“Shabbos in the Desert”

In the last decades of his life and career as a poet, the Yiddish writer H. Leivick (1888, Belarus - 1962 New York,)  traveled in the southwestern American deserts of Arizona. His writing from this period reflects contemplation on Kabbalah and the landscape of the desert, as well as a continued engagement with the tragedy of the Holocaust evinced in his work in other places. Below is my translation of a poem called “Shabbos in the Desert,” originally published in the collection “In di teg fun iyob” or “In the Days of Job,” by CYCO in New York in 1953. Transliteration is provided because regrettably, the translation here loses the rhyme. “Shabbos” is the Yiddish pronunciation of “Shabbat,” the day of rest.

Shabbos in the Desert
By H. Leivick

The cactus menorahs stand lit,
there is eternal shabbos in desertland,
stretch your fingers toward the round flame—
touch the sun with your open hand.

The sandbox shimmers in seven colors,
and each thornbush burns like the burning bush,
a voice from heaven permits the sun to touch
and god himself says: see the form of my face.

And as soon as he speaks, sand and stones take off
and fly from the place where they settled
They dissolve into the pure empty space
Back into God’s first word of Creation.

And all the flames descend under
and spread out like a flock of sheep,
the eternal shabbos detains them together
and spreads over them sweet sleep.

The bond of bonds, the covenant, eternally destroyed;
with consolation and prosperity the night falls.
the millions of menorahs stand lit
and guard over the bond between world and rest.

Shabes in midber
Fun H Leivick

Di kaktus-menoyres shteyen getsundn,
s’iz eybiker shabes in midber-land,
shtrek oys dayne finger tsum flam dem rundn–
rir on di zun mit der ofener hant.

Di zemder minen zikh in zibn kolirn,
un yetveder dorn-kust brent vi a sne,
a bas-kol iz mater di zun tsu barirn,
un got aleyn zogt: mayn gestalt-punim ze.

Un vi nor er zogt, nemen zemder un shteyner
zikh heybn fun zeyer farglivertn ort
zey leyzn zikh oyf in der rakhves der reyner
tsurik in gots ershtn yetziradik vort.

Un s’nidern arunter ale flamen
un leygn zikh oys vi a stade shof,
der eybiker shabes farnemt zey tsuzamen
un sphreyt iber zii zayn zisn shlof.

Farshnitn ledoyres der bund fun bundn,
mit treyst un bentshung di nakht falt tsu.
di milyonen menoyres shteyen getsundn 
un hitn dem bund tsvishn velt un ru.