Yedid Nefesh – יְדִיד נֶפֶשׁ
Yedid Nefesh LYRICS
Yedid nefesh, Av harachaman,
meshoch avdach el retzonach.
Yarutz avdach kemo ayal,
Yishtachave mul hadarach.
Ye’erav lo yedidutach,
minofet tsuf vechol ta’am.
Hadoor naeh ziv haolam,
nafshi cholat ahavatach.
Anah El nah refah nah lah,
B’harot lah noam zivach,
Az titchazek v’titrapeh,
v’hay’tah lah shifchat olam.
Vatik yehemoo rachamecha
v’chus na al ben ohavach.
ki zeh kamah nichsof nichsaf,
lir’ot betiferet oozach.
Anah Eyli, machmad leebee,
chooshah nah v’al titalam.
Higaleh nah uf’ros chaviv alai,
et sukkat shelomach.
Tair eretz mikevodach,
nagilah v’nismechah bach.
Maher ahoov, ki va moed,
v’choneni kimei olam.
יְדִיד נֶֽפֶשׁ, אָב הָרַחְמָן, מְשֹׁךְ עַבְדָּךְ אֶל־רְצוֹנָךְ
יָרוּץ עַבְדָּךְ כְּמוֹ אַיָּל, יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל מוּל הֲדָרָךְ
יֶעֱרַב־לוֹ יְדִידוּתָךְ מִנֹּֽפֶת צוּף וְכָל־טָֽעַם
הָדוּר, נָאֶה, זִיו הָעוֹלָם נַפְשִׁי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָתָךְ
אָנָּא, אֵל, נָא, רְפָא־נָא לָהּ בְּהַרְאוֹת לָהּ נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְ
אָז תִּתְחַזֵּק וְתִתְרַפֵּא וְהָיְתָה לָךְ שִׁפְחַת עוֹלָם
וָתִיק, יֶהֱמוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ, וְחוּס־נָא עַל־בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ
כִּי זֶה כַּמָּה נִכְסֹף נִכְסַף לִרְאוֹת בְּתִפְאֶֽרֶת עֻזָּךְ
אָנָּא, אֵלִי, מַחְמַד לִבִּי חֽוּשָׁה־נָּא וְאַל תִּתְעַלָּם
הִגָּלֶה־נָא וּפְרֹשׂ, חָבִיב, עָלַי אֶת־סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ
תָּאִיר אֶֽרֶץ מִכְּבוֹדָךְ, נָגִֽילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ
מַהֵר, אָהוּב, כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד וְחָנֵּֽנִי כִּימֵי עוֹלָם
Translation
Lover of my soul, merciful God, bring your servant close to Your will.
Your servant will run like a gazelle, to prostrate before Your glory.
For Your companionship is purer than any fine taste or flavor.
Beautiful, radiant, spark of the universe, my soul is sick with love for you.
Please, God, heal her now, as You show her the pleasantness of Your light.
Now, strengthen and heal her, and she will be for You an eternal servant.
Ancient one, many your mercies be made manifest,
And have compassion on the child of Your lover.
For it is so long that I have faithfully waited, to see the glory of Your strength.
Please, my God, the desire of my Heart, hurry and do not hide!
Please, my beloved, reveal yourself and spread over me the shelter of Your peace.
Fill the world with the light of your glory, so that we may rejoice and be happy in You.
Be quick, my lover, for the time has come, and have mercy on me for all time.
Melody by Josh Warshawsky
yedid nefesh is for lovers.
Open yourself up to possibility, to Shabbat
Yedid Nefesh is a love poem. It is the opening of the Friday night service (Kabbalat Shabbat), where we welcome the Shabbat Queen into our homes, communities, and into our very souls. The melody itself is intended to invoke this feeling of love and yearning.
The last verse has a sense of urgency to it… the last line, “Maher ahuv, ki va moed,” means, “hurry, my love! The time has come!” and that’ll lead us into the niggun again, even stronger than before, as we make our way into Shabbat.
Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky. Executive Producers: Marc and Susan Sacks
With generous additional funding provided by Sacred Sounds Unbound:
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Temple Beth Am Los Angeles
Sponsored by Har Zion Temple, Penn Valley, PA
Sponsored by Beth El Synagogue, Omaha, NE
Produced and mixed by Jeremy Lawrence
Engineered by Patrick Kehrier and Tyler Karmen
Additional Audio Editing by Josh Kay and Patrick Rimterakul
Mastered by Mike White
Vocal arrangements and production by Ayo Awosika
Musical direction by Brock Pollock
Recorded at 64 Sound in Highland Park, CA
Featuring the Chaverai Nevarech Band:
Josh Warshawsky (Guitar, Lead Vocals)
Brock Pollock (Music Producer, Bass)
Ayo Awosika (Vocal Producer, Vocals, Lead Vocals on Hapotei’ach, Piano on Darashti)
Coleen Dieker (Vocals, Piano on Yedid Nefesh)
Duvid Swirsky (Lead Guitar, Bouzouki, Banjo, Vocals)
Chava Mirel (Vocals)
Deborah Sacks Mintz (Vocals)
Jackson Vance Mercer (Vocals)
Lior Shragg (Percussion)
Jenni Asher (Violin)
