To rise with the dawning

Levi Ibn al-Tābban

Late 11th Century

To rise with the dawning
 My heart awakens me.
I watch for the eyelids
 Of sunrise impatiently.
I rise to my Fair Gazelle,
 And beg Him to pardon me.
With words He imparted
 I speak of His sovereignty.
His splendor, His righteousness
 I hymn to His community,
And praise Him as long as
 His spirit remains with me.
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“To rise with the dawning” was designated for the Sabbath morning service. Based on the closing of the poem, it likely introduced the prayer that begins “Nishmat kol ḥay” (“May the soul [spirit] of every living being”). Levi refers to God as a “fair gazelle,” an image for the beloved that was popular in contemporary Jewish and Muslim love poetry. The poem would be recited by a prayer leader in synagogue, but it also refects the devotion of each individual in the congregation.

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Liturgical Poetry (Piyyut)

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Levi Ibn al-Tābban

11th Century

Levi Ibn al-Tâbban was a grammarian and poet active in Saragossa, Spain, at the time a leading cultural and political center. Many later fgures praised his poetry, including Moses Ibn Ezra (ca. 1055-ca. 1138) and Judah ha-Levi (ca. 1075-1141), but most of his poems were lost until the twentieth century. Only small pieces of his grammatical writings survive.

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