TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
But Ibn Gabirol
poet and philosopher
was not thinking peshat,
was not thinking simple
He was thinking deep
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ
Adon Olam Asher Malakh
אֲדוֹן
Adon
From biblical Hebrew: Adanim
Joints
The Matrix that holds a structure together
עוֹלָם
Olam
Eternal in time
Infinite in space
Elusive
Hidden
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם
Adon Olam —
The Hidden Matrix that holds reality together
אֲשֶׁר
Asher —
Not just a preposition
But an adjective
Happy, joyous, blissful
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר
Adon Olam Asher
If you grasp this matrix,
you feel joy
and bliss
your most sublime moments of peace
radiate
in every direction
מָלַךְ
Malakh
From the word malkhut,
royalty
In Kabbalah
a synonym
for Shekhinah
The one who dwells
The indwelling presence
Dwelling every where
In every thing
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ
Adon Olam Asher Malakh
The indwelling elusive matrix of bliss
בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃
B’terem kol yetsir nivrah
בְּטֶֽרֶם
B’terem
Before
in the before
in the great before
בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר
Before Kol Yetsir
Everything that has form
נִבְרָא
Nivra
was created
בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃
B’terem kol yetsir nivra
Before anything with physical shape,
Anything with conceptual form,
or boundaries
of any kind
was created
Before even a thought
of creation,
Before a design
or a plan
arose
The indwelling
elusive matrix of bliss
existed
But “existed”
is a verb
in the past tense form
And until beings
with form
were created
There was no
past tense
There was no
“before”
Only
an indwelling
elusive
matrix of bliss
There was no
infinity
Because infinite
means
“not finite”
And without finite beings
Who can measure
infinity?
Oh Infinity!
A poor concept,
Product
of the short reach
of the human mind
as it tries
to grasp
the elusive
indwelling
matrix of bliss
Infinity!
A marvelous angel,
God’s first
created concept
Our very best tool
To touch
The matrix
Of bliss
Infinity:
a measure,
a hint,
The footsteps of time
I often ask:
Holy One,
help me
hold it all,
all my thoughts,
all my feelings,
all my fears,
all my failures
Because you,
Holy One,
already hold them
in your elusive matrix
בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי
B’yado afqid ruḥi
Into this cosmic hand
I assign
my spirit
Trusting
it is held
in the matrix
בְּעֵת אִישַׁן
B’et Ishan
When it’s time for sleep
I,
whose bodily life
is timed
down to the minute
By hormones, neurons, and nutrients
Conforming to a circadian rhythm
Living 16 of 24 hours
at full attention
I
surrender my control
for 8 hours
I let
the matrix
hold me
וְאָעִֽירָה
V’aiyra
Until I wake up
And beyond
וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי
V’im ruchi geviyati
With my soul expressed
through this time-bound form
אֲדֹנָי לִי
Adonai Li
My concept
of an infinite God,
keeps me company
וְלֹא אִירָא
V’lo Irah
Irah, to see,
Irah, to fear
Though I will never see
the matrix
itself
It holds me
I will not fear
“Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation” by Laura Duhan Kaplan, was created for a music and spoken word performance at Limmud Vancouver, 2018. It was first published in The Infinity Inside: Jewish Spiritual Practice Through A Multi-Faith Lens (Boulder: Albion Andalus, 2019). This is the full original version. A much abridged version (edited by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat) appears in Renew Our Hearts: A Siddur for Shabbat Day (Bayit Ben Yehuda Press, 2023).
Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan is Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of Inter-Religious Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, and Rabbi Emerita of Or Shalom Synagogue, Vancouver. She holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education (Claremont Graduate University, 1991), Rabbinic Ordination (ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, 2005), and a Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction (Vancouver School of Theology, 2010).
Shlomo ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol (also Solomon ben Judah; Hebrew: שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول Abu Ayyub Sulayman bin Yahya bin Jabirul, Latin: Avicebron or Avencebrol) was an 11th-century Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics, and satire.
![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation, by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan (2018)
A Jew raised in Muslim Spain
11th century
as a literary artist,
a liturgical poet
of wild imagination and skill
as a philosopher
in the Neo-Platonic tradition,
able to put the subtlest metaphysical intuitions
into a single word
Likely the author of Adon Olam
The last song
of the Shabbat morning service
בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃
B’terem kol yetsir nivra
Adon Olam Asher Malakh
B’terem kol yetsir nivra
Its simple translation:
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
Master of the World Who Ruled
Before every thing was created
poet and philosopher
was not thinking peshat,
was not thinking simple
He was thinking deep
From biblical Hebrew: Adanim
Joints
The Matrix that holds a structure together
Eternal in time
Infinite in space
Elusive
Hidden
The Hidden Matrix that holds reality together
Not just a preposition
But an adjective
Happy, joyous, blissful
If you grasp this matrix,
you feel joy
and bliss
your most sublime moments of peace
radiate
in every direction
From the word malkhut,
royalty
In Kabbalah
a synonym
for Shekhinah
The one who dwells
The indwelling presence
Dwelling every where
In every thing
The indwelling elusive matrix of bliss
Before
in the before
in the great before
Everything that has form
was created
Before anything with physical shape,
Anything with conceptual form,
or boundaries
of any kind
was created
Before even a thought
of creation,
Before a design
or a plan
arose
The indwelling
elusive matrix of bliss
existed
But “existed”
is a verb
in the past tense form
And until beings
with form
were created
There was no
past tense
There was no
“before”
Only
an indwelling
elusive
matrix of bliss
There was no
infinity
Because infinite
means
“not finite”
And without finite beings
Who can measure
infinity?
Oh Infinity!
A poor concept,
Product
of the short reach
of the human mind
as it tries
to grasp
the elusive
indwelling
matrix of bliss
Infinity!
A marvelous angel,
God’s first
created concept
Our very best tool
To touch
The matrix
Of bliss
Infinity:
a measure,
a hint,
The footsteps of time
Marked out
by the poet,
In his rhythmic words
בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃
B’Terem Kol Yetsir Nivra
Laura,
Pray
I often ask:
Holy One,
help me
hold it all,
all my thoughts,
all my feelings,
all my fears,
all my failures
Because you,
Holy One,
already hold them
in your elusive matrix
Into this cosmic hand
I assign
my spirit
Trusting
it is held
in the matrix
When it’s time for sleep
I,
whose bodily life
is timed
down to the minute
By hormones, neurons, and nutrients
Conforming to a circadian rhythm
Living 16 of 24 hours
at full attention
I
surrender my control
for 8 hours
I let
the matrix
hold me
Until I wake up
And beyond
With my soul expressed
through this time-bound form
My concept
of an infinite God,
keeps me company
Irah, to see,
Irah, to fear
Though I will never see
the matrix
itself
It holds me
I will not fear
“Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation” by Laura Duhan Kaplan, was created for a music and spoken word performance at Limmud Vancouver, 2018. It was first published in The Infinity Inside: Jewish Spiritual Practice Through A Multi-Faith Lens (Boulder: Albion Andalus, 2019). This is the full original version. A much abridged version (edited by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat) appears in Renew Our Hearts: A Siddur for Shabbat Day (Bayit Ben Yehuda Press, 2023).
“אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation, by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan (2018)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Laura Duhan-Kaplan
Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan is Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of Inter-Religious Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, and Rabbi Emerita of Or Shalom Synagogue, Vancouver. She holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education (Claremont Graduate University, 1991), Rabbinic Ordination (ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, 2005), and a Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction (Vancouver School of Theology, 2010).
Shlomo ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol (also Solomon ben Judah; Hebrew: שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول Abu Ayyub Sulayman bin Yahya bin Jabirul, Latin: Avicebron or Avencebrol) was an 11th-century Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics, and satire.
Works of related interest:
Graduation Blessing, by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan (2017)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Before the Glorious Orbs of Light, a paraliturgical adaptation of Adon Olam by David Nunes Carvalho (ca. 1826)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adōn Olam, translated by Rabbi Marcus Jastrow after the abridged arrangement of Rabbi Benjamin Szold (1873)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adōn Olam, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam, translated from Rabbi David Einhorn’s Olat Tamid (1858)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (Romanian translation by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster, 1883)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (Polish translation by Rabbi Dr. Mojżesz Schorr, 1936)