תּוֹדוֹת נִתְּנָה | Todot Nitnah, a piyyuṭ before Yishtabaḥ 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., Acrostic signature, Maghrebi Jewry, Meknes, Morocco, פיוטים piyyuṭim, זמירות zemirot

Todot Nitnah — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Yishtabaḥ 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 melody of ‘Et Dodim Kala, or the melody of Shiv’a Sh’ḥaqim.”

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
תּוֹדוֹת נִתְּנָה לְצוּר יִשְׁעֵֽנוּ שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃	Thanks let us give to the Rock of our salvation who did miracles for our ancestors!
יָמִים שְׁמוֹנָה הֵמָּה נוֹדָֽעוּ בַּיָּמִים הַהֵם בָּנִים נוֹשָֽׁעוּ אַךְ יְוָנִים הֵן אָבְדוּ נִגְדָּֽעוּ גָּבְרוּ עֲלֵיהֶם אָז כֹּהֲנֵֽינוּ׃	Just why are these eight days known? In then the children were saved! But the Greeks, they fell, they were cut down; then our priests defeated them.
עַל־כֵּן כׇּל־לָֽיְלָה נֵרוֹת נַסְדִּֽירָה בִּמְזוּזַת שְׂמֹאל בְּתוֹךְ עֲשָׂרָה לְפַרְסֵם בָּהֶם נִסֵּי אֵל נוֹרָא אֱיָלוּתֵֽנוּ צוּר מִשְׂגַּבֵּֽנוּ׃	All night let’s thus set lights, at the left doorframe, within ten,^[1] …handbreadths from the ground by which to publicize the miracles of the awesome Deity, our vigor, the Rock of our refuge.
קְבָעוּם רַבִּים מוֹרֵי הוֹרָאָה בְּהַלֵּל גָּמוּר וְגַם הוֹדָאָה לְפָאֵר שֵׁם אֵל כִּי גָּאֹה גָּאָה הַנִּפְרָע לָֽנוּ מִכׇּל־צָרֵֽינוּ׃	Coaching teaching, rabbis set them with full hallel and thanksgiving, to glorify the Deity’s name, who has triumphed, triumphed, rescued us from all foes.
בְּעֻזְּךָ נָאוֹר תָּמִיד נִבְטְחָה וּבְךָ נָגִֽילָה וְגַם נִשְׂמְחָה נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ נָגִיד נָשִֽׂיחָה יִשְׁתַּבַּח שִׁמְךָ לָעַד מַלְכֵּֽנוּ׃	By Your resplendent strength we will always trust, and in You rejoice and celebrate; Your wonders we will tell and recount. Your Name be praised forever, our Sovereign!

Source(s)

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

Notes

Notes
1	…handbreadths from the ground

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 at the Synagogue in Tbilisi Georgia (credit: Dato Rostomashvili. license: CC BY)

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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)

תּוֹדוֹת נִתְּנָה | Todot Nitnah, a piyyuṭ before Yishtabaḥ on Shabbat Ḥanukkah by Yaaqov ibn Tsur

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