Yedid Nefesh

Yedid Nefesh is a piyyut, or religious poem, written by the sixteenth-century Kabbalist Rabbi Eliezer Azikri. The poem is traditionally sung on the Jewish Sabbath, and there are many beautiful melodies for this song. However, the version that is traditionally sung has undergone severe textual corruption, and much of the beauty of the manuscript version (that is, the way it was actually written) has been lost. I will save my rant about textual corruption for another post; for now, suffice it to say that the original version speaks of God in much more feminine terms than the corrupted, popular version. In the original, many of the possessive suffixes are feminine (-ach rather than -cha), which is necessary because of the strict meter of eight syllables per line. Only a couple of prayer books—notably the Conservative Movement’s Sim Shalom—reproduce the manuscript version; most print one corrupt text or another.

The text contains many biblical allusions and poetic images that are extremely condensed in the Hebrew, and consequently nearly impossible to render in line-for-line English without footnotes. Here is a strict but in places free translation of Yedid Nefesh, following the manuscript text.

יְדִיד נֶפֶשׁ, אָב הָרַחֲמָן, מְשׁוֹךְ עַבְדָּךְ אֶל רְצוֹנָךְ
יָרוּץ עַבְדָּךְ כְּמוֹ אַיָּל, יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל מוּל הֲדָרָךְ
יֶעֶרַב לוֹ יְדִידוּתָךְ מִנֹּפֶת צוּף וְכָל־טָעַם.

הָדוּר, נָאֶה, זִיו הָעוֹלָם, נַפְשִׁי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָתָךְ
אָנָּא, אֵל נָא, רְפָא נָא לָהּ בְּהַרְאוֹת לָהּ נֹעַם זִוָךְ
אָז תִּתְחַזֵּק וְתִתְרַפֵּא, וְהָיְתָה לָךְ שִׁפְחַת עוֹלָם.

וָתִיק, יֶהֱמוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ, וְחוּס נָא עַל בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ
כִּי זֶה כַּמָּה נִכְסוֹף נִכְסַף לִרְאוֹת בְּתִפְאֶרֶת עֻזָּךְ
אָנָּא, אֵלִי, מַחְמַד לִבִּי, חוּשָׁה נָּא, וְאַל תִּתְעַלָּם.

הִגָּלֶה נָא וּפְרוֹשׂ, חָבִיב, עָלַי אֶת־סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ
תָּאִיר אֶרֶץ מְכְּבוֹדָךְ, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ
מַהֵר, אָהוּב, כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד, וְחָנֵּנִי כִּימֵי עוֹלָם.

Soul mate, merciful father, draw near your servant to your will.
Your servant will race like a deer to prostrate himself before your majesty.
Your closeness is sweeter to him than flowing honey or any delicacy.

Regal one, fine, light of the world, my soul pines for your love.
Please, God, heal her now by showing her your radiance’s delight,
Thus she will be strengthened and healed, and your eternal maidservant.

Ancient one, arouse your mercy, take pity on your lover’s son,
For he has yearned ever so much to behold the glory of your strength.
Please, my God, my heart’s darling, sense me, and do not hide yourself.

Reveal yourself, and spread, my beloved, your shelter of peace over me.
Illuminate the earth with your honour; let us rejoice and be happy in you.
Hasten, my love, for the time is nigh, and show me grace as in days of old.