Israel Is Rejuvenated: In Praise of Prominent Synagogue Members

Daniel Levi de Barrios

1688

Daniel Levi de Barrios sings, in the Chorus of his fame

Israel is rejuvenated like the majestic
Eagle, in the Sapphire of faithfulness,
Flying in the goodness of observance,
Its gaze fixed on the light of the Just Law,
And like an imperial Bird, adjusting its
Course, it lifts the People
To where the High Sun
Casts brilliance on a white cloud, to be seen
By those whose eye can conquer that view.
The Earth, the Sky, and the Divine Choir,
Ruled over by Almighty God,
Sing that in the Merciful Council of Angels,
He set these men over the resonant Court:
Angels of the Levitical treasure,
These six famous Judges seem
Comparable to the first days,
For in them, God creates
harmony in the World of Israel.
The Judges of the diligent Kahal Kadosh
Are presided over by Mosseh Albarez. He is very much the Dawn
Whose sunrise is a guiding light that saves,
With the harmony of merit,
And the star of the sacred Heavens.
Like Moses, he governs a holy People,
Such a wise, conscientious, and pious man,
Whom the divine Monarch
With his Law, sets before the People as a guidepost.
Aaron Yehizkiahu Pereyra, a pear tree, grows
In the learned Garden of the pure Law,
For his wisdom is steeped in Morality,
And because of Aaron, an almond tree flourishes anew,
For in his choices, his virtue blossoms.
He is Yehizkiahu in the Prayer he prays,
Purging all evil from his body and Soul,
To appear whole
Before God, who gives his hand to the fallen.
Ishac Mendes de Silva storms Heaven
Climbing the ladder of example,
A pillar worthy of the holy Temple.
His stature, lineage, and piety are great,
And he has never lacked in prudent civility.
Silva is a sylvan tract where zeal is ambushed,
For zeal casts a shadow over the nation of Heaven
And of the highest Judge. He strikes a balance,
With faithfulness to the law and arms open in hope.
Jacob Nuñez Enriquez grows richer
In truth, in thoroughness, in affluence, and in zeal,
A new Jacob who deserves for the King of Heaven
To give him Angels for children
And Judges in whom compassion thrives,
When in the dream of fair Governance,
He sees the Judges gladly scale the ladder
To where God sits,
To speak to him on behalf of their People.
For being fair-spoken, judicious, and meticulous,
Abraham de Miranda is applauded
And admired by the enlightened People.
In a festive and religious bridal chamber,
He is the lover of the Temple, spouse of the Law.
Like Abraham, through pious deeds
He finds friendships, practices charity,
And is the delight of good people,
A friend of Peace and of Justice.
Abraham Yesurun Enriquez is the bright reflection
of Iacob Yusurun Enriquez, whose son he is.
The latter rejoices in Heaven,
seeing that the Gabbai is his portrait, and marvels to
observe the low Golden Table of the Lord,
where the thirsty drink nectar
and the hungry relish their meals,
all of them grateful to the Gabbai,
for his charity, yes, but more so for his pleasing nature.
These six represent the six portions
Of the World: One is the lofty presiding vertical
Ensuring that Justice is not diverted;
Four have the points of scrupulousness
That provide the reasoning of Justice;
The sixth conveys a glow of pious providence
at the nadir of clemency.
And together, these six
are sweetnesses from the source of life.
May the Blessed King of this Blessed World
Bless them, and give them the blessings
Of the three Patriarchs, with the gifts
That the Israelite region enjoyed;
May it be God’s will that in due time the nations
Will come to know him
And that Stars of the Sacred Heavens
Will shine with the Holy Law
In the garden of his divine Planting.
The five books of the divine Law
Are represented by the five celebrated
Parnasim, adorned with Precepts
For the holy and wandering People;
And the gracious Gabbai is entrusted,
By the Law and the Temple, with the fortunate strongbox
Holding the treasure of the Greatest Monarch,
And he opens it generously
With the key of his compassion for Poverty.

Translated by
Steven
Capsuto
.

Credits

Daniel Levi de Barrios, “Juventud Angelica de Israel (Israel Is Rejuvenated: In Praise of Prominent Synagogue Members),” in Atlas Angelico de la Gran Bretaña (Amsterdam, 1688), pp. 61–64.

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

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Creator Bio

Daniel Levi de Barrios

1635–1701

A poet and playwright, Daniel Levi (Miguel) de Barrios was considered the greatest poet among Western Sephardic Jews. He was born in Montilla, Andalucía, to a family of New Christians. In the 1650s, he returned to Judaism in Livorno. For some time, however, he lived as a Catholic in Brussels, which was under Spanish rule, and he received the rank of captain in the Spanish army. In 1662, de Barrios settled in Amsterdam but occasionally traveled to Brussels, despite the prohibition imposed by the Sephardic Jewish community. He also became a follower of Shabbetai Tzvi. Some of de Barrios’s books were published in Brussels under the name Miguel Barrios, his Christian name, to the dismay of the syndics of the Amsterdam Jewish community. His poetry was influenced by the Spanish Baroque style. Among his writings are historical works about the Sephardic community of Amsterdam, with attention to its personalities and institutions.

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