Adon Olam: A mystical interpretation
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
A Jew raised in Muslim Spain
11th century
Known to Jews
as a literary artist,
a liturgical poet
of wild imagination and skill
Known to Muslims
as a philosopher
in the Neo-Platonic tradition,
able to put the subtlest metaphysical intuitions
into a single word
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
Likely the author of Adon Olam
You know Adon Olam,
The last song
of the Shabbat morning service
Adon Olam Asher Malach
B’terem kol yetzir nivra
Adon Olam Asher Malach
B’terem kol yetzir nivra
And you know its peshat,
Its simple translation:
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
But Ibn Gabirol
poet and philosopher
was not thinking peshat,
was not thinking simple
He was thinking deep
Adon Olam Asher Malach
Adon
From biblical Hebrew: Adanim
Joints
The Matrix that holds a structure together
Olam
Eternal in time
Infinite in space
Elusive
Hidden
Adon Olam:
The Hidden Matrix that holds reality together
Asher:
Not just a preposition
But an adjective
Happy, joyous, blissful
Adon Olam Asher
If you grasp this matrix,
you feel joy
and bliss
your most sublime moments of peace
radiate
in every direction
Malach
From the word malchut,
royalty
In Kabbalah
a synonym
for Shechinah
The one who dwells
The indwelling presence
Dwelling every where
In every thing
Adon Olam Asher Malach
The indwelling elusive matrix of bliss
B’terem kol yetzir nivrah
B’terem
Before
in the before
in the great before
Before Kol Yetzir
Everything that has form
Nivra
was created
B’terem kol yetzir nivra
Before anything with physical shape,
Anything with conceptual form,
or boundaries
of any kind
was created
Before even a thought
of creation,
Before a design
or a plan
arose
The indwelling
elusive matrix of bliss
existed
But “existed”
is a verb
in the past tense form
And until beings
with form
were created
There was no
past tense
There was no
“before”
Only
an indwelling
elusive
matrix of bliss
There was no
infinity
Because infinite
means
“not finite”
And without finite beings
Who can measure
infinity?
Oh Infinity!
A poor concept,
Product
of the short reach
of the human mind
as it tries
to grasp
the elusive
indwelling
matrix of bliss
Infinity!
A marvelous angel,
God’s first
created concept
Our very best tool
To touch
The matrix
Of bliss
Infinity:
a measure,
a hint,
The footsteps of time
Marked out
by the poet,
In his rhythmic words
Adon Olam Asher Malach,
B’Terem Kol Yetzir Nivra
When I,
Laura,
Pray
I often ask:
Holy One,
help me
hold it all,
all my thoughts,
all my feelings,
all my fears,
all my failures
Because you,
Holy One,
already hold them
in your elusive matrix
B’yado afkid ruchi
Into this cosmic hand
I assign
my spirit
Trusting
it is held
in the matrix
B’et Ishan
When it’s time for sleep
I,
whose bodily life
is timed
down to the minute
By hormones, neurons, and nutrients
Conforming to a circadian rhythm
Living 16 of 24 hours
at full attention
I
surrender my control
for 8 hours
I let
the matrix
hold me
V’aiyra
Until I wake up
And beyond
V’im ruchi geviyati
With my soul expressed
through this time-bound form
Adonai Li
My concept
of an infinite God,
keeps me company
V’lo Irah
Irah, to see,
Irah, to fear
Though I will never see
the matrix
itself
It holds me
I will not fear
— Laura Duhan-Kaplan, 2018