![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
In Ashkenazi communities it is traditionally inserted as a geulah — a piyyut before the ḥatimah of the final blessing of the Shema’ service on the seventh day of Pesaḥ and on Shabbat Shirah. (The final two lines herein, without a rhyming translation, are the closing lines of every geulah and not a part of the poem itself.) While Yom le-Yabasha is treated as a geulah today, it has been suggested that it originally was meant to be inserted before the line that serves as its refrain — “a new song the redeemed one praised.” This is an exceedingly rare location for a piyyut to be inserted, and no community today inserts it there. R. Mordechai Jaffe (Levush 490:9) suggests that when the seventh day of Pesaḥ falls on Shabbat, Yom le-Yabasha should be brought forward to before “a new song the redeemed one praised” so that both it and the normal Shabbat Ḥol haMoed geula can be recited. He further states that we should insert it in the same location on any other day that a geula is recited when a circumcision occurs. This practice was not adopted, but it would be cool if it had been!
Many Ashkenazim sing Yom le-Yabasha at the festive meal for a circumcision, a custom that probably started in the 19th century in Poland. It is also sung by Sepharadim and Mizraḥim on the seventh day of Pesaḥ, and by Moroccans as a baqasha in the morning before Shabbat Shirah (no. 395 in the Shir Yedidot).
Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) | Rhyming Translation (English) |
|---|---|---|
יוֹם לְיַבָּשָׁה נֶהֶפְכוּ מְצוּלִים שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
The day on which to dry land the depths were overturned; a new song the redeemed one praised. |
On the day the depths dried up like a stream; New was the song of those You did redeem. |
יוֹם בְּצַר נִכְבַּֽדְתָּ וְאֵלַי נֶחְמַֽדְתָּ וְלָךְ עֹז יִסַּֽדְתָּ מִפִּ֤י עוֹלְלִ֨ים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
The day on which by the enemy You were honored, and upon me You were cherished, and as for You, strength You founded from the mouths of babes![1] Psalms 8:3. This stanza is missing from many Ashkenazi texts, which use the yod of the opening as the beginning of the acrostic instead. A new song… |
Just when by foe You’re glorified, upon me You’re filled with pride and as for You, Your strength applied upon a child’s theme! New was the song… |
הִטְבַּֽעְתָּ בְּתַרְמִית רַגְלֵי בַּת עֲנָמִית וּפַעֲמֵי שׁוּלַמִּית יָפוּ בַּנְּעָלִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
You drowned, for her fraud, the feet of the Anamitess,[2] A subgroup of the Egyptians mentioned in Genesis 10:13. The Jerusalem Targum assigns the to the people of Lake Mariout, outside of Alexandria, and Rav Saadia Gaon translates as “the Alexandrians.” but the steps of the Shulamitess are beautiful in sandals.[3] Find Song of Songs 7:1–2. A new song… |
Underwater, for her fraud, Egypt’s daughter no more trod; Shulem’s daughter, sandal-shod, in beauty and esteem! New was the song… |
וְכׇל־רוֹאַי יָשִׁירוּן בְּבֵית הוֹדִי יְשֹׁרְרוּן אֵ֥ין כָּאֵ֖ל יְשֻׁר֑וּן וְאֹיְבֵ֖ינוּ פְּלִילִֽים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
And all who saw me would sing out,[4] In some texts, this is printed וְכׇל־רֹאֵי יְשֻׁרוּן — “and all those who saw Yeshurun” in my majestic house[5] In some texts, this is printed בְּעֵת הוֹדִי — “at my majestic time” singing, there is no Deity like Yeshurun’s![6] Deuteronomy 33:26 — so our enemies deem.[7] Deuteronomy 32:31 A new song… |
Discerning me they sing with gaiety in my house of splendor weighty there is none like Israel’s Deity — so our enemies deem! New was the song… |
דְּגָלַי כֵּן תָּרִים עַל הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וּתְלַקֵּט נִפְזָרִים כִּמְלַקֵּ֥ט שִׁבֳּלִ֖ים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
My flags You will thus raise over the remaining ones, and You will gather the scattered like a gatherer of sheaves.[8] Isaiah 17:5 A new song… |
As the remnants will gaze at our flag that You raise, You will gather the strays and it will be as a dream. New was the song… |
הַבָּאִים עִמְּךָ בִּבְרִית חוֹתָמְךָ וּמִבֶּֽטֶן לְשִׁמְךָ הֵמָּה נִמּוֹלִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
Those coming with You in Your covenant of sealing,[9] Circumcision and from the womb they are circumcised in Your name. A new song… |
He who joins in the act as sealed in Your pact — circumcision the fact of Your name supreme. New was the song… |
הֶרְאוּ אוֹתוֹתָם לְכׇל־רוֹאֵי אוֹתָם וְעַל־כַּנְפֵי כְסוּתָם יַעֲשׂוּ גְדִילִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
Show their signs to all who see them; and on the hems of their garment they shall make fringes.[10] Tsitsit, which those who were circumcised wear as an external sign. Find Deuteronomy 22:12 for the terminology. A new song… |
Let them all see the signs when their eyesight aligns from their garment’s hemlines set a fringe in the seam. New was the song… |
לְמִי־זֹאת נִרְשֶֽׁמֶת הַכֶּר־נָא דְבַר אֱמֶת לְמִי הַחוֹתֶֽמֶת וּלְמִי הַפְּתִילִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
Entreat the aforesaid that we not be misled: Whose signet and thread are these that we deem? New was the song… | |
וְשׁוּב שֵׁנִית לְקַדְּשָׁהּ וְאַל־תּוֹסִיף לְגָרְשָׁהּ וְהַעֲלֵה אוֹר שִׁמְשָׁהּ וְנָֽסוּ הַצְּלָלִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
And once again sanctify her, and no longer divorce her, and raise the light of her sun, and the shadows should flee.[13] Another phrase found repeatedly in Song of Songs. A new song… |
Vest as holy her course and no more to divorce her, and raise solar force that the shadows flee the gleam! New was the song… |
יְדִידִים רוֹמְמֽוּךָ בְּשִׁירָה קִדְּמֽוּךָ מִי כָמוֹכָה יְהֹוָה בָּאֵלִים׃ שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים׃ |
Beloved ones will cheer for You; in song come before You: who is like You, Cause, among deities?[14] Find Exodus 15:11 A new song the redeemed one praised. |
Yelling cheers, those You love will sing to You above in witness whereof: What god akin to You could seem? New was the song… |
בִּגְלַל אָבוֹת תּוֹשִׁיעַ בָּנִים וְתָבִיא גְאֻלָּה לִבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה גָּאַל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ |
For the sake of the parents, You will save the children, and bring redemption to their children’s children. Blessed are You, Cause, Redeemer of Israel.[15] Based on Debra Reed Blank’s interpretation of גָּאַל as a nomen agentis akin to סַלָּח or גַנָּב in her essay “The Curious Theological Grammar of Ga’al Yisrael,” in The Experience of Jewish Liturgy (2011). For those who reject said interpretation this could be translated as “who redeemed.” |
Notes
| 1 | Psalms 8:3. This stanza is missing from many Ashkenazi texts, which use the yod of the opening as the beginning of the acrostic instead. |
|---|---|
| 2 | A subgroup of the Egyptians mentioned in Genesis 10:13. The Jerusalem Targum assigns the to the people of Lake Mariout, outside of Alexandria, and Rav Saadia Gaon translates as “the Alexandrians.” |
| 3 | Find Song of Songs 7:1–2. |
| 4 | In some texts, this is printed וְכׇל־רֹאֵי יְשֻׁרוּן — “and all those who saw Yeshurun” |
| 5 | In some texts, this is printed בְּעֵת הוֹדִי — “at my majestic time” |
| 6 | Deuteronomy 33:26 |
| 7 | Deuteronomy 32:31 |
| 8 | Isaiah 17:5 |
| 9 | Circumcision |
| 10 | Tsitsit, which those who were circumcised wear as an external sign. Find Deuteronomy 22:12 for the terminology. |
| 11 | A phrase found repeatedly in Song of Songs, said by the midrash to refer to Israel. |
| 12 | Find Genesis 38:25 |
| 13 | Another phrase found repeatedly in Song of Songs. |
| 14 | Find Exodus 15:11 |
| 15 | Based on Debra Reed Blank’s interpretation of גָּאַל as a nomen agentis akin to סַלָּח or גַנָּב in her essay “The Curious Theological Grammar of Ga’al Yisrael,” in The Experience of Jewish Liturgy (2011). For those who reject said interpretation this could be translated as “who redeemed.” |
“יוֹם לְיַבָּשָׁה | Yom le-Yabashah (The Day On Which to Dry Land) — a geulah piyyut for the 7th day of Pesaḥ and Shabbat Shirah by Yehudah haLevi (early 12th c.)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license.
Leave a Reply