The Aramaic prayer here is a poem of praise which is sung on the first meal of Shabbat, on Friday evening. The author's name is written in the letters at the beginning of each four-line section. It is the first of three Aramaic prayers for the three Shabbat meals. The system of sphirot we learned in the poems in the intermediate section is reflected in these prayers; however, the division used is not 10, but 5 (with the six in the middle combining into one). This prayer is directed towards the last one, the female, of the group.
The Chinese hymn is a prayer of praise from a religion which entered into China by way of Persia, originally coming from the Aramaic speaking province Bavel, of the western Persian empire. It was originally written in Aramaic, later translated into Persian, and finally, into Chinese. For the remainder of the advanced section, we will be dealing with the Chinese writings of this religion, and comparing them with the Aramaic originals.
