🆕 שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁחָקִים | Shaalu Sheḥakim — an ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit (most commonly recited in Minhag Polin), by Shlomo ibn Gabirol

Contributor(s):

Shared on:

8 October 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Tags:

11th century C.E., 48th century A.M., Acrostic signature, German translation, Minhag Polin, ofanim, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פרשת בראשית parashat Bereshit

This is the ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit (most commonly recited in Minhag Polin), by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Seligman Baer’s German translation and a new rhyming acrostic translation in English. Although the yotser and zulat piyyuṭim in this yotser cycle are attributed to Shlomo haBavli, Davidson identifies this piyyuṭ as following Gabirolic norms. Often piyyuṭim by the two great payṭanim were mixed and matched since they both tended to just sign their first names.

Note: 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 (German)	Translation (English)
שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁחָקִים וְשִֽׂיחוּ לַאֲדָמָה לָכֶם יְסַפְּרוּ כָּבוֹד זְרֽוֹעַ רָמָה מוֹתֵֽחַ דֹּק וָחֶֽלֶד וְתוֹלָהּ עַל־בְּלִי־מָה הַגּוּף טִפַּח וְנָפַח בּוֹ הַנְּשָׁמָה׃ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּ֭יָדוֹ נֶ֣פֶשׁ כׇּל־חָ֑י וְ֝ר֗וּחַ (איוב יב:י) יוֹצֵ֨ר הָרִ֜ים וּבֹרֵ֣א ר֗וּחַ׃ (עמוס ד:יג)	Fraget die Himmel, redet die Erde an, sie werden euch erzählen von der Herrlichkeit des allmächtigen Gottes, der das Gewölbe und den Erdball ausgebreitet und an Nichts aufgehängt; der den Körper bereitet und ihm einen Odem eingehaucht; in dessen Hand die Seelen aller Lebenden, alle Geister sind; der der Berge Bildner, der Schöpfer des Windes ist.	Solicit the stratosphere, or converse with the land; let them tell you of the glory of the upraised Hand, making taut the veil^[1] Heaven. Find Isaiah 40:22 and terra, over vacuum lets it stand, nurturing the body, blowing in spirit as They planned. In Their hand is all life’s breath and wind (Job 12:10), Maker of mountains, Creator of wind (Amos 4:13).
לְבָדוֹ הָיָה בְּטֶֽרֶם יוֹמַֽיִם וְעַד לֹא־עָשָׁה חוּג שָׁמַֽיִם וּבְאֵין מַעֲיָנוֹת נִכְבְּדֵי מַֽיִם בְּשׂוּם חֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ׃ (בראשית א:ב) אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּ֭יָדוֹ נֶ֣פֶשׁ כׇּל־חָ֑י וְ֝ר֗וּחַ (איוב יב:י) יוֹצֵ֨ר הָרִ֜ים וּבֹרֵ֣א ר֗וּחַ׃ (עמוס ד:יג)	Er allein war vor allen Zeiten, ehe noch der Himmelszirkel stand, ehe noch es wasserreiche Quellen gab; als nichts als Finsterniß und Wind des Abgrunds Fläche deckte, da war Er, in dessen Hand die Seelen aller Lebenden, alle Geister sind; der der Berge Bildner, der Schöpfer des Windes ist.	Lone-existing, They were before any days, before the heavenly sphere They did raise, when there were no springs, no waterways, naught but darkness over the abyssal plane, yet the Wind (Genesis 1:2) — In Their hand is all life’s breath and wind (Job 12:10), Maker of mountains, Creator of wind (Amos 4:13).
מְקוֹם מֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ מַֽעְלָה הִצִּיבוֹ וּבִדְמוּת אֶֽבֶן סַפִּיר חֲצָבוֹ וְרֽוּחַ וְעָנָן וָאֵשׁ שָׂם סְבִיבוֹ נָאוֹר הַשָּׂם־עָבִ֥ים רְכוּב֑וֹ הַֽ֝מְהַלֵּ֗ךְ עַל־כַּנְפֵי־רֽוּחַ׃ (תהלים קד:ג) אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּ֭יָדוֹ נֶ֣פֶשׁ כׇּל־חָ֑י וְ֝ר֗וּחַ (איוב יב:י) יוֹצֵ֨ר הָרִ֜ים וּבֹרֵ֣א ר֗וּחַ׃ (עמוס ד:יג)	Seinen Regierungssitz stellte er in die Höhe, baute ihn aus glänzendem Saphir und umgab ihn mit Wind, Wolken und Feuer, Er, der Furchtbare, der Wolken macht zu seinem Wagen, der auf Fittigen des Windes fährt, in dessen Hand die Seelen aller Lebenden, alle Geister sind; der der Berge Bildner, der Schöpfer des Windes ist.	Making Their regnal place, They set it high, and hewed it like sapphire-stone to the eye, and wind and cloud and fire surrounding nigh. The Awesome One setting as Their chariot the clouds of the sky, And going on the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3) — In Their hand is all life’s breath and wind (Job 12:10), Maker of mountains, Creator of wind (Amos 4:13).
הֵכִין בָּרוֹם מַלְאֲכֵֽי רֽוּחַ וְחַיָּה נוֹשֵׂאת אוֹפַן בְּרֽוּחַ אֶל־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר יִפְנֶה שָֽׁמָּה הָרֽוּחַ וְשָׁבִים וְרָצִים וְטָשִׁים בְּרֽוּחַ לְהַקְדִּישׁ לְיוֹצְרָם בְּנַֽחַת רֽוּחַ׃ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּ֭יָדוֹ נֶ֣פֶשׁ כׇּל־חָ֑י וְ֝ר֗וּחַ (איוב יב:י) יוֹצֵ֨ר הָרִ֜ים וּבֹרֵ֣א ר֗וּחַ׃ (עמוס ד:יג)	Er bildete in der Höhe die windschnellen Engel, Chajoth, welche Ophannim tragen, durch den Wind gehoben, der sie zu ihrer Bestimmung führt. So eilen sie hin und her und fliegen wie der Wind, um mit seliger Wonne zu heiligen ihren Schöpfer, in dessen Hand die Seelen aller Lebenden, alle Geister sind; der der Berge Bildner, der Schöpfer des Windes ist.	High up They formed the angels of wind, beast-angel bearing wheel-angel in the wind. Wheresoever it turns, there goes the wind, and they turn and rush and fly on the wind, To sanctify their Maker with pride on the wind.^[2] From the liturgy of the Qedushah d’Yotser before which this piyyuṭ is inserted. In Their hand is all life’s breath and wind (Job 12:10), Maker of mountains, Creator of wind (Amos 4:13).

Source(s)

Yotser l’Shabbat Bereshit (trans. Seligman Baer, Die Piyutim 1862), p. 12

Yotser l’Shabbat Bereshit (trans. Seligman Baer, Die Piyutim 1862), p. 13

Yotser l’Shabbat Bereshit (trans. Seligman Baer, Die Piyutim 1862), p. 14

Yotser l’Shabbat Bereshit (trans. Seligman Baer, Die Piyutim 1862), p. 15

Notes

Notes
1	Heaven. Find Isaiah 40:22
2	From the liturgy of the Qedushah d’Yotser before which this piyyuṭ is inserted.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

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 authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, 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.

Isaac Seligman Baer

Seligman (Isaac) Baer was a masoretic scholar, and an editor of the Hebrew Bible and of Jewish liturgy. He was born in Mosbach, the northern district of Biebrich, Sept. 18, 1825 and died at Biebrich-on-the-Rhine, March, 1897. He belonged to the school of Wolf Heidenheim, and had in his possession some of Heidenheim's original manuscripts and personal copies of his published works with handwritten marginal notes. Baer's monumental edition of the Jewish prayerbook according to the Ashkenazic rite, Seder Avodat Yisrael (Rödelheim, 1868), accompanied by a critical commentary, became the authoritative model for numerous editions published subsequently in the 20th century. His editions of the Jewish liturgy also include Kinnot for the fast of the ninth of Av. He never occupied an academic position, but was content with the office of Hebrew teacher to the Jewish community of Biebrich. In recognition of his services to the Commission for the History of the Jews in Germany, the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy was conferred upon him by the University of Leipzig.

Shlomo ibn Gabirol

Shlomo ibn Gabirol (also Solomon ben Judah; Hebrew: שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול‎, Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول‎ Abu Ayyub Sulayman bin Yahya bin Jabirul, Latin: Avicebron or Avencebrol; 1021/22-1058), born in Malaga, Spain was an Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics, and satire.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=69431

Associated Image:

The first chapter of B’reshit, or Genesis, written on an egg, in the Jerusalem museum. (credit: Sputnikcccp~commonswiki, license: CC BY)

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute the work to Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Seligman Baer and Shlomo ibn Gabirol.
Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=69431>.
Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)