In honor of Shabbos Shira, thought it would be nice to take a closer look at one of the Shabbos songs that many of our Shabbos Lunch’ers know.

The words or lyrics to Dror Yikra go back 1000+ years, just before the start last millennium, while many of its current tunes are as modern as the Beach Boys and Maccabeats. Dunash ibn Librat was the author of this rhyming poem, in fact, he was the father of Jewish poems in meter (something he borrowed from Arabic poetry). Dunash himself was most famous for his work on Hebrew grammar, some of modern Hebrew grammar’s most famous principles are his work. In fact, Dunash is even quoted in Rashi’s commentary!

We’re going to take a look at the first two stanzas.

First note that each stanza has 4 lines, and the first letter of each of those lines – the poem’s acrostic – spell the four Hebrew letters of his name: Dunash. So his signature is right there, on most of the stanzas (aside for two middle stanzas) of this poem.

FIRST STANZA:

Dror Yikra Lvayn Im Bas
Proclaim liberty for son and daughter

The word Dror means liberty. The same word is used in the biblical verse inscribed on the historic Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. We have a student here at UAlbany with the last name Dror. Interestingly, there are other Hebrew words for freedom (“Chafshi” is one example) but Dror means more than just unrestricted. And son and daughter are male and female, man and woman.

V’Yintzorchem Kmo Vavas
Protect you like the apple of the eye

That expression for the apple of one’s eye rings loud and clear for me, from a farbrengen of the Rebbe in 1990 where the Rebbe was greatlyupset by the notion of a Rabbi in Israel blaming the Holocaust on the sins of the Jewish people and threatening the same for the Jews of Israel. The Rebbe borrowed this expression: How can one harm or speak ill of something as delicate and precious as the apple of G-d’s eye!?

N’eim Shimchem v’lo Yushbas
Your reputation is pleasant, may it be so without stop

“Na’im” means pleasant. “Shimchem” means your name – or reputation, how you are known and perceived by others. Note the word used here for “without stop” is a play on the word Shabbat, the day of rest, the stop of weekday endeavors.

Shvu vNuchu b’Yom Shabbat
Rest comfortably on the day of Shabbat

There’s rest, and there’s comfortable rest. Sometimes we can be internally stressed without even noticing it. The rest of Shabbat ought to not only be relaxing but rejuvenating and comforting in the deepest way.

SECOND STANZA:

Drosh Navi V’Ulami
Seek My Dwelling and My Hall

“Drosh” means to seek out, to search and yearn for. What dwelling and hall is this referring to? It’s the Temple, the place where G-d’s Divine Presence (which exists everywhere) was revealed in this physical world. Even in modern Hebrew “Ulam” means a wedding hall or huge room for celebrations and events.

More to be posted later…