Betrothed to the earth’s dust

Yeshu‘a ben Joseph ha-Kohen

Mid-11th Century

About This Entry

This Hebrew poem is a touching lament for a young woman who died unmarried. It contrasts the waste and humiliation of death with the honor and joy that life would have brought her. The poet hints at the woman’s illness and death, noting that she left behind her jewelry, and points to the grim fact that her fate is ultimately the fate of all creatures. The poem ends on a more uplifting note as the poet shifts his focus to God’s restorative powers, drawing on Isaiah 61:3. The ellipsis indicates a lacuna in the manuscript.

Betrothed to the earth’s dust, whose husband is the dirt,

far from any lad, she lost her maidenhood.

As she approached the [burial] mounds, to join their graves—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

She was weakened, as her [life’s] paths were disturbed.

She was made refuse rather than joy.

“Woe unto her!” call out those who treasured her—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

Her honor became cheapened, the locks closed on her.

She was ruined, and her words were sealed up.

She was disturbed all at once, and there were mighty wails for her—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

The day when she left [the world], and . . . the crowning [ornaments] of her feet,

Her diadems were gone, her bracelets and rings.

A clod of earth has replaced her jewelry—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

Her joy in her signet, her staff, and her cords,

is gone from her, and any marriage by money, document, or intercourse.

All three are gone from her, whether from right or left—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

Her efforts for a dowry, to be honored in her community,

are over, gone, and all her work and endeavors.

Her life was cut off, in a pit; her pain has been great—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

Her end drew near, and her endeavors were over.

She was crushed into the grave; her ankles could not stand.

Her feelings and her hands and her feet, all plundered by the dust—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

The end of all on earth, whether small or great,

is to go down thus plundered, [even] youths and children,

all of them pushed and led into its paths—

She was a woman in her maidenhood.

The dead will live, at the mercy of the One who favors deeds.

In His kindness, he will heal His upright, and those who understand His mysterious judgments.

At the right time, He will hasten the end for Zion’s mourners.

Be filled with joy, all who mourn for her!

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

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About This Entry

This Hebrew poem is a touching lament for a young woman who died unmarried. It contrasts the waste and humiliation of death with the honor and joy that life would have brought her. The poet hints at the woman’s illness and death, noting that she left behind her jewelry, and points to the grim fact that her fate is ultimately the fate of all creatures. The poem ends on a more uplifting note as the poet shifts his focus to God’s restorative powers, drawing on Isaiah 61:3. The ellipsis indicates a lacuna in the manuscript.

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