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The nigun Azamer Beshvachin (I Will Sing in Praises) is based on the following poem by Kabbalist Isaac Luria (the ARI):
To enter into the gates
Of the orchard of apples, which are sacred.
We shall now prepare for her a new table,
And a good lamp, which shines upon our heads.
Right and left, and between them is the bride,
Who walks adorned, with numbers and garments.
Her husband embraces her, in her foundation,
He brings her comfort, breaking her trials.
The cries and sorrows are abolished and ceased,
But new faces, and spirits with souls.
Great joy will come, and for one it will be two,
Light will reach her, with abundant blessings.
Let the groomsmen approach, and make corrections,
To increase provisions, and fish with their whispers.
To create new souls and spirits,
In twos, in threes, and in threes of sevens.
Seventy adornments for her, and the king above,
Who crowns all, with the holiest of holies.
Signed and sealed within all the worlds,
But the Ancient of Days, is not stopped.
Let His will be before Him, to dwell upon His people,
To delight in His name, with sweetness and honey.
Prepare the southern lamp, the hidden one,
And a table with bread, set in the north.
With wine in the cup, and myrtle branches,
For the bride and groom, to strengthen the weak.
Let us make crowns for them with precious words,
With seventy adornments, placed upon fifty.
The Shechina will be crowned with six kinds of bread on the side,
Connected with hooks, and gathered provisions.
Ceased and forgiven, the distanced impurities,
The heavy burdens, and all harmful tools.
The poem by the ARI is traditionally sung during the songs of Shabbat evening (Friday night). The initials of each stanza form the signature: “I am Yitzchak Luria, son of Shlomo.”
There are three periods of spiritual ascension that each correspond to a special Nigun (melody), which embodies within itself the entire symbolism and totality of the qualities of that state: the first, second, and third.
The first state is that of infinite admiration, praise, and the revelation of an entirely new world, which is absolutely unlike ours. Therefore, the song is called “The Praise of Greatness.”
These are words of admiration, indescribable fullness, unlimited perception that embraces one who starts feeling the upper force of love, bestowal, and connection fill their lives, their entire being, for the first time.
When we ascend to each of these steps—the first, the second, and the third—the merger, connection, contact, and mutual penetration with the upper force, this understanding is referred to as a feast. That is, it the enjoyment of what the upper force has prepared and now presents before a person.
Thus, the very first feast, the first reception on the first step to the Creator, is symbolized or depicted by the Nigun “Azamer Beshvachin.”
You can listen to “Azamer Beshvachin” here.
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