Her bitter soul is anguished: For Tishah be-Av

Netanel Crescas

First Half of the 17th Century

Her1 bitter soul is anguished, because of her ailing wound.
The city one teeming with people is desolate, the Holy City that she had inherited.
For the glorious, sweet land, tears descend like a river.
Therefore, my soul shrivels up, and loses the flesh from my bones.
I make my bed on the mud, and I cry out and mourn.
   I walk shoeless and naked, and hurl my lovely crown to the ground,
   Lowly like a poor pauper—for my mighty city has been captured!
Bitter crying is what pleases me when I recall what happened to me.
Foreigners came near and set their direction to the gate.
They destroyed the Temple, the stronghold, and there was a storm all around me.
Therefore, I tremble greatly, and my eye pours forth water.
The dove has been separated from her beloved,2 and for this I cry out and mourn.
   I walk shoeless and naked, and my soul is poured out all over me.
   I am ground up like mud in the streets—for my mighty city has been captured!
Glorious things were spoken of you; you are called City of God.
Valley of Vision, where [the tribes] would be united, because of the wondrous visions.
They called it Holy City, full of justice and righteousness.
Therefore, I tremble greatly. I cannot restrain myself.
My foot has almost tripped, and for this I cry out and mourn.
   I walk shoeless and naked, for the joyous city has been laid low.
   It was formerly supported by glory—[but now] my mighty city has been captured!
How is she now considered like a whore, the land that had been so desired?
How does she sit alone, gone into exile due to great poverty?!
How has her hope been dashed, how has she been made desolate like a wilderness?!
Therefore, I cut myself in anguish, and my eyes know no sleep.
I count the hours of evening and night, and for this I cry out and mourn.
   I walk shoeless and naked, and I turn my song into a dirge.
   The star of my night has gone dark—for my mighty city has been captured!
I do not sit down in the assemble of singers and players, to enjoy it,
The sound of instruments, mightily at play, would tear away my heart’s walls [from anguish].
The legions laugh and scoff, in scorn, as they sit in tranquility.
Therefore my soul is disturbed, and it descends into the dust.
I take a potshard to scratch myself, and for this I cry out and mourn.
   I walk shoeless and naked, and my body is crushed,
   By the hands of Taḥash and Ma‘akha,3 my mighty city has been captured! [ . . . ]

[God responds:]

I will remember the kind deeds of your ancestors, and my love is bound up with you.
I will choose the holy progeny, and keep my covenant with you.
I will keep the end-time for your redemption, for my hand is not limited.
I will convene with my congregation, and hasten her destined time,
I will support her and sustain her, and give her good gifts.

[The Jewish people says:]

Then I will walk with upright gait to my Temple, and I will be made king.
I will bow and kneel to God, and will praise him and bless him!

Translated by
Gabriel
Wasserman
.

Notes

[The Jewish people’s, or Jerusalem’s. The identities of nation and city are somewhat blurred.—Trans.]

[I.e., the Jewish people has been separated from God.—Trans.]

[Gentile nations (Genesis 22:24).—Trans.]

Credits

Netanel Crescas, “Her Bitter Soul Is Anguished (For Tisha be-Av)” (liturgical poem, Ottoman Algeria, first half of the 17th century). Published in: Ephraim Hazan, Ha-shirah ha-ivrit be-tsafon afrikah (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2003), pp. 240–245.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Netanel Crescas

ca. 1570–1650

The name of Algerian rabbi and poet Netanel Crescas suggests that his family originated from Catalonia or Provence. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, members of the Crescas family in Algiers, among them Netanel, became respected rabbis, kabbalists, and poets. Indeed, Netanel was a major halakhic authority in his generation. Many other rabbis sought his counsel, and his name appears alongside other prominent rabbis as a signatory to documents and contracts. However, only a few examples of his halakhic decisions have survived, quoted in other works. He was also known for his Hebrew piyyutim (liturgical poems), some of which have been preserved in manuscripts. This lament for the Ninth of Av, written in the Maghrebi tradition, mourns the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and alludes to the expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, it expresses great faith in the future Redemption.

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