32. Yā! Minṯě (Open Your Gate)

The opening verses of a Malayalam translation of the Hebrew baqqashah by the same name, by Salomon Ibn Gabirol, sung in the early morning as a prayer of supplication. The singer requests God to accept her prayer in place of the sacrificial offerings in the Temple. Tune: She'arekha, first baqqashah in the daily siddur.

Text

Oh God! Please open Your gate when I knock.
Open, in Your presence, to the begging destitute one.

May my prayers reach to You,
In place of the lamb and meal offerings.

Carefully examine the look in my eyes and the movement of my lips,
And if you find fault, mercifully forgive me.

I lift up my eyes and I lift up my mind.
Oh incline Your ears and open Your eyes.

Hear my voice and hear my lamentations.
Accept my prayers as a sacrifice.