May the groom be dressed with splendor
About This Entry
In this epithalamium, or wedding song, the poet mentions a series of biblical figures whose virtues and qualities the new bride and groom should have. Similarly, the matriarchs Rachel and Leah appear in many medieval Jewish wedding songs, in keeping with the blessing from Ruth 4:11: “May the Lord make the woman who comes into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two of whom built the house of Israel!” This poem is written in a mix of Hebrew and Aramaic.
May the groom be dressed with splendor like Abraham
May the bride be blessed as Sarah was blessed
The two of them are blessed
May the greatness of the groom be as the strength of Isaac
May the bride be remembered as Rebecca was remembered
The two of them are blessed
May the splendor of the groom be as that of Jacob
And like Rachel and Leah shall be the bride
The two of them are blessed
May the radiance of the groom be as that of Joseph
May the piety of the bride be like that of Asenath
The two of them are blessed
May the goodness of the groom be as that of Judah
May the affection of the bride be as that of Tamar
The two of them are blessed
Your glory, groom, shall be as that of Moses
The heart of the bride shall be like that of Zipporah
The two of them are blessed
Source: Paris AIU MS IV.C 397.
Translated by Avi Shmidman.
Credits
Unknown, “May the groom be dressed with splendor,” trans. Avi Shmidman, in Avi Shmidman, “A Multifaceted Nuptial Blessing: The Use of Ruth 4:11–12 within Medieval Hebrew Epithalamia,” Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies, vol. 8, no. 1 (2013): 105 (CC BY 3.0).
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.
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O helper of the poor and indigent
In honor of a scholar.
O helper of the poor and the indigent,
serve the Lord of Lords, for your merit.
O good provider, keeper of faith,
in heaven and on earth they march to greet you.
To learn from…
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