I sinned, so Time has weighed me down with chains

Sa‘adia Longo

End of the 16th Century

I sinned, so Time has weighed me down with chains;
   therefore I can’t attend you in your joy.
But though my chariots—my feet—are slow,
   Do not refuse the wish of your anointed (Psalms 132:10).

Translated by
Raymond P.
Scheindlin
.

Credits

Saadia Longo, “I sinned, so time has weighed me down with chains (Hebrew)” (Poem, Salonika, end of the 16th century). Published in: Dov Jarden, “A Collection of Poems by R. Seadya Longo (Hebrew),” Sefunot: Studies and Sources on the History of the Jewish Communities in the East vol. 12 (1971): 81–122:114.

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

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Creator Bio

Sa‘adia Longo

b. ca. 1520

Sa‘adia Longo was probably born in Istanbul. He served as a cantor in the Castilian congregation of Salonika. As he testifies in his own writings, Longo engaged in writing poetry from a young age. A collection of his eulogies and poems, Seder zemanim (Order of Times), was published in 1594. Hundreds of his poems and letters remain in manuscript.

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