Two words close every stanza and open the song: Sabbath of rest. Eleven stanzas, three lines each, and the last line of every one lands on that phrase — which is why a table can sing this for ten minutes with only three words of Hebrew between them. The tune is one of the most loved in the Ashkenazi repertoire and is often hummed long after the words have run out.
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♪ TuningE A D G B E
Key: Dm · 3 chords used ·Dm · Gm · A
88 BPM · 4/4 · Friday night, and one of the best-loved tunes in the whole repertoire · eleven short stanzas, each ending on the same two words · to reset the chord panel:
Active voicings · printable
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This day for Israel is light and joy: a Sabbath of rest.
Seven words that come back as the opening of the song and, in their last two, as the close of every stanza. אוֹרָה (o-ra) and וְשִׂמְחָה (ve-sim-cha) — light and joy — are from Esther, where they describe what the Jews had when the decree was lifted.
the Sabbath and the festivals, to keep all my years,
לַעֲרוֹךְ
la-a-ROCH
to set out
לְפָנַי
le-fa-NAI
before me
מַשְׂאֵת
mas-ET
an offering
וַאֲרוּחָה
va-a-ru-CHA
and a prepared meal
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
to set before me an offering and a prepared meal: a Sabbath of rest.
בְּמַעֲמַד (be-ma-a-mad) is the standing at Sinai, the fixed Hebrew name for that scene. The stanza moves from a mountain to a laid table in three lines, which is the poem's habit.
from a soul in distress He will remove sighing: a Sabbath of rest.
נְשָׁמָה (ne-sha-ma) and יְתֵרָה (ye-te-ra) are the additional soul — the Talmudic idea that a person receives an extra soul for the day and loses it when the day ends. This is the stanza the tune is usually saddest on.
And a song I will arrange for You, with melody and sweetness,
מוּל
mul
before
תִּפְאֶרֶת
tif-E-ret
the beauty of
גָּדְלָךְ
gad-LACH
Your greatness
נַפְשִׁי
naf-SHI
my soul
לְךָ
le-CHA
for You
כָּמַהּ
ka-MAH
has longed
|Dm|A|
before the beauty of Your greatness my soul has longed for You;
לִסְגֻלָּה
lis-gu-LA
for a treasured people
תְּמִימָה
tmi-MA
whole
קַיֵּם
ka-YEM
fulfil!
הַבְטָחָה
hav-ta-CHA
the promise
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
for a whole treasured people, fulfil the promise: a Sabbath of rest.
בְּנִגּוּן (bni-gun) is the word for a melody without words, the niggun. The poem names its own performance: a song arranged with a tune, being sung at the table it describes.
beloved as the pupil of an eye, with much success: a Sabbath of rest.
נַחְשׁוֹן (nach-shon) is Nachshon ben Aminadav, the prince of Judah who brought the first offering at the dedication of the Tabernacle in Numbers 7 — and, in the midrash, the first man into the sea. Named here without explanation, as these poems always do.
Please, exalted and awesome One, look and answer us;
פְּדֵנוּ
pe-de-NU
redeem us!
בִּמְהֵרָה
bim-he-RA
quickly
חָנֵּנוּ
cha-ne-NU
be gracious to us!
וַעֲנֵנוּ
va-a-ne-NU
and answer us!
|Dm|A|
redeem us quickly, be gracious to us and answer us;
שַׂמַּח
sa-MACH
gladden!
נַפְשֵׁנוּ
naf-she-NU
our soul
בְּאוֹר
be-OR
with light
וְשִׂמְחָה
ve-sim-CHA
and joy
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
gladden our soul with light and joy: a Sabbath of rest.
Four imperatives in two lines, all addressed to God, all in the plural — look, answer, redeem, be gracious. The stanza before this one asked on behalf of the blind; this one asks on behalf of everyone at the table.
Your goodness, our Saviour, give to the grieving woman
בְּשַׁבָּת
be-sha-BAT
on the Sabbath
יוֹשֶׁבֶת
yo-SHE-vet
who sits
בִּזְמִיר
biz-MIR
in song
וּשְׁבָחָה
ush-va-CHA
and praise
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
who sits on the Sabbath in song and praise: a Sabbath of rest.
נֶחֱרֶבֶת (ne-che-re-vet) and לַנֶּעֱצֶבֶת (la-ne-e-tze-vet) are both feminine — the ruined city and the grieving woman are the same figure, Jerusalem, which Hebrew treats as a woman throughout the prophets.
Remember for us, Holy One, by the merit of the preciousness of the day;
שְׁמוֹר
shmor
guard!
נָא
na
please
אוֹתָנוּ
o-ta-NU
us
בְּיוֹם
byom
on the day
זֶה
ze
this
וּבְכָל
uv-CHAL
and on every
יוֹם
yom
day
|Dm|A|
guard us, please, on this day and on every day;
דּוֹדִי
do-DI
my beloved
צַח
tzach
bright
וְאָיוֹם
ve-ai-OM
and awesome
תָּבִיא
ta-VI
bring!
רְוָחָה
re-va-CHA
relief
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
my Beloved, bright and awesome, bring relief: a Sabbath of rest.
דּוֹדִי (do-di), צַח (tzach) and וְאָיוֹם (ve-ai-om) — my beloved, bright and ruddy — is from the Song of Songs, and using it as a name for God is standard in this poetry and startling the first time you meet it.
A voice of song and salvation, let it be heard for Israel,
בְּבֹא
be-VO
when there comes
חֶזְיוֹן
chezi-ON
a vision of
תְּשׁוּעָה
tshu-A
deliverance
צוּר
tzur
the rock
מַצְמִיחַ
matz-MI-ach
who causes to grow
יְשׁוּעָה
ye-shu-A
salvation
|Dm|A|
when the vision of deliverance comes, the Rock who makes salvation grow;
אוֹר
or
light of
שִׁמְשִׁי
shim-SHI
my sun
הוֹפִיעָה
ho-fi-A
appear!
תָּמִיד
ta-MID
always
הַזְרִיחָה
haz-ri-CHA
shine!
שַׁבָּת
sha-BAT
Sabbath
מְנוּחָה
me-nu-CHA
of rest
|GmA|Dm|
light of my sun, appear, shine always: a Sabbath of rest.
The poem ends on the sun, which is where a Friday night song about light should end — and on the same two words that have closed every stanza since the first.
♫ Singing notes
The two closing words are the whole song for a guest. They arrive at the end of every stanza, and a table will land on them together whether or not anyone knows the verses.
Slower than most: around 88 BPM. The melody is worth taking time over and is often hummed after the words stop.
Three lines per stanza, and the third is always longer — it carries the refrain words. Give it room.
Twelve stanzas is more than most tables sing. Four or five is normal; the tune usually outlasts the text.
♦ About this song
The acrostic
The opening letters of the stanzas spell the name Yitzchak. Which Yitzchak is not established, and the poem is usually dated by its style rather than by any external record.
The additional soul
The third stanza names the neshamah yeterah, the extra soul the Talmud says a person receives for the Sabbath and loses when it ends. That idea is why havdalah uses spices — to revive the ordinary soul left behind — and this poem is one of the places a learner is most likely to meet it.
The tune
The melody now sung across the Ashkenazi world is later than the words and is one of the most recognisable in the repertoire. It is not reproduced here; the chord grid is a suggestion for accompanying it, not a transcription of it.
Hebrew: Siddur Ashkenaz, Shabbat, Shabbat Evening, Zemirot for Shabbat Evening, Yom zeh L'yisrael · The Metsudah siddur, 1981 · CC-BY, via Sefaria, pinned in this repo at content/songs/source/010.json.
English gloss lines authored for this site; the source translation is used as raw material only. Transliteration generated by this site's own engine (assets/translit.js).