אַפִּין בְּאַפִּין | Apin b-Apin — an original Aramaic “Meturgeman piyyuṭ” in honor of Mosheh Rabbeinu for Simḥat Torah by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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

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acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, Mosheh Rabbenu, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Simḥat Torah, תרגום targum

An original Aramaic-language “meturgeman piyyut” for Simḥat Torah and the reading of v-Zot haBerakha. I’m working on creating a seder meturgeman liturgy, akin to those for day 7 of Pesaḥ and for Shavuot, to be recited on Simḥat Torah. Mostly incorporating older Aramaic poems, I’ve also decided to write some originals myself. This is one of them, in praise of Moshe, to be recited after Deut. 34:10.

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.” This translation also uses the plural pronouns They/Their/Them to refer to God as a pluralis majestatis, and to avoid the implications of God being assigned a gender. (Find Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1:1 for a discussion of the pluralis majestatis when referring to God.) All divine referents (pronouns, epithets, names) are rendered in unicase.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אַפִּין בְּאַפִּין אִתְגְּלִי לְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Face to face They were revealed to Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
בְּעוּ בְנֵי עַם חַבִּיב בִּסְפַר דְּמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Ask, beloved nations’ children, in the book of Moshe: Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
גּוּבְרִין רַבְרְבִין בְּאַבְקָא דְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Mighty men in the dust of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
דָּרוֹשַׁיָּא וּפַשַּׁרַיָּא תַּלְמִידוֹי דְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Exegetes and interpreters students of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
הוּא מוֹרְיָינָא וְרַבָּנָא מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	He is our teacher and master, Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
וְכׇל־נְבִיאֵי עַבְדּוֹי דְּמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	And all prophets are servants of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
זַהֲרָא אַזְהֵיר מִן־אַנְפּוֹי דְּמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Radiance radiated from the face of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
חֲזָא שְׁכִינְתָּא דֵאלָהָנָא מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	He saw the presence of our God, Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
טַעֲמֵי טָבֵי אַלֵּיף לָן מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Good sense was taught us by Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
יָדְעֵי נְבוּאֲתָא כְּמוֹזָא קֳדָם מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Knowers of prophecy are as chaff before Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
כְּהֶדְיוֹטִין מַלְכַיָּא לׇקֳבֵל מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Kings are like commoners when compared to Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
לֵיתֵי נְבִיאֵי בְּרוּמָא דְּמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	No prophets are at the height of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
מַנּוּ דִּמְתִיל בְּקוּדְשָׁא לְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Who is compareable in holiness to Moshe? Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
נְחַתַת אוֹרָיְתַן בִּידָא דְּמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Our Teaching came down by the hand of Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
סָבַיָּא וְטַלְיָתָא אוֹקִירוּ לְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Old and young, honor Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
עַבְדָּא דַייָ הֲוָה מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	The servant of the Cause was Moshe. Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
פִּתְגָמִין עַסְרָא אַחֵית מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Ten commandments were brought down by Moshe. Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
צְוַח וַאֲמָרָן לַנָא מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	He called and said them to us, Moshe. Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא מַלִּיל עִם־מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	The blessed Holy One spoke with Moshe. Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
רֵישׁ נְבִיאֵי הֲוָה מֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Chief of prophets was Moshe. Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
שַׁבָּחוּ תַּלְמִידוֹי לֵיהּ לְמֹשֶׁה הַכְדֵין קַם נְבִיָּא הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	Praise him, his students, praise Moshe! Has a prophet arisen like Moshe?
תַּמָּן בְּטוּר נְבוֹ מִית מֹשֶׁה לָא־קַם נְבִיָּא עוֹד הֵיךְ־מֹשֶׁה׃	There on Mt. Nebo died Moshe… No other prophet has arisen like Moshe!

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

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 transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic texts, 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.

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Moses on his deathbed (Rashid-al-Din Hamadani 1314 CE)

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