Translator’s Note: “Peace Be Upon You” by Anonymous
BY Peter Cole
Among the most beloved components of the Sabbath rites developed in the Galilean town of Safed in the sixteenth century is the rhythmically enchanting and quietly haunting anonymous hymn that begins “Shalom Aleichem”—“Peace Be Upon You”—which was sung in the home after the men of the house returned from the field on Friday evening. The poem is addressed to the Sabbath angels, and it might best be read as a hymn for the peace of the household, which in turn becomes part of the larger harmony of existence.
Poet and translator Peter Cole was born in Paterson, New Jersey. His collections of poetry include Draw Me After (2022), Rift (1989), Things on Which I’ve Stumbled (2008), The Invention of Influence (2014), and Hymns & Qualms: New and Selected Poems and Translations (2017). With Adina Hoffman, he wrote the nonfiction volume Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza (2011). Described…