Kol Meqadesh Shevi'i

"Kol Meqadesh Shevi'i"[lower-alpha 1] is an ancient hymn, possibly composed by Moses b. Qalonymus. The hymn is first found in Add MS 27200, a 13th-century copy of the 11th-century Machzor Vitry, as the first hymn for the Sabbath; because the section with hymns does not appear in superior copies of Machzor Vitry, it is likely a later addition.[1] Over the generations it has been set to many tunes. Ashkenazi Jews customarily sing it on Sabbath Eve.[2]

Each stanza has four lines; the first three continue the acrostic and the fourth is a Biblical verse or verset.

Words
Original Hebrew[3][4][5][6] Transliteration Literal Translation Poetic Translation of Herbert Loewe[7]
כָּל מְקַדֵּשׁ שְׁבִיעִי כָּרָאוּי לוֹ

כָּל שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ

שְׂכָרוֹ הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד עַל פִּי פָעֳלוֹ

אִישׁ עַל מַחֲנֵהוּ וְאִישׁ עַל דִּגְלוֹ

 kol mǝqaddēš šǝbîʿî kārāʾûy lô

kol šômēr šabbāt mēḥallǝlô

śǝkārô harbê mǝʾōd ʿal pî poʿŏlô

ʾîš ʿal maḥănēhû wǝʾîš ʿal diglô

 All who sanctify the Sabbath as it deserves

All who protect the Sabbath from its breakers[lower-alpha 2]

His reward is very great, correspondent to his act,

"Each according to his camp, and each according to his flag."[lower-alpha 3]

 Who duly keeps Sabbath, who welcomes the Bride,

Who truly protects her, God's Law for his guide,

A guerdon as Abram's his faith shall provide:

So inch, in your tents, 'neath your banners abide.

אוֹהֲבֵי ה' הַמְחַכִּים בְּבִנְיַן אֲרִיאֵל

בְּיוֹם הַשַׁבָּת שִׂישׂוּ כִּמְקַבְּלֵי מַתַּן נַחֲלִיאֵל

גַּם שְׂאוּ יְדֵיכֶם קוֹדֶשׁ וְאִמְרוּ לָאֵל

בָּרוּךְ ה' אֲשֶׁר נָתַן מְנוּחָה לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל

 ʾôhăbê h' hamǝḥakkîm bǝbinyan ʾărîʾēl

bǝyôm hašabbāt śîśû kimqabbǝlê mattan naḥălîʾēl

gam śǝʾû yǝdêkem qôdeš wǝʾimrû lāʾēl

bārûk h' ʾăšer nātan mǝnûḥâ lǝʿammô yiśrāʾēl

 Lovers of God, who hope for the rebuilding of Ariel[lower-alpha 4]

On the Sabbath, celebrate[lower-alpha 5] like they who received the gift of Nahaliel.[lower-alpha 6]

Also lift up your hands toward the Holy[lower-alpha 7] and say to God,

"Blessed is the LORD who gave[lower-alpha 8] rest to his people Israel."[lower-alpha 9]

 Who yearn for Ariel rebuilded once more,

Take Sabbath in joy from the Torah's rich store,

Come, lovers of God, let us praise and adore

Our God Who gave rest to His people of yore.

דוֹרְשֵׁי ה' זֶרַע אַבְרָהָם אוֹהֲבוֹ

הַמְאַחֲרִים לָצֵאת מִן הַשַּׁבָּת וּמְמַהֲרִים לָבֹא

וּשְׂמֵחִים לְשָׁמְרוֹ וְלַעֲרוֹב מַעֲרָבוֹ

זֶה הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה ה' נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ

 dôrǝšê h' zeraʿ ʾabrāhām ʾôhăbô

hamǝʾaḥărîm lāṣēʾt min haššabbāt ûmǝmahărîm lābōʾ

ûśǝmēḥîm lǝšāmǝrô wǝlaʿărôb maʿărābô

zê hayyôm ʿāśâ h' nāgîlâ wǝniśmǝḥâ bô

 Seekers of God, seed of Abraham his beloved,

Who delay ending the Sabbath, and hurry to begin it.[lower-alpha 10]

And who are happy to keep it, and to prepare its meals.[lower-alpha 11]

"This is the day which God made -- celebrate and rejoice on it!"[lower-alpha 12]

 O seek Him, ye children of Abram His friend,

Be glad Sabbath's frontiers and bounds to defend,

Too late is her coming, too soon is her end,

This day of God's making: let gladness ascend!

זִכְרוּ תּוֹרַת משֶׁה כְּמִצְוַת שַׁבָּת גְּרוּשָׁה

חֲרוּתָה בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי כְּכַלָּה בֵּין רֵעוֹתֶיהָ

טְהוֹרִים יִירָשׁוּהָ וִיקַדְּשׁוּהָ כְּמַאֲמַר אֵל רָם וְנִשָּׂא

וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה

 zikrû tôrat mšê kǝmiṣwat šabbāt gǝrûšâ

ḥărûtâ lǝyôm haššǝbîʿî kǝkallâ bên rēʿôtêhā

ṭǝhôrîm yîrāšûhā wîqaddǝšûhā kǝmaʾămar ʾēl rām wǝniśśāʾ

wayǝkal ʾĕlōhîm bayyôm haššǝbîʿî mǝlaʾktô ʾăšer ʿāśâ

 Recall the Law of Moses --[lower-alpha 13] the Sabbath commandment is like a divorcée,[lower-alpha 14]

Veiled on the seventh day like a bride between her maids.[lower-alpha 15]

The pure will inherit her,[lower-alpha 16] and sanctify her as ordered by the god on high,[lower-alpha 17]

"And God completed on the seventh day all the work which he had done."[lower-alpha 18]

 God's Law gave us Sabbath His Law be obeyed

A bride 'mid her maids in fair samite arrayed;

The pure are her heirs, they proclaim as 'tis said

"God rested and blessed all His works He had made."

יוֹם קָדוֹשׁ הוּא מִבּוֹאוֹ וְעַד צֵאתוֹ

כָּל זֶרַע יַעֲקֹב יְכַבְּדוּהוּ כִּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ וְדָתוֹ

לָנוּחַ בּוֹ וְלִשְׂמוֹחַ בְּתַעֲנוּג אָכוֹל וְשָׁתוֹ

כָּל עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל יַעֲשׂוּ אוֹתוֹ

 yôm qādôš hûʾ mibbôʾô wǝʿad ṣēʾtô

kol zeraʿ yaʿăqōb yǝkabbǝdûhû kidbar hammelek wǝdātô

lānûaḥ bô wǝliśmôaḥ bǝtaʿănûg ʾākôl wǝšātô

kol ʿădat yiśrāʾēl yaʿăśû ʾôtô

 A holy day is it,[lower-alpha 19] from its arrival to its departure

All the seed of Jacob[lower-alpha 20] glorify it according to royal decree

To rest on it and to celebrate in luxury—eat and drink![lower-alpha 21]

"All the community of Israel will do this."[lower-alpha 22]

 All holy her night and all holy her day:

Then come, sons of Jacob, your King's word obey

Rejoice o'er your flagons, with feasting be gay,

All Israel united to rest and to pray.

מְשֹׁךְ חַסְדְּךָ לְיֹדְעֶיךָ אֵל קַנֹּא וְנוֹקֵם

נוֹטְרֵי יּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי זָכוֹר וְשָׁמוֹר לְהָקֵם

שַׂמְּחֵם בְּבִנְיַן שָׁלֵם בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ תַּבְהִיקֵם

יִרְוְיֻן מִדֶּשֶׁן בֵּיתֶךָ וְנַחַל עֲדָנֶיךָ תַשְׁקֵם

 mǝšōk ḥasdǝkā lǝyōdǝʿêkā ʾēl qannōʾ wǝnôqēm

nôṭǝrê yôm haššǝbîʿî zākôr wǝšāmôr lǝhāqēm

śammǝḥēm bǝbinyan šālēm bǝʾôr pānêkā tabhîqēm

yirwǝyūn middešen bêtekā wǝnaḥal ʿădānêkā tašqēm

 Disburse charity to those who recognize you,[lower-alpha 23] O jealous and vengeful God,

Those watching for the seventh day, to establish "recall" and "keep".

[lower-alpha 24]Gladden them with the complete building,[lower-alpha 25] by the light of your face illuminate them

"They will overflow with the abundance of your houses, and with your delicious spring you will water them."[lower-alpha 26]

 Who know Thee, who guard Sabbath's twofold behest,

O grant them Thy mercy, O shorten their quest

For Salem rebuilt; in Thy light be they blest,

By Thy streams of delight bring them safely to rest.

עֲזוֹר (לַ)שּׁוֹבְתִים בַּשְּׁבִיעִי בֶּחָרִישׁ וּבַקָּצִיר עוֹלָמִים

פּוֹסְעִים (בּוֹ) פְּסִיעָה קְטַנָּה, סוֹעֲדִים בּוֹ לְבָרֵךְ שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים

צִדְקָתָם תַּצְהִיר כְּאוֹר שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים

ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָבָה תָמִים

(ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תְּשׁוּעַת עוֹלָמִים)

 ʿăzôr (lašôbǝtîm) baššǝbîʿî beḥārîš ûbaqqāṣîr ʿôlāmîm

pôsǝʿîm (bô) pǝsîʿâ qǝṭannâ, sôʿădîm bô lǝbārēk šālš pǝʿāmîm

ṣidqātām taṣhîr kǝʾôr šibʿat hayyāmîm

h' ʾĕlōhê yiśrāʾēl hābâ tāmîm

(h' ʾĕlōhê yiśrāʾēl tǝšûʿat ʿôlāmîm)

 Help those who keep the Sabbath on the seventh, in plowing and in harvest forever[lower-alpha 27]

They take on it a small step,[lower-alpha 28] they feast on it to bless three times

Their righteousness shines like seven suns[lower-alpha 29]

"LORD god of Israel, give a sign!"[lower-alpha 30]

(LORD god of Israel, eternal savior.)[lower-alpha 31]

 Nor sowing nor reaping their Sabbath profanes;

They rest and they feast thrice with grateful refrains:

Their goodness a sevenfold radiance remains,

Their stronghold the Lord Who eternally reigns.

קַדְּשֵׁם בְּמִצְוֹתֶיךָ וְטַהֲרֵם כְּעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם לָטֹהַר,

רוּחֲךָ תְּנִיחֶנּוּ כַּבְּהֵמָה בַּבִּקְעָה תֵרֵד מִן הָהָר,

שִׁבְטֵיהֶם תְּשַׁכְנֵם בְּנַחֲלַת הַסַּהַר

כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ כְּגַנֹּת עֲלֵי נָהָר

 qaddǝšēm bǝmiṣwōtêkā wǝṭahărēm kǝʿeṣem haššāmayim lāṭōhar,

rûḥăkā tǝnîḥennû kabbǝhēmâ babbiqʿâ tērēd min hāhār,

šibṭêhem tǝšaknēm bǝnaḥălat hassahar

kinḥālîm niṭṭāyû kǝgannōt ʿălê nāhār

 Sanctify them, and make them as pure as the very sky.[lower-alpha 32]

Let your spirit give them rest, like a beast coming off a mountain into a valley.[lower-alpha 33]

Settle their tribes[lower-alpha 34] in the territory of the moon,[lower-alpha 35]

"Like groves they will spread out, like gardens by the river."[lower-alpha 36]

 Thy word make us pure as the sky, Thy pure veil!

O let Thy grace guide us as herds in the dale,

Reposing at ease, while the moonbeams grow pale,

On meads by still streams whose cool waters ne'er fail

Content of the hymn

The hymn praises those who keep the Sabbath, and stresses the reward waiting anyone who keeps the Sabbath. The hymn stresses the Sabbath experiences, the hope of the redemption of Jerusalem and the imminent rebuilding of the Temple.

Most prayerbooks omit the final stanza which completes the acrostic and instead insert the line "O LORD, god of Israel, eternal savior."

Abraham Abba of Pittsburgh, who did not realize that the acrostic was complete in manuscript, wrote an alternative final stanza:[10]

קְדוֹשִׁים יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאָז וּלְעוֹלָמִים,

רָצִים לְמִגְדָּלְךָ וּבְשִׁמְךָ נִשְׂגָּבִים,

שַׁבָּתוֹת קָדְשֶךָ מְיַיחַדִים וּמְעַנְּגִים וּבְךָ נִדְבָּקִים,

תִּיקוּן הַשָּׁלֵם יַשִׂיגוּ בְחַיֵינוּ בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחַַמִים וּבְקָרֵב הַיָּמִים

 qǝdôšîm yiśrāʾēl mēʾāz ûlǝʿôlāmîm,

rāṣîm lǝmigdālǝkā ûbǝšimkā niśgābîm,

šabbātôt qādǝšekā mǝyayḥadîm ûmǝʿannǝgîm ûbǝkā nidbāqîm,

tîqûn haššālēm yaśîgû bǝḥayênû bǝḥesed ûbǝraḥaamîm ûbǝqārēb hayyāmîm

 Holy are Israel, from yore and for all time.

they rush to your tower and exalt your name.[lower-alpha 37]

Your holy Sabbaths are unique and enjoyable; they are attached to them.

The full repair will occur in our days, in kindness and in mercy and quickly.

Notes
  1. Also: Kol Mekadesh, Kol Mekadeish
  2. Prayerbooks insert "according to the law."
  3. Numbers 1:52
  4. This phrase comes from Yannai's Sanctifications for the sabbaths of tragedy and comfort.
  5. Prayerbooks insert "and rejoice."
  6. viz. the Torah. Thus b. Eruvin 54a's homiletical interpretation of Numbers 21:19. MSS London reads "gift of Nahaliel's law".
  7. Psalms 134:2
  8. A scribal error in Add MS 27200 leaves out "gave."
  9. 1 Kings 8:56
  10. A scribal error in Add MS 27200 has "Who delay ending the Sabbath, and delay beginning it."
  11. So Add MS 27200; the prayerbooks, having missed this reference to Ez. 27:9, emend "to make its eruv". The phrase in Ezekiel is to be literally translated "to sell wares;" see however the commentary of Joseph Kara, "To sell wares (ערב) . . . this means to repair and support. All the necessities of life are pleasurable, so one's support is called pleasure (ערב). And all man's pleasure is in food and drink".[8]
  12. Psalms 118:24
  13. In Add MS 27200, "of Moses my servant".
  14. In some texts, "which records the Sabbath commandment".
  15. In some versions of b. Ketubot 17b, a חריתא is a sort of bridal headdress. In Add MS 27200, "her 'two' maids"; in the Vienna and Parma MSS, "for the seventh day." This image already appears in Kalir's Kinot. In some texts, "arrayed between her maids".
  16. In one manuscript, "Pure are her inheritors"
  17. In some texts, "By saying, 'all that he did.'"
  18. Genesis 2:2
  19. In Add MS 27200, "A holy day is this".
  20. In Add MS 27200, "all Israel."
  21. Add MS 27200 adds, "on the Sabbath."
  22. Exodus 12:47
  23. cf. Psalms 36:11
  24. Add MS 27200 reads, "They celebrate . . ."
  25. Some inaccurately translate "building of [Jeru]salem." The phrase comes from Yannai's Sanctifications for the sabbaths of tragedy and comfort.
    "You caused grief/
    You will make joy/
    You destroyed/
    You will build/
    A complete building/
    A full building/
    A surpassing building/
    A settled building/
    A set building/
    A solid building/
    An established building/
    A finished building."
    This line is also quoted by Moses b. Asher in the colophon to Codex Cairensis.
  26. Psalms 36:9
  27. cf. Exodus 34:21
  28. b. Shabbat 113b rules that one should not take large steps on the Sabbath, as these are characteristic of weekday travel.
  29. cf. Isaiah 30:26
  30. 1 Samuel 14:41. Some prayerbooks contain a later version, "LORD god of Israel, love of the pure," which does not fit the scheme of the hymn.
  31. This line appears only in printings and does not fit the scheme of the other stanzas. Rabbi Jacob Emden, unaware that the acrostic is complete in manuscript, suggests that it is the fourth line of the final stanza and its addition to the penultimate stanza represents a shortening of the hymn.[9]
  32. Exodus 24:10
  33. cf. Isaiah 63:14
  34. Thus Add MS 27200. Early printings erroneously read "their Sabbaths".
  35. Song of Songs 7:3, "Your navel is like the basin of the moon." Numbers Rabbah 1:4 interprets, "This refers to the Sanhedrin . . . as the navel is at the center of the body, so the Sanhedrin is at the center of the Temple."
  36. Numbers 24:6
  37. cf. Proverbs 18:10

References
  1. מויטרי., שמחה בן שמואל (2003). מחזור ויטרי. מכון אוצר הפוסקים. OCLC 233465548.
  2. Kohn, Albert E. (2018-01-01). "SONGS WERE FOR ME YOUR STATUTES WHEREVER I MAY DWELL (PSALMS 119:54): A History of the Jewish Custom to Sing around the Table on the Sabbath (Shabbat Zemirot), 1200-1600". Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
  3. "British Library". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  4. "זמירות לשבת ופיוטים לחתונה ולברית מילה". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  5. "זמירות | כתב יד NNL_ALEPH002638508 | הספרייה הלאומית". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  6. The last stanza does appear in Machzor Vitri, but it is missing in virtually all printed editions of the song.
  7. Loewe, Herbert (1926). Mediæval Hebrew minstrelsy : songs for the bride queen's feast ; sixteen zemiroth. James Clarke. OCLC 82503829.
  8. https://mg.alhatorah.org/Full/Yechezkel/27.9#e0n6
  9. סידור בית יעקב להיעב"ץ pg. 314.
  10. Aba, Abraham (1995). Emunas Abraham (in Hebrew). Kiryat Pittsburgh, Ashdod: Yad Itamar. pp. 154ff.
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