Hymn to Bar Yohai

Simeon Ibn Lavi

16th Century

Blessed are you, Bar Yohai,

you were anointed

by your brethren with the oil of joy:

Bar Yohai,

with the oil of a sacred share

you were anointed through holy measure,

sanctity’s bud you wore like a miter:

its glory was set upon you.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai,

you were anointed

by your brethren with the oil of joy:

Bar Yohai,

you found the perfect sanctuary

in your retreat when you had to flee;

you attained your greatness and glory—

in a cave of stones you endured.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

the acacias about you stood firm,

deep in their study, disciples of the Name,

they burned with the wondrous light of the flame—

these were the teachers who taught you.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yahai . . .

Bar Yohai,

to the Field of Apples you ascended

in order to gather the blossoms’ scent—

the learning’s mysteries, like flowers’ essence:

for you He said, “Let us create him . . .”

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

you were girded with strength

and fought at the gate with the fire of faith;

your sharp sword you drew from its sheath

and you raised it against your enemies.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

you reached the Palace of Marble

and stood before the Lion in power—

you saw the stars and creation’s pillars,

but who there could see you?

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

in the holy of holies—

that green region which is time’s quarry—

with the seven Sabbaths and the fifty’s mystery,

you bound the Name before you.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

into the depths of His resplendence

you gazed at the point of wisdom’s emergence,

the thirty-two channels of creation’s appearance:

you were a cherub with outstretched wings.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

the wondrous light of heaven

you’ve feared—for its fullness is overwhelming;

this is the mystery whose name is Nothing:

“No eye,” you said, “will see you.”

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai . . .

Bar Yohai,

blessed is she who gave birth to you,

and blessed are the people on the path you pursued,

and those who fathom the secret you knew—

with the breast-piece of light’s divination.

Bar Yohai, blessed are you, Bar Yohai—

you were anointed

by your brethren with the oil of joy.

Translated by Peter Cole.

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Credits

Simeon Ibn Labi, “Hymn to Bar Yohai,” from The Poetry of Kabbalah, ed. and trans. Peter Cole, co-ed. Aminadav Dykman (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 180–82. Used with permission of Yale University Press.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

Hymn to Bar Yohai

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