My heart desires to praise the Lord

Israel Najara

Early 17th Century

My heart desires to praise the Lord though I do not see Him.
Yet I praise him every day for all His kindnesses to me,
My soul gives thanks to Him for it belongs to Him and comes from Him.
   My heart rejoices in the living God, and with my song I praise Him.
All living things proclaim aloud “His name is fearful, holy He.”
And yet, too weak are living tongues to tell how great His glory is.
Who could name His praises all? Who has that kind of power?
   A mouth sea-wide would be too small. Who can contain His greatness?
I long for times to raise my song, occasions when my speech may ring,
To praise the Lord as best I can, although I cannot match His splendor.
To speak would be as if to drip a drop into the endless sea,
   In praise of God, in hope for Him, as if to offer sacrifice.
I raise a song to my life’s Lord—praises worthy by negation,
Not in positive expressions, for He is endless, infinite.
Consider Hannah’s gracious words when she extolled the Lord on high:
   “None as holy, none but He; there is no rock except our Lord.”
May my song be sweet to God as incense or as sacrifice.
May He incinerate my foe like chaff or tinder in a fire,
And then rebuild my city’s dwellings in splendor, loveliness, and beauty.
   May He fill our mouths with joy, fill our tongues with songs of praise.

Translated by
Raymond P.
Scheindlin
.

Credits

Israel (ben Moses) Najara, “My heart desires to praise the Lord (Hebrew),” in Pirke shirah mi-ginze ha-shirah ve-ha-piyut shel kehilot Yisra’el (Pirkei Shira: From the Hidden Treasures of Jewish Poetry), ed. Judith Dishon, vol. 3 (Ramat-Gan: Universitat Bar-Ilan, 2003), 108–110.

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

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Creator Bio

Israel Najara

1555–1628

Israel ben Moses Najara was born in Safed. At the age of twenty-five, he moved with his father to Damascus. There, his father became a communal scribe, a position Israel assumed upon his father’s death. Najara spent the last part of his life serving as a rabbi in Gaza. Author of the well-known Sabbath hymn “Yah ribon ‘olam” (“O Lord of the World”), Najara was a prolific poet, influenced by contemporary Arabic poetry. He also composed biblical commentaries, legal works, and letters. His Mikveh Yisra’el (The Hope of Israel) is a collection of sermons, many written for special occasions, such as funerals or weddings.

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