Apart, blot out our sins before His sight,
And make our numbers as the sand again,
And as the stars of night.
Аноним.
Бог и человек
O Lord! I will declare
Thy holy name, Thy glories past compare:
My tongue shall not conceal, O Lord!
Thy righteousness made known to me:
I heard and I believed Thy word,
I will not ask presumptuously.
For should the vase of clay
“What doest thou?” unto its maker say?
Him have I sought and known,
A rock of strength, a tower of might,
Resplendent as the glorious light,
Without or veil or covering, radiant shown:
Exalted, magnified,
Extolled and glorified.
The heavens from hour to hour
Declare Thy wondrous works, proclaim Thy power
Sunrise and sunset, still the same,
Prostrate in awe eternally.
The angels pass through flood and flame
As unto Thee they testify;
Thy praise they celebrate,
O Thou, the fruit of lips who dost create.
[pg 391] For Thou uphold'st alone,
Unwearied and invisible,
The depths, the heights, where move and dwell
The living creatures and the heavenly throne:
Exalted, magnified,
Extolled and glorified.
Who has the glory praised
Fitly of Him, Whose word the heavens upraised?
The Eternal One, Who dwells concealed
In His exalted heights, but yet
In Zion's temple, full revealed,
Did erst His glorious presence set,
And He showed visions then
To cause His image to be seen of men;
Yet past all measuring
His wisdom is, past depth and height
He flashes on His prophet's sight
In visions only as the heavenly king:
Exalted, magnified,
Extolled and glorified.
His power, exceeding great,
Is without end: who can His praise narrate?
Happy the man, who testifies
Unto His greatness manifold,
Whose faith in God unshaken lies,
In God, whose arms the world uphold,
Who, fearing God, can trust
In Him, acknowledging His deeds are just,
That for himself has He
Made all His works, His creatures all,
And that His awful day will call
All men, the judgment of their deeds to see:
Exalted, magnified,
Extolled and glorified.
Do thou then heed and learn,
Prepare thyself thy nature to discern.
See whence thou comest, what thou art,
And who created thee and taught
[pg 392] Thee knowledge, and in every part
Of thee the power of motion wrought.
Mark then God's might untold,
And rouse thyself His wonders to behold.
But to Himself concealed
Dare not to stretch thy hand, for then
Thou seekest, with presumptuous ken,
The first and last, the hidden and revealed:
Exalted, magnified,
Extolled and glorified.
Иегуда Галеви.
Гимн на Суккот
Thy praise, O Lord! will I proclaim
In hymns unto Thy glorious name.
O thou Redeemer, Lord and King,
Redemption to Thy faithful bring!
Before Thine altar they rejoice
With branch of palm and myrtle stem,
To Thee they raise the prayful voice—
Have mercy, save and prosper them.
Mayst Thou, in mercy manifold,
Dear unto Thee Thy people hold,
When at Thy gate they bend the knee,
And worship and acknowledge Thee.
Do Thou their heart's desire fulfil,
Rejoice with them in love this day,
Forgive their sins and thoughts of ill,
And their transgressions cast away.
They overflow with prayer and praise
To Him, Who knows the future days.
Have mercy Thou, and hear the prayer
Of those who palms and myrtles bear.
Thee day and night they sanctify,
And in perpetual song adore;
Like to the heavenly hosts they cry:
“Blessed art Thou for evermore.”
Елеазар бен Иаков Калир.
[pg 393]
Гимн на Пятидесятницу
When Thou didst descend upon Sinai's mountain,
It trembled and shook 'neath Thy mighty hand,
And the rocks were moved by Thy power and splendor;
How then can my spirit before Thee stand
On the day when darkness o'erspread the heavens,
And the sun was hidden at Thy command?
The angels of God for Thy great name's worship,
Are ranged before Thee, a shining band,
And the children of men are waiting ever
Thy mercies unnumbered as grains of sand;
The law they received from the mouth of Thy glory,
They learn and consider and understand.
Oh! accept Thou their song and rejoice in their gladness,
Who proclaim Thy glory in every land.
Иегуда Галеви.
Гимн славы
Sweet hymns and songs will I indite
To sing of Thee by day and night,
Of Thee, Who art my soul's delight.
How doth my soul within me yearn
Beneath Thy shadow to return,
Thy secret mysteries to learn.
And even while yet Thy glory fires
My words, and hymns of praise inspires,
Thy love it is my heart desires.
Therefore I will of Thee relate
All glorious things, and celebrate
In songs of love Thy name most great.
Thy glory shall my discourse be,
In images I picture Thee,
Although Thyself I cannot see.
[pg 394]
In mystic utterances alone,
By prophet and by seer made known,
Hast Thou Thy radiant glory shown.
Thy might and greatness they portrayed,
According to the power displayed
In all the works Thy hand has made.
In images of Thee they told
Of Thy great wonders wrought of old,
Thy essence they could not behold.
In signs and visions seen of yore
They pictured Thee in ancient lore,
But Thou art One for evermore.
They saw in Thee both youth and age,
The man of war, the hoary sage,
But ever Israel's heritage.
O Thou Whose word is truth alway
Thy people seek Thy face this day,
Oh! be Thou near them when they pray.
May these, my songs and musings, be
Acceptable, O Lord, to Thee,
And do Thou hear them graciously.
Oh! let my praises, heavenward sped,
Be as a crown unto Thy head,
My prayer as incense offered.
Oh! may my words of blessing rise
To Thee, Who, throned above the skies,
Art just and mighty, great and wise.
And when Thy glory I declare,
Do Thou incline Thee to my prayer,
As though sweet spice my offering were.
My meditation day and night
May it be pleasant in Thy sight,
For Thou art all my soul's delight.
[pg 395]
Гимн единства на семь дней недели
I
Eternal King, the heavens and earth are Thine,
Thine are the seas and every living thing.
Thy hand upholds creation's vast design,
Eternal King!
The mighty waters with Thy glory ring,
Unnumbered lands to chant Thy praise combine,
And Kings of earth to Thee their worship bring.
Thy people Israel, for Thy love benign,
Blesses Thy name and joys Thy praise to sing.
Thou art the God of truth, the one, divine,
Eternal King!
II
I worship Thee for all Thy boundless store
Of righteousness and mercy shown to me,
And for Thy holy book of sacred lore
I worship Thee.
To Thee alone our fathers bent the knee,
And Thee alone do we this day adore,
Bearing our witness to Thy unity.
Thou art our God, Thy favor we implore,
Thou art our shepherd, and Thy flock are we.
Therefore I bless Thy name and evermore
I worship Thee.
III
I know it well: Thou art all-good, all-wise.
Thou slayest, but Thy touch death's power can quell;
Thou woundest, but Thy hand the balm supplies:
I know it well.
[pg 396]
Nor sin nor grief can in Thy presence dwell,
Slumber and sleep come not unto Thine eyes,
Great God, eternal and unchangeable!
The soul of all mankind before Thee lies;
Thou searchest all their hearts, their thoughts canst tell;
Thou hearest graciously their prayerful cries:
I know it well.
IV
We will extol the Lord of lords, whose name
Is evermore and everywhere adored.
In songs and hymns our lips His praise shall frame,
We will extol the Lord!
He is the hope of Israel, His word
A lamp unto our feet, a guiding flame
To those who trust in Him with full accord.
He is through countless ages still the same,
The shield of our salvation and our sword,
And generations, each to each, proclaim:
We will extol the Lord!
V
Who shall narrate Thy wonders wrought of old?
The utterance of the lips Thou didst create,
But all Thy majesty and power untold
Who shall narrate?
Thy ways on earth in song we celebrate.
Though none may Thy similitude behold,
Yet know we by Thy works that Thou are great.
Thousands of angels, by Thy word controlled,
To do Thy bidding Thy commands await:
Yet of them all, Thy wonders manifold
Who shall narrate?
[pg 397]
VI
Alone didst Thou, O Lord, the heaven's wide tent
Uprear, and bid the earth beneath be shown;
Thy word the oceans in their boundaries pent
Alone.
No aid or counsel hadst Thou save Thine own
When Thou with lights didst hang the firmament
And call the hosts celestial round Thy throne.
Thy works, in universal cadence blent,
Give praise to Thee, and make Thy glory known.
Thou madest all, great God beneficent,
Alone!
VII
Of old Thou didst the Sabbath bless and praise,
Because thereon Thou didst Thy work behold
Completed in the sun's new-kindled rays
Of old.
Bless Thou, this day, with mercies manifold
Thy people, that in love and awe obeys
Thy word, and chants Thy righteousness untold.
Lord, we desire to do Thy will always!
Make pure our hearts like thrice-refinèd gold,
And these, our prayers, accept as in the days
Of old.
Аноним.
Покаянная молитва
Forth flies my soul, upborne by hope untiring,
The land of rest, the spring of life desiring,
Unto the heavenly dwelling-place aspiring,
To seek its peace by day and night.
My spirit does God's majesty adore,
And without wings shall to His presence soar,
There to behold His glory evermore,
At dawn, at noonday, and at night.
[pg 398]
On all His works mine eye in wonder gazes,
And heavenward an eager look upraises;
Day unto day proclaims its Maker's praises,
And night declares them unto night.
Thy loving-kindness is my lifelong guide,
But often from Thy path I've turned aside.
O Lord, how hast Thou searched my heart and tried
My inmost thoughts at dead of night!
Sleepless upon my bed the hours I number,
And, rising, seek the house of God, while slumber
Lies heavy on men's eyes, and dreams encumber
Their souls in visions of the night.
In sin and folly passed my early years,
Wherefore I am ashamed, and life's arrears
Now strive to pay, the while my bitter tears
Have been my food by day and night.
Pent in the body's cage, pure child of heaven,
Bethink thee, life but as a bridge is given.
Awake, arise, to praise God gladly, even
In the first hours of the night.
Haste then, pure heart, to break sin's deadly sway,
And seek the path of righteousness alway;
For all our years are but as yesterday—
Soon past, and as a watch at night.
Short is man's life, and full of care and sorrow,
This way and that he turns some ease to borrow,
Like to a flower he blooms, and on the morrow
Is gone—a vision of the night.
How does the weight of sin my soul oppress!
Because God's law too often I transgress;
I mourn and sigh: with tears of bitterness
My bed I water all the night.
I rise at dawn and still the salt stream flows,
My heart's blood would I shed to find repose;
[pg 399] But when my soul is downcast with my woes,
I will recall my prayer at night.
My youth wanes like a shadow that is cast,
Swifter than eagles' wings my years fly fast,
And I remember not my gladness past,
Either by day or yet by night.
Proclaim we then a fast, a holy day,
Make pure our hearts from sin, God's will obey,
And unto Him, with humble spirits, pray
Unceasingly, by day and night.
May we yet hear His words: “Thou art my own,
My grace is thine, the shelter of My throne,
For I am thy Redeemer, I alone!
Endure but patiently this night.”
Моисей ибн Эзра.
Живого Бога мы славим
The living God we praise, exalt, adore!
He was, He is, He will be evermore.
No unity like unto His can be,
Eternal, inconceivable, is He.
No form or shape has th' Incorporeal One,
Most holy beyond all comparison.
He was, ere aught was made in heaven or earth,
But His existence has no date or birth.
Lord of the Universe is He proclaimed,
Teaching His power to all His hand has framed.
He gave His gift of prophecy to those
In whom He gloried, whom He loved and chose.
No prophet ever yet has filled the place
Of Moses, who beheld God face to face.
[pg 400]
Through him (the faithful in his house) the Lord
The law of truth to Israel did accord.
This law God will not alter, will not change
For any other through time's utmost range.
He knows and heeds the secret thoughts of man,
He saw the end of all ere aught began.
With love and grace doth He the righteous bless,
He metes out evil unto wickedness.
He at the last will His anointed send,
Those to redeem, who hope and wait the end.
God will the dead to life again restore,
Praised be His glorious name for evermore.
Аноним.
Примечания