Hymn for the First Meal

Isaac Luria

ca. 1565

Prepare the feast
  of perfect faith,
the delight of the Holy King.
  Prepare the feast of the King.
This is the feast
  of the Field of Holy Apples;
the Lesser Presence and Ancient Eminence
  assemble with Her for the feast.

*

I sing in hymns
  of praise to enter
the gates to the Field
  of Holy Apples:
we call for Her now
  with a newly set table,
and a fine candelabrum
  that casts its light.
The Bride approaches
  through left and right:
She passes wearing
  Her jewels and gown.
She’s embraced by Her husband
  in the sphere of foundation;
He gives Her great pleasure
  as His strength is pressed.
Cries and vexation
  are laid to rest,
as faces grow joyous—
  and spirits with souls.
Great joy comes
  once and then twice,
and lights for Her shine
  as blessings increase.
Draw near, my companions
  and make preparations
for sundry pleasures,
  for fish and meat—
to take on souls
  and new understanding,
along the three branches
  and thirty-two paths.
Seventy crowns
  are Hers, and the King
above crowns all
  in the Holy Shrine.
All worlds are formed
  and within Her impressed,
but all shine forth
  as the Ancient One strikes.
May it be His Will
  that Her grace be about us,
who delight in His Name
  with honey and cakes.

*

To the south I set
  the mysterious lamp,
and the table with bread
  I arrange to the north,
with wine in the cup,
  and bundles of myrtle,
to strengthen the weakened
  bride and groom.
We’ll make them wreaths
  of well-chosen words—
seventy crowning
  Wisdom’s gates.
By six loaves
  the Shekhinah is graced,
linked all around
  to the sacred shrine,
as the impure powers
  are distanced and stilled,
and the menacing demons
  bound and annulled.

*

To break the bread
  like an olive or egg,
two yods are taken,
  clear and obscure,
and the purest oil
  is pressed from stones;
rivers are drawn
  in a whisper through Her—
for secret things
  have here been uttered,
although unseen
  and in mystery dressed
to adorn the Bride
  with supernal secrets,
within this holy
  messengers’ feast.

Translated by
Peter
Cole
.

Credits

Isaac Luria, “Hymn for the First Meal,” from The Poetry of Kabbalah, ed. and trans. Peter Cole, co-ed. Aminadav Dykman (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 149–53. Used with permission of Yale University Press.

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

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Creator Bio

Isaac Luria

1534–1572

Isaac Luria was one of the most significant figures in Jewish mysticism, famed for pioneering a new conception of theoretical kabbalah. Luria was born in Jerusalem and, following the death of his father, was raised by his maternal family in Egypt. There Luria studied rabbinic literature and halakhah, while working as a merchant. He embarked on esoteric studies and lived in seclusion on an island in the Nile (allegedly for seven years). In 1569/70, he settled in Safed, where he studied kabbalah with Moses Cordovero. Luria soon began to develop his own innovative kabbalistic system. However, aside from delivering a few homilies in synagogues, he did not often teach in public. Luria himself wrote very little; his teachings were recorded by the disciples that gathered around him. Famed for his saintly conduct, Luria was highly conservative in his interpretation of Jewish law. He was also a poet; his hymns for Sabbath meals, replete with kabbalistic symbolism, appear in prayer books.

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