Week 23 (Book 7): The Leviathan is Saying

The Leviathan is Saying

I opened for my beloved,

But my beloved had hidden and was gone.

Is it for eternity that my Lord forsakes me?

Nevermore to be appeased?

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

For His kindness is eternal.

Sing to the Lord, for exalted is He

Horse and rider He cast into the sea.

During the night I recall my music,

I meditate with my heart and my spirit searches.

My soul went out when he spoke,

I sought him, but found him not.

Has His kindness ceased forever?

Has He sealed the decree for all generations?

For all His ordinances were before me

And as for His statutes I did not depart from them.

The watchmen who patrol the city found me

They smote me and wounded me;

I will link evils upon them,

I will use up my arrows on them.

The watchmen of the walls took my jewelry off me.

And I will crush his adversaries before him

And will strike down those who hate him.

Only may the Lord fulfill His word.

Gilead abides beyond the Jordan

And Dan, why does he gather into ships?

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?

I called him, but he did not answer me.

And Elkanah, her husband said to her,

Do what seems good to you,

Stay until you have weaned him,

For I am lovesick.

Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister,

Took a timbrel in her hand.

And the woman stayed and

Nursed her son until she weaned him.

Week 24 (Book 7): The Fish Are Saying

The Fish are saying

The voice of G-d is upon the waters
Asher dwelt at the shore of the seas,
Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea 
And they went out into the desert of Shur;

I said, "It is to terrify me that the right hand of the Most High changes.”
Has G-d forgotten mercy? Has He in anger restrained His compassion forever?
Indeed, My faithfulness and My kindness shall be with him.
And I was single-hearted toward Him and I kept myself from my iniquity.

They came to Marah, but they could not drink water from Marah 
Because it was bitter; Therefore, it was named Marah.
They will sprout hair from famine; 
Attacked by demons, excised by Meriri

They walked for three days in the desert but did not find water.
I will incite the teeth of livestock upon them
The G-d of glory thunders; G-d is upon many waters.
And through my name his glory shall be exalted. 

I remember the deeds of Yah, 
When I remember your wonders of long ago. 
With three bulls, and one ephah of meal, and an earthenware jug of wine
With the venom of creatures that slither in the dust.

My beloved is white and ruddy, surrounded by myriads.
His head is as the finest gold; His locks are curled, black as a raven.
And she brought him to the house of the Lord, to Shiloh, 
And the child was young.

What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest of women? 
What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you have so adjured us?
And she brought him with her when she had weaned him
And by his breaches he abides.

Week 25 (Book 7): The Frog Is Saying

The Frog is saying,

Zebulun is a people that jeopardized their lives to die,
As did Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.
Blessed is the Name of the honor of His Kingdom for all eternity.

The people complained against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
I will set his hand upon the sea, his right hand upon the rivers.
His eyes are like doves beside rivulets of water, bathing in milk, fitly set.

There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them.
So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord instructed him
Concerning a piece of wood, which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet.

I meditate on all Your works, and speak of Your deeds.
His jaws are like a bed of spice, growths of aromatic plants
His lips are [like] roses, dripping with flowing myrrh.

You are the G-d Who works wonders; You make Your might known among the nations.
His hands are [like] wheels of gold, set with chrysolite
His abdomen is [as] a block of ivory, overlaid with sapphires.

And the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness;
According to my cleanness before His eyes.
O G-d, Your way is in sanctity; what god is as great as G-d?

From outside, the sword will bereave, and terror from within;
And when the bullock was slain, the child was brought to Eli.
Young men and maidens, suckling babes with venerable elders.

The Gazelle, Elephant, Lion and Bear are saying (songs for past weeks that had been missed)

Week 36: The Gazelle is saying, 

His left hand would be under my head, 

And his right hand would embrace me.

And I shall sing of Your strength 

I shall rejoice of Your kindness in the morning

For You were a refuge to me, 

and a hiding place on the day of my oppression.

And You have given me the shield of Your salvation; 

And You have increased Your humility for me. 

He lifts the poor from the dust; 

From the dunghill, He raises the pauper, 

When the Lord will judge His people, 

And will reconsider His servants, 

To seat them with princes, 

And a seat of honor He causes them to inherit, 

When He sees that the power is increasing, 

And none is controlled or strengthened. 

And Moses said to them, 

Let no one leave over [any] of it until morning. 

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, 

And He placed the world upon them.

But [some] men did not obey Moses

And left over [some] of it until morning, 

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem; 

Why should you awaken, 

And why should you arouse 

The love until it is desirous?

And it bred worms and became putrid, 

And Moses became angry with them.     

There your mother was in travail with you; 

There she that bore you was in travail."

She struck Sisera, pierced his head, 

And wounded and penetrated his temple.

Who is this coming up from the desert,  Embracing her beloved?  The covenant which He made with Abraham,  And His oath to Isaac.  Under the apple tree I aroused you;  He established it for Jacob as a statute,  For Israel as an everlasting Covenant,  Stating, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan”
His seed will endure forever  And his throne will be  As the sun before Me The portion of your inheritance

Week 37: The Elephant is saying, 

You have enlarged my step[s] beneath me 

And my ankles have not slipped

How great are your works, G-d 

Your thoughts are tremendously deep

Should a man give all the property 

Of his house for love

They would despise him

They gathered it morning by morning 

Each one according to his eating capacity 

And [when] the sun grew hot, it melted

Then He will say, "Where is their deity 

The rock in which they trusted?”

At her feet he sank, fell, lay; 

At her feet he sank (and) fell;

The feet of His pious ones He will guard, 

And the wicked shall be cut off in darkness 

For not by strength will man prevail.

For love is as strong as death, 

Zeal is as strong as the grave; 

Its coals are coals of fire of a great flame!

When they were few in number, hardly dwelling in it.

It came to pass on the sixth day that they gathered 

A double portion of bread, two omers for one, 

And all the princes of the community came and reported to Moses.

Many waters cannot quench the love,  Nor can rivers flood it  Like the moon, which is established forever,  And it is a witness in the sky, eternally true.
And they walked from nation to nation,  From one kingdom to another people. We have a little sister who has no breasts;  What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? Place me like a seal on your heart,  Like a seal on your arm,  He let no man oppress them,  And He reproved kings on their account.

Week 38: The Lion is saying, 

He shall arouse zeal, He shall cry, 

Even roar, He shall prevail over His enemies.

I have pursued my enemies 

And have destroyed them; 

Those who strive with the Lord will be broken; 

Upon him will He thunder in Heaven; 

G-d shall go out as a mighty man, 

Never turning back until they were consumed. 

He called a famine upon the land; 

He broke every staff of bread.

Who ate the fat of their sacrifices 

And drank the wine of their libations? 

Through the window looked forth, 

The mother of Sisera [peered] through the window;

Let them arise and help you! 

Let them be your shelter! 

Where he sank, there he fell down dead.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. 

And He will grant strength to His King, 

And raise the horn of His anointed one.     

"Do not touch My anointed ones, 

And do not harm My prophets.”

But You abandoned and You rejected; 

You became wroth with Your anointed.   

He sent a man before them; 

Joseph was sold as a slave.

If she be a wall, 

We will build upon her a silver turret 

Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-Hamon 

He gave the vineyard to the keepers; 

So he said to them

That is what the Lord spoke 

Tomorrow is a rest day 

A holy Sabbath to the Lord 

Each one brought for the fruit thereof 

One thousand pieces of silver

Bake whatever you wish to bake 

And cook whatever you wish to cook

And if she be a door

We will enclose her with cedar boards

And all the rest leave over to keep until morning  

So they left it over until morning

As Moses had commanded 

Then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace

I am a wall And my breasts are like towers

And it did not become putrid

And not a worm was in it

Week 39: The Bear is saying, 

You, who sit in the gardens 

The friends hearken to your voice; Let me hear.

Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, 

The village that Kedar inhabits 

And Moses said, "Eat it today, 

For today is a Sabbath to the Lord; 

Today you will not find it in the field." 

Let the inhabitants of the rock sing, 

Let them shout from the peaks of the mountains. 

Flee, my beloved, and liken yourself to a gazelle  Or to a fawn of the hinds on the spice mountains. And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house

Let them give glory to G-d and tell of His praise in the islands.

See now that it is I! I am the One, 

And there is no G-d like Me! 

My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; 

You, O Solomon, shall have the thousand, 

And those who watch its fruit, two hundred.

Six days you shall gather it, 

But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, 

On it there will be none. 

And the child was serving the Lord before Eli the priest.   They afflicted his foot with fetters;  His soul was placed in irons. You abrogated the covenant of Your servant;  Why is his chariot late in coming?  Why tarry the strides of his chariots? I cause death and grant life.  I strike, but I heal,  And no one can rescue from My Hand!  And I have consumed them,  And I have crushed them that they cannot rise;  Yes, they are fallen under my feet.  You profaned his crown to the ground. Until His word came, the saying of the Lord purified him. A king sent and released him,  A ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds.

Week 26 (Book 7): The Lamb Is Saying

The Lamb Is Saying 

Who is like You among the might ones, G-d, 

Who is like You, mighty in holiness,

You redeemed Your people with Your arm,

The sons of Jacob and Joseph forever.

The kings came and fought;
Then fought the kings of Canaan

I said that I would make an end of them
Eradicate their remembrance from mankind.

All the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt
I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you.

With a kind one, You show Yourself kind.
With the upright, mighty, You show Yourself upright

And he said, if you hearken 

To the voice of the Lord, Your G-d, 

And you do what is proper in His eyes,

His appearance is like the Lebanon,

Chosen as the cedars.

O daughters of Jerusalem

They trembled, even the deeps quaked.

They poured forth thick waters

His legs are [as] pillars of marble,
Founded upon sockets of fine gold,

The skies let out a voice,

Even your arrows went abroad.

Water fountains and seventy palms.

And they encamped there by the water.
The waters perceived You, O G-d,
The waters perceived You,

And she said, "Please, my lord!

As surely as your soul lives, my lord,

And you listen closely to His commandments
And observe all His statutes,

They came to Elim, and there were twelve

Where has your beloved gone, 

O fairest of women
Where has your beloved turned

I am the woman who was standing here

With you, to pray to the Lord.

His palate is sweet, and he is altogether desirable

This is my beloved, and this is my friend,

He will call to Me, You are my Father,

My G-d, and the Rock of my salvation.

Awesome in praise, worker of wonders.

That we may seek him with you.        

Week 27 (Book 7): The Cow Is Saying

The Cow is Saying My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the spice beds To graze in the gardens and to gather roses And the entire community of the children of Israel Came to the desert of Scin, which is between Elim and Sinai You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron On the fifteenth day of the second month After their departure from the land of Egypt The entire community of the children of Israel Complained against Moses and against Aaron in the desert The sound of Your thunder was in the rolling wind Lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked With a pure one, You show Yourself pure But with a perverse one, You deal crookedly Were it not that the enemy's wrath was heaped up Lest their adversaries distort Your way was through the sea Your path through the mighty waters And Your footsteps were not known In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo They journeyed from Elim They took no gain of money Lest they claim, "Our hand was triumphant! The Lord did none of this!" Rejoice to the Lord of our strength Trumpet to the Lord of Jacob! I will also make him [My] firstborn Supreme over the kings of the earth For this child did I pray I am my beloved's And my beloved is mine Who grazes among the roses You are fair, my beloved, as Tirzah Comely as Jerusalem, awesome as the bannered legions And the Lord granted me my request Which I asked of Him.

Week 28 (Book 7): The Pig Is Saying

The Pig is Saying

Turn away your eyes from me, for they have made me haughty;
For they are a nation devoid of counsel and they have no understanding.
G-d is good to those that are good, as well as to the straight-hearted.
And the humble people You do deliver; but Your eyes are upon the haughty to humble them.

The children of Israel said to them,
If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt,
When we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread to our fill!
For you have brought us out into this desert, to starve this entire congregation to death.

You bring man to the crushing point and You say, "Return, O sons of men."
Your hair is like a flock of goats that streamed down from Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that came up from the washing,
All of which are perfect and there is no bereavement among them.

A prayer of Moses, the man of G-d. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
And I also have lent him to the Lord; all the days which he will be alive, he is borrowed by the Lord.
Before the mountains were born, and You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world,
And from everlasting to everlasting, You are G-d.

So the Lord said to Moses, Behold! I am going to rain down for you bread from heaven,
From heaven they fought; the stars; From their courses fought against Sisera.
I will forever keep My kindness for him, and My covenant will remain true to him.
Your temple is like a split pomegranate from beneath your kerchief.

For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.
And the people shall go out and gather what is needed for the day,
So that I can test them, whether or not they will follow My teaching.
And he prostrated himself there to the Lord.