Song at Daybreak

[fabiadrake]

I attended a prayer service earlier this week for the mother of one of the congregants. I did not know her, but by the end of the service I felt I knew her a little — would have liked to have known her. Her son is a lovely man, who telephoned me when my grandmother died, although he did not know her. I always try to attend prayer services for people I didn’t know as well as people I did; it brings comfort to those who mourn, and brings me some understanding: of who the deceased was, of their loved ones who grieve. It brings me into contact with their friends and family around the country and around the world (which is how I once shared a Zoom call with Miriam Margolyes; she was a friend of the mother of someone I know). It makes me very conscious of our overlapping lives, and I’m grateful for the people I’ve known; I think of the congregants I knew who have died more often than I think they would expect. The family chose this poem, by an anonymous medieval author, for one of the readings. It can be found in The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse.

I shall give thanks to the Lord, who tests the heart,
when the morning stars sing together.

Take care of the soul:
she is turquoise, agate, and jasper.
Her light is like the light of the sun,
like the light of seven mornings at once.

She was hewn from the Throne of Glory,
sent to live in a desert land,
to deliver it from fire,
to shine upon it in the early morning.

Rouse yourselves,
for every night your soul goes to heaven
to account for its actions
before the Maker of evening and morning.

May He find her
wrapped in prayer-shawl and frontlets,
always dressed like a bride,
morning after morning.

He who keeps all souls in trust
will return her to you if He wishes.
No man died through His error –
and there was evening, and there was morning.

Gladden the afflicted one,
the only one, perfect and pure.
If a man does not keep his soul alive,
how will he be worthy of the light of morning?

Comments

[theseatheseatheopensea]

Take care of the soul:
she is turquoise, agate, and jasper.
Her light is like the light of the sun,
like the light of seven mornings at once.

This is beautiful! *hugs*

[fabiadrake]

<33

[thisbluespirit]

That is very beautiful! And that does indeed sound like a very thoughtful and kind thing to do. <3