יוֹצֵר אוֹר | Yotser Ohr, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

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Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

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28 August 2018 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Yotser Ohr

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21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., devotional interpretation, blessings prior to the shema, non-dual theology, angelology, invisible sun, interpretive translation, English Translation, יוצר אור yotser ohr, ascent, cosmology

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ. עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא אֶת הַכֹּל:	I bow before You, Yah, our God, Cosmic Majesty, For shaping light And creating darkness, Promoting peace And creating what is.
הַמֵּאִיר לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים, וּבְטוּבוֹ מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְּרֵאשִׁית. מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְהֹוָה כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ, מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶךָ.	You bring on light With compassion to the world And to all who live in it. In goodness, You constantly renew each day What You made happen At the beginning, You make numberless beings, All different. Each one, with its own wisdom. All there is, is Yours.
הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמְּרוֹמָם לְבַדּוֹ מֵאָז, הַמְּשֻׁבָּח וְהַמְּפוֹאָר וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא מִימוֹת עוֹלָם.	Yah, our Master! How mighty is Your fame All over Earth.
אֱלֹהֵי עוֹלָם, בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ, אֲדוֹן עוּזֵּנוּ, צוּר מִשְׂגַּבֵנוּ, מָגֵן יִשְׁעֵנוּ, מִשְׂגַּב בַּעֲדֵנוּ.
אֵל בָּרוּךְ גְּדוֹל דֵּעָה, הֵכִין וּפָעַל זָהֳרֵי חַמָּה. טוֹב יָצַר כָּבוֹד לִשְׁמוֹ, מְאוֹרוֹת נָתַן סְבִיבוֹת עֻזּוֹ. פִּינוֹת צְבָאָיו קְדוֹשִׁים, רוֹמְמֵי שַׁדַּי, תָּמִיד מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד אֵל וּקְדוּשָתוֹ.	Such glory, You radiate from the Heavens.
תִּתְבָּרַךְ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתַּחַת עַל כָּל שֶׁבַח מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיךָ וְעַל מְאוֹרֵי אוֹר שֶׁיָּצַרְתָּ הֵמָּה יְפָאֲרוּךָ סֶלָה:	I am awed When I see Your skies, Your handiwork and fingerprints, The moon and stars You have arranged.
תִּתְבָּרַךְ לָנֶצַח צוּרֵנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ וְגוֹאֲלֵנוּ בּוֹרֵא קְדוֹשִׁים, יִשְׁתַּבַּח שִׁמְךָ לָעַד מַלְכֵּנוּ יוֹצֵר מְשָׁרְתִים, וַאֲשֶׁר מְשָׁרְתָיו כֻּלָּם עוֹמְדִים בְּרוּם עוֹלָם וּמַשְׁמִיעִים בְּיִרְאָה יַחַד בְּקוֹל דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים וּמֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם. כֻּלָּם אֲהוּבִים, כֻּלָּם בְּרוּרִים, כֻּלָּם גִּבּוֹרִים, כֻּלָּם קְדוֹשִׁים, וְכֻלָּם עוֹשִׂים בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה רְצְוֹן קוֹנָם, וְכֻלָּם פּוֹתְחִים אֶת פִּיהֶם בִּקְדוּשָׁה וּבְטָהֳרָה, בְּשִׁירָה וּבְזִמְרָה, וּמְבָרְכִין וּמְשַׁבְּחִין וּמְפָאֲרִין וּמַעֲרִיצִין וּמַקְדִּישִׁין וּמַמְלִיכִין.
	And the angels; Ophanim, Turning orbits and the planets, Ḥayot, The constellations of the zodiac, Seraphim, Blazing ones, the galaxies.
אֶת שֵׁם הָאֵל הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא קָדוֹשׁ הוּא.
וְכֻלָּם מְקַבְּלִים עֲלֵיהֶם עֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם זֶה מִזֶּה, וְנוֹתְנִים בְּאַהֲבָה רְשׁוּת זֶה לָזֶה לְהַקְדִּישׁ לְיוֹצְרָם בְּנַחַת רוּחַ בְּשָׂפָה בְרוּרָה וּבִנְעִימָה, קְדֻשָׁה כֻּלָּם כְּאֶחָד עוֹנִים בְּאֵימָה, וְאוֹמְרִים בְּיִרְאָה: קָדוֹשׁ \| קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ, יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת, מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ:	All in concert, Adore and venerate You, And sanctify Your Name Chanting: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh Holy, Holy, Holy are You Yah of Diversity The cosmos is filled With Your radiance.
וְהָאוֹפַנִּים וְחַיּוֹת הַקֹדֶשׁ בְּרַעַשׁ גָּדוֹל מִתְנַשְּׂאִים לְעֻמַּת שְׂרָפִים, לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּחִים וְאוֹמְרִים: בָּרוּךְ כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ:	They plead also… Bring this glory to radiate to us Also on the level where we live.
לָאֵל בָּרוּךְ נְעִימוֹת יִתְּנוּ, לַמֶּלֶךְ אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם, זְמִירוֹת יֹאמְרוּ וְתִשְׁבָּחוֹת יַשְׁמִיעוּ, כִּי הוּא לְבַדּוֹ מָרוֹם וְקָדוֹשׁ, פּוֹעֵל גְּבוּרוֹת, עוֹשֶׂה חֲדָשׁוֹת, בַּעַל מִלְחָמוֹת, זוֹרֵעַ צְדָקוֹת, מַצְמִיחַ יְשׁוּעוֹת, בּוֹרֵא רְפוּאוֹת, נוֹרָא תְהִלּוֹת, אֲדוֹן הַנִּפְלָאוֹת,	They all offer to You, blessed God All pleasure in worship. Aware that You alone, Are Sacred, beyond all limits. Condensing and focusing, Creating anew, Overcoming all barriers, Seeding virtue, Growing liberations, Making healing available, Awesome in admiration, Master of marvels.
הַמְחַדֵּשׁ בְּטוּבוֹ בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית. כָּאָמוּר: לְעֹשֵׂה אוֹרִים גְּדֹלִים כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ. וְהִתְקִין מְאוֹרוֹת מְשַׂמֵּחַ עוֹלָמוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא.	In Your benevolence You renew each day, Each moment, The work of Creation.
אוֹר חָדָשׁ עַל צִיּוֹן תָּאִיר, וְנִזְכֶּה כֻלָּנוּ (יַחַד) בִּמְהֵרָה לְאוֹרוֹ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה יוֹצֵר הַמְּאוֹרוֹת:	Please, focus, new light on Tsiyyon And let us all receive its benefit. Barukh attah Yah You shape luminaries.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the shaḥarit blessing before the Shema “Yotser Ohr” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). I have done my best to set Reb Zalman’s interpretive translation and devotional interpretation side-by-side with the Hebrew liturgy it was derived from. –Aharon N. Varady

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“יוֹצֵר אוֹר | Yotser Ohr, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "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