Yigdal is a poetic summary of Maimonides’ thirteen articles of Jewish faith. Disputes about the validity of these articles of faith are as old as the articles themselves.
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Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
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יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח, נִמְצָא וְאֵין עֵת אֶל מְצִיאוּתוֹ. |
The Living God is ever-growing and praiseworthy. God is eternally present, God’s existence is timeless. |
אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדוֹ, נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדּוּתוֹ. |
God is One, unique in Oneness; God’s Oneness is mysterious and endless. |
אֵין לוֹ דְמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינוֹ גּוּף, לֹא נַעֲרֹךְ אֵלָיו קְדֻשָּׁתוֹ. |
God has no body, nor image of a body. Nothing compares with God’s holiness. |
קַדְמוֹן לְכׇל־דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא, רִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵאשִׁיתוֹ. |
God preceded all created things. There is no beginning but God’s. |
הִנּוֹ אֶֽדֶן עוֹלָם, וְכׇל־נוֹצָר יוֹרֶה גְּדֻלָּתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ. |
God is the Foundation of the world. Every creature teaches God’s greatness and unity. |
שֶֽׁפַע נְבוּאָתוֹ נְתָנוֹ אֶל אַנְשֵׁי סְגֻלָּתוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ. |
God has given abundant prophecy to seers reflecting God’s extraordinary beauty. |
לֹא קָם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה עוֹד נָבִיא וּמַבִּיט אֶת־תְּמוּנָתוֹ. |
No prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whose vision touched the Ultimate. |
תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת נָתַן לְעַמּוֹ אֵל, עַל יַד נְבִיאוֹ נֶאֱמַן בֵּיתוֹ. |
God gave Israel Torah, for us to discern truth; it was given through Moses, God’s faithful prophet. |
לֹא יַחֲלִיף הָאֵל וְלֹא יָמִיר דָּתוֹ לְעוֹלָמִים לְזוּלָתוֹ. |
God will never alter essential truths: they are in the fabric of the universe. |
צוֹפֶה וְיוֹדֵֽעַ סְתָרֵֽינוּ, מַבִּיט לְסוֹף דָּבָר בְּקַדְמָתוֹ. |
God knows our hidden thoughts and feelings. God foresees the outcome from the onset. |
שׁוֹמֵר לְעוֹשֶׂה חֶֽסֶד תְּמִימוּת נַּפְשׁוֹ, נוֹתֵן לְעוֹשֶׂה רָע יַד לִתְשׁוּבָתוֹ. |
God protects the integrity of the righteous’ soul, and gives a helping hand for evildoers to repent. |
יִשְׁלַח לְקֵץ יָמִין מְשִׁיחֵֽנוּ, לִפְדּוֹת מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתוֹ. |
God will send redemption at the end of days to free those longing to be saved. |
מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרֹב חַסְדּוֹ, בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתוֹ׃ |
With great love, God will restore life to the dead. Endless blessings and praise to You, God. |
This adaptation of Yigdal, appears in מַחְזוֹר בִּרְכַּת שָׁלוֹם Maḥzor Birkat Shalom, an egalitarian Rosh haShanah & Yom Kippur maḥzor (Havurat Shalom 2014/2022), at the end of the Maariv service, pp. 62-63.
The original philosophical-creed-as-piyyut, Yigdal, by Daniel ben Judah Dayyan. Yigdal means “Magnify [O Living God]” and is based on the 13 Articles of Faith formulated by Maimonides (1135-1204). Daniel ben Judah spent eight years improving his piyyut, completing Yigdal in 1404.
Source(s)
“יִגְדַּל מֻתְקָן | Yigdal (adapted), by Havurat Shalom (2014/2022)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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