Take this poem as a consolation

Joseph Ibn Tsadik

First Half of the 12th Century

Take this poem as a consolation, O you bloody bridegroom, similar
to a deer at a stream of water, unable to quench its thirst.
Enjoy your alluring gazelle, so beautiful in appearance and stature,
but only by gazing. No touching! It’s like gazing at the face of the constellation Pleiades.
Do not disturb the boundary; do not turn peaceful blood into war.1 
Be disappointed, for squeezing out her milk would incur [divine] rage.2 
Outside her, you display such confidence, but to go deep inside her fills you with dread.
But it’s only a short while [until your wife’s period ends]! It will fly away like a sleep-time dream.
Then you can do all you want, in front of everyone’s eyes, high-handedly.
It will be known if your city is made of unwalled camps or protected by a fortress,
when you come out with bloodied clothes, reddened garments.
When I hear about your situation, my soul grieves and cries like the moaning of the sea,
concerned about the holiest of brothers, who is now amidst the infidel priests.3 
He is far away, though there be no wall, no barrier, between him and me,
and we have been in competition, though not about any what or why.
May God show you kindness, my brother, and extend might and fortitude to you,
and when He lifts you up, may you be higher than the constellation Orion.
If you find what I find, take this poem as a consolation.
Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[An inversion of 1 Kings 2:5, “he brought warring blood in a time of peace.” Here, the poet is saying: do not sleep with your menstruant bride; her blood is “at peace” apart from you, and if you violate the Torah’s commandment you would be turning this peace into war.—Trans.]

[Another biblical pun: Proverbs 30:33 states: “Squeezing milk results in butter (ḥem’ah), and squeezing the nose results in blood.” The poet is saying: Squeezing your bride’s breasts will lead to divine wrath (ḥemah, similar in sound to the word for butter). He is probably also thinking of the second half of the verse from Proverbs, regarding blood.—Trans.]

[The holy Abraham Ibn Ezra is being placed in a situation where he could commit a grievous sin.—Trans.]

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

Engage with this Source

Ibn Tsadik wrote this poem for Abraham Ibn Ezra, who found himself unable to consummate his marriage due to the onset of his wife’s menstrual period. Joseph playfully mocks Abraham’s desires, comparing him to those who are unable to quench their thirst. The references to blood throughout the poem refer to both menstrual and hymenal blood, both of which render a wife forbidden to her husband according to rabbinic law. Abraham composed a lighthearted rejoinder to Joseph’s poem (see “Though you are far away”).

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Poetry

9th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Joseph Ibn Tsadik

1075–1149

A native of al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), Joseph ben Jacob Ibn Tsadik was a poet, a philosopher, and a judge who served on the same Jewish court as Maymūn ben Joseph, the father of Moses Maimonides (1138–1204), in Córdoba. He exchanged poetry with certain leading Jewish Andalusi poets of his day, and about fifteen of his liturgical poems survive. His best-known work is his Microcosm (‘Olam katan), a Neoplatonic and philosophical treatise inspired by kalām (rationalist theology) that was written in Judeo-Arabic. In it, Ibn Tsadik dealt with central issues of Arabic philosophy, such as epistemology, the nature of the soul, and reward and punishment. Maimonides wrote highly of Ibn Tsadik but also commented that he had not seen this work.

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