בְּלוּלֵי אֵשׁ וּמֵימוֹת | Blulei Esh uMeimot — an ofan piyyut for Shabbat haGadol by Rabbi Binyamin bar Zeraḥ

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Binyamin bar Zeraḥ

Shared on:

26 March 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Shabbat haGadol, Shaḥarit l'Shabbat ul'Yom Tov

Tags:

11th century C.E., 49th century A.M., Acrostic signature, Angels, Minhag Polin, ofanim, פיוטים piyyuṭim, יוצר אור yotser ohr

An ofan (a piyyut inserted into the Qedusha d’Yotser) recited in the eastern Ashkenazi Minhag Polin rite for Shabbat haGadol. Signed “Benjamin,” Davidson ascribes it to the great paytan R. Binyamin bar Zeraḥ, possibly as part of the same poetic cycle as Itti MiLvanon (his yotser for the same day).

Source (Hebrew)	Source (English)
בְּלוּלֵי אֵשׁ וּמֵימוֹת גִּבּוֹרֵי עִיר מְרוֹמוֹת נִצָּבִים כַּחוֹמוֹת בִּרְתָתִים וְאֵימוֹת מַרְבִּים תַּעֲצוּמוֹת לָאֵל יוֹסֵד הֲדוֹמוֹת וַאֲנִי אֹם מֵאֻמּוֹת בְּחֵיךְ וְגָרוֹן רוֹמֵמוֹת׃	Blended from fire and water, exulting are the great watcher-angels cheer; standing like walls in terror and awe, emphasizing the potency of the Deity, establisher of footstools. And as for me, the nation of nations cheers with palate and throat.
נוֹהֵם מִיכָאֵל וְגוֹעֶה גַּבְרִיאֵל זוֹעֵק אוּרִיאֵל וְגוֹעֵשׁ רְפָאֵל וּמְהַדֵּר הֲדַרְנִיאֵל הוֹד לְיָהּ אַכְתְּרִיאֵל וַאֲנִי כְּנֶֽסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מְעִידָה כִּי אֵין כָּאֵל׃	Now Michael^[1] Literally: “Who is like the Deity?”Israel’s military advocate, and one of two angels mentioned by name in the book of Daniel. roars, and Gabriel^[2] Literally: “Might of the Deity.” The revealer of hidden wisdom, and the other of two angels mentioned by name in the book of Daniel lows, and Uriel^[3] Literally: “Light of the Deity.” The organizer of the hosts of heaven in their arrays. First mentioned in I Enoch. screams, and Raphael^[4] Literally: “Healer is the Deity.” The bringer of healing. First mentioned in Tobit. surges, and Hadarniel^[5] Literally: “Surrounding the Deity.” Six hundred thousand parasangs taller than his companions. First mentioned in Pesiqta Rabbati. resplends splendor to Yah Akhtriel.^[6] Literally: “Yah, the crowned Deity.” The divine presence. First mentioned by this name in Berakhot 7a:4 And as for me, the congregation of Israel testifies that none is like the Deity El.
יְרוֹצְצוּ כִּבְרָקִים חִיל זְוָעוֹת וְזִקִּים לַפִּידִים דּוֹלְקִים וְכַבָּזָק בּוֹזְקִים תֻּשְׁבָּחוֹת מְפִיקִים וְשִׁעוּר רֹן מְדַקְדְּקִים וַאֲנִי שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים עֲסוּקָה בְּמִצְוֺת וְחֻקִּים׃	Jolting forth like lightning, a force of trembling and glinting, torches burning, like sparks sparking; bringing out laudations, carefully ordering cheer. And as for me, the lily of the valley delves into the commandments and laws.
מְאַת אַלְפֵי אֲלָפִים רְבָבוֹת מַרְכְּבוֹת אֵשׁ וְשַׁלְהֵבוֹת מַקִּיפוֹת וְסוֹבְבוֹת עִלּוּי כֵּס עֲרָבוֹת שָׁלֹשׁ קְדֻשּׁוֹת דּוֹבְבוֹת וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה מַקְשִׁיבוֹת וַאֲנִי בַּת שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת אָבוֹת תָּמִיד תְּפִלּוֹתַי עֲרֵבוֹת׃	Myriad hundred thousand thousands of chariots of fire and ignition, encircling and surrounding the highest cloud-throne, uttering the trisagion and listening to the still small voice. And as for me, the daughter of three patriarchs, may my prayers always be pleasant!
נַהֲרֵי אֵימָה וְחִילָה זֵעַת חַיּוֹת מַגְדִּילָה וְעַל־אַרְבַּעְתָּן מִלְמַֽעְלָה חַיָּה חֲמִישִׁית גְּדוֹלָה לְסַלְסֵל הִיא מַתְחִילָה וְאַחֲרֶֽיהָ פַּמַּֽלְיָא כֻלָּהּ וַאֲנִי בְּבֵית הַתְּפִלָּה תַּבַּֽעְנָה שְׂפָתַי תְּהִלָּה׃	Nullahs of awe and dread, the sweat of the beast-angels swells them; and over the four the fifth beast-angel is greatest. It starts to trill, and after that the whole ménage. And as for me, in the house of prayer, praise flows from my lips.
וְהַחַיּוֹת יְשׁוֹרֵֽרוּ וּכְרוּבִים יְפָאֵֽרוּ וּשְׂרָפִים יָרֹֽנּוּ וְאֶרְאֶלִּים יְבָרֵֽכוּ פְּנֵי כׇּל־חַיָּה וְאוֹפָן וּכְרוּב לְעֻמַּת שְׂרָפִים לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּחִים וְאוֹמְרִים׃ בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃ (יחזקאל גֲ:יב)	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: Blessed be the Cause’s glory from its place! (Ezekiel 3:12)

Notes

Notes
1	Literally: “Who is like the Deity?”Israel’s military advocate, and one of two angels mentioned by name in the book of Daniel.
2	Literally: “Might of the Deity.” The revealer of hidden wisdom, and the other of two angels mentioned by name in the book of Daniel
3	Literally: “Light of the Deity.” The organizer of the hosts of heaven in their arrays. First mentioned in I Enoch.
4	Literally: “Healer is the Deity.” The bringer of healing. First mentioned in Tobit.
5	Literally: “Surrounding the Deity.” Six hundred thousand parasangs taller than his companions. First mentioned in Pesiqta Rabbati.
6	Literally: “Yah, the crowned Deity.” The divine presence. First mentioned by this name in Berakhot 7a:4

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also translates and authors his own original works.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Binyamin bar Zeraḥ

Benjamin ben Zerah (Hebrew: בנימין בן זרח) was a paytan who lived in southeastern Europe in the middle of the eleventh century. He is called by the later payyetanim "the Great," and also "Ba'al Shem" (Master of the Name), on account of the numerous names of God and angels used by him in his piyyutim. He wrote 15 poems ("yotsrot") for the Sabbaths preceding the feasts, and 40 seliḥot, published in the Maḥzor of the German rite. His piyyutim have an easy, elegant style. Parallels with Eleazar beRabbi Qallir are frequent. Judging from his seliḥah אנא ה' האל ("I beseech thee, Hashem ha-El) – in which he plays on the name of God – consisting of 22 letters, and his "ofan," in which he gives the names of angels, Benjamin was inclined to mysticism.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=66812

Associated Image:

Comet McNaught over the Pacific ocean as viewed from the ESO Paranal Observatory in 2007 (credit: ESO/Sebastian Deiries, license: CC BY)

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute the work to Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Binyamin bar Zeraḥ.
Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=66812>.
Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)