אֶפְתַּח פִּי לְהוֹדוֹת | Eftaḥ Pi le-Hōdōt — reshut №1 from the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon

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

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פיוטים piyyuṭim, רשויות reshuyot, rhyming translation, שבת חזון Shabbat Ḥazon

“Eftaḥ Pi le-Hodot” is the first reshut offered before Barukh sheAmar at the outset of the Zemirot (preceding Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av. It is the first reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֶפְתַּח פִּי לְהוֹדוֹת וְגַם אֶצְרַח בְּקוֹל מַר אֲבָרֵךְ לֵאלֹהִים בְּבָרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר׃	I open my mouth to thank, but also shriek and bitterly choke. I bless God with “Blessed be the One who spoke.”
עַל־חׇרְבַּן בֵּית אֵל עֵינַי מְקוֹר דִּמְעָה מַֽיִם הוֹרִֽידוּ כַּנַּֽחַל עַל־בִּקְעָה עַל־בָּנִים שׁוֹמֵמִים כְּשִׁמְמוּת קִיר גִּבְעָה עֵת גְּזַר דִּין נֶחְתַּם וְגַם נִגְמַר׃ אֲבָרֵךְ…	For the ruin of the Deity’s house my eyes are a source of tears, Water brought down like a river to a valley’s weirs, For the deserted children, like a hillside wall in the serirs, When signed and sealed was judgment’s yoke. I bless…
יוֹם חָרַב הֵיכָל גָּבְרוּ צָרוֹתַי בּֽוֹשְׁתִּי וְנִכְלַֽמְתִּי עַל־רֹב מְצוּקוֹתַי כָּֽלוּ אוֹר עֵינַי לְאוֹתוֹתַי חַיּוֹת וְאוֹפַנִּים עוֹנִים מִמִּשְׁמָר׃ אֲבָרֵךְ…	The day the Temple was destroyed, my foes grew strong, I was shamed and disgraced for my distresses were long. For my signs, light in my eyes did not belong. Beast- and wheel-angels answer when they convoke. I bless…
חַיָּב כׇּל־אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל־הַטּוֹבָה וְאִם רָעָה בָּא לוֹ לְהוֹדוֹת בִּתְשׁוּבָה הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָ לְעוֹרֵר וּלְהָשִׁיב עַל־כׇּל־מִזְמָר׃ אֲבָרֵךְ…	All humanity must bless what is good, And if bad comes, acknowledge in repentance one should. Return us, Cause, to You! Returning we would, (Lamentations 5:21) Returning with our hymnody awoke! I bless…

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.

Unknown

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The Destruction of the Temple by Samuel Coleman (ca. 1830s) in the collection of the Tate

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