Lekhah Dodi

Jewish and Israeli Magen David Israeli Flag Music
Religious music:
Historical • Contemporary Piyyut • Zemirot • Nigun Pizmonim • Baqashot
Secular music:
Israeli • Klezmer • Sephardic • Mizrahi
Not Jewish in Form: Classical • Mainstream and Jazz
Dance:
Israeli Folk Dancing • Ballet Horah • Hava Nagila • Yemenite dance
Israel
Hatikvah • Jerusalem of Gold
Piyyutim
Adon Olam • Geshem • Lekhah Dodi Ma'oz Tzur • Yedid Nefesh • Yigdal
Music for Holidays
Hanukkah • Passover • Shabbat
Music of the Haggadah
Ma Nishtana • Dayenu • Adir Hu Chad Gadya • Echad Mi Yodea
Music of Hanukkah
Blessings • Oh Chanukah • Dreidel Song
Al Hanisim • Mi Y'malel • Ner Li

Lekhah Dodi (Hebrew: לכה דודי‎; also transliterated as Lecha Dodi, L'chah Dodi, Lekah Dodi, Lechah Dodi; Ashkenazic pronunciation Lecho Dodi) is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv (evening services). It is part of the Kabbalat Shabbat ("acceptance of Sabbath").

Lekhah Dodi means "come my beloved," and is a request of a mysterious "beloved" that could mean either God or one's friend(s) to join together in welcoming Shabbat that is referred to as the "bride": likrat kallah ("to greet the [Shabbat] bride"). During the singing of the last verse, the entire congregation rises and turns to the open door, to greet "Queen Shabbat" as she arrives.

It was composed in the 16th century Ottoman Empire land Edirne by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, a Safed Kabbalist. As was common at the time, the song is also an acrostic, with the first letter of the first eight stanzas spelling the author's name. The author draws much of his phraseology from Isaiah's prophecy of Israel's restoration, and six of his verses are full of the thoughts to which his vision of Israel as the bride on that great Shabbat of Messianic deliverance gives rise. It is one of the latest of the Hebrew poems regularly accepted into the liturgy, both in the southern use, which the author followed, and in the more distant northern rite.

Ancient Moorish melody

Its importance in the esteem of Jewish worshipers has led every cantor and choir-director to seek to devote his sweetest strains to the Shabbat welcomesong. Settings of "Lekhah Dodi," usually of great expressiveness and not infrequently of much tenderness and beauty, are accordingly to be found in every published compilation of synagogal melodies. Among the Sephardic congregations, however, the hymn is universally chanted to an ancient Moorish melody of great interest, which is known to be much older than the text of "Lekhah Dodi" itself. This is clear not only from internal evidence, but also from the rubric in old prayer-books directing the hymn "to be sung to the melody of 'Shuvi Nafshi li-Menukhayekhi,'" a composition of Judah ha-Levi, who died nearly five centuries before Alkabetz. In this rendering, carried to Israel by Spanish refugees before the days of Alkabetz, the hymn is chanted congregationally, the refrain being employed as an introduction only. But in Ashkenazic synagogues the verses are ordinarily chanted at elaborate length by the chazzan, and the refrain is used as a congregational response.

בואי כלה בואי כלה

Old German and Polish melodies

At certain periods of the year many northern congregations discard later compositions in favor of two simple older melodies singularly reminiscent of the folk-song of northern Europe in the century succeeding that in which the verses were written. The better known of these is an air, reserved for the Omer weeks between Passover and Shavuot, which has been variously described, because of certain of its phrases, as an adaptation of the famous political song "Lillibullero" and of the cavatina in the beginning of Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro." But resemblances to German folk-song of the end of the seventeenth century may be found generally throughout the melody.

Less widely utilized in the present day is the special air traditional for the "Three Weeks" preceding Tisha b'Av, although this is characterized by much tender charm absent from the melody of Eli Tziyyon, which more often takes its place. But it was once very generally sung in the northern congregations of Europe; and a variant was chosen by Benedetto Marcello for his rendition of Psalm xix. in his "Estro Poetico-Armonico" or "Parafrasi Sopra li Salmi" (Venice, 1724), where it is quoted as an air of the German Jews. Cantor Eduard Birnbaum ("Der Jüdische Kantor", 1883, p. 349) has discovered the source of this melody in a Polish folk-song, "Wezm ja Kontusz, Wezm", given in Oskar Kolberg's "Piesni Ludu Polskiego" (Warsaw, 1857). An old melody, of similarly obvious folk-song origin, was favored in the London Jewry a century ago, and was sung in two slightly divergent forms in the old city synagogues. Both of these forms are given by Isaac Nathan in his setting of Byron's "Hebrew Melodies" (London, 1815), where they constitute the air selected for "She Walks in Beauty", the first verses in the series. The melody has since fallen out of use in English congregations and elsewhere.

Text

The full version of the song (note that many Reform congregations omit verses 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 which make reference to Orthodox conceptions of messianic redemption):

#	English translation	Transliteration	Hebrew
Chorus:
1	Let's go, my friend, towards the bride,	Lechah dodi likrat kallah	לכה דודי לקראת כלה
2	and receive the presence of Shabbat.	pnei Shabbat nekabelah	פני שבת נקבלה
Verse 1:
3	"Observe" and "recall" in a single word,	Shamor ve-zachor be-dibur echad	שמור וזכור בדבור אחד
4	We were made to hear by the unifying God,	hishmianu E-l hameyuchad	השמיענו אל המיחד
5	God is one and God's Name is one,	Adonai echad ushemo echad	יי אחד ושמו אחד
6	In fame and splendor and song.	Le-Sheim ul-tiferet ve-li-t'hilah	לשם ולתפארת ולתהלה
Verse 2:
7	Towards Shabbat let's go, let's travel,	Likrat Shabbat lechu ve-nelechah	לקראת שבת לכו ונלכה
8	For she is the wellspring of blessing,	kee hee mekor haberachah	כי היא מקור הברכה
9	From the start, from long ago she was chosen,	merosh mikedem nesuchah	מראש מקדם נסוכה
10	Last made, but first planned.	sof ma'aseh be-machashavah techilah	סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה
Verse 3:
11	Sanctuary of the king, royal city,	Mikdash melech ir meluchah	מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה
12	Arise! Leave from the midst of the turmoil;	Kumi tze'i mitoch ha-hafeichah	קומי צאי מתוך ההפכה
13	Long enough have you sat in the valley of tears	Rav lach shevet be-eimek habacha	רב לך שבת בעמק בעמק הבכא
14	He will be greatly compassionate upon you.	ve-hu yachamol alayich chemlah	והוא יחמול עליך חמלה
Verse 4:
15	Shake yourself free, rise from the dust,	Hitna'ari me-afar kumi	התנערי מעפר קומי
16	Dress in your garments of splendor, my people,	Liv-shi bigdei tifartech ami	לבשי בגדי תפארתך עמי
17	By the hand of Jesse's son, of Bethlehem,	Al yad ben Yishai beit ha-lachmi	על יד בן ישי בית הלחמי
18	Redemption draws near to my soul.	Korvah el nafshi ge-alah	קרבה אל נפשי גאלה
Verse 5:
19	Rouse yourselves! Rouse yourselves!	Hitoreri hitoreri	התעוררי התעוררי
20	Your light is coming, rise up and shine.	Ki va oreich kumi ori	כי בא אורך קומי אורי
21	Awaken! Awaken! utter a song,	Uri uri shir dabeiri	עורי עורי שיר דברי
22	The glory of God is revealed upon you.	Kevod Ado-nai alayich niglah	כבוד יי עליך נגלה
Verse 6:
23	Do not be embarrassed! Do not be ashamed!	Lo teevoshi ve-lo tikalmi	לא תבושי ולא תכלמי
24	Why be downcast? Why moan?	Mah tishtochachi u-mah tehemi	מה תשתוחחי ומה תהמי
25	All my afflicted people will find shelter within you	bach yechesu aniyei ami	בך יחסו עניי עמי
26	And the city shall be rebuilt on her hill.	ve-nivnetah ir al tilah	ונבנתה עיר על תלה
Verse 7:
27	Your despoilers will become spoil,	Ve-hayu limshisah shosayich	והיו למשסה שאסיך
28	Far away shall be any who would devour you,	Ve-rachaku kol mevalayich	ורחקו כל מבלעיך
29	Your God will rejoice in you,	Yasis alayich E-lohayich	ישיש עליך אלהיך
30	As a groom rejoices in a bride.	Kimsos chatan al kalah	כמשוש חתן על כלה
Verse 8:
31	To your left and your right you will burst forth,	Yamin u-smol tifrotzi	ימין ושמאל תפרוצי
32	And God will you revere	Ve-et Ado-nai ta'aritzi	ואת יי תעריצי
33	By the hand of a child of Perez,	Al yad ish ben Partzi	על יד איש בן פרצי
34	We will rejoice and sing happily.	Ve-nismechah ve-nagilah	ונשמחה ונגילה
Verse 9:
35	Come in peace, crown of her husband,	Boi ve-shalom ateret ba'alah	בואי בשלום עטרת בעלה
36	Both in happiness and in jubilation	Gam be-simchah u-ve-tzahalah	גם בשמחה ובצהלה
37	Amidst the faithful of the treasured nation	Toch emunei am segulah	תוך אמוני עם סגלה
38	Come O Bride! Come O Bride!	Bo-i chalah boi chalah	בואי כלה בואי כלה

In the Sephardic rite the last section is recited as such:

#	English translation	Transliteration	Hebrew
Verse 9:
35	Come in peace, crown of her husband,	Boi ve-shalom ateret ba'alah	בואי בשלום עטרת בעלה
36	Both in happiness, in song and in jubilation	Gam be-simchah be-rina u-ve-tzahalah	גם בשמחה ברינה ובצהלה
37	Amidst the faithful of the treasured nation	Toch emunei am segulah	תוך אמוני עם סגלה
38	Come O Bride! Come O Bride!	Bo-i chalah boi chalah	בואי כלה בואי כלה
39	Amidst the faithful of the treasured nation	Toch emunei am segulah	תוך אמוני עם סגלה
40	Come O Bride! Shabbat Queen!	Bo-i chalah Shabbat malketa	בואי כלה שבת מלכתא

Cover

The song has been covered by Israeli countertenor David D'Or, and is featured on the compilation album Womad New Zealand 2008, which was released on June 2, 2008, by Shock Records.

See also

• Jewish services
• List of Jewish prayers and blessings
• Piyyut

References

Bibliography

• English translation and discussion: in Kabbalat Shabbat: Welcoming Shabbat in the Synagogue, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, ed. Jewish Lights Publishing. 2004. ISBN 1-58023-121-7.
• Traditional settings: A. Baer, Ba'al Tefillah, Nos. 326-329, 340-343, Gothenburg, 1877, Frankfort, 1883;
• Cohen and Davis, Voice of Prayer and Praise, Nos. 18, 19a, and 19b, London, 1899;
• F. Consolo, Libro dei Canti d'Israele, part. i, Florence, 1892;
• De Sola and Aguilar, Ancient Melodies, p. 16 and No. 7, London, 1857;
• Israel, London, i. 82; iii. 22, 204;
• Journal of the Folk-Song Society, i., No. 2, pp. 33, 37, London, 1900. Translations, etc.: Israel, iii. 22;
• H. Heine, Werke, iii. 234, Hamburg, 1884;
• J. G. von Herder, Werke, Stuttgart, 1854;
• A. Lucas, The Jewish Year, p. 167, London, 1898

External links

• Audio file "Lekhah Dodi" MP3
• Audio file "Lekhah Dodi" MP3
• Lekhah Dodi with music from The Jewish Learning Group from the Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. [1]

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