And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name

by Rabbi Abraham Abulafia

English version by Peter Cole
Original Language Hebrew

And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name
spelled out and merged with the blood in my heart,
separating blood from ink and ink from blood:
and YHVH said to me: Bohold,
blood is the name of your soul, and ink the name of your spirit:
your father and mother are vessels for my name and a sign.
And then I fathomed the tremendous difference between
my spirit and soul, and a great joy came through me.
For I knew my soul was dwelling in the redness as blood,
and my spirit was dwelling in the blackness as ink.
And there raged a war in my heart between
the blood and the ink: the blood from the wind
and the ink from dust, and the black ink
over the blood was victorious --
as the Sabbath subdues all days of the week.

And so my heart rested within me -- and I offer
praise to the Lord, to the Name in my heart forever.

-- from The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492, Edited by Peter Cole

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Recommended Books: Rabbi Abraham Abulafia

A Big Jewish Book: Poems and Other Visions of the Jews from Tribal Times to the Present The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 Meditation and Kabbalah



And YHVH spoke to