Fifty Gates Of Wisdom
(©1988 Shanachie SH 64002)
1. IM NIN'ALU
2. LEFELACH HARIMON
3. AYELET CHEN
4. TZUR MENTI / SEI YONA / SAPRI TAMA
5. GALBI
6. ODE LE'ELI
7. YACHILVI VEYACHALI
8. ASH'ALECH
IM NIN'ALU
If there be no mercy left in the world,
The doors of heaven will never be barred.
The Creator reigns supreme, and is higher than the angels.
All, in His spirit, will rise
By His nearness, His life-giving breath flows through them.
And they glory in His name
From the moment of genesis, His creations grow
Captivating and more beautiful.
The wheel in its circle thunders
Acclaiming His Holy name
Clothed in the glory of His radiance.
The six-winged cherubs surround Him.
Whirling in His honor.
And with their free wings sweetly sing,
together, in unison.
LEFELACH HARIMON
Your temples are like a slice of pomegranate,
You are more regal than the walls of the highest palace.
Your eyes, wide as the doe's, have imprisoned me.
With the eyes of a lovely dove,
And lips like scarlet silk,
And breasts, incomparable in their beauty,
Your heart to my heart, in love, are tied.
As white as the rising moon,
Quickly skipping like a young girl,
I will pay any price for this Lass
My heart and my spirit are in Her hands.
Sand-Lily of Sharon, Rose of the Valley,
She slipped through my aching fingers.
With her head upturned,
And left only the pain
Of my shrinking heart,
No bandages will heal the wounds
Inflicted upon my longing heart...
AYELET CHEN
Oh, Star of the Morning
In exile, You will be my guiding light,
And at night,
Holding me close to Your bosom,
You bid me drink of Your wine,
Mingling nectars
Drink, dear grooms! Pleasure in your drunkenness
And rouse your senses,
In the palace of the honorable Daughter of Angels
The table is always set for the many.
Cruel fate separated friends and lovers
But my Beloved draws me by Her love
Uniting beauty and grace
And encircled in beauty and grace
Shall I be remembered
Although foreboding clouds may line the sky,
My love will fill my desire.
When passing through the fifty fixed gates of wisdom,
Discerning Leah will push me onward
And with me the love of Rachel for her sons,
I will not sway.
By your sovereign secrets
I will reach the tenth sphere,
Oh Almighty,
Hurry with the salvation
For Your nation
Wrapped in the tranquility of Inner peace,
Our throats are raw
For we the Children of Jacob
The Treasures of Abraham.
TZUR MENTI
Rock of my existence,
You are the object of my desire
And of all that I have
You are my claim to Holiness.
SEI
YONA
Fly, sweet dove,
and hearken my voice,
On the violin,
play,
And in Your song,
beware,
Soar swiftly
Do not meander
into paths where evil may hide.
Take sustenance
and fly
And we will take
our pleasure
Until we are
asked
And we will drink
of springs of wisdom,
And we will sing
to the sound of the harp,
And You will
give
song.
SAPRI
TAMA
Pray tell, wondrous
Innocent,
Tell of the joy
in Your naïveté
Wise Daughter
of Angels
Have you found
Your home?
Answer, lovely
dove.
I sally forth
to the Palace
And in the heart
of the vessel
And clothed,
only, in Your beauty
Permission has
really been given.
Regards to You
in Your crowning,
Do not be swayed
by cloaked enemies, Lass,
And though You
reach a frontier,
Look for its
border.
GALBI
The gates of
heaven are open
to my tears
God, be merciful
to me
And this ache
in my heart
How can I win
you, love?
Do you even know
I exist?
How will I find
your love-laced path?
My heart desires
only freedom
No one can make
me love another
If only my love
knew my suffering
And came to my
side
Who is the cause
of this incredible pain?
Who is the one
that knows nothing of my existence?
ODE
LE'ELI
I thank my God
who created me
A fortress,
He will hear
my voice
And me, in my
quest
in His name I
hope,
As I kneel and
bow my head,
And in praising
Him,
Strive to better
my soul by my words
Your hidden secrets,
Deep in the recesses
of Your wisdom,
Guide me
And I begin anew
when praising Your name
Evil needs its
ugliness
And multiplies
its devilish ways
To keep us in
poverty
Illuminate the
darkness
Cover us, Save
us
Do not forsake
us, the Chosen
By Jacob, we
have Your favor
And only when
we cry out
Answer quickly
For You are our
Redeemer,
Our Savior.
YACHILVI
VEYACHALI
My sweet love
You are always
with me
I have fed you
the most succulent of foods
And clothed you
in the most expensive brocades
Oh, what a lunatic
love!
God, help me...
There are those
who don't understand
The nature of
my lunatic love
Oh, what a lunatic
love!
God, help me...
I made you swear,
For days and
nights
That you would
explain, once and for all,
What is happening,
happening to us?
There are those
who are jealous
That I am all-important
to you
You are my special
love,
And you revealed
to me the secrets of love
You are the center
of my thoughts and imagination
I have no interest
in any other.
ASH'ALECH
I ask you, King
of Kings
Why, why do you
torture me?
I believe only
in you
And anxiously
await the rewards of my belief
You punish me
in my Diaspora
How long will
you ignore my pleas?
You, the all-knowing
of questions and answers
Chastise and
agonize me,
You neglect me
Since I am not
one in the Promised Land.
As the pyramid-shaped
amber
And the pleasant
fragrance in the air
When your light
is discovered
You glitter like
a star in the heavens
Oh, Flowing Miracle,
Healer of all
pain and sorrow
Who will bid
me drink of the blue liquid
And remove all
anger and worry from my brow
In praising the
one and only,
All is possible
For he who created
us
He will lead
us to a world
Of happiness
and brilliant light
