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This anonymous ofan, also recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities, uses alliteration to describe the many hosts of angels descending upon Sinai in awe and reverence as the Torah was given. The translation preserves the alliteration over the alphabet, seeing as the ofan in this form doesn’t include the entire alphabet either. As an ofan, it is recited within the Ḳedusha d-Yotser, between the verses of Isaiah and Ezekiel. The ofan is recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities.
This is the second piyyut of a complete set of yotsrot (piyyutim inserted into the reading of the Shema) in the old Ashkenazi rite, for the Shabbat before Shavuot, including alphabetical gender-neutral translations.
Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” This translation also uses the plural pronouns They/Their/Them to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ (ישעיה ו:ג) |
Holy, holy, holy is the Cause of Multitudes; all earth is full of Their glory! (Isaiah 6:3) |
אׇרְחוֹת אֶרְאֶלִּים יַקְדִּֽישׁוּ בְּרִדְתּוֹ לְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Angelic armadas sanctify as They go down to Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
בְּרוּאֵי בְרָקִים יִרְעֲדוּ בְּבֹאוֹ לְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Beings of bolts tremble as They come to Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
כְּבוֹדוֹ נִגְלָה עַל־הַר סִינָי וּמַלְכוּתוֹ עַל־הַר סִינָי אָמוֹן אֶצְלוֹ מַתְּנַת סִינָי וְדִבְּרוֹת עֲשָׂרָה שָׁמְעוּ בְּסִינָי וַיְקַבְּלוּ הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי׃ קָדוֹשׁ׃ |
Their glory is revealed upon Mt. Sinai; and Their sovereignty upon Mt. Sinai; a confidant for Them[1] The Torah. See Proverbs 8:30 was the gift of Sinai; and the Ten Things they heard on Sinai; and got the halakha of Moses from Sinai. Holy! |
גְּנוּזֵי גַּלְגַּלִּים הִלְלוּ וְרוֹמְמוּ בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Garners of gyrators praised and cheered at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
דִּגְלֵי דְבֵקִים יַאֲדִירוּ בְּפׇצְחוֹ בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Dogged detachments ennoble as They split open Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
הוֹגֵי הֲדוּרִים מְפָאֲרִים בְּשׁוּרוֹ בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Elegant enunciators glorify Their ranks at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
וְרָצִים וְשָׁבִים מִתְיַחֲדִים בְּהַטּוֹתוֹ לְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Runners and returners proclaim unity as They turn to Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
זִקֵּי זֹהֲרִים זֹרָֽזוּ בְּהַשְׁגִּיחוֹ עַל הַר סִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Streaking stars speed to Their supervising Mt. Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
חֲיָלֵי חַשְׁמַלִּים רָעֲשׁוּ בְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Faradaic forces shuddered at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
טַפְסְרֵי טְפוּחִים רָקְדוּ בְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Tropospheric taskmasters danced at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
יְקָרִים יוֹקְדִים דָּצוּ בְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Important infernos Celebrated at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
קְהַל קְדוֹשִׁים קָֽמוּ בְסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Consecrated community came up at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
רָאוּ רֶֽכֶב רִבֹּתַֽיִם אַלְפֵי שִׁנְאָן בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Taking sight of two myriad tumbrils, thousands of millions at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
שַֽׁאַג שׁוֹפָרוֹת שָׁמְעוּ בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Shouting shofars were shown to the ear at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
תּוֹרָה תְּמִימָה תִּכְבַּדְתָּם בְּסִינָי מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃ |
Torah true, that you will honor at Sinai; all earth is full of Their glory! |
וְהַחַיּוֹת יְשׁוֹרֵֽרוּ וּכְרוּבִים יְפָאֵֽרוּ וּשְׂרָפִים יָרֹֽנּוּ וְאֶרְאֶלִּים יְבָרֵֽכוּ פְּנֵי כׇּל־חַיָּה וְאוֹפָן וּכְרוּב לְעֻמַּת שְׂרָפִים לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּחִים וְאוֹמְרִים׃ |
And the beast-angels sing and the mount-angels glorify and the snake-angels cheer and the lion-angels bless before each beast-angel and wheel-angel and mount-angel facing the snake-angels, facing them, lauding and saying: |
בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃ (יחזקאל ג:יב) |
Blessed be the Cause’s glory from its place! (Ezekiel 3:12) |
Notes
| 1 | The Torah. See Proverbs 8:30 |
|---|
“אוֹפָן לשבת לפני שבעות | Ofan for the Shabbat before Shavuot (and the second day of Shavuot in some communities)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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