Hymn for the Third Meal

                                    •

Sons of the Palace—

       you who yearn

to behold the radiance

       of the Lesser Presence—

be seated here

       at this Sabbath table,

adorned and crowned

       with the name of the King.

Exult in your being

       part of this gathering

among the guardian

       angels’ wings,

and rejoice now

       within this hour

of favor which knows

       not what anger brings.

Draw near me here—

       see my power,

without the judgments

       of judgment’s terror.

Those without

       may not enter,

for they are dogs

       of rancor and gall.

I hereby call

       to the Ancient of Days

to summon His will

       to drive them away—

for when His favor

       in this room is shown,

the husks are rendered

       null and void.

He drives them into

       holes in the ground,

conceals them deep

       in caverns of stone.

And so it is

       now and till twilight—

within the Impatient

       One’s delight.