Adir Hu, a classic Pesaḥ song if ever there was one, is a part of Seder tables all over the planet. Its alphabetical list of God’s attributes, combined with its repeated pleas for a return to Jerusalem, make it a classic, to the point where the traditional German farewell greeting for Passover was not “chag sameach” or “gut yontef” but “bau gut” – build well. This interpretation, while not a direct translation by any means, has the same rhythmic pattern and alphabetical structure, giving a sense of the greatness of God.
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אַדִּיר הוּא, אַדִּיר הוּא יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה, בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. |
Awesome One, Awesome One,
Build your Temple quickly Speedily, speedily, in our days, build it quickly. Build it, God! Build it, God! Build your Temple quickly! |
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Blessed One, Creator One, Deity One,
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Essential One, Foremost One, Greatest One,
Holy One, Ineffable One, Judging One, |
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Knowing One, Lasting One, Merciful One,
Noble One, Original One, Powerful One, |
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Quintessential One, Righteous One, Supreme One,
Truthful One, Unlimited One, Vast One, Willing One, |
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Xenial One, You are One, Zealous One
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“אדיר הוא | Awesome One: an Alphabetical English Interpretation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer of the piyyut Adir Hu” is shared by the contributors with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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