יִגְדַּל (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool, 1937)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), David de Sola Pool and Daniel ben Yehudah Dayyan

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12 March 2021 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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Morning Baqashot, Arvit l'Shabbat

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זמירות zemirot, פיוטים piyyutim, 15th century C.E., 53rd century A.M., doctrinal, יגדל yigdal, rhyming translation

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח נִמְצָא וְאֵין עֵת אֶל־מְצִֽיאוּתוֹ׃‏	Praise God existent through eternity! No time can limit Him to whom we pray.
אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִֽחוּדוֹ נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדּוּתוֹ׃‏	An all-embracing unity is He, Unique in oneness words cannot convey.
אֵין לוֹ דְמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינוֹ גּוּף לֹא נַֽעֲרֹךְ אֵלָיו קְדֻשָּׁתוֹ׃	A spirit, holy, bodiless, is He, No semblance or no image can portray.
קַדְמוֹן לְכָל־דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא רִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵֽאשִׁיתוֹ׃‏	Himself, First Cause, without beginning lived Eternal ere creations’s vast array.
הִנּוֹ אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם לְכָל־נוֹצָר יוֹרֶה גְּדֻלָּתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ׃‏	The Lord of all is He. To all that is The universe reveals His might and sway.
שֶֽׁפַע נְבוּאָתוֹ נְתָנוֹ אֶל־ אַנְשֵׁי סְגֻלָּתוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ׃‏	The prophet’s mystic gift He would inspire In Israel’s great seers His truth to say.
לֹא קָם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה עוֹד נָבִיא וּמַבִּיט אֶל־תְּמֽוּנָתוֹ׃‏	Like Moses ne’er was seer in Israel To whom His glory God could clear display.
תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת נָתַן לְעַמּוֹ אֵל עַל־יַד נְבִיאוֹ נֶֽאֱמַן בֵּיתוֹ׃	By means of Moses “faithful in His house” He gave us the Torah which we obey.
לֹא יַֽחֲלִיף הָאֵל וְלֹא יָמִיר דָּתוֹ לְעוֹלָמִים לְזֽוּלָתוֹ׃	The Law shall ne’er be changed, nor testament Shall substitute for it for e’er and aye.
צוֹפֶה וְיוֹדֵֽעַ סְתָרֵֽינוּ מַבִּיט לְסוֹף דָּבָר בְּקַדְמוּתוֹ׃	He understands and knows our secret thoughts, Ere aught be formed, its end He can foresay.
גּוֹמֵל לְאִישׁ חָסִיד כְּמִפְעָלוֹ נוֹתֵן לְרָשָׁע רָע כְּרִשְׁעָתוֹ׃	A fit reward on virtue He bestows; Unscathed may none His teaching disobey.
יִשְׁלַח לְקֵץ יָמִים מְשִׁיחֵֽנוּ לִפְדּוֹת מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתוֹ׃	Messiah He will send – O be it soon! – To bring redemption on the judgement day.
מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרֹב חַסְדּוֹ בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתוֹ׃	The dead will He revive in healing love. For ever blessed be He, our strength and stay.
אֵֽלֶּה שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה לְעִקָּרִים הִנָּם יְסוֹד דַּת אֵל וְתֽוֹרָתוֹ׃	The thirteen roots of Jewish faith are these. God’s holy name be blessed and praised for aye.
מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרֹב חַסְדּוֹ בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתוֹ׃	The dead will He revive in healing love. For ever blessed be He, our strength and stay.

This is the philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, by Daniel ben Judah Dayyan. Yigdal means “Magnify [O Living God]” and is based on the 13 Articles of Faith formulated by Maimonides (1135-1204). Daniel ben Judah spent eight years improving his piyyut, completing Yigdal in 1404. This was not the only metrical presentment of the 13 Articles of Faith; but it has outlived all others, whether in Hebrew or in the vernacular. The rhyming English translation appearing here is as found on page 87 of the Tefilot l’Rosh haShanah (1937), compiled and translated by Rabbi David de Sola Pool.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“יִגְדַּל (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool, 1937)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

David de Sola Pool

David de Sola Pool (דוד די סולה פול;‎ 1885–1970) was the leading 20th-century Sephardic rabbi in the United States. A scholar, author, and civic leader, he was a world leader of Judaism. Born in London, England, de Sola Pool was descended from an old and renowned family of rabbis and scholars, de Sola, which traces its origins to medieval Spain. His great grandparents were Rabbi (R.) David Aaron de Sola and Rebecca Meldola, his great-great grandfather was Haham Raphael Meldola, a prominent English Rabbi. He was also related to R. Abraham de Sola, R. Henry Pereira Mendes and Dr. Frederick de Sola Mendes. He studied at the University of London. He held a doctorate in ancient languages, summa cum laude, from the University of Heidelberg. In 1907, de Sola Pool was invited to become the rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel — often called the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue — located in New York City, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. He served as its rabbi for 63 years.

Daniel ben Yehudah Dayyan

Daniel ben Yehudah Dayyan was a Jewish liturgical poet, who lived at Rome in the middle of the fourteenth century CE. He was the grandfather of Daniel ben Samuel ha-Rofe, rabbi at Tivoli. According to Samuel David Luzzatto, Daniel ben Yehudah was the author of the well-known piyyut "Yigdal" containing a doxology based upon the thirteen articles of belief of Maimonides. This piyyut, which forms part of the morning prayer among the Ashkenazim, and is sung by the Sephardim on the eve of Sabbaths and holy days, is included in the Romaniote ritual for Saturday evening. (adapted from wikipedia)

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Works of related interest:

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Ben Zion Bokser, 1957)

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Alice Lucas, 1898)

yigdal (trans. Jacob Waley 1907) - cropped

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (rhyming translation by Jacob Waley, before 1873)

"Abraham Counting The Stars" (Ephraim Moses Lilien, from Die Bücher der Bibel, 1908)

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (translation by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan)

"Observable Universe Logarithmic Illustration" by Pablo Carlos Budassi, a CC BY-SA licensed logarithmic scale conception of the observable universe with the Solar System at the center, inner and outer planets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Alpha Centauri, Perseus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda galaxy, nearby galaxies, Cosmic Web, Cosmic microwave radiation and Big Bang's invisible plasma on the edge.

אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Adōn Olam, rhyming translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1937)

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (German translation by Chajm Guski)

יִגְדַּל (אשכנז)‏ | Yigdal, by Daniel ben Yehudah (translation by Tsvi Hirsch Filipowski, 1862)

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Melody of Yigdal hymn as per Myer Lyon

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17