֵ֭אלֹקִים כִּי־ע֥וֹד אוֹדֶ֗נּוּ יְשׁוּע֥וֹת פָּנָֽיו׃ (ז) אֱלֹקַ֗י עָלַי֮ נַפְשִׁ֢י תִשְׁתּ֫וֹחָ֥ח עַל־כֵּ֗ן אֶ֭זְכׇּרְךָ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ יַרְדֵּ֑ן וְ֝חֶרְמוֹנִ֗ים מֵהַ֥ר מִצְעָֽר׃ (ח) תְּהוֹם־אֶל־תְּה֣וֹם ק֭וֹרֵא לְק֣וֹל צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ כׇּֽל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ׃ (ט) יוֹמָ֤ם ׀ יְצַוֶּ֬ה ה' ׀ חַסְדּ֗וֹ וּ֭בַלַּיְלָה שִׁירֹ֣ה עִמִּ֑י תְּ֝פִלָּ֗ה לְאֵ֣ל חַיָּֽי׃ (י) אוֹמְרָ֤ה ׀ לְאֵ֥ל סַלְעִי֮ לָמָ֢ה שְׁכַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי לָֽמָּה־קֹדֵ֥ר אֵלֵ֗ךְ בְּלַ֣חַץ אוֹיֵֽב׃ (יא) בְּרֶ֤צַח ׀ בְּֽעַצְמוֹתַ֗י חֵרְפ֥וּנִי צוֹרְרָ֑י בְּאׇמְרָ֥ם אֵלַ֥י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (יב) מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּֽמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵ֭אלֹקִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵאלֹקָֽי׃ {פ}
(1) For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites. (2) Like a hind crying for water,
my soul cries for You, O God; (3) my soul thirsts for God, the living God;
O when will I come to appear at God's countenance? (4) My tears have been my food day and night;
I am ever taunted with, “Where is your God?” (5) When I think of this, I pour out my soul:
how I walked with the crowd, moved with them, the festive throng, to the House of God with joyous shouts of praise. (6) Why so downcast, my soul, why disconsolate within me? Have hope in God;
I will yet praise Them the salvation of Their countenance!
(7) O my God, my soul is downcast;
therefore I think of You
in this land of Jordan and Hermon,
in Mount Mizar, (8) where deep calls to deep
in the roar of Your cataracts;
all Your breakers and billows have swept over me. (9) By day, GOD ordains Their loving care; by night Their song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life. (10) I say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me,
why must I walk in gloom,
oppressed by my enemy?” (11) Crushing my bones,
my foes revile me,
taunting me always with, “Where is your God?” (12) Why so downcast, my soul,
why disconsolate within me?
Have hope in God;
I will yet praise Them -
the salvation of my countenance, and my God!
Additional allusions in this verse are Isaiah 14:32 and Jeremiah 30:18.
בית ז'
יָשיש עָלַיִךְ אֱלקָיִךְ.
Verse 7
Your devourers will be devoured
Those who would swallow you will be far removed
Your God will rejoice over you
like a groom over a bride
(16) Assuredly,
All who wanted to consume you shall be consumed,
And every one of your foes shall go into captivity;
Your devourers will be devoured,
And all who pillaged you I will give up to pillage. (17) But I will bring healing to you
And cure you of your wounds
—declares GOD.
Though they called you “Outcast,
That Zion whom no one seeks out,”
(5) As a youth espouses a maiden,
Your sons [JPS suggests possible emendation to "you builders"] shall espouse you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
So will your God rejoice over you.
Here, we reach the climax and purpose of the song, which lasts through the end. The Holy One, blessed be He and the Shechinah will join in marital love and union, with all the cosmic, worldly, national, and personal implications, as discussed in the accompanying Evolve article.
בית ח'
Verse 8
You will break forth to the right and the left
and you will be in awe of YHWH
at the hand of the man descended of Perets ("Breakforth")
and we will rejoice and be glad!
(3) For you shall break forth to the right and the left;
Your offspring shall dispossess nations
And shall people the desolate towns.
.... כִּי יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל תִּפְרוֹצִי לְמֶהוֵי כֹּלָּא חַד.
.... For you shall break forth to the right and the left so that all becomes one.
"Right" and "left" in Zohar and kabbalah are the 'male' and 'female' principles, connected to giving and reception, expansiveness and limitation.
(12) “You must not call conspiracy
All that that the people call conspiracy,
Nor revere what it reveres,
Nor hold it in awe. (13) None but GOD of Hosts
Shall you account holy;
Give reverence to [God] alone,
Hold [God] alone in awe.
בית ט'
Verse 9
Enter in peace, crown of her husband
both in joy and in jubilant song
in the midst of the believers of the treasured people,
Enter, bride! Enter, bride!
(4) A woman of prowess is a crown for her husband,
But an incompetent one is like rot in his bones.
אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי, כְּתִיב, (משלי י״ב:ד׳) אֵשֶׁת חַיִל עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ וְגוֹ'. אֵשֶׁת חַיִל, דָּא כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Rabbi Yosi said: it is written "a woman of valor is a crown to her husband etc" (Proverbs 12:4). A woman of valor - this is the congregation of Israel.
In the Zohar, "the congregation of Israel" is, or overlaps with, Shechinah.
Finally, Rabbi Alkabetz returns to the Talmudic passage about greeting Shabbat that he alluded to in the chorus, coming full circle.
It is like that which Rabbi Ḥanina would say, as Rabbi Ḥanina would say: Come and let us go out to greet the bride, the queen. Or some quote it this way: ... to greet Shabbat, the bride, the queen. Rabbi Yannai would wrap himself [in his tallit] and stand and say: Enter, bride! Enter, bride!