אֲשׁוֹרֵר שִׁירִים נָאִים | Ashorer Shirim Naim, a piyyuṭ before Nishmat on Shabbat Ḥanukkah by Yaaqov ibn Tsur

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Yaaqov ibn Tsur

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18 December 2025 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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18th century C.E., 55th century A.M., Maghrebi Jewry, Meknes, Morocco, פיוטים piyyuṭim, זמירות zemirot

Ashorer Shirim Naim — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Nishmat in the Shaḥarit of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria. It may be sung to the tune of Tishbi, Tsori Levavi.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֲשׁוֹרֵר שִׁירִים נָאִים לְשׁוֹכֵן מְעוֹנִים הִגְבִּיר הַחַשְׁמוֹנָאִים מַמְלֶֽכֶת כֹּהֲנִים׃	Let me sing pleasant songs to the Dweller on High. Victorious were the Hasmoneans, the priestly kingdom!
יְוָנִים קָמוּ נֶגְדִּי כׇּל־חֵיל אַנְטִיּוֹכוֹס בִּקְשׁוּ לְאַבְּדִי כׇּל־הֶגְמוֹן וְדוּכּוֹס וְצוּר מָגֵן בַּעֲדִי הִשְׁקָם סַף רַֽעַל כּוֹס תָּעוּ כְּמוֹ פְרָאִים נָפְלוּ בְּאַשְׁמַנִּים׃ הִגְבִּיר…	Just as the Greeks rose against me, all Antiochus’s force, each hegemon and duke sought to destroy me. And the Rock who shields me gave them drink from the poison-bowl cup. They wandered like onagers, they fell in dark places. Victorious…
עַל־כֵּן הוֹרוּ הַמּוֹרִים לְהַעֲלוֹת נֵרוֹת וּלְתַשְׁמִישׁ הֵם אֲסוּרִים אַךְ לִרְאוֹת מְאוֹרוֹת בַּפְּתָחִים וּבַשְּׁעָרִים יִהְיוּ מְסֻדָּרוֹת לְפַרְסֵם נֵס וּפְלָאִים לְעֵין כׇּל־הֲמוֹנִים׃ הִגְבִּיר…	And thus the teachers taught to set up lamps, whose use is forbidden except for seeing luminance. At entrances and gates they will be arranged, to publicize the miracle and wonders to the eye of all the crowds. Victorious…
קָדוֹשׁ רַב הַצְּבָאוֹת צוּר הַכֹּל מְחוֹלֵל בַּעֲשׂוֹתוֹ נוֹרָאוֹת אֶגְמֹר אֶת־הַהַלֵּל גַּם אֶתֵּן רֹב הוֹדָאוֹת אֵלָיו עֵת אֶתְפַּלֵּל וּבְעֵת מֵעָי מְלֵאִים בְּבִרְכַּת מְזוֹנִים׃ הִגְבִּיר…	COmmander of all forces, Holy Rock, Generator of all! Since They did awesome deeds, I will say the complete Hallel, and I will give great thanks to Them when I pray, and when my gut is full in the grace after meals.^[1] Referring to the two places where the Al haNissim addition for Ḥanukkah is added — in the second-to-last blessing of the ‘amidah, and the second blessing of birkat ha-mazon. Victorious…
בְּעֻזְּךָ אֵל נוֹרָא כׇּל־שׂוֹטְנַי הַצְמִיתָה וּבְרֹב זַֽעַם וְעֶבְרָה אֶת־זִכְרָם הַשְׁבִּיתָה וּבְנֵה בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה וֶהְיֵה לִי עֶזְרָתָה וְנִשְׁמַת כׇּל־בְּרוּאִים תּוֹדֶֽךָּ צוּר בִּרְנָנִים׃ הִגְבִּיר…	By Your strength, awesome Deity, annihilate all my adversaries, and in great wrath and rage, make their memory cease, and build the chosen House, that it be my help, and the soul of all creatures will thank You, Rock, in cheers. Victorious…

Source(s)

Sefer Et l-Kol Ḥefets (Yaaqov ibn Tsur) page 32b

Sefer Et l-Kol Ḥefets (Yaaqov ibn Tsur) page 33a

Notes

Notes
1	Referring to the two places where the Al haNissim addition for Ḥanukkah is added — in the second-to-last blessing of the ‘amidah, and the second blessing of birkat ha-mazon.

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.

Yaaqov ibn Tsur

Yaaqov ben Reuven ibn Tsur, or Jacob Abensur (1673–1753), born in Fez, Morocco, was a poet, scholar and leading Moroccan rabbi of the 18th century. He studied under the rabbis Vidal Serfaty and Menahem Serero. In 1693, he was appointed as registrar at the bet din (rabbinical court) of Fez, and then as a rabbi and head of the bet din in 1704, a post which he held for another thirty years. Thereafter, oppressive taxation induced him to move to Meknès, where he became a member of the bet din for eleven years, and after that he moved to Tétouan to serve in its bet din for another seven years. Ibn Tsur authored Mishpat u-Tsedeqah be-Ya’aqov, a published collection of some of his responsa, as well as Et le-khol Ḥefeẓ, a collection of piyyutim.

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Ḥanukkah in Nachlaot, 2017 (credit: Avital Pinnick, license: CC BY-NC-ND)

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