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Chabad.org » Learning & Values » Kabbalah & Jewish Mysticism » Chassidic Thought » Anthologies » Love: an Anthology » The Cry of the Holy Sparks
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The Cry of the Holy Sparks


From the beauty of the creature
From the longings of the flesh
From the depths of desire
From the murkiness of lust;
Sparks of Your fire
Strewn there
By the pound
Of Your creation-hammer
Called to him;
From the gloom of the abyss
To him signalled, flickered,
Pearls of Your light
There scattered.

Captives of darkness
Blackened of form
Mired in filth
Wallowing in bile
They cried out to him
To descend to them
To draw them from the pit
Raise them from squalor
Cleanse them of dirt
To purify, to refine,
To restore them
And set them as before
In Your crown.

And yet
When he descended the depths
To redeem Your imprisoned
And Your exiled to restore
His soul betrayed;
Led astray
By the flashes of Your glow
Dispersed
In the darkness of earth
Lured
By the flickers of Your light
Lost
In the twilight of the dust

And it was enticed
To consort with them
In their land of exile
To be enamored by them
And cleave to them.

For the soul of man
Fell in love
With the gleam of the husk
The fat of the land
The beauty of the material
The infatuations of the flesh;
It was pleasing to it
Under the slavery of desire
In the chains of lust

For the song
Of earthly pleasures
Drowned the cry
Of Your forlorn
Calling to him
From the pit of their captivity.

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By Zvi Yair   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Zvi Yair is the pen-name of the Hebrew poet and Chassidic scholar, Rabbi Zvi Meir Steinmetz (1915-2005). For more on Zvi Yair see www.zviyair.com
From the Hebrew by Yanki Tauber

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Sep 11, 2008
surprise...
.... to find musings in poetry instead of prose. A lovely contemplation of the temptations of the physical world and a reminder of our mission.

I was linked to this from the "Parsha in a Nutshell" and the detail of the "Beautiful Captive" so I am still contemplating the connection. I welcome any clue....

Thanks for this.
Posted By Happyminyan, Beverly Hills, California



 


Love: an Anthology
Love Yourself
The Grammar of Love
Man and Woman
Mikvah Time
The Jealous Lover
Do We Love Too Much?
Trust
How to Criticize and Other Thoughts On Love
The Rebbe's Love Laboratory
Love According to the Rebbe
Love in a Heartbeat
The Calling
Uncle Irv
Mirrors
Sitting in a Café
The Gift
Two Against One
The Meaning of Love
The Man Who Mistook His Wife's Foot for His Own
Kabbalah of Love
Why Do We Fall in Love?
Alienation and Faith
The Loving Friends
Love at First Sight: Five Biblical Examples
A History of Love
24,000 Plus One
Partner
Are You Happily Ever After?
Ramblings about Stress and Love
The Cry of the Holy Sparks
The Morality of Weakness: Defining Sexual Harassment
Why Is Torah Law So Restrictive of Contact Between the Genders?
What If You Mess Up?
Tanya Chapter 32
The Baal Shem Tov on Love
A Joyous Divorce