I shall hymn with mighty song

Yeḥiel of Rome

Mid-11th Century

[Israel:] I shall hymn with mighty song,
to the One who brought out His beloved ones at a pleasant time.
I shall open up my mouth with upright words— 
the Song of Songs.
Sifted and refined words [that God spoke at Sinai],1
which give gifts of beauty and honor,
He announced two to me, with desire—
He kissed me with His kisses.
Your faithful ones, separated from the other nations,
who have Your oils poured over their head,
You chose them to be a crown of nobles,
to be Your aromatic oils.
The children of Your tested ones, Your chosen ones,
who come and are drawn after You—
when You sustain them with the best of Your merchandise—
Draw me after You!
He rides the high heavens, with pride.
I love Him with my heart, declaring His unity.
My life is crushed because of my desire for Him—
I am black and beautiful.
[The Torah], which is mighty like coral and pearls,
He announced to the people who gladly do the King’s work.
Its rolls are like gold, all around—
Do not gaze upon me, that I am swarthy.
The One who drew me up from my mud and muck [from slavery in Egypt]
rode a floating cloud to free me.
He flew, and came to give me respite—
Tell me, O You whom my soul loves!
[God:] My dear, cherished words,
I have constantly taught you, for you to listen to Me,
to read the law that I have informed—
If you do not know.
[Israel:] He confounded and disturbed the enemy [the Egyptians].
He rebuked the sea and tore it asunder.
He paid back the promissory note2—
When the horses were in Pharaoh’s chariots.
 
He made your barren places flourish with orchards. 
He taught your speakers fragrant incense.3
He prepared the world to come, for you to rest there—
Your cheeks are so beautiful. . . .

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[God’s utterances, which He revealed at Sinai, are pure, like sifted flour or refined silver (see Psalms 12:7).—Trans.]

[God had promised Abraham that after the Exodus, the Israelites would leave with great riches (Exodus 15:4); he repaid this at the sea, when Pharaoh’s horses and chariots drowned, and the Israelites collected all the precious gems from the chariots.—Trans.]

[God taught the Torah, which is fragrant like incense, to the Israelite sages, the “speakers.” There is probably a pun here: the word gimer, “to burn incense,” is similar to gamar, “ to teach .”—Trans.]

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

Engage with this Source

These excerpts are drawn from the beginning of a yotser, a poem written for the first blessing before the Shema‘, which begins “He who creates (yotser) light,” that was composed for the Passover festival. The concluding lines of each stanza of this poem are taken from successive verses from the Song of Songs, which came to be read on Passover in the early medieval period. The work is structured as a dialogue between the people of Israel and God, as the Song of Songs was itself understood to be in the traditional allegorical interpretation.

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Liturgical Poetry (Piyyut)

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Yeḥiel of Rome

11th Century

Yeḥiel ben Abraham of Rome was a leader of Roman Jewry and is best known as the father of Nathan ben Yeḥiel of Rome (1035–ca. 1110), author of the talmudic dictionary, the ‘Arukh. Later sources suggest that Yeḥiel headed the talmudic academy in Rome. His written legacy, in addition to occasional citations of his views, consists of some thirty piyyutim. His piyyutim are preserved almost exclusively in Italian manuscripts, indicating that they did not spread beyond that region. Most of his surviving liturgical poetry consists of penitential seliḥot. Yeḥiel’s poetry continued to use traditional forms.

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