Hymn for the Second 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 Ancient Eminence;

the Lesser Presence and Field of Apples

assemble with Him for the feast.

I’ve arranged this meal

of the Sabbath morning

and call from it now

to the Ancient Eminence,

that His light be cast

through the Sanctification,

with fine wine

which gladdens the soul.

May He send us goodness

so we see His worthiness;

may He show us His secret

in a whisper expressed,

disclosing the meaning

of the twelve loaves—

His Name’s letter

doubled and thin—

and the heavenly bond

all lives within.

May the power increase

so She reaches His head.

Rejoice, you reapers,

aloud and give voice—

and utter a word

sweet as nectar:

before the Lord

of all worlds,

in veiled words

you’ll speak new things

to adorn the table

with the mystery’s treasure,

deep and hidden

and not to be uttered:

These words will then

be woven as heaven

and new horizons—

and so that sun’s

oil of anointing

will flow from on high

as He turns to His Bride,

who has waited alone.

I wash my hands

with a single vessel

for the other side

which is insubstantial.

With three I call

through the cup of the blessing

to the cause of causes,

the Holy of Old.

Translated by Peter Cole.

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Credits

Isaac Luria, “Hymn for the Second Meal,” from The Poetry of Kabbalah, ed. and trans. Peter Cole, co-ed. Aminadav Dykman (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 154–56. Used with permission of Yale University Press.

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

Hymn for the Second Meal

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