The Wife of Dunash Will Her Love Remember אשתו של דונש הֲיִזְכּוֹר יַעֲלַת הַחֵן

הֲיִזְכּוֹר יַעֲלַת הַחֵן יְדִידָהּ בְּיוֹם פֵּירוּד וּבִזְרוֹעָהּ יְחִידָהּ
וְשָׂם חוֹתַם יְמִינוֹ עַל שְׂמֹאלָהּ וּבִזְרוֹעוֹ הֲלֹא שָׂמָה צְמִידָהּ
בְּיוֹם לָקְחָה לְזִכָּרוֹן רְדִידוֹ וְהוּא לָקַח לְזִכָּרוֹן רְדִידָהּ
הֲיִשָּׁאֵר בְּכָל אֶרֶץ סְפָרַד וְלוּ לָקַח חֲצִי מַלְכוּת נְגִידָהּ

Larinda Irene Higdon 31 Oct. 1913 - 31 Aug. 2006 & Jewell Jensen Higdon 11 Oct. 1912 - 26 Feb 1992

Will the husband remember his beautiful wife?
On the day of exile, her Bab on her arm,
he placed his wedding ring on her left hand.
And didn´t she clasp her bracelet upon his forearm?
On that day she took his coat, a memento, and he took her fan.
What will remain of the country, when he takes its culture with him?

translated into English by Mark Westergreen

 

Larinda was a dancer with Ted Mack and the Taborettes

In memory of my Grandparents Nanny Rin and Gene Higdon

Garden of Eden Dunash Ben Labrat גן עדן דונש בן לברט

וְגַן עֶדְנָךְ יְהוּ סִפְרֵי קְדוֹשִׁים
וּפַרְדֶּסְךָ יְהוּ סִפְרֵי עֲרָבִים

جنة عدن لك دفاتر مقدسة
وبستان الحكمة لك أشعار العرب

All scripture is a veritable garden of Eden

But poetry is paradise

a fragment translated into English and Arabic by Mark Westergreen

בראשית Genesis 1 - 2:3 translated into English by Mark Westergreen with commentary

בראשית

Genesis 1 - 2:3

When Elohim set out to form the sky and the land, the land was within a chaotic deluge, and darkness covered its depths, and the breath of Elohim blew over the water: And Elohim commanded "Let there be light" and there was light. And Elohim knew that the light was good. And Elohim separated the light from the darkness. And Elohim named the light, Day,and the darkness he named, Night. So there was evening and there was morning, one day.

And Elohim commanded, "Let there be a canopy in the midst of the water and let it separate water from water." So Elohim stretched out a canopy and it separated the water beneath the canopy from the water above the canopy, and it was so. And Elohim named the canopy, Sky. So there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

And Elohim commanded, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry ground appears", and it was so. And Elohim named the dry ground, Land, and the gathered water he named, Seas. And Elohim knew that it was good. And Elohim commanded, "Let the land blossom with vegetation, plant yielding seed, fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, according to the seed", and it was so. And the land blossomed with vegetation, plant yielding seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit after the seed in them according to their kind. And Elohim knew that it was good. So there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

And Elohim commanded, "Let there be luminaries in the canopy of the sky to divide between the day and the night. And they will mark time, for seasons, for days and years. And they will be luminaries in the canopy of the sky to give light upon the land", and it was so. And Elohim made two great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule the day and the lesser luminary to rule the night, and the stars. And Elohim placed them within the canopy of the sky to give light upon the land. And to rule over the day and the night, and to separate between the light and between the darkness. And Elohim knew that it was good. So there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

And Elohim commanded, "Let the water teem with swarms of living creatures, and birds flying over the land against the canopy of the sky". And Elohim formed great sea creatures, and all life that springs from the water according to its kind, and every bird of the wing according to its kind, and Elohim knew it was good. And Elohim blessed them and commanded them "Increase and multiply and fill the water of the seas, and the birds increase within the land". So there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

And Elohim commanded, " Let the land bring forth living creatures according to their kind, in herds and swarms, and creatures of the land according to their kind". And it was so.
And Elohim formed the creatures of the land according to their kind, the herds according to their kind and every swarm of the ground according to its kind. And Elohim knew it was good.Then Elohim commanded, "Let us make humans in our image and after our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the herds, and over all the land, and over every swarm that moves upon the land". So Elohim formed humans in his image after the image of Elohim he formed them, male and female, he formed them. And Elohim blessed them and Elohim commanded them, "Increase and multiply, fill the land and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over every living creature that moves upon the land". And Elohim commanded, "Here, I give to you every plant yielding seed that is upon the surface of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit. They will be your food. And to all living creatures of the land and to all the birds of the sky and to all that moves upon the land that is alive every green plant for food". And it was so. And Elohim knew everything he had made, and it was very good. So there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Now the sky and the land, and all their hosts were completed. And Elohim completed on the seventh day his work that he did and he abstained on the seventh day from all his work that he did. And Elohim blessed the seventh day and he sanctified it for thereon Elohim abstained from all his work which he set out to form and make.

________________________________________________________________________________
translated into English by Mark Westergreen

ר' שמואל הנגיד אָמְרָה: שְׂמַח R´ Samuel HaNagid, "Be happy

אָמְרָה שְׂמַח בַּעֲבוּר הִגִּיעֲךָ אֵל אֱלֵי שָׁנִים חֲמִשִּׁים בְּעוֹלָמָךְ
וְלֹא יָדְעָה כִּי אֵין חֲלֻקָּה בְּעֵינַי בֵּין יְמוֹתַי אֲשֶׁר עָבְרוּ וּבֵינוֹת יְמֵי נֹחַ אֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁמְעָה
אֵין לִי בְעוֹלָם לְבַד שָׁעָה אֲנִי בָהּ וְהִיא תַּעֲמֹד כְּרֶגַע וְאַחַר כֵּן כְּעָב נָסְעָה

قالت اسعد لأن وصّلك الله الى خمسين سنة في عالمك
ولا تدري ان ليس اختلاف في اعيني بين أيامي الّتي مرّت وبين أيام نوح الّتي سمعتها
ليس لي شئ في العالم الا ساعة انا فيها وهى تستمر لحظة وبعدما كغيمة مضى 
أبو إسحاق إسماعيل بن النغريلة

She said, "Be happy, for God has brought you to a full fifty years in the world".
But she didn´t discern: there´s no difference between my past and Noah´s, of which I´ve heard.
I´ve nothing in the world except the present, it lasts but a moment, then like a cloud, it passes.

English and Arabic translations by Mark F Westergreen 

Comments:

The following quote is from the Jewish Encyclodedia: "Samuel's poetic compositions are distinguished for their elevation of thought; but they are devoid of elegance of form. It became proverbial to say, "Cold as the snow of Hermon, or as the songs of the Levite Samuel" (Dukes, "Naḥal Ḳedumim," p. 5)."

I do not agree with that verdict at all. I would´nt say this short piece is the greatest thing I´ve ever read, nevertheless, it´s following the rules of Arabic poetry within the Hebrew language, v. From Arabic to Hebrew , and its theme lies squarely in the tradition of Qohelet.

An understanding of the word سنة / שנה , and the disparity between the poet´s age and Noah´s purported lifespan reveals the ironic twist of this short poem. I also encourage readers to consult all entries in BDB under the following roots שנה - ישן as well. Perhaps both go back to an original bi-lateral root שן that carried the sense change, sleep, another year, old.

Here is a short commentary on Google Books by:  Shulamit Elizur, שולמית אליצור

I provide the following translation of her comments for those who do not read Hebrew:
    
     Opening with a quote by someone creates an expectation of a reply, and breaking the expected pattern by the lack of a response may signify something important. This can be demonstrated using one of the poems of Samuel HaNagid from his collection "Son of Qohelet". The poem opens with "She said" followed by a quote from an anonymous interlocutor directed to the poet. The words of the reaction in response to her ought to be written in direct speech. But the poet chose not to do so: He has no answer at all for the interlocutor, instead he reports his reflections upon hearing her words, thus eliminating and mocking them. Breaking the debate format occurs apparently in order to teach that what was heard at the beginning of the poem does not deserve a response. The interlocutor "doesn´t know" what the poet knows, so there is no way she´ll understand the reflective reply.

Links for line #1
BDB: v. Hiph`il under נגע

BDB אֵל

BDB אֶל

Gesenius on Hiph´il

Gesenius 117cc

Maskilon v. under נגע

Conjugation chart

יהודה עמיחי כלב אחרי האהבה A Dog After Love, Yehuda Amichai

כלב אחרי האהבה
 
אַחֲרֵי שֶׁעָזַבְתְּ אוֹתִי
נָתַתִּי לְכֶלֶב גִשׁוּשּ לְהָּרִיחַ
בְּחָזִי וְּבִבְטִני
יְמָלֵּא נְחִירָיו
וְיֵצֵא לִמְצֹא אוֹתָךְ
אֲנִי מְקַוֶּה שֶׁיִּמְצָא וְיִקְרַע
אֶת אֶשְׁכֵי מְאַהֲבֵךְ וְיִכְרת שִׁפְכָתוֹ
אוֹ לְכָל הַפָּחוֹת
יָבִיא לִי גֶרֶב שֶׁלָךְ בֵּין שׁינָּיו

A Dog after Love

After you left me
I let a dog smell
my chest and my belly.
It fills its snout
and sets out to find you.
I hope it finds
and tears your lover´s testicles
and bites off his prick.
Or at the very least
brings me your pantyhose
between his teeth.

translated into English by Mark F Westergreen

Comments________________________________________________________________ 

But one day in 1989, he sat down with the man who some call the most widely translated Hebrew poet since King David. Here's Henry Lyman to introduce him. Mr. HENRY LYMAN (Host, "Poets To a Listener') He is Yehuda Amichai, a warm-hearted bear of a man  

I like this poem because it is a dog poem, a jilted lover´s poem and it has a biblical undertone. As is often the case in human experience when a lover is jilted, it is not the ex-lover, but her new man who becomes the main object of scorn and hate. In this poem the jealous wish is quite violent. It is not only to prevent the new lover from having sex with her and from being able to procreate, but to cut him off from God´s people, or the community, entirely! The term שִׁפְכָה occurs once in the Tanakh at Deut 23.1-2 in connection with this very prohibition. Amichai´s Poetry is full of biblical allusions and connections.

To this end, the poet employs a dog. The term "dog" in the Bible is used as a euphemism for a male prostitute. Of course we all know the various connotations of the term in most modern languages, and I am certain if our sample size for biblical Hebrew was larger we would find the same usage. The title itself is an integral part of the poem and self-referential, as to the behavior of the narrator within the poem itself. He is behaving like a "dog", that is, like a low down, dirty scoundrel, in the modern sense of the term. Amichai certainly created and nurtured a larger than life image of himself within his poetry as a machismo filled lover of women. And this is a glimpse at its dark side.

But why does he want her stockings? Does he want a trophy to perserve a memory? Perhaps.
That would be in the nature of a dog, so to say. Does he want to expose her nakedness? Perhaps. That would cut her off from the Lord´s assembly as well (v.; Ex 20:26; 28:42; 1 Sam 16:8 & especially Ezek 16:8).

Actually, there is a bit of dissonance occurring between גרב וגבר (hero, man, stud, and stocking, pantyhose). By this line in the poem one expects to hear גבר but gets גרב instead. And a dog would do that too! Disappoint the expectations of its master who sent it out to do such a dirty job, only to return, looking up, happily wagging its tail with a pair of pantyhose hanging between its teeth.

Here is an interesting article discussing a judaistic perspective on dogs:  Of Canines and Commandments.

Euphemisms for "Penis" in Hebrew

PSALM 120

שִׁיר, הַמַּעֲלוֹת

אֶל יְהוָה בַּצָּרָתָה לִּי קָרָאתִי וַיַּעֲנֵנִי

יְהוָה הַצִּילָה נַפְשִׁי מִשְּׂפַת שֶׁקֶר מִלָּשֹׁון רְמִיָּה

מַה יִּתֵּן לְךָ וּמַה יֹּסִיף לָךְ לָשֹׁון רְמִיָּה

חִצֵּי גִבֹּור שְׁנוּנִים עִם גַּחֲלֵי רְתָמִים

אֹויָה לִי כִּי גַרְתִּי מֶשֶׁךְ שָׁכַנְתִּי עִם אָהֳלֵי קֵדָר

רַבַּת שָׁכְנָה לָּהּ נַפְשִׁי עִם שֹׂונֵא שָׁלֹום

אֲ‍נִי שָׁלֹום וְכִי אֲדַבֵּר הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה

A Song of Ascents:

In my dilemma I called upon Ha Shem and he answered me,
Ha Shem delivered me from lying and shooting off at the mouth.

"What will it get you and what will you earn shooting off at the mouth?
- An enemy´s precise and fiery strike!"

Woe is me, because I sojourn among those who hang on to grievances,
because I dwell with a warring people.

Too long have I lived among the peace-haters.

I want peace, therefore I seek diplomacy,
but they want war.

Peace Train

בעין דור שאול טשרניחובסקי - In Ein Dor by Shaul Tchernichovsky

Philistine military tactic "shadow of death"

ובחשכת הליל בלי קשת ושלח
על סוס קל עין דורה בא שאול המלך

ובאחד הבתים אור כהה הופיע
פה תגור הנער לו חרש הביע

את בעלת האוב כן אדוני הנני
נא קסמי באוב צל הראה הראיני

עלטה אש זוועות בפינה קלחת
ושמות כל השדים ובלילה רותחת

וכנחש יתפתל בין עשבי הבשן
יזחלו יתאבכו כל תימרות העשן

ובמעגל הקסמים בגופרית משוח
שם יעמוד המלך לא לבו ינוח

ויצורי ערפל וצלמים נשערים
אגלי הזיעה על לחיו נגרים

אף רוחו בו רפתה גם נפשו דואבת
מה ימס בו לבו וינבא המוות

חייו במחזה יעברו יאתיו
הנח לי הנח לי שפתיו יבעיו

עלטה אש זוועות דממת השחת
מעגל הקסמים ועשן הקלחת

ויזכר המלך את גבע ועלומיו
אביב חלדו טרם יקדרו עוד שמיו

ותמונות מרהיבות עיניו תחזינה
כר נרחב יופיע ופרות תרעינה

ותכלת רום שחק גם ריחות עדנים
אל תחת צל אלה חסן כאלונים

שם שלו ינוח הרועה העלם
ולנגדו ירקדו הבקרים בתלם

אך שלווה ונעם אך יפעה והדר
מה נעמו צלצלי פעמון העדר

אנכי מאשר גם בריא גם רענן
מי יתן אוכלה וכאז אהי שאנן

ועצבת נוראה סגור לבו לחצה
וכמו שפעת דמעה אל גרונו פרצה

ופתאום וירעם קול גדול וחזק
ואשון העלטה האיר הבזק

אנכי הראה למלך משחך
מאחרי הבקר היכל הושיבך

ממחלות רקבון על מה הרגזתני
ולארצות החיים מה העליתני

מדוע מאחר הצאן לקחתני
ולנגיד על עמך כיום זה שמתני

כליתי כל כחי בסערות מלחמה
ואשרי בבית כבר לשממה

עם פלשת סבוני בעותי צלמות
הרוח הרעה תדכאני עד מות

איש האלוהים מה אל יענני
כי סר מעלי מה אעשה ענני

מדוע, הה. מלך על עמך משחתני
מדוע מאחרי הצאן לקחתני

על מריך גאון ליבך אלוהים יזעמך
מחר את עמי גם אתה גם עמך

באשמרת הבקר בלי קשת ושלח
על סוס קל המחנה שב שאול המלך

ופניו חורו אך בלבו אין מורא
ובעיניו מתנוצצות היאוש הנורא

________________________________________________________

By cloak of night without bow or javelin...
on a swift horse to Ein Dor comes Saul the King.

Oh, from one of the houses a dim light appears:
„She lives here“, the boy quietly expresses.

„Are you the Sorceress?, Yes, my liege, I am her.“
„Cast your spells I pray and show me the spirit of the Seer!“

Darkness, fire, horrors within the pot,
the names of all the demons on a sultry night...

like snakes slithering between the grasses
of Bashan, crawling, they rise up in smokey pillars.

Within the circle of enchantments and consecrated in sulfur,
stands the King, his heart finding no slumber.

Creatures of the netherworld and images of lost souls...
beads of sweat flow down upon his cheeks.

As the angry spirit in him subsides, his soul becomes depressed.
How his heart melts within him, predicting - death.

As the breath leaves his breast, it comes to pass...
that the words „Leave me alone, leave me alone", fall from his lips.

Darkness, fire, horrors. The grave´s silence...
the circle of enchantments and the cauldron´s smoke...

The King recalls Gibeah, and its secrets,
The spring of his youth, before the darkening of the skies.

Pleasant pictures pass before his eyes:
An expansive orchard, ripe with fruit, appears.

The azure heights of the clouds and pleasant breezes,
under the shade of a terebinth, mighty like the oak trees.

Here, he relaxed, the shepherd, the young man,
the flock prancing opposite him in unison.

Only calm and pleasantness, only splendor and beauty ...
how pleasant, the ringing of the flock´s bell.

„I was completely contented, so fat, so fresh,
I wish I were entirely consumed, for as then, I would be carefree!“

Then an awful sorrow seized his heart shut,
as if a torrent of tears in his throat would burst.

Suddenly a strong, loud voice thundered out,
and in the dead of night flashed a blinding light.

“I am the Seer, to be King you were anointed,
behind the stalls were you appointed.

Why have you disturbed me in the chambers of the dead
and raised me back up to this living man´s land?“

„Why did you take me away from the pasture,
as on the day you appointed me to be leader over your people?

I´ve spent all my strength in the storms of war.
And what remains at home is already completely destroyed by warfare.

The Philistines surround me with their tactic shadow of death,
and a personal demon terrorizes me to the point of self destruction.

Man of God!, Why won´t you answer me?
Why do you turn away from me? What should I do? Answer me!

Why, God, did you anoint me a king of your people,
why did you take me from the pasture?“

„For your disobedience and conceit, God is angry with you!
Tomorrow you´ll be with me, you and yours!“

In the dawn´s early light without bow and javelin,
on a swift horse, he returns to camp, Saul the King

Oh, his face is pale, but his heart is not bitter,
and in his eyes glimmers the dreadful despair.


Translated into English by Mark F Westergreen


Biblical Background: 1 Samuel.  9-11 and 28 -31

The Philistine military tactic "shadow of death" is a lot like the American "Schock and Awe" used in the Gulf War. It also bears similarities to many of the battles in the early American-Indian wars.