Tzur Mishelo - צוּר מִשֶּׁלּוֹ

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Refrain:

The Rock, from Whose bounty we have eaten:

Bless God, my faithful ones.

We have eaten our fill and yet food remains,

In accord with the word of Adonai.

The One Who provides sustenance for the world: Our Shepherd, our Father.

We have eaten of Your bread, and drunk of Your wine.

Therefore let us give thanks to Your name and praise You with our mouths.

Let us say and respond yet again: “There is none as holy as Adonai.”

(Refrain)

With song and the sound of thanksgiving let us bless You, our God

For the land so desirable and good that You bequeathed to our ancestors.

With food and sustenance have You sated our lives.

Your graciousness was mighty for us, as was Your truth, Adonai!

(Refrain)

Have mercy, in Your graciousness, upon Your people, our Rock of strength

And upon Zion, the dwelling-place of Your glory, The Temple that is our house of splendor.

And the descendant of David Your servant will come forth and redeem us

He is the very air we breathe: The anointed one of Adonai.

(Refrain)

The Holy Sanctuary will be rebuilt, and the City of Zion once again be filled (with pilgrims)

And there we shall sing a new song, and with joy shall we ascend (to Jerusalem).

The Holy and Merciful One, will be praised and exalted

Over a full cup of wine, according the blessing of Adonai.

 

זְמִירות zemirot—songs that celebrate Shabbat—are sung joyfully at the conclusion of the meal on Friday evening and Shabbat afternoon. צוּר מִשֶׁלו tzur mishelo is one of the best-known.

“We have eaten our fill and yet food remains” refers to the commandment in Deuteronomy 8:10—When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless Adonai your God for the good land which God has given you.

The Shabbat candles are burning low, the young children are beginning to yawn, and the Shabbat guests will soon take their leave. The dishes will wait until tomorrow, as the tired but happy couple engages in עונֶג שבת Oneg Shabbat. (Nowadays, that expression—“Sabbath delight”—ordinarily refers to a communal celebration… but its original meaning is the special delight that a couple take in each other on a day when no work may be done, when good food and wine have been consumed, and when erotic, albeit Biblical, poetry has provided verbal foreplay…)

But until that moment arrives, we sing joyous songs of Shabbat… and we sing… and we sing…

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