Lecha Dodi (‘Come my friend’) is the hymn sung during the synagogue service on Friday night to welcome the Sabbath. It was composed by Solomon Alkabetz, a Kabbalist (mystic).
Lecha Dodi in Hebrew and English
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה
Come, lover, to welcome the bride
פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
The face of Shabbat we will receive
VERSE 2
שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד
“Keep” and “remember” in one saying
We were caused to listen by the Unified God
Adonai is One, and His Name is One
To His name, and to glory and to praise!
Find the rest of the words to Lecha Dodi on Sefaria.
Find Lecha Dodi in transliteration on the Zemirot Database.
Listen to Lecha Dodi (courtesy of Mechon Hadar)
Louis Jacobs, a British rabbi and theologian, served as rabbi of the New London Synagogue. Rabbi Jacobs lectures at University College in London and at Lancaster University. He has written numerous books, including Jewish Values, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, and Hasidic Prayer.
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© Louis Jacobs, 1995. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be stored, transmitted, retransmitted, lent, or reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of Oxford University Press.
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