לכה דודי
Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi · Come, my friend
Central Kabbalat Shabbat hymn. Nulman: Solomon Alkabetz of Safed (1529/1571), sanctioned by Luria.
01 · Possible origins
What the sources say about beginnings
Authorship and dating traditions (chiefly Nulman) and scholarly reconstructions (Langer/Reif) stay distinct. Competing hypotheses appear side by side.
Tradition or narrative
Nulman records Lekhah Dodi as a Kabbalat Shabbat hymn composed by the kabbalist Solomon Alkabetz of Safed in 1529 (others say 1571), with the acrostic SHeLoMoH HaLeVI; Isaac Luria and Isaiah Horowitz recommended it, and it was accepted by all Jewish communities.
02 · Form and practice
How the prayer appears in the sources
Tradition or narrative
Nulman defines Kabbalat Shabbat ('Welcoming the Sabbath') as the opening of the service that welcomes the Sabbath.
Services
Traditions
Atlas events