ברכות התורה | Blessing for Torah Study, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧This English translation of the blessing for Torah study by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Versification according to the Nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l by Aharon Varady. . . .
אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים | El Malé Raḥamim (Prayer for the Departed), interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧The prayer El Malé Raḥamim, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . .
בְּרָכָה לְכׇּל־הַקְּהִלּוֹת | Mi sheBerakh for All the Holy Congregations
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❧The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of Jewish congregations worldwide. . . .
בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁעֲשָׁנִי | Blessings at your Dawn of Wakefulness: Berakhot she’Asani (blessings that made me) — translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
בְּרָכָה לְכׇּל־הַקָּהָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ הַזֶּה | Mi sheBerakh for this Holy Congregation
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❧The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of one’s own congregation. . . .
אֱלֹהַי נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתָּ בִּי | Neshamah Shenatata Bi (the breath you have given me), interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧This English translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l of “Neshama Shenatata Bi,” was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Linear associations of this translation according to the nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l by Aharon Varady. . . .
בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁנִּתָּנִי | Blessings at your Dawn of Wakefulness: Berakhot sheNatani (blessings that were given to me) — translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
בִּרְכַּת גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל | Birkat Gomel Ḥasadim Tovim l’Amo Yisrael (translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
ברכת המזון | Thanks for the Food, an interpretive translation of the Birkat Hamazon by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧The style by which Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l translated Jewish liturgy in English was neither literal nor idiomatic, but highly interpretive and interspersed with his own ḥiddushim (innovations). Showing Reb Zalman’s translation side-by-side with the Jewish liturgy helps to illuminate his understanding of the liturgy — it’s deeper meaning as well as how it might be communicated to a contemporary audience. In the version I have prepared below, I have set the interpretive translation of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l side-by-side with the liturgical Hebrew that may have inspired it. In several places, Reb Zalman’s formulation departs from the traditional Ashkenazi nusaḥ. Where there is no Hebrew, we can more easily observe where Reb Zalman has expanded upon the blessing. Still, my work was not exhaustive and I appreciate any corrections to the nusaḥ (liturgical custom) of the Hebrew that may have inspired Reb Zalman’s interpretation in English. . . .
בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן בִּקְצָרָה | Birkat HaMazon Biqtsarah :: Abbreviated Blessing after the Meal
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❧The formula for the abbreviated Birkat Hamazon, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵֽינוּ | Non È Come lo Ded Nostro (נוֹן אֵי קוֹמְי לוֹדֵּיד נוֹשְׁטְרוֹ) — a Renaissance Judeo-Italian translation of Ein Keloheinu (1483)
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❧The text of the piyyut Ein Keloheinu from a 1483 Judeo-Italian translation of the siddur (British Library Or. 2443), along with a transcription into Italian script, a normative Italian modernization, and the Hebrew and English. . . .
אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵֽינוּ | A Polyglot Version of Ein kEloheinu
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❧The mantra-like piyyut “Ēin k-Ēlohēinu,” a praise of God’s attributes and uniqueness featuring incremental repetition, is found in siddurim as far back as the siddur of Rav Amram, and may date back to the Hekhalot literature. Many versions of it have been compiled in different languages, most famously Flory Jagoda (zç”l)’s Judezmo variant “Non como muestro Dyo.” Here the editor has compiled traditional Yiddish and Ladino translations, as well as developed new Aramaic and Arabic translations for this piyyut. The post-piyyut verses used in both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic rites have been included. . . .
בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר | Barukh She’amar, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧This English translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l of “Barukh Sh’amar,” was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Linear associations of this translation according to the nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l by Aharon Varady. . . .
יהי כבוד | Yehi Kh’vod, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of “Yehi Kh’vod” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). To the best of my ability, I have set his translation side-by-side with the verses comprising the piyyut. . . .
ברוך ה׳ לעולם | Barukh Hashem l’Olam :: Bless Yah Always, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧In the daily Shaḥarit (morning) psukei dzemirah service, this centos completes the reading of Psalms 145-150 and precedes the reading of Vayivarekh David” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13). Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the linked verse piyyut, “Barukh YHVH (Hashem) L’Olam” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
אַתָּה־הוּא וְאָז יָשִׁיר (מקוצר) | Atah Hu and a condensed Az Yashir, adapted and translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of נחמיה ט׃ו-י (Neḥemyah 9:6-10) in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי | Nishmat Kol Ḥai, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧This “praying translation” of the piyyut Nishmat Kol Ḥai is included in Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s Sabbath Supplement to his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi ~ As I Can Say It (for Praying in the Vernacular) (2009). The translation includes several prayers that follow the piyyut: Ha-El B’ta’atsumot Uzekha, and Shoḥen Ad. . . .
נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי (מנהג הספרדים) | Nishmat Kol Ḥai, arranged by Aharon Varady
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❧The text of the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
יוֹצֵר אוֹר | Yotser Or, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧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). . . .
שבע ברכות | Sheva Brakhot, the seven blessings following the Birkat Mazon at a wedding meal
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❧The text of the Sheva Brakhot from the birkon of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin. . . .
יִשְׁתַּבַּח שִׁמְךָ | Yishtabaḥ Shimkha, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his adaptation of the liturgy for the final section of liturgy from the Pesukei Dezimrah, “Yishtabaḥ Shimkha,” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
בָּרְכוּ | Barkhu, translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman & Shaul Vardi
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❧Barkhu, the call to prayer, in Hebrew and English. . . .
בִּרְכָּת אַהֲבַה | Ahavat Olam, for Maariv/Arvit translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the blessing preceding the Shema in the evening “Ohev Amo Yisrael” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
בִּרְכָּת אַהֲבַה | Ahavat Olam, for Shaḥarit, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of “Ahavat Olam” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
בִּרְכָּת אַהֲבַה | Ahavat Olam, for Maariv/Arvit, translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman & Shaul Vardi
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❧The second evening blessing before the recitation of the Shema in Hebrew with English translation . . .
בִּרְכָּת אַהֲבַה | Ahaḇat Olam (for Shaḥarit), translated by William Wotton (1718)
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❧A translation of the morning form of the birkat ahavah and one of the earliest examples of Jewish prayer in English translation . . .
מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים | Maariv Aravim, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the blessing preceding the Shema in the evening “Maariv Aravim” in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . .
מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים | Ma’ariv Aravim, translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman & Shaul Vardi
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❧The first evening blessing before the recitation of the Shema in Hebrew with English translation . . .
הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ | Hashkivenu, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧The Hashkivenu prayer of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . .
הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ | Hashkivenu, rhymed translation by Alice Lucas (1898)
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❧A rhyming translation of the evening prayer Hashkivenu. . . .
עמידה | Another version of the Weekday Amidah, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧A version of the weekday Amiday by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi emphasizing personal prayer, set side-by-side with a Sefaradi text of the Amidah. . . .
תחנון | Taḥanun, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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❧My God! my soul is Yours my body is Your servant, take pity on what You have created; my soul is Yours and my body is Yours, God help us for Your sake. We come to You because we want to honor Your reputation. Help us in our moral struggle for the sake of Your reputation; because You are kind and compassionate. Forgive us, for there is so much we need to be forgiven for. . . .
תפילת הדרך | Tefilat haDerekh, a traveler’s prayer for safety and peace (trans. Rabbi David Seidenberg, neohasid·org)
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❧In this Tefilat haDerekh (the prayer for travel), I’ve made a synthesis of Ashkenazi and Sefardi nusaḥ. Even though the translation is pretty close to literal in most places, it comes across as an extraordinary and activist prayer for peace. So I think of this prayer not just as a prayer for the beginning a physical journey, but for any spiritual journey, and especially for any campaign or action for justice and peace that a person or group might undertake. When applied to activism, the “enmity and ambush and theft and predation” we ask to be rescued from could also be interpreted as hatred, deceit, jealousy, and aggression, i.e., the kinds of feelings that cause people to work against each other, even within an organization, instead of working together. I first used this version of the prayer at the beginning of a tour of Israel and Palestine focused on the human rights and non-violent resistance, when the group passed through the first checkpoint of the trip. . . .
סֵדֶר קִדּוּשׁ לְבָנָה ☽ Ḳiddush Levanah: Sanctification of the Moon (Rabbi David Seidenberg, neohasid·org)
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❧In Ḳabbalistic tradition, the new moon is sanctified seven days after its appearance, under a clear sky, standing facing east. It may be said as early as three days after the new moon, and as late as a day before the full moon (the moon should still be visibly waxing). It is the custom in the month of Av to wait to sanctify the moon until after Tisha b’Av, and in Tishrei to wait until after Yom Kippur. In a minyan, the Aleinu prayer and ḳaddish are traditionally added at the end. . . .
💬 Mäṣḥäf Ḳədus 6:15-22 | ספר היובלים ו:טו-כב (Sefer haYovelim 6:15-22) — A Reading from Jubilees for Shavuot
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❧A reading from Jubilees (Sefer haYovelim) 6:15-22, including the text of the Mäṣḥäf Ḳədus (the Ge’ez translation of Jubilees) and original cantillated Hebrew and gender-neutral English translations, for Shavuot. Jubilees is considered to be the earliest source connecting Shavuot with the Sinaitic covenant, and emphasizes the latter as a fulfillment of the Noaḥide covenant (in the narrative of Noaḥ) that had only been maintained through the lineage of Abraham. . . .
💬 ספר היובלים | መጽሐፈ ኩፋሌ | Sefer haYovelim (the book of Jubilees, in Ge’ez)
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❧We are grateful to Dr. James VanderKam for preparing this critical text of the Book of Jubilees (Sefer Yubalim) in its Ge’ez translation in Ethiopic script. The book of Jubilees is an early Jewish deutero-canonical text originally written in Hebrew and composed during the Second Temple period sometime before the Maccabean struggle (164 BCE). . . .
💬 מעשה טוביה ליום שני של שבועות | The Story of Toḇiyah for the second day of Shavuot
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❧The story of Toviah (Tobit) in Hebrew translation, in an abridged version arranged for public reading on the second day of Shavuot. . . .
בִּרְכַּת נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם | Blessing on preparing one’s hands for wakefulness and other holy activities (translation by Aharon Varady)
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❧The blessing upon preparing one’s hands for attaining a state of ritual purity before a sacred activity. . . .
שירת הים | Shirat haYam, recitation for a day with a circumcision according to Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧According to Isaac Seligman Baer’s famed Seder Avodat Yisrael, one of the first scholarly siddurim critical editions ever published, there was a custom that on the day of a circumcision, the P’sukei d-Zimra reading of Shirat haYam along with a portion of its introduction would be recited aloud as a call and response by the mohel (circumcizer) and sandaḳ (godfather). Baer’s division of the verses (from Seder Avodat Yisrael, pp. 72-74) is included here, along with a new translation. . . .
תהלים א׳ בלשון ספרדית | Psalms 1 in Spanish (trans. Rabbi Yahakob Yehuda, Leon Hebréo 1671)
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❧Autor ninguno se halla, que declare el tiempo en que David compuso este Psalmo; ni la causa de haverlo introduzido por primero: mas amiver, es, que conociendo David que la razon de haver Dios rebotado de su gracia a Saul, y haverlo elegido ael en su lugar, havia sido por transgredir su mandado en la guerra de Ha-malek, por las persuasiones, y confejos de los inicos de su pueblo; como el mismo confessó al Propheta Semuel: por esso, quiso David dar’principio àfu Libro, con un loor que sirviesse de dotrina, y de advertimiento dela felicidad que alcançan los fieles siervos de Dios, que andan con toda integridad en fus carreras de virtud, y las adversdades, y castigo que estáparalos infieles, y los inicos aparejado, por los justos juyzios de Dios, del modo que sucedió a Saul, que fue desposseido de su Reyno, el, y sus hijos, y todos sus defendientes parasiempre, por los consejos de que el, se dexó persuadir, donde Dios le declaró su castigo. . . .
תהלים ב׳ בלשון ספרדית | Psalms 2 in Spanish (trans. Rabbi Yahakob Yehuda, Leon Hebréo 1671)
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❧Este Psalmo, es el segundo en numero, por haverlo David en el principio de su Reyno, quando por oir las naciones circunvezinas, que lo havian ungido por Rey sobre Israël, vinieron todos juntos al desafio contra el, en compañia de los Philisteos sus capitales enemigos, y por esso comiença el Psalmo: Paraque se juntan las gentesy, etc. De suerte que assi como el Psalmo precedente, fue el primero por la donacion del Reyno, que Dios le hizo, assi este segundo fue adjunto a el, por la possession del Reyno que entonces tomava, suyetando con la divina assistencia las naciones, pues le embiava de los Cielos, su favor por medio de los Angeles sus ministros, como consta de Semuel Segundo, 5:24. . . .
תהלים כ״ט | Psalms 29, translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman and Efrat Rotem
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❧Psalms 29, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
תהלים ס״ז | Psalms 67 (interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧This English translation of Psalms 30 by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Versification by Aharon Varady. . . .
📄 Scaling the Walls of the Labyrinth: Psalms 67 and Ana b’Khoaḥ
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❧Psalms 67 is a priestly blessing for all the peoples of the earth to be sustained by the earth’s harvest (yevulah), and it is a petition that all humanity recognize the divine nature (Elohim) illuminating the world. Composed of seven verses, the psalm is often visually depicted as a seven branched menorah. There are 49 words in the entire psalm, and in the Nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l there is one word for each day of the Sefirat haOmer. Similarly, the fifth verse has 49 letters and each letter can be used as a focal point for meditating on the meaning of the day in its week in the journey to Shavuot, the festival of weeks (the culmination of the barley harvest), and the festival of oaths (shevuot) in celebration of receiving the Torah. Many of the themes of Psalms 67 are repeated in the prayer Ana b’Koaḥ, which also has 49 words, and which are also used to focus on the meaning of each day on the cyclical and labyrinthine journey towards Shavuot. . . .
תהלים צ״ב | Psalms 92, translated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧An English translation of Psalms 92 set side-by-side with the Masoretic text. . . .
תהלים צ״ג | Psalms 93, the psalm for Friday (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Psalm of the Day for Friday (Psalms 93) in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). To the best of my ability, I have set his translation side-by-side with a transcription of the vocalized text of the Psalm. . . .
תהלים צ״ג | Psalms 93, abridged translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman and Efrat Rotem
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❧Psalms 93, in Hebrew with an abridged translation. . . .
תהלים צ״ד | Psalms 94, the psalm for Wednesday (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧This psalm was the Wednesday song of the Levites in the Holy Temple. . . .
תהלים צ״ה | Psalms 95, translated by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman and Efrat Rotem
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❧Psalms 95, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .
תהלים צ״ו | Psalms 96, translated by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman and Efrat Rotem
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❧Psalms 96 in Hebrew, with an English translation. . . .