Arise, now, shake off the dust,

Don your robes of glory - my people - you must.

Through the son of Yishai, the Bethelemite,

Draw near to my soul, set her free [from her plight].

 

Arise, shake off the dust. This is as in the verse in Isaiah 52:2. This is, like previous verses in Lecha Dodi, addressed to malchut - instructing her to rise up even higher and free herself from all the restraints encumbering her, so that she can be elevated to her original source in keter.

The soul…must shake itself free from the element of earth, the source of laziness...

These restraints are her involvement in the mundane world; in addition, even the limits imposed upon the world of Beriya, are referred to here as "dust" by comparison with the abundant light of the world of Atzilut. Alternatively, this is addressed to the soul, which must shake itself free from the element of earth, the source of laziness and depression, in order to begin to shine.

Don your robes of glory. This refers to the city of Jerusalem, expressing the prayer that Jerusalem will don its clothes of glory - the Jewish people. In a deeper sense, it refers to the encompassing lights (orot makifim) of Atzilut that illuminate malchut by virtue of the mitzvot the Jewish people perform. Mitzvot are called "garments" or "robes" because they envelop the soul, allowing it to experience the spiritual delight of the Garden of Eden.

The son of Yishai, the Bethelemite. The obvious allusion is to King David. But it also refers to Mashiach, who is a descendant of King David.

Draw near to my soul, set her free. This is as in Psalms 69:19. This may be interpreted in two ways: 1) as an exhortation to G‑d to set our souls free with the final redemption, as we have rendered it here - or 2) as if the redemption has already come with the advent of the Shabbat, which is compared to the Redemption. (The stanza would then be translated: "You have drawn near to my soul; You have set her free).

To read the entire original rhyming translation of Lecha Dodi (without commentary) click here.

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