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Jewish 11th Century	About Shelomo ibn Gabirol Timeline (1021? - 1058)
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English version by Bernard Lewis Original Language Hebrew	Thou Livest
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Bliss           Recommended Books The Heart and the Fountain: An Anthology of Jewish Mystical Experiences, by Joseph Dan Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems, Translated by Bernard Lewis The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, Edited by T. Carmi Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs	Thou livest, but not from determined time or known epoch. Thou livest, but not with soul or breath, for Thou art soul of the soul. Thou livest, but not as the life of man that is like vanity, its end in moths and worms. Thou livest, and whoever attains Thy secret will find eternal delight -- "and eat, and live for ever."     -- from The Heart and the Fountain: An Anthology of Jewish Mystical Experiences, by Joseph Dan Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This is a poem of praise to God, a recognition that the Eternal genuinely lives. But God does not live in an "experience" of life, that is, not a life that is bound by history, not a life with a beginning and an end. It is not the experience of a creature, a being of limitations. The life God "lives" is Life itself, the source from which the experience of life emerges.

And this foundation of Life can be directly perceived. When you touch this "secret," you find sacred bliss, "eternal delight" that lets you know you are a part of life beyond birth and death. You come to know that you are, in truth, deathless. There is often an accompanying experience of swallowing a sacred substance, and when you "eat" this, you know that you, at one with the eternal field of Life, "live for ever."

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2007 by Ivan M. Granger.
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