Introduction . . ix 

POEMS OF THE PALACES AND EARLY LITURGICAL HYMNS 

Anonymous 
Hymn to the Heavens . . 6 
A Measure of Holiness . . 7 
Awe and Adornment . . 9 
Each Day . . 10 
From Whose Beauty the Depths Are Lit . . 12 
To Rise on High . . 13
Blessed Is the Eye . . 14 
The Priest's Appearance . . 20 
Windows of Worship . . 23 

Yannai 
Angel of Fire . . 24 
From the Sky to the Heavens' Heavens . . 25 

Eliezer Kallir 
King Girded with Might . . 27 
Creatures Four-Square About the Throne . . 32 

Anonymous 
Release, Please . . 34 

THE BOOK OF CREATION 
from Sefer Yetzirah . . 42 

AL-ANDALUS AND ASHKENAZ 

Shelomoh Ibn Gabirol 
He Dwells Forever . . 55 
Angels Amassing . . 59 
I Love You . . 61 
from Kingdom's Crown . . 62 

Yehudah HaLevi 
True Life . . 70 
Where Will I Find You . . 71 
Lord, [All My Desire] . . 73 
A Dove in the Distance . . 75 

Yehudah HeHasid 
Hymn of Divine Glory . . 81 

THE KABBALAH IN SPAIN 

Moshe ben Nahman 
Before the World Ever Was . . 94 

Ya'akov HaKohen 
Prayers for the Protection and Opening of the Heart . . 97 

The Zohar 
On Awakening and Drawing Near . . 105 
Incantation Against Lilith . . 107 

Avraham Abulafia 
from the Book of the Sign . . 113 

Yosef Gikatilla 
The Nut Garden . . 121 

THE SAFED CIRCLE (GALILEAN KABBALAH) 

Shelomoh Alkabetz 
Hymn to the Sabbath . . 133 

Anonymous 
Peace Be upon You . . 136 

Eliezer Azikri 
Soul's Beloved . . 137 

Yitzhak Luria 
Hymns for the Three Sabbath Meals . . 149 
Why, My Desire . . 160 

Avraham ben Maimon 
Hidden God . . 162 

Yisrael Najara 
To the Shekhinah . . 165 
Your Kingdom's Glory . . 166 

EXTENSIONS EAST AND WEST 

Shalem Shabazi 
Who Kissed Me . . 176 
The Myrtle's Scent . . 177 

Shimon Lavi 
Bar Yohai . . 180 

Ya'akov Ifargan 
In Praise of the Name and Its Mystery . . 183 

JEWISH MUSLIMS/MUSLIM JEWS 

Shabbatian Hymns 
Meliselda . . 198 
I Have Found Bliss . . 199 
The Valley of Ishmael . . 201 
On the Extinguishing of the Lights . . 203 
Secret Pleasure . . 205 
On the Destruction of the Law . . 207 
The Ghazal of Goodness . . 208 

ITALIAN KABBALAH 

Moshe Zacut 
The Light Concealed . . 218 
You Readied a Light . . 221 

Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto 
Messiah . . 228 

HASIDIC DEVOTION 

Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev 
Song of You . . 236 

Shneur Zalman 
from the Tanya . . 238 

THE SEEDS OF SECULAR MYSTICISM 

Hayyim Nahman Bialik 
from The Pool . . 246 
Bring Me in Under Your Wing . . 249 

Notes . . 251 
Afterword, by Aminadav Dykman . . 435 
Poems in Hebrew and Other Languages 
Acknowledgments . . 447