Welcoming Shabbat with Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky

This week we welcome Shabbat with a new version of Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky.  

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky is a nationally touring Jewish musician, songleader, and composer. Originally from Chicago, Josh has shared his original melodies with over 100 Jewish communities throughout the US, Canada, the UK, and Israel. He has released four albums of Jewish music with a fifth on the way in 2022, and he has been featured on six Jewish music anthology publications in the last six years.

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 way the melody works is the niggun (wordless melody) first, and then the verse melody is for the first two lines of each stanza. The niggun line comes back in with the words of the last line of each stanza, and then continues as a niggun in between verses. 

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 it leads us into the niggun (melody) again, with renewed strength. 

Lyrics יְדִיד נֶֽפֶשׁ, אָב הָרַחְמָן, מְשֹׁךְ עַבְדָּךְ אֶל־רְצוֹנָךְ, אֶל־רְצוֹנָךְ יָרוּץ עַבְדָּךְ כְּמוֹ אַיָּל, יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל מוּל הֲדָרָךְ, מוּל הֲדָרָךְ, יֶעֱרַב־לוֹ יְדִידוּתָךְ מִנֹּֽפֶת צוּף וְכָל־טָֽעַם. הָדוּר, נָאֶה, זִיו הָעוֹלָם, נַפְשִׁי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָתָךְ, אַהֲבָתָךְ אָנָּא, אֵל, נָא, רְפָא־נָא לָהּ בְּהַרְאוֹת לָהּ נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְ, נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְ, אָז תִּתְחַזֵּק וְתִתְרַפֵּא, וְהָיְתָה לָךְ שִׁפְחַת עוֹלָם. וָתִיק, יֶהֱמוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ, וְחוּס־נָא עַל־בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ, עַל־בֵּן אוֹהֲבָךְ, כִּי זֶה כַּמָּה נִכְסֹף נִכְסַף לִרְאוֹת בְּתִפְאֶֽרֶת עֻזָּךְ, תִפְאֶֽרֶת עֻזָּךְ אָנָּא, אֵלִי, מַחְמַד לִבִּי, חֽוּשָׁה־נָּא וְאַל תִּתְעַלָּם. הִגָּלֶה־נָא וּפְרֹשׂ, חָבִיב, עָלַי אֶת־סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ, סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמָךְ, תָּאִיר אֶֽרֶץ מִכְּבוֹדָךְ, נָגִֽילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ, וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ. מַהֵר, אָהוּב, כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד, וְחָנֵּֽנִי כִּימֵי עוֹלָם. 

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.

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