11.03.2019
Have mercy, my God
Have mercy, my God, from your abodeon your lily.1
May your will pass over me
as your anger as passed.
Exalt me above my enemies
for my heart and eyes are yours.
Shall my sin forever
stand between you and me?
Beloved, erase the crooked enemy
for he is an obstacle set against me,
and until when shall I seek
you with me, though you are absent?
Closest of close ones,
surrounded by sparks,
dwelling in the wings of the cherubim,
spread over your ark.2
Your hand guides the scattered,
for the sake of the grace of youth,3
You enslaved me to foreigners
and I am the foundation of of your right hand.4
The ray of light has been cut off from my eyes
for the sake of your name, oh God.5
My savior, to save my multitudes,
ascend and look down from your abode.
- 1. The plant חבצלת השרון is mentioned in the Bible (Song of Songs 2:1, Isaiah 35:1) as a symbol of flourishing in the desert. It is identified with the sea daffodil.
- 2. A reference to the biblical Ark of the Covenant, which was flanked by sculpted cherubim whose wings were spread over the ark.
- 3. The phrase חסד נעורים 'the grace of youth' refers to a person's devotion to their partner in their youth, viewed in retrospect. Here it is a reference to Jeremiah 2:2, and alludes to God's devotion to the Jewish people because of the covenant he made with them.
- 4. Reference to Psalms 80:16: וְכַנָּה אֲשֶׁר-נָטְעָה יְמִינֶךָ 'and the foundation that your right hand has planted'
- 5. The phrase בעבור שמך יהוה is common in liturgical poems used in the Jewish selichot prayer service.