🤦︎ Taḥanun (Nefilat Apayim) • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶקְט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

תהלים כ״ה | Psalms 25, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation) — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 08:42:45 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
לְדָוִ֡ד אֵלֶ֥יךָ יְ֝הוָ֗ה נַפְשִׁ֥י אֶשָּֽׂא׃ אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י בְּךָ֣ בָ֭טַחְתִּי אַל־אֵב֑וֹשָׁה אַל־יַֽעַלְצ֖וּ אֹיְבַ֣י לִֽי׃	¹ (An Aleph-Bet song) Of David. Yah! To You I raise my soul. ² My God, I trust You. Let me not be shamed. Let not my detractors mock me.
גַּ֣ם כָּל־קֹ֭וֶיךָ לֹ֣א יֵבֹ֑שׁוּ יֵ֝בֹ֗שׁוּ הַבּוֹגְדִ֥ים רֵיקָֽם׃	³ All who place their hope in You Will not be disgraced, But shame will cling to those who riot without cause.
דְּרָכֶ֣יךָ יְ֭הוָה הוֹדִיעֵ֑נִי אֹ֖רְחוֹתֶ֣יךָ לַמְּדֵֽנִי׃	⁴ Get me to know your ways. Teach me your way.
הַדְרִ֘יכֵ֤נִי בַאֲמִתֶּ֨ךָ ׀ וְֽלַמְּדֵ֗נִי כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׁעִ֑י אוֹתְךָ֥ קִ֝וִּ֗יתִי כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃	⁵ Guide me in Your Truth. Teach me to know That You are the God of my salvation. All day long I set my trust on You.
ו
זְכֹר־רַחֲמֶ֣יךָ יְ֭הוָה וַחֲסָדֶ֑יךָ כִּ֖י מֵעוֹלָ֣ם הֵֽמָּה׃	⁶ Recall Your compassion, Yah And Your kindness, They precede all Creation.
חַטֹּ֤אות נְעוּרַ֨י ׀ וּפְשָׁעַ֗י אַל־תִּ֫זְכֹּ֥ר כְּחַסְדְּךָ֥ זְכָר־לִי־אַ֑תָּה לְמַ֖עַן טוּבְךָ֣ יְהוָֽה׃	⁷ To the failings of my youth And my rebellions, don’t pay heed. Remember Your good will for me, Yah! for Your goodness’ sake.
טוֹב־וְיָשָׁ֥ר יְהוָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֤ן יוֹרֶ֖ה חַטָּאִ֣ים בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃	⁸ Because You are good and fair, You can gently show the way to the neglectful.
יַדְרֵ֣ךְ עֲ֭נָוִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט וִֽילַמֵּ֖ד עֲנָוִ֣ים דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃	⁹ You guide the modest in their judgments, Teaching the unassuming Your way.
כָּל־אָרְח֣וֹת יְ֭הוָה חֶ֣סֶד וֶאֱמֶ֑ת לְנֹצְרֵ֥י בְ֝רִית֗וֹ וְעֵדֹתָֽיו׃ לְמַֽעַן־שִׁמְךָ֥ יְהוָ֑ה וְֽסָלַחְתָּ֥ לַ֝עֲוֺנִ֗י כִּ֣י רַב־הֽוּא׃	¹⁰ Those who respect Your covenant And witness You, Find that Your ways, Yah, Are kind and real. ¹¹ For Your sake, Yah, Pardon my flaw –- though it is great.
מִי־זֶ֣ה הָ֭אִישׁ יְרֵ֣א יְהוָ֑ה י֝וֹרֶ֗נּוּ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ יִבְחָֽר׃	¹² When a person so minds You, Yah, You will teach him the path to choose.
נַ֭פְשׁוֹ בְּט֣וֹב תָּלִ֑ין וְ֝זַרְע֗וֹ יִ֣ירַשׁ אָֽרֶץ׃	¹³ Such one can sleep easy at night, Knowing that her children will inherit the Earth.
ס֣וֹד יְ֭הוָה לִירֵאָ֑יו וּ֝בְרִית֗וֹ לְהוֹדִיעָֽם׃	¹⁴ You, Yah, impart Your secrets To Your awakened ones. Your mysteries You share with them.
עֵינַ֣י תָּ֭מִיד אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֤י הֽוּא־יוֹצִ֖יא מֵרֶ֣שֶׁת רַגְלָֽי׃	¹⁵ My eyes are focused on You, Yah. You untangle my feet from the trap.
פְּנֵה־אֵלַ֥י וְחָנֵּ֑נִי כִּֽי־יָחִ֖יד וְעָנִ֣י אָֽנִי׃	¹⁶ Turn to me with kindness, For I am lonely and wretched.
צָר֣וֹת לְבָבִ֣י הִרְחִ֑יבוּ מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתַ֗י הוֹצִיאֵֽנִי׃	¹⁷ My troubles have opened my heart And made space in it for others. Do extricate me from my despair.
רְאֵ֣ה עָ֭נְיִי וַעֲמָלִ֑י וְ֝שָׂ֗א לְכָל־חַטֹּאותָֽי׃	¹⁸ See my struggle, my heavy burden. Forgive then all my failings.
רְאֵֽה־אוֹיְבַ֥י כִּי־רָ֑בּוּ וְשִׂנְאַ֖ת חָמָ֣ס שְׂנֵאֽוּנִי׃	¹⁹ See how much I suffer, How I am hated for no reason.
שָׁמְרָ֣ה נַ֭פְשִׁי וְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי אַל־אֵ֝ב֗וֹשׁ כִּֽי־חָסִ֥יתִי בָֽךְ׃	²⁰ Keep my soul safe and free me. Let me not be reviled for my trust in You.
תֹּם־וָיֹ֥שֶׁר יִצְּר֑וּנִי כִּ֝֗י קִוִּיתִֽיךָ׃ פְּדֵ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִ֝כֹּ֗ל צָֽרוֹתָיו׃	²¹ Because I trust You– Let simple directness protect me. ²² God! Free all of Israel from all their distress.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 25 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009) for days on which Taḥanun is practiced after the morning Amidah. To the best of my ability, I have set his translation side-by-side with the verses comprising the psalm. –Aharon N. Varady

Source

תהלים ט״ו | Psalms 15, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation) — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 07:14:33 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד	David’s song:
יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃	Yah! Who may be at home in Your tent? Who may find sanctuary On Your Sacred mountain?
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃ לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃ נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס	One who strides with wholeness, Acts with fairness, Whose heart and words Speak with honesty, Not given to gossip, Not hurting others, Not shifting blame on others. Wary of his own motives,
וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֣ה יְכַבֵּ֑ד נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃ כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃	He honors those Who are respectful of God. She will not stoop to lie When she swears, Even if it causes her loss. He lends his money, interest free, Won’t accept a bribe, To convict the innocent. One who acts in this way, Will never waver.

Psalms 15 is read on special days of festive joy in place of Taḥanun. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Psalms 15 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 Psalm. –Aharon N. Varady

Source(s)

תהלים ו׳ | Psalms 6, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation) — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 00:43:45 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃	A David Song (Note to the Conductor — play this melody on the eight stringer)
יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֮ כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃ וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד ואת [וְאַתָּ֥ה] יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃	Yah! Please don’t chide me in Your anger. Don’t scold me in Your wrath. I need You to show me kindness. I am so miserable. Heal me, Yah! My bones ache so. My inner self is very troubled. I ask You, Yah! How long must I still endure?
שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃	Relent, Yah, And for mercy’s sake Pull me out and spare me. How can I remember You If I am dead in the pits? Who will thank You?
יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃ עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃	I groan and am all worn out. I sob on my bed; My tears drench my mattress. My eyes are stinging From frustration, As if all my troubles Wept them out.
ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃ שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י יְ֝הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃ יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃	Away with you, All you traffickers of sin! Yah has heard my wailing. Yah has listened to my pleading. Yah will fulfill my prayer. Confusion and embarrassment On you, you fiends! This very moment, Let shame Bring you to your senses.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the prayer Psalms 6 in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). To the best of my ability, I have set his English translation side-by-side with the Hebrew verses comprising the psalm. –Aharon N. Varady

Source

תחנון | Taḥanun, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 01:36:55 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! הַנְּשָׁמָה לָךְ וְהַגּוּף פָּעֳלָךְ, חֽוּסָה עַל עֲמָלָךְ. הַנְּשָׁמָה לָךְ וְהַגּוּף שֶׁלָּךְ, יְיָ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן שְׁמֶֽךָ. אָתָֽאנוּ עַל שִׁמְךָ, יְיָ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן שְׁמֶֽךָ. בַּעֲבוּר כְּבוֹד שִׁמְךָ, כִּי אֵל חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם שְׁמֶֽךָ. לְמַֽעַן שִׁמְךָ יְיָ, וְסָלַחְתָּ לַעֲוֹנֵֽנוּ, כִּי רַב הוּא:	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.
סְלַח לָֽנוּ אָבִֽינוּ, כִּי בְרוֹב אִוַּלְתֵּֽנוּ שָׁגִֽינוּ, מְחַל לָֽנוּ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ, כִּי רַֽבּוּ עֲוֹנֵֽינוּ.	Pardon us our Father, our errors are so great; forgive us our Royal Master many are our mistakes
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, סְלַח וּמְחַל לַעֲוֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ. מְחֵה וְהַעֲבֵר פְּשָׁעֵֽינוּ וְחַטֹּאתֵֽינוּ מִנֶּֽגֶד עֵינֶֽיךָ, וְכֹף אֶת יִצְרֵֽנוּ לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד לָךְ, וְהַכְנַע עָרְפֵּֽנוּ לָשׁוּב אֵלֶֽיךָ בֶּאֶמֶת, וְחַדֵּשׁ כִּלְיוֹתֵֽינוּ לִשְׁמוֹר פִּקֻּדֶֽיךָ; וּמוֹל אֶת לְבָבֵֽנוּ לְאַהֲבָה וּלְיִרְאָה אֶת שְׁמֶֽךָ, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶֽךָ:	Our God and our parents’ God, pardon our sins Erase our rebellions Let our failures not appear before You. Mold our drives to serve Your purposes; let our stubbornness be in Your service. Refresh our conscience to guard Your instructions Sensitize our hearts to love You and to respect Your reputation as Your Torah prescribes:
וּמָל יְיָ אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ אֶת לְבָבְךָ, וְאֶת לְבַב זַרְעֶֽךָ, לְאַהֲבָה אֶת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ, בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ לְמַֽעַן חַיֶּיךָ.	“and YaH Your God will sensitize Your heart and the hearts of Your children so that your love for your God will be wholehearted, inspired, to make Your life meaningful”^[1] Deuteronomy 30:6.
בָּאתִי אֵלֶֽיךָ מִתּוֹך רָצוֹן לְעָבְדְךָ. אֵין צַדִּיק בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶר יַעֲשֶּׂה הַטּוֹב וְלֹא יֶחֱטֶא. עָזְרֵנִי נָא בְּחַיֵי הַמּוּסַר שְלִי לְתַקֵן מִידוֹתָי.	Dear God. I approach You from the desire to serve You and yet there is no Tzaddik who can do only good and not fail in it Please help me with my moral Life so that in every way my attitude will be balanced and right.
וְרֵאשִׁית־כֹּל עָזְרֵנִי לִמְחוֹל לְכָל מִי שֶׁהִכְעִיס וְהִקְנִיט אוֹתִי, אוֹ שֶׁחָטָא כְּנֶגְדִּי בֵּין בְּגוּפִי בֵּין בְּמָמוֹנִי בֵּין בִּכְבוֹדִי בֵּין בְכָל אֲשֶׁר לִי, בֵּין בְּאֹֽנֶס, בֵּין בְּרָצוֹן, בֵּין בְּשׁוֹגֵג, בֵּין בְּמֵזִיד, בֵּין בְּדִבּוּר בֵּין בְּמַעֲשֶׂה, בֵּין בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה בֵּין בְּהִרְהוּר, בֵּין בְּגִלְגּוּל זֶה בֵּין בְּגִלְגּוּל אַחֵר, לְכָל בַּר יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְלֹא יֵעָנֵשׁ שׁוּם אָדָם בְּסִבָּתִי.	To begin with, help me to forgive anyone who has frustrated and upset me irregardless if they have sinned against me, my body, my possessions, my reputation, anything of mine, unintentionally, intentionally whether they schemed, or were unaware, whether it was in word or action whether is was a thought or the imagination Whether it was in this incarnation or in any other I completely forgive any God-wrestler; let no one be punished on my account.
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, תָּבֹא לְפָנֶֽיךָ תְּפִלָּתֵֽנוּ, וְאַל תִּתְעַלַּם מִתְּחִנָּתֵֽנוּ, שֶׁאֵין אָנוּ עַזֵּי פָנִים וּקְשֵׁי עֹֽרֶף, לוֹמַר לְפָנֶֽיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, צַדִּיקִים אֲנַֽחְנוּ וְלֹא חָטָֽאנוּ, אֲבָל אֲנַֽחְנוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ חָטָֽאנוּ.	My God and my parents’ God may our prayer come before You do not turn Your attention from our pleading we don’t want to be impudent we don’t want to be stubborn and claim that we are righteous and have not sinned Indeed our parents have sinned and we have sinned
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי, שֶׁלֹּא אֶחֱטָא עוֹד, וּמַה שֶּׁחָטָֽאתִי אֶתְוְוַדֶה לְפָנֶֽיךָ (לפרט החטא כאן) וַאֲבַקְשְךָ שֶתִּמְחוֹק בְּרַחֲמֶֽיךָ הָרַבִּים, אֲבָל לֹא עַל יְדֵי יִסּוּרִים וָחֳלָיִים רָעִים. יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶֽיךָ , יְיָ צוִּרי וְגֹאֲלִי. לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּֽיתִי יְיָ, קִוִּֽיתִי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ יְיָ, יְיָ לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּֽיתִי:	Help us with God’s help not to fail You again and what I hereby confess to You (insert the particular sin here) I beg You, that in Your great mercy You erase my sins but not by means of suffering and illness. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable for You, Yah, my rock and my Redeemer I place my faith in You I place my trust in You I place my hope in You

Reb Zalman’s translation of the Taḥanun was first published on the web at the Jewish Renewal Ḥasidus blog, here. Thank you to Gabbai Seth Fishman for curating this resource.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	Deuteronomy 30:6.

תשלום לחצי קדיש בין תחנון לאשרי ליחיד (סדר רב עמרם) | Replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish between Taḥanun and Ashrei for an individual praying alone or without a minyan, from Seder Rav ȝAmram

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 18:44:35 +0000

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Ḥatsi Qaddish between Taḥanun and Ashrei for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known.

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.” 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 (English)
מַאי דִּכְתִיב בְּרׇב־עָ֥ם הַדְרַת־מֶ֑לֶךְ (משלי יד:כח)? אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בַּר־חֲנִינָא בּוֹא וּרְאֵה שִׁבְחוֹ שֶׁלַּקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁהוּא מְחַבֵּב אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל יוֹתֵר מֵאַלְפֵי אֲלָפִים וְרִבֵי רְבָבוֹת שֶׁלְּמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת שֶׁמְּשָׁרְתִין אוֹתוֹ וּמְשַׁבְּחִין לְפָנָיו וְאֵינוֹ רוֹצֶה בִּשְׁבָחָן עַד־שֶׁיִּשְׁמַע בִּשְׁבָחָן שֶׁלְּיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּרׇב־עָ֥ם הַדְרַת־מֶ֑לֶךְ וְאֵין עַם אֶֽלָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר עַם־זוּ֙ יָצַ֣רְתִּי לִ֔י תְּהִלָּתִ֖י יְסַפֵּֽרוּ׃ (ישעיה מג:כא) לָמָּה עַם־זוּ֙ יָצַ֣רְתִּי לִ֔י? שֶׁיְּסַפֵּרוּ תְּהִלָּתִי בַּעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר תְּהִלָּתִ֖י יְסַפֵּֽרוּ׃	Why is it written “In the numerous people is the king’s pageantry” (Proverbs 14:28)? Said Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, come and see “how praiseworthy is the blessed Holy One, who loves Israel more than thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads of ministering messenger-angels who minister to Them and laud before Them, but They do not desire their laudation until They hear the laudation of Israel, as is said, ‘In the numerous people is the king’s pageantry’ and ‘people’ only refers to Israel, as it is said, ‘This people that I formed for Me, My praise they will tell’ (Isaiah 43:21). Why is this the people that I formed for me? Because they tell My praise in the universe, as it is said, ‘My praise they will tell.’”
וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר נְדִ֘יבֵ֤י עַמִּ֨ים ׀ נֶאֱסָ֗פוּ עַם֮ אֱלֹהֵ֢י אַבְרָ֫הָ֥ם כִּ֣י לֵ֭אלֹהִים מָֽגִנֵּי־אֶ֗רֶץ מְאֹ֣ד נַעֲלָֽה׃ (תהלים מז:י) אָמַר רַבִּי סִימוֹן, אֵימָתַי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְעַלֶּה בְּעוֹלָמוֹ? בַּשָּׁעָה שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל נִכְנָסִין בְּבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת וּבְבָתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת וְנוֹתְנִין שֶֽׁבַח לִפְנֵי בּוֹרְאָם!	And it also says, “The nobles of the peoples are gathered, the people of Abraham’s God, for to God, greatly exalted, are the shields of the earth” (Psalms 47:10). Said Rabbi Simon, “when is the blessed Holy One exalted in Their universe? When Israel enters their study-houses and synagogues and gives laudation before their Creator!”
רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהֵן נֶאֱסָפִין לְבָתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת וּלְבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת וְשׁוֹמְעִין הַגָּדָה מִפִּי תַּלְמִיד נָעִים וְאַחַר כָּךְ עוֹנִין אָמֵן יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעַלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא, יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְשַׂמֵּֽחַ וּמִתְעַלֶּה בְּעוֹלָמוֹ וְאוֹמֵר לְמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, בֹּאוּ וּרְאוּ עַם־זוּ שֶׁיָּצַרְתִּי בְּעוֹלָמִי כַּמָּה הֵן מְשַׁבְּחִין אוֹתִי!	Rabbi Yishmaȝel says, “when they enter the synagogues and study-houses and hear aggadah from the mouth of a pleasant student, after which they say ‘Amen! May Their great name be blessed for eternity and eternities of eternities! Blessed be.’ At that time the blessed Holy One rejoices and is exalted in Their universe, and says to the ministering messenger-angels: ‘Come and see this people that I formed in My universe, how they laud me!’”
בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה מִתְקַבְּצִין מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת וּמַלְבִּישִׁין לַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הוֹד וְהָדָר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּרׇב־עָ֥ם הַדְרַת־מֶ֑לֶךְ׃ וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר בָּרְכִ֥י נַפְשִׁ֗י אֶת־יְ֫הֹוָ֥ה יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהַי גָּדַ֣לְתָּ מְּאֹ֑ד ה֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר לָבָֽשְׁתָּ׃ וּכְתִיב ה֤וֹד וְהָדָר֙ לְפָנָ֔יו עֹ֥ז וְחֶדְוָ֖ה בִּמְקֹמֽוֹ׃	[Rabbi Yishmael continues] “At that time the ministering messenger-angels gather and accoutre the blessed Holy One in pomp and pageantry, as it is said, ‘In the numerous people is the king’s pageantry.’”^[1] The intial three paragraphs up to this point are from Midrash Mishlei 14:2 And it also says, “Bless, my soul, the Cause! O Cause my God, You are very great, pomp and pageantry You are clad!” (Psalms 104:1) And it is written, “Pomp and pagenatry before Them, strength and delight in Their place” (I Chronicles 16:27).
וְאוֹמֵר עֵ֣קֶב עֲ֭נָוָה יִרְאַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֖שֶׁר וְכָב֣וֹד וְחַיִּֽים׃ (משלי כב:ד) וְאָמַר רַב חָנִן אִם אָדָם זוֹכֶה לִקְנוֹת עֲנָוָה וְיִרְאַת יְהֹוָה זוֹכֶה לִקְנוֹת כָּבוֹד וְחַיִּים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ”עֵ֣קֶב עֲ֭נָוָה“ וכו׳ (מדרש משלי כב:ב)	And it says, “The result of humility is reverence of the Cause, wealth and honor and life” (Provebrs 22:4). And Rav Ḥanin says: “if a person merits to gain humility and reverence of the Cause, he merits to gain honor and life, as it is said, ‘The result of humility…’ (ibid)” (Midrash Mishlei 22:2)

Notes

Notes
1	The intial three paragraphs up to this point are from Midrash Mishlei 14:2

יָהּ, אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ | Yah, Where shall I find you?, a piyyuṭ by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)

Nina Davis Salaman (translation) — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 20:24:01 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
יָהּ, אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? מְקוֹמְךָ נַעֲלָה וְנֶעְלָם! וְאָנָה לֹא אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? כְּבוֹדְךָ מָלֵא עוֹלָם!	Yah, where shall I find you? High and hidden is your place; And where shall I not find you? The world is full of your kavod.^[1] cf. Proverbs 7:15. A short prayer on this theme is quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot by Baḥya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says YHVH” (Jeremiah 23:24)). Note also, Song of Songs 8:1.
הַנִּמְצָא בַקְּרָבִים אַפְסֵי אֶרֶץ הֵקִים, הַמִּשְׂגָּב לַקְּרוֹבִים, הַמִּבְטָח לָרְחוֹקִים,	Found in the innermost being, He established the ends of the earth: Refuge for the near, Safe Haven for those far off.
אַתָּה יוֹשֵׁב כְּרוּבִים, אַתָּה שׁוֹכֵן שְׁחָקִים. תִּתְהַלֵּל בִּצְבָאֲךָ – וְאַתְּ עַל רֹאשׁ מַהֲלָלָם,	You dwell amid the Keruvim, You abide in the clouds; You are praised by your angelic legion Yet are raised above their praise.
גַּלְגַּל לֹא־יִשָּׂאֲךָ אַף כִּי חַדְרֵי אוּלָם! וּבְהִנָּשְׂאֲךָ עֲלֵיהֶם עַל כֵּס נִשָּׂא וָרָם,	The whirling worlds cannot contain you; How then the chambers of a temple? And though you be uplifted over them Upon a throne high and exalted,
אַתָּה קָרוֹב אֲלֵיהֶם מִרוּחָם וּמִבְּשָׂרָם, פִּיהֶם יָעִיד בָּהֶם, כִּי אֵין בִּלְתְּךָ יוֹצְרָם.	Yet are you near to them, Of their very spirit and their flesh. Their own mouth testifies for them That you alone are their Maker.
מִי זֶה לֹא יִרָאֲךָ – וְעֹל מַלְכוּתְךָ עֻלָּם? אוֹ מִי לֹא יִקְרָאֲךָ – וְאַתָּה נוֹתֵן אָכְלָם?	Who shall not revere you, Since the yoke of your kingdom is their yoke? Or who shall not call to you, Since you give them their food?
דָּרַשְׁתִּי קִרְבָתְךָ, בְּכׇל־לִבִּי קְרָאתִיךָ, וּבְצֵאתִי לִקְרָאתְךָ – לִקְרָאתִי מצָאתִיךָ,	I have sought your nearness, With all my heart have I called you, And going out to meet you I found you coming toward me,
וּבְפִלאֵי גְבוּרָתְךָ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ חֲזִיתִיךָ. מִי יֹאמַר לֹא רָאֲךָ?	Even as, in the wonder of your might, In the sanctuary I have beheld you. Who shall say they have not seen you?—
הֵן שָׁמַיִם וְחֵילָם יַגִּידוּ מוֹרָאֲךָ בְּלִי נִשְׁמַע קוֹלָם!	Lo, the Heavens and their constellations Declare reverence of you, Though their voice is not heard.^[2] Psalms 19:14.
הַאֻמְנָם כִּי יֵשֵׁב אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם?	How then, in reality, can Elohim dwell with humanity!?
וּמַה יַחְשֹׁב כׇּל־חוֹשֵׁב, אֲשֶׁר בָּעָפָר יְסוֹדָם – וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹתָם וּכְבוֹדָם!	What can they think—every thinking being, Whose foundation is in the dust— How you, Holy One, are dwelling Amid their praises and their kavod!?
חַיּוֹת יוֹדוּ פִלְאֲךָ הָעוֹמְדוֹת בְּרוּם עוֹלָם, עַל רָאשֵׁיהֶם כִּסְאֲךָ – וְאַתָּה נוֹשֵׂא כֻלָּם!	Angels adore your wonder, Standing in the everlasting height; Over their heads is your throne, Meanwhile, you uphold them all!

This translation of Yehudah haLevi’s piyyut, “Yah, Ana Emtsa’eka” was adapted by Aharon Varady from the translation of Nina Salaman published in 1924 by the Jewish Publication Society. We are grateful to the Ben Yehuda Project for transcribing the Hebrew text of this piyyut.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	cf. Proverbs 7:15. A short prayer on this theme is quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot by Baḥya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says YHVH” (Jeremiah 23:24)). Note also, Song of Songs 8:1.
2	Psalms 19:14.

תְּפִלָּה מְעֻלָּה בְּיוֹתֵר כּוֹלֶלֶת כ״ד דְּבָרִים | A Very Good Prayer with Twenty-Four Things in It, from an Italian-rite maḥzor (1446)

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut) — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 03:14:16 +0000

A personal petition in rhymed prose from the introduction to Vat. Ross. 499 (fol. 3r-3v), an Italian-rite maḥzor from the year 1446 with a lot of very cool liturgical content in it. Frankly, the title drew me in.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
זאת התפלה כוללת כ״ד דברים והיא תפלה מעולה ביותר	This prayer contains twenty-four things and it is a really good prayer.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתָי	May it be willed before You, Cause my God and God of my ancestors…
שֶׁיִּהְיוּ חוֹלֵי עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל נִרְפָּאִים וְאַל־יְחַלּוּ הַבְּרִיאִים	that the sick of Your people Israel are healed, and the healthy are not sickened,
וְהַצִּילֵם מִיַּד אֻמָּה הָרְשָׁעָה וְדִקְדּוּקֵי עֲנִיּוּת וּמִכׇּל־מִקְרֶה וּפֶֽגַע רַע	and save them from the hand of the wicked nation and from pedantry and from all all accident and injury,
וְלַחֲשׂוּכֵי בָּנִים תֵּן זֶֽרַע עוֹסְקֵי תּוֹרָתֶֽךָ וְשִׁמְךָ יְרֵאִים וְתוֹצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר כׇּל־הַכְּלוּאִים	and to the childless, grant seed studying Your Teaching and revering Your name, and bring out from confinement all the imprisoned,
וְתִפְקֹד כׇּל־עֲקָרוֹת וְתַתִּיר לְטוֹב כׇּל־הֶהָרוֹת	and bring to mind all the barren, and dilate all the pregnant for good,
וְתִתֶּן טֶֽרֶף לַעֲנִיִּים וְדַכִּים וּתְרַחֵם עַל־עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹבְרֵי דְּרָכִים	and grant food to the poor and thin, and have compassion on Your people Israel passing on the roads,
וְאֶת־הָאֲנוּסִים שֶׁיָּשֽׁוּבוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם יֵיטִֽיבוּ	and that the forced-converts return, and their deeds be made better,
וְקָרֵב לָֽנוּ שְׁנַת גְּאֻלָּה וְלֹא־נָבוֹא עוֹד לִידֵי תַּקָּלָה	and bring to us the year of redemption, that we no longer come to fault,
וְתָסִיר כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הַמְּעַכְּבִים תְּשׁוּבָה מֵעַל־הַשָּׁבִים	and remove all things that hold back repentance from those repenting.
וְעִם־עֲבָדֶֽיךָ תִּזְכֹּר עַבְדֶּֽךָ אֲשֶׁר נַפְשׁוֹ וְטַרְפּוֹ בְּיָדֶֽךָ	And with Your servants remember Your servant whose soul and flesh is in Your hand.
בְּיִרְאָתְךָ וּבְתוֹרָתְךָ לְהַחֲזִיקוֹ וְלָתֵת לוֹ אֶת־חֻקּוֹ	And in Your awe and in Your teaching strengthen him, and grant him his portion:
לֶ֛חֶם לֶאֱכֹ֖ל וּבֶ֥גֶד לִלְבֹּֽשׁ קְרָאתִֽיךָ אֱלֹהַי אַל־אֵבוֹשׁ׃	bread to eat and clothes to wear,^[1] Genesis 28:20 I call to You, my God; let me not be ashamed!
יִ֥הְיֽוּ־לְרָצ֨וֹן ׀ אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה צוּרִ֥י וְגֹאֲלִֽי׃ (תהלים יט:טו)	May the words of my mouth be acceptable, and my heart’s ponderances before You, Cause, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:15)

Source(s)

MS Vat. Ross. 499 fol. 3r

MS Vat. Ross. 499 fol. 3v

Notes

Notes
1	Genesis 28:20

א דוּדעלע (אַיֵּה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ)‏ | A Dudele (Where shall I seek you?), by Rabbi Levi Yitsḥaq of Berditchev (ca. 18th c.)

Levi Yitsḥaq Derbarmdiger Rosakov of Berditchev — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 19:55:24 +0000

Source (Yiddish)	Translation (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! כ´װעל דיר אַ דוּדעלע זינגען! דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ —	רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָשִׁיר לְךָ שִׁיר! אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה —	Ribono shel Olam Ribono shel Olam Ribono shel Olam Ribono shel Olam Master of the Cosmos! I want to sing a little song for you You you you, you you —
אַיֵּה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? וְאַיֵּה לֹא אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? װאוּ קאַן מען דיך יאָ געפֿינען? און װאוּ קאָן מען דיך נישט געפֿינען? דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ —	אַיֵּה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? וְאַיֵּה לֹא אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? אַךְ אָנָה לֹא אֶמְצָאֶךָּ? אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה —	Where shall I seek you?^[1] cf. Proverbs 7:15. A short prayer on this theme in quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot by Bachya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says YHVH” (Jeremiah 23:24)). Note also, Song of Songs 8:1. And where shall I not seek you? Where can I find you? And where can I not find you? You you you, you you —
אָי, װאוּ איך געה – דוּ! און װאוּ איך שטעה – דוּ! רַק דוּ, נאָר דוּ, װידער דוּ, אָבער דוּ — דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ!	אוֹי, אִם אֲנִי אֵלֵךְ – אַתָּה אִם אֲנִי נִשְׁאָר – אַתָּה רַק אַתָּה תָּמִיד אַתָּה פֹּה אַתָּה שָׁם אַתָּה — אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה!	Oy, if I go — You!^[2] cf. Megillat Yonah. If I stay — You! Only you. Always you. Here: You. There: You — You you you, you you!
איז עמעצן גוט – דוּ, חָלִילָה שלעכט – אָי, דוּ; אָי, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ! דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ־דוּ!	כְּשֶׁזֶּה טוֹב – אַתָּה כְּשֶׁזֶּה, חָלִילָה, רַע – אוֹי, אַתָּה; אוֹי, אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה! אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה!	When it’s good — You, [When it’s,] Heaven forfend, bad — Oy, you;^[3] cf. Birkat Yotser Ohr. A statement of non-duality. Oy! You you you you you you! You you you you you you you!
מִזְרָח – דוּ, מַעֲרָב – דוּ, צָפוֹן – דוּ, דָּרוֹם – דוּ! דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ!	מִזְרָח – אַתָּה, מַעֲרָב – אַתָּה, צָפוֹן – אַתָּה, דָּרוֹם – אַתָּה! אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה!	In the east: You. In the west: You. In the north: You. In the south: You! You you you You you you You you you!
שָׁמַיִם – דוּ אֶרֶץ – דוּ מַעְלָה – דוּ מַטֶּה – דוּ! דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ־דוּ־דוּ, דוּ דוּ דוּ!	שָׁמַיִם – אַתָּה אֶרֶץ – אַתָּה מַעְלָה – אַתָּה מַטֶּה – אַתָּה! אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה־אַתָּה־אַתָּה אַתָּה אַתָּה אַתָּה!	In the Heavens: You. On Earth: You. Above: You. Below: You! You you you You you you You you you You you you You you you!
װאוּ איך קער מיך און װאוּ איך װענד מיך – דוּ – דוּ!	לְאָן אֲנִי עוֹבֵר וּלְאָן אֲנִי חוֹזֵר – אַתָּה – אַתָּה!	Where I turn to, And where do I return to? You — you!

Set to music by Leo Low (1878-1960) and performed by Mordechai Hershman (1888–1940) in 1921, “A Dudele” is a song attributed to Rabbi Levi Yitshaq of Berditchev, which he sung during havdallah, and on Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur. The Diaspora Yeshiva Band adapted the song in Hebrew for their album Melave Malkah (1977). A direct antecedent for the panentheist concept of divinity expressed here can be found in a short prayer quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot by Bachya ibn Paquda (1050-1120) (see annotation below).

Source(s)

A Dudele of Rabbi Levi Yitshaq of Berditchev (lyrics included with the sheet music of Leo Low, 1921)

Recordings

Notes

Notes
1	cf. Proverbs 7:15. A short prayer on this theme in quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot by Bachya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says YHVH” (Jeremiah 23:24)). Note also, Song of Songs 8:1.
2	cf. Megillat Yonah.
3	cf. Birkat Yotser Ohr. A statement of non-duality.

Oh! Turn At Meek Devotion’s Call, a hymn on “Piety” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 20:18:53 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Oh! turn at meek devotion’s call From idle dreams of worldly power; Which flourishes awhile, to fall And perish, like an earth-born flower.
	Countless are pleasure’s bright decoys, Unwary mortals to ensnare; Faith beckons thee from barren joys, And points to her immortal sphere.
	Wouldst thou thy soul to God commend? Forsake the scene of heartless mirth; Seek those who weep without a friend, Bring wine and oil to suffering worth.
	Let piety direct thy choice, In all thy spirit’s high concerns; Then shall the pilgrim’s heart rejoice, Who in the “vale of tears” sojourns.

“Oh! turn at meek devotion’s call,” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Piety” as Hymn 24 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), p. 28. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Though Sorrows May be Multiplied, a hymn on “Obedience to the Will of God” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:50:01 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Though sorrows may be multiplied, And cares around thee throng, In Israel’s Guardian still confide, And lift thy voice in song.
	Wilt thou on gold or glory dote, Or covet pomp and power? Bubbles that on life’s current float, To break in one brief hour?
	Though health and competence be thine, And peace thy portion crown; Will thine ungrateful spirit pine, To reach at high renown?
	As well might stars rebellious turn From their allotted spheres; Ambitious of the solar urn, More bright and vast than theirs.
	Oh! not to question but obey The great Creator’s word, Was intellect’s transcendent ray On human dust conferred.
	Praise is the noble privilege, On man alone bestowed; Redeem, immortal soul, thy pledge, Extol the living God.

“Though sorrows may be multiplied,” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Obedience to the Will of God” as Hymn 27 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 30-31. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Man of the World! Wilt Thou Not Pause, a hymn on “Piety” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 02:55:25 +0000

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	Man of the world! wilt thou not pause, And give thy heart to heaven’s cause? In paths of interest wilt thou plod, Forgetful of the Lord thy God?
	Oh! turn away from life’s parade, Before thy soul hath been betrayed, From virtue’s eminence to stoop, And forfeit its eternal hope.
	What purer pleasures wouldst thou taste, Than are by piety embraced? What higher prize couldst thou obtain, Than thy Creator’s love to gain?
	The wealth and glory of the skies, Are won by generous sacrifice; By him who selfish joy foregoes, To mitigate another’s woes;
	Whose resignation calm and meek, Will humbly of God’s chastening speak; Whose soul from perjury is free, And worships but one deity.
	Man of the world! no gift of thine, Compares with mercy’s pledge divine, Which, pardon to each sinner yields, Whose spirit true contrition feels.

“Man of the world! wilt thou not pause,” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Piety” as Hymn 26 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 29-30. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

How Long Will Man In Pleasure Merged, a hymn on “Piety” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 02:39:16 +0000

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	How long will man in pleasure merged, Religion’s claims neglect? How long, by worldly interest urged, Her warning hints reject?
	Vain prodigal of precious time! Were mental gifts bestowed To waste in folly or in crime, Oblivious of thy God ?
	When surfeited with life’s repast, Its sweetness turned to gall, Thy conscience will be roused at last, And death thy soul appal.
	Will worshipers of gold then fly, Thy dying couch to cheer? Thy spirit’s cravings to supply, Will Mirth desert her sphere ?
	No! Piety forsaken long, Invoked with earnest zeal, Will even then forget her wrong, And answer thy appeal.
	But better, wiser far are all, Whose youth devoutly past, On heaven’s “great physician,” call With confidence at last.

“How long will man in pleasure merged,” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Piety” as Hymn 25 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 28-29. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Rebuke Me Not Nor Chasten Me (Psalms 38), a hymn on “Confidence in God” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 23:47:37 +0000

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	Psalms 38.
	Rebuke me not nor chasten me, In Thy displeasure, Lord! But let a frail transgressor be To virtue’s path restored.
	My heart like grass is withered up, Sorrow my strength destroys; Sin’s bitter drop within my cup, Life’s sparkling draught alloys.
	In vain my spirit seeks repose From all its worldly cares; Mine adversaries round me close, They compass me with snares.
	My friends and kinsmen stand aloof, And mock me from afar; My soul, untouched by their reproof, Turns to its guiding-star.
	For with unbroken trust will I, In Thee, my God, confide; Who deigns the meek to dignify, The arrogant to chide.

“Rebuke me not, nor chasten me (Psalm XXXVIII),” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Confidence in God” as Hymn 29 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 32-33. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Oh! How Shall Man With God Contend (Job 9), a hymn on “Obedience to the Will of God” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Ḳahal Ḳadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, South Carolina) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:27:39 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Job 9.
	Oh! how shall man with God contend, (Mighty in strength and wise of heart?) Or hope to prosper in his end, Who blindly plays so bold a part?
	Frail, finite, mortal! wouldst thou stand In judgment with the king of kings, Who can the rising sun command, To gather up his golden wings;
	Conceal his light, his course arrest, Seal up the stars, the heavens spread; Move mountains from their place of rest, And on the waves of ocean tread?
	Should I my righteousness rehearse, Or boast my constant rectitude? What perfect seemed, might prove perverse, When by the eye of heaven viewed.
	I will not reason or reply, But supplicate the judge supreme, My soul with hope to fortify, That I may bless his holy name.

“Oh! how shall man with God contend (Job Chap. IX),” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Obedience to the Will of God” as Hymn 28 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 31-32. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

אָכֵן ה׳ | Akhen Hashem, a baqashah of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira (ca. 1920s)

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 06:31:56 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אָכֵן ה׳, ”אֵל מִסְתַּתֵּר“ אַתָּה (ישעיה מה:טו). כׇּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ מַפְלִיאִים הֵם, אֲשֶׁר תִּקְצַר דַּעַת הָאָדָם מִלַּהֲבִינָם. אֲבָל הַפֶּלֶא הַגָּדוֹל, אֲשֶׁר מִשְׁתָּאֶה וּמִשׁתּוֹמֶמֶת אֲנִי עָלָיו – בְּיוֹתֵר, הוּא הַעֲלָמְךְ וְהֶסְתֵּרְךָ, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה מִסְתַּתֵּר מִפְּנֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד. הֲלֹא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ אַתָּה מָלֵא, בְּכׇל דּוֹמֵם, צוֹמֵחַ וְחַי כְּבוֹדֶךָ שׁוֹכֵן, וְאַף אֶת הַחֹמֶר מֵאַיִן בָּרָאתָ, וּמֵאֱלוֹקוּת גָּלִית. לָכֵן, כׇּל הַמְּצִיאוּת רַק הֶאָרַת מְצִיאוּתְךְ הִיא, וְגַם אֲנִי, כָּמוֹנִי – כְּמוֹהֶם, בִּלְתֶּךָ לֹא נִמְצֵאתִי, וְזוּלָּתֶךָ, אַיִן וְאֶפֶס אֲנִי. אַתָּה מַקִּיף וּמְמַלֵּא אוֹתָנוּ, וְאִם כׇּל זֶה, סְתוּמִים עֵינֵינוּ מִלִּרְאוֹתֶךָ, וּכְעִוְּרִים אָנוּ מְגַשְּׁשִׁים, וְשׁוֹאֲלִים – אַיֵּה מְקוֹם כְּבוֹדְךָ, אֲשֶׁר לֵית אַתָר דְּפָנוּי מִנָּךְ וְאֵין פִּנָּה וְזָוִית שֶׁלֹּא נִמְצֵאת בּוֹ.	Yes, it is true Hashem, you are the “El who hides.” (Isaiah 45:15) All of your ways are wondrous, and Man’s intellect is too limited to comprehend them. But the greatest wonder of all, about which I am most astounded and bewildered, is your hiddenness, your concealment with which you hide yourself from creation. Why, you fill heaven and earth, your Presence rests within every inanimate object, flora and fauna, and every living creature. You created physicality from Nothingness, revealed it from within your divinity. Therefore, all reality is but a ray of the Reality of you. I, too, am like the other creatures — without you, I would not exist. Without you, I am absolutely naught. You surround us, you fill us, and yet – we stumble around like the blind, and we ask, “Where is the place of your kavod?” — despite the fact that there is no place devoid of you, no corner or crevice where you are not to be found.
אָנָּא ה׳, אֵין סוֹף וְאֵין תַּכְלִית, לְעֵלָּא מִכׇּל שְׁמֳהֳן וְכִנּוּין, עָשִׂיתָ מַלְבּוּשׁ לִכְבוֹדְךָ וְקָרָאתָ אֶת שְׁמוֹ ”עוֹלָם“ — עוֹלָם אֲצִילוּת, בְּרִיאָה, יְצִירָה, עֲשִׂיָּה. וּבוֹ נִתְלַבַּשְׁתָּ וְנָכַסְתָּ. וְכֹה גָּדוֹל הַהֶסְתֵּר, עַד שֶׁיֵּשׁ אֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדָעוּךָ, וְרַבִּים מֵהֶם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכְּחוּ אֵיךְ הֵם שְׁקוּעִים תָּמִיד בְּאֱלוֹקוּתְךָ, אַף בְּשָׁכְבָם וּבְקוּמָם. וְלֹא יָדְעוּ שֶׁאַף בְּלֶכְתָּם בַּבָּיִת וּבַחוּץ, בְּתוֹך אֱלוֹקוּת הַמְּמַלֵּא אֶת כׇּל הָעוֹלָם וּמְלוֹאוֹ הֵם הוֹלְכִים.	Please, Hashem, Ein sof — Infinite One — with no end, you who are above all Names and titles. You created a garment for your kavod and called its name “world”; the worlds of Atsilut, Beriyah, Yetsirah, and Asiyah, with which you clothed and adorned yourself. The concealment is so great that there are people who do not know you. Many forget that they are constantly immersed in divinity, even when they awake and when they lay down to sleep. They do not know that even when they walk in their houses or in the street, they are in fact walking through your divinity that fills the entire world and everything in it.
אָנָּא ה׳ פּוֹקֵחַ עִוְרִים, (תהלים קמו:ח) פְּקַח נָא אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם וְלִבָּם וְיִרְאוּ כִּי אֵין עוֹד זוּלָתְךָ. לֹא בִּלְבַד שֶׁאֵין אֶלֹקִים זוּלָתְךָ, רַק שֶׁאֵין שׁוּם מְצִיאוּת כִּי אִם מְצִיאוּתְךָ. וְכׇל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם בָּעוֹלָם, הֵן בְּמַעֲשֶׂה, הֵן בְּדִּבּוּר וְהֵן בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה, הַכֹּל עִנְיָן עֲבוֹדָה אֱלֹקִית הִיא, ”וְאַל יִשְׁעוּ בְּדִבְרֵי שָׁקֶר“… (שמות ה:ט) וְאִם עוֹד לֹא זָכוּ לְהִיוֹת מֵרוֹאֵי פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, אָז אַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הֲבִינָם, עַד שֶׁיַּדְעוּ עכ״פ בְּדַעְתָּם שֶׁכׇּל הַהֶסְתֵּר הוּא רַק מִצִּדָּם.	Please Hashem, ‘Who opens the eyes of the blind’, (Psalms 146:8) open up their eyes and hearts and let them see that there is nothing aside from you. Not simply that there is no other divinity aside from you. But that there is no reality apart from the Reality of you. And that all of their deeds in this world, whether their actions, speech, or thoughts — everything is the work of divinity. “Let them not be swayed with words of falsehood”… (Exodus 5:9) And if they have not yet merited to be among those who frequent the king’s court, then you, in your great mercy, grant them understanding so that they should at least come to the awareness that the concealment is only subjective — from their side.
”אַתָּה נִגְלֵית בַּהֲדַר כְּבוֹדֶךָ“ עַל כׇּל הָעוֹלָם, וְרַק הֵם הַמֻּכִּיס בְּסַנְוֵרִים רוֹאִים אֶת הַהֶאָרָה הָאֱלֹקִית – לְעוֹלָם חָמְרִי. וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ לַנֶּאֱמָן בַּיִת ”כִּי לֹא יִרְאַנִי הָאָדָם“, (שמות לג:כ) הַחִסָּרוֹן הוּא רַק בְּאֲדָם, שֶׁהוּא אֵינוֹ רוֹאֶה אֶת הָאֱמֶת וְאֶת הָעוֹלָם הָרוּחָנִי וְאֶת הַהֶאָרָה אֱלֹקִית, רַק חֲמָרָיו. חָקוּק זֹאת עַל לוּחַ לִבָּם, וְיֵבוֹשׁוּ מִמְּךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אַף דְּבָרִים נְמוּכִים, לֹא לְבַד עֲבֵרוֹת. וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אַחַר קַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה, וּבְהַגְלוֹתְךָ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל יִשְׂרָאֵל ”וּבַעֲבוּר תִּהְיֶה יִרְאָתוֹ עַל פְּנֵיכֶם לְבִלְתִּי תֶחֱטָאוּ“ (שמות כ:י) – לֹא רַק מֵעֲבִירוֹת תִּתְרַחֲקוּ. אֶלָּא ”לְבִלְתִּי תֶּחֱטָאוּ“, אַף מִדְּבָרִים נְמוּכִים שֶׁאֵין חֶטְאָם מְפֹרָשׁ בַּתּוֹרָה, תִּשְׁמְרוּ ע״י הַבּוּשָׁה מִמֶּלֶךָ עוֹלָמִים.	“You revealed yourself with the splendor of your kavod“^[1] Adapting the text from the beginning of the Shofarot portion of the Rosh haShanah 1st day musaf, אַתָּה נִגְלֵיתָ בַּעֲנַן כְּבוֹדֶךָ (“You were revealed in Your cloud of glory”), a reference to the Theophany on Mt. Sinai. upon the entire world. It is only they, who are smitten with blindness, who perceive this divine revelation as a material world. It is as you said to Mosheh Rabbeinu, “for Man shall not see”; (Exodus 33:20) the lack is only “in man”, it is he who does not see the truth – the spirituality of the world and its divine illumination, only its materiality. Engrave this on their hearts and let them be ashamed to engage in lowly activities, let alone sinful behavior. As Mosheh Rabbeinu told am Yisrael after Ḳabbalat haTorah and your revelation before the nation, “in order so that awe shall be on your faces so that you shall not stray” (Exodus 20:10) — not only should they stay far away from aveirot, “so that you shall not stray”; you should even guard against lowly behaviors which are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, by way of your shame before the King of the world.
וְגַם לִי עַבְדְּךָ (פב״פ), תִּכְלֹל בִּישׁוּעַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְגַם עָלַי יִזְרַח אוֹרְךָ וּקְדֻשָּׁתְךָ שֶׁאַתָּה מֵאִיר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בָּנֶיךָ, וְאֶזְכֶּה לְמְצֹא אֶת אָבִי שֶׁהִתְחַבֵּא מִמֶּנִּי. וְכֵן תְּעוֹרֵר בְּטוּבְךָ אֶת נַפְשִׁי, רוּחִי וְנִשְׁמָתִי, שֶׁיִּתְלַהֲבוּ וְיִתְפַּעֲלוּ תָּמִיד בִּתְשׁוּקִין וְכִסּוּפִין נִגְלִים לְךָ, ה׳. כִּי זֶהוּ הַיְּסוֹד וְהָעִקָּר, לְהַעֲבִיר עֵינַי מַרְאוֹת שָׁוְא (עי” תהלים קיט:לז), וִיקֻיַּם בִּי ”וְהָיוּ עֵינֶיךָ רֹאוֹת אֶת מוֹרֶיךָ“ (עי” רש״י במדבר כג:כג). אָמֵן	And so for me, your servant (insert your name, son of your mother’s name here), let me be included in the salvation of am Yisrael. Shine also upon me your Light and Holiness, which you shine upon all of your children, Yisrael. And let me merit to find my Father who is hiding from me. And so, in your Goodness, awaken my heart, my spirit, and my soul, that I should be in a state of rapture and wonder, constantly yearning with revealed longing toward you, Hashem. For this is the foundation and the primary principle, “avert my eyes from seeing folly.”^[2] Cf. Psalms 119:37. And let the verse be fulfilled through me, “and your eyes should behold your Teacher”^[3] Cf. Rashi on Numbers 23:23. . Amen.

This is a prayer offered by the Piacezna Rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira (1889-1943) and likely written down sometime in the 1920s before it was printed among other letters and writings in his sefer Derekh haMelekh (1931). The prayer, vocalized from the 2011 Feldheim edition and translated into English, was circulated online via the Lost Princess Initiative of Rabbi Yaakov Klein (Eilecha) beginning 25 May 2023. At his Facebook page, Rabbi Klein writes,

A few Shabbosim ago, I was learning from sefer Derech HaMelech from the Piacezner Rebbe Hy”d and found a letter the tzaddik wrote to the boys in his yeshiva. In that letter, he records a tefillah which he encourages them to say regularly. As I read this prayer, I felt something so deep inside of my neshama. I wanted to share that experience with all of you, and so I have done my best to translate it here.

For the prayer in its original context, find מאמר חינוכי שנכתב לתלמידי הישיבה תלמיד ותיק (“Lectures, Articles and Epistles, Essay on Education”) as published in Derekh haMelekh. (I found it in both the Feldheim edition from 2011 and in the 1991 editions published.) The exact date is not provided in the letter containing the prayer. If you know an exact date for this prayer or any other contextual information concerning it, please leave a comment, or contact us.

I have transcribed the text of the prayer from the graphic and set the translation side-by-side with its corresponding phrase in a linear style, making several small changes to the translation, replacing “Glory” with kavod and ‘G-dliness’ with ‘divinity.’ I have also added a few biblical citations that had not before been provided. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Baqashah of the Esh Qodesh (Yaakov Klein/Eilecha, May 2023)

Baqashah – Derekh haMelekh (K.K. Shapira ca 1920s, Feldheim 2011) p. 635

Baqashah – Derekh haMelekh (K.K. Shapira ca 1920s, Feldheim 2011) p. 636

Notes

Notes
1	Adapting the text from the beginning of the Shofarot portion of the Rosh haShanah 1st day musaf, אַתָּה נִגְלֵיתָ בַּעֲנַן כְּבוֹדֶךָ (“You were revealed in Your cloud of glory”), a reference to the Theophany on Mt. Sinai.
2	Cf. Psalms 119:37.
3	Cf. Rashi on Numbers 23:23.

Daily Revelation, a paraliturgical taḥanun (CCAR 1923)

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:16:02 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night revealeth knowledge. There is no speech, there are no words, neither is their voice heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalms 19:2-5)
	Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with glory and majesty. Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layest the beams of Thine upper chambers in the waters, who makest the clouds Thy chariot, who walkest upon the wings of the wind; who makest winds Thy messengers, the flaming fire Thy ministers. (Psalms 104:1-4)
	There are men who boast of their deeds, doing little and saying much. There are men who, when they work, sound loud bells so that the report of their goodness be heard afar. To such, the heavens have no voice. The revelations of nature cannot be easily heard during the day when men move noisily about in their daily work. But in the evening when men sit in silence, the voice of the heavens may be heard. (adapted from Aqedat Yitsḥaq Ⅰ, 13b by Isaac Arama)
	When the soul meditates upon the greatness of His might and His transcendent power, it bows before Him in awe and trembling. Then fear gives way to trust in Him, until the soul finds rest from all its terrors, and longs for the cup of God’s love seeking to unite with Him in faith and yearning. (from Duties of the Heart, “Tenth Treatise on Devotion to God 1.8, by Bachya ibn Pekudah)
	We frequently realize that it is only the surface of life that we see; that our daily observations touch only a superficial aspect of nature and of the life of men; that (in) back of the obvious manifestations of our world, are deeper laws which seem to escape us. We seem to know instinctively that behind the pettiness of men, there are evidences of their divinity; that above the clamor of the crowds may be heard the voice of humanity; beyond the pain of death is the promise of immortality; and in the endless motion of nature’s machinery, lies the power of its Master, the God of the Universe.
	We are vaguely aware of the spiritual laws imbedded in the plan of life, but we do not easily perceive them. For while obvious facts sound loudly in our ears, the soul of the world rests in silence. It does not clamor for our attention; there is no sound of it; its voice is not easily heard. The material facts of the world obtrude themselves upon us, but in order to find the spirit of the universe, we must earnestly seek. We must not expect sudden revelations. Indeed great truths frequently come in a flash of light, but only to those who have been bravely groping in the darkness.
	God is within and all about us,^[1] a clear statement of panentheism yet we plod on in the daily round of life unaware of ever-present divinity. But if we summon our power to search for Him in our own experiences, in the souls of men, in the mysteries of nature, He will graciously cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us,^[2] Cf. Numbers 6:25 and we will perceive at last, if only faintly, all of nature revealing His glory, the heavens to the earth, the east unto the west, and day unto day.
	Lord of all worlds, the heaven is Thy throne; Thou inhabitest eternity. Far beyond our feeble sight, Thou dwellest in majesty.
	O God of knowledge, Thou hast implanted within us a sense of Thy presence. Though we see Thee not, Thou hast taught us to search for Thee. Though in infinite distances Thou art enthroned, our humble earth is Thy footstool. Though Thou dwellest afar, Thou hast assured us that Thou wilt be near if we call unto Thee in truth.
	O keep Thou within our frail hearts the thirst to know Thee. May we never falter till we find the living waters of Thy presence. Grant us the strength to seek Thee with prayer and thanksgiving. Send us forth to search for Thee in all Thy universe. Enhearten us with the hope that if we call Thee, Thou wilt be near; if we seek Thee we will find Thy presence.
	Divine Source of light and truth, bless Thou our blinded sight. Grant a vision of Thee to those who yearn for Thy presence, so that familiar things may be transfigured for us, that we hear the melody of nature endlessly chanting of Thee, the silent speech of day unto day, and behold the revelations of the heavens declaring Thy glory,^[3] Cf. Psalms 19:2-4 Amen.

“Daily Revelation” is found early on in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 19-21. Unfortunately, we do not yet know of a resource providing clear attribution to any of the prayers in this volume. The author was likely one of the members of the Committee on Book of Meditations and Prayers: Solomon B. Freehof, Israel Bettan, Abraham Cronbach, Morris S. Lazaron, and Abram Simon.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	a clear statement of panentheism
2	Cf. Numbers 6:25
3	Cf. Psalms 19:2-4

Man Is Here for the Sake of Others, by Albert Einstein (1930) as excerpted by Rabbi Morrison David Bial

Morrison David Bial — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 01:25:35 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Strange is our situation here upon earth.
	Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.
	From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know:
	That Man Is Here for the Sake of Other Men… above all, for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.
	Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.

“Man Is Here for the Sake of Others,” a short excerpt from a longer essay by Albert Einstein, was included by Rabbi Morrison David Bial in his collection of supplemental prayers and texts for personal prayer and synagogue services: An Offering of Prayer (Temple Sinai of Summit, New Jersey, 1962).

The full text of Einstein’s essay appeared under the title “What I Believe” in Forum and Century 84 (October 1930), no. 4, p. 193-194. David E. Rowe and Robert Schulman (in Einstein on Politics 2007, p. 226) note, “The text was reproduced several times under the title ‘The World as I See It,’ most notably in Mein Weltbild and Ideas and Opinions, and in 1932 the German League of Human Rights released a phonograph recording of Einstein reading a slightly variant version entitled ‘Confession of Belief.'”

Source(s)

הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶךָּ | Where We Can Find Yah, a prayer-poem inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali (Song Offerings, 1912) by Eugene Kohn (1945)

Eugene Kohn — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 08:25:19 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
	Where We Can Find Yah
יָהּ אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. כְּבוֹדְךָ מָלֵא עוֹלָם׃ (ר’ יהודה הלוי — “יָהּ, אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ“)	Yah, where shall I find you, Whose kavod fills the universe?^[1] From the piyyut, “Yah Anah Emtsa’akha” by Rabbi Yehudah Halevi. Cf. Baḥya ibn Pakuda in his מחשבת ישראל, חובות הלבבות, שער ראשון – שער ייחוד, י׳ (Duties of the Heart, First Treatise on Unity 10.67). ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך (ירמיהו כ״ג:כ״ד) את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא נאם ה׳. “It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth says YHVH’ (Jeremiah 23:24).” (Many thanks to Aryeh Sklar for his identification of the piyyut via this statement by ibn Pakuda.
הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. בַּאֲשֶׁר הַחוֹרֵשׁ חוֹרֵשׁ אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה הַקָּשָׁה. בַּאֲשֶׁר הַחוֹצֵב מְנַפֵּץ אֲבָנִים. בַּאֲשֶׁר הָאָדָם בְּזֵעַת אַפָּיו מוֹצֵא לַחְמוֹ. בְּחִדְלֵי חֶֽבֶר עִם הָעֲנִיִּים וְהַשְּׁפָלִים וְהָאוֹבְדִים. עִמָּם אַתָּה בְּשָׁרָב וּבְמִטְרוֹת עֹז׃	Behold, I find you Wherever the ploughman ploughs his furrow through the hard soil, Wherever the quarryman pounds the stone to gravel, Wherever man earns his bread by the sweat of his brow. In the company of the friendless, the afflicted, the lowly, the lost,^[2] Cf. Gitanjali canto 10 There you abide in sun and shower.^[3] Cf. Canto 11.
הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הַתְּבוּנָה חָפְשִׁית לְרוּחָהּ. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יוֹצְאִים הַדְבָרִים מִמַּעֲמַקֵי הָאֱמֶת. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר שׁוֹלַֽחַת מַשְׂאַת־הַנֶּֽפֶשׁ אֶת־זְרוֹעוֹתֶֽיהָ בְּלִי מַעֲצוֹר אֶל כׇּל־שָׁלֵם. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הָאָדָם נִלְחָם לְצֶֽדֶק וּלְחֵירוּת. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הַחוֹקֵר יָגֵֽעַ לַחְשֹׁף מִסְתְּרֵי עוֹלָמֶֽךָ. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הַמְשׁוֹרֵז חוֹרֵז לפְּנִֽינֵי־יֹֽפִי. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר מַעֲשִׂים נַעֲלִים יֵעָשׂוּ׃	Behold, I find you Wherever the mind is free to follow its own bent, Wherever words come out from the depth of truth, Wherever tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection,^[4] Direct quotation of the fourth and fifth lines of Gitanjali‘s canto 35. Note that the Hebrew translation by David Frishman is also directly quoted. Wherever men struggle for freedom and right, Wherever the scientist toils to unbare the secrets of nature, Wherever the poet strings pearls of beauty in lyric lines, Wherever glorious deeds are done.
הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. בִּתְרוּעוֹת גִּיל הַיְלָדִים בְּשַׁעֲשׁוּעֵיהֶם. בְּזִמְרַת הָאֵם הַמְטַלְטֶֽלֶת אֶת־עוֹלָלָהּ בָּעָֽרֶשׂ. בַּשֵּׁנָה הַנּוֹפֶֽלֶת עַל־עֵינֵי עוֹלָל. וּבַשְּׂחוֹק הָרוֹעֵד עַל־שְׂפָתָיו מִדֵּי יָשְׁנוֹ׃	Behold, I find you In the merry shouts of children at play, In the lullaby the mother sings, rocking her baby to sleep, In the slumber that falls on the infant’s eyelids, And in the smile that plays on his sleeping lips.^[5] Cf. cantos 60 and 61.
הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. בְּבוֹא הַבֹּֽקֶר עִם טֶֽנֶא זְהָבוֹ. וּבְבוֹא הָעֶֽרֶב וַהֲבִיאוֹ שָלוֹם וּמְנוּחָה מִיַּם הַמְּנוּחָה בַּמַּעֲרָב. בַּחֶדְוָה הַזּוֹרֶֽמֶת מִן הַשָּׁמַֽיִם עִם אוֹר הַבֹּֽקֶר. בְּזִמְרַת הַחַיִּים הַשּׁוֹטֶֽפֶת יוֹם וָלַֽיְלָה בְּתוֹךְ גִידַי וּבְתוֹךְ הַיְקוּם. בַּחַיִּים הַדּוֹפְקִים בֶּעֱלִיצוּת גִּיל בְּקֶֽרֶב עֲפַר הָאֲדָמָה. בְּתוֹךְ טַרְפֵי עֵֽשֶֹב אֵין מִסְפָּר. וּמִשְׁתַּפְּכִים בַּהֲמוֹן גַלִּים סוֹעֲרִים בְּתוֹךְ עַלִים וּפְרָחִים׃	Behold, I find you When comes the dawn with her golden cornucopia, Or when evening falls, bringing peace and rest from the Western ocean of rest.^[6] Cf. Canto 87 You are in the joy that streams from heaven with the morning light, In the current of life that courses day and night through my sinews and through all nature, In the life that throbs exultant in the dust of the earth and through the blades of grass innumerable, And that flows, in a multitude of tempestuous waves, through the leaves and flowers.^[7] Cf. Canto 69
הִנֵּה שָׁם אֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ. בַּעֲתֶֽרֶת הַחֶדְוָה אֲשֶׁר תַּחֲלֹף וְתִגְוַע וְתָמוּת כָּל־רֶֽגַע. בְּדֹֽפֶק הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם הַמְפַזֵּז גַּם בְּקֶֽרֶב דָּמִי. בַּלֵּדָה הַמְחַדֶּשֶׁת תָּמִיד אֶת־הַ‎דּוֹרוֹת. וּבִדְפֹק הַמָּֽוֶת עַל־דַּלְתֵי הַחַיִּים׃	Behold I find you In the wealth of those passing delights that live but for a moment, In the pulsebeat of a life that comes from eternity and dances in my own blood,^[8] Cf. Canto 69 In birth that keeps renewing the generations, And in death that keeps knocking on the doors of life.
אֱלֹהַי. מַלְּאֵֽנִי תָמִיד חַיִּים חֲדָשִׁים׃ תֶּן־לִי כֹֽחַ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־בְּשָׂרִי לְמַֽעַן יִטְהַר מִּכׇּל־כֶּֽתֶם מִכׇּל־נֶעְקַשׁ בְּחַיַּי. וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מִכׇּל־כָּזָב׃ גָּרֵשׁ כׇּל־רָע מִקֶּֽרֶב לִבִּי. וְהַרְחֵק גָּאוֹן מֵרוּחִי. תֶּן־לִי בִינָה לִמְצֹא אוֹתְךָ בְּכׇּל־מִפְעָלַי. וְהָיוּ חַיַּי נְכוֹנִים וִישָׁרִים. כִּי יָדַֽעְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה הוּא הַמְאַזְּרֵֽנִי כֹֽחַ לְמַֽעַן אֶפְעָל׃	O my elo’ah, Fill me ever with new life. Give me strength to keep my body pure Of all stain and perversion, And my mind of all illusion. Banish all evil from my heart, And remove all pride from my spirit. Grant me discernment that I may discover you in all my achievements, That my life be ready and at your disposal, For I know that it is you who girds me with the power to achieve.
אֱלֹהַי. תֶּן־לִי כֹֽחַ לְבִלְתִּי הַזְנִֽיחַ לְעוֹלָם דָּל. וּלְבִלְתִּי כָפוֹף בִּרְכַּי לִפְנֵי עָרִיץ גְבַה־רוּחַ. תֶּן־לִי כֹֽחַ לְנַשֵּׂא אֶת־רוּחִי מֵעַל־תַּעְתּוּעֵי יוֹם וָיוֹם. לָשֵׂאת עַל־נְקַלָּה אֶת־חֶדְוָתִי וְאֶת־דַּאֲגָתִי. וּלְהַסְגִּיר אֶל חֶפְצְךָ אֶת־כׇּל־כֹּחִי בְּאַהֲבָה. תֶּן־לִי כֹֽחַ לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ עַל־כׇּל־מוֹשָׁב דָּל. עַל־כׇּל־חֵֽלֶק חַיִּים קָטָן. כִּי רַבּוֹת הַמַּתָּנוֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתַֽתָּ לִּי. אֶת־הַשָּׁמַֽיִם וְאֶת־הָאוֹר. אֶת־בְּשָׂרִי זֶה. וְאֶת־הַחַיִּים וְאֶת־הַנְּשָׁמָה. אוֹצְרוֹת אֵין עֲרוֹךְ. אוֹצְרוֹת חַיִּים וָחֶֽסֶד׃	O my elo’ah, Give me the strength never to desert the helpless, Never to bend the knee before a haughty tyrant. Enable me to live my life above the vanities of the daily round, To bear serenely joyous and anxious moments, And in love to devote all my powers to doing your will. Give me the ability to thank you for even the poorest dwelling, For even the most meagre portion in life; For abundant are the gifts you have given me: The sun, and the light, and this my flesh, Life and the soul — Treasures invaluable, treasures of life and love.

The prayer-poem “Where We Can Find God” first appears in Hebrew with English translation by Eugene Kohn in the Sabbath Prayer Book (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1945). It is not entirely clear who composed the prayer-poem; by way of attribution, the editors of the Sabbath Prayer Book only write that it was “adapted from passages in David Frishman’s [Hebrew] translation of [Rabindranath] Tagore’s Gitanjali” (see p.570). Several lines in the poem can indeed be found in Frishman’s translation of Gitanjali from English to Hebrew. (Gitanjali‘s translation into Hebrew, published in 1922, was one of the final works David Frishman (also Frischmann, 1859-1922) completed in his lifetime.)

Tagore’s Gitanjali (Song Offerings) is comprised of 103 “songs” or cantos. I’ve provided notation indicating which of Tagore’s songs in Gitanjali have inspired lines and stanzas in “Where We Can Find God.”

I am nearly certain that “Where We Can Find God” was composed by Eugene Kohn. Tagore’s canto 35 includes the lines, “Wherever words come out from the depth of truth / Wherever tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection” and David Frishman’s Hebrew translation has בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יוֹצְאִים הַדְבָרִים מִמַּעֲמַקֵי הָאֱמֶת. בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר שׁוֹלַֽחַת מַשְׂאַת־הַנֶּֽפֶשׁ אֶת־זְרוֹעוֹתֶֽיהָ בְּלִי מַעֲצוֹר אֶל כׇּל־שָׁלֵם. In “Where We Can Find God” the Source (Hebrew) has the exact wording of Frishman while Kohn’s Translation (English) provides the exact wording from Tagore’s canto 35. My conclusion is that since the author of “Where We Can Find God” was equally familiar with Gintanjali’s original English and David Frishman’s translation, it makes sense to see that the listed translator, Eugene Kohn, was also the prayer-poem’s author.

The prayer-poem has been incorrectly attributed at least twice. First in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s An Offering of Prayer where it is attributed directly, albeit “freely adapted” to Tagore. Chaim Stern in his own translation appearing in Gates of Prayer (1975 CCAR Press) seems to attribute the prayer to David Frishman: “Page 659: “Lord where can I find You? You glory fills the world…” Translation by Chaim Stern from David Frischmann’s Hebrew version of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali. Cf. Chaim Stern’s earlier translation in Service of the Heart [1967] pp. 225ff. and Eugene Kohn’s translation in Recontructionist Sabbath Prayer Book [1945], pp. 342-9.”

I have made some very light editing to “Where We Can Find God,” mainly to replace ‘Thee,’ ‘Thy’, and ‘Thou’ with ‘you’ and ‘your.’ And I have also made other subtle changes to bring the English translation closer to the Hebrew. –Aharon N. Varady.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	From the piyyut, “Yah Anah Emtsa’akha” by Rabbi Yehudah Halevi. Cf. Baḥya ibn Pakuda in his מחשבת ישראל, חובות הלבבות, שער ראשון – שער ייחוד, י׳ (Duties of the Heart, First Treatise on Unity 10.67). ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך (ירמיהו כ״ג:כ״ד) את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא נאם ה׳. “It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth says YHVH’ (Jeremiah 23:24).” (Many thanks to Aryeh Sklar for his identification of the piyyut via this statement by ibn Pakuda.
2	Cf. Gitanjali canto 10
3	Cf. Canto 11.
4	Direct quotation of the fourth and fifth lines of Gitanjali‘s canto 35. Note that the Hebrew translation by David Frishman is also directly quoted.
5	Cf. cantos 60 and 61.
6	Cf. Canto 87
7	Cf. Canto 69
8	Cf. Canto 69

Prayer — On Seeking for God, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)

Morrison David Bial — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 02:53:33 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Our Father, sometimes it seems to us as though Thou art far away, far beyond the reaching of our mind or heart, as though neither prayer nor wishing could ever reach Thee even faintly. Yet we know that Thou art ever with us, and it is only our preoccupations with ourselves that hobble and diminish us and keep us distant from Thee.
	Hast Thou not said: “If with all your hearts you truly seek Me, ye shall ever surely find Me.” (Jeremiah 29:13) Indeed, Thou art more willing to be found than we are to seek.
	Help us to become aware that Thy spirit and inspiration are always near. Help us to realize that Thou desirest the good of man and not his evil, that every soul is to Thee a wondrous creation, everyone of us a dear, beloved child of Thine; that if we will only learn to turn to Thee, we will find answer in Thy zeal and mighty acts.
	Like children striving to learn their lessons to be readied for mature life, so may we strive to learn to know Thee and Thy nearness so that we may make ourselves capable of the spiritual life of Thy world.

“Prayer — On Seeking for God” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 22, from where this prayer was transcribed.

Source(s)

Hashem is Everywhere! — a song by Rabbi Yosef Goldstein (1972)

Yosef Goldstein — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 04:59:21 +0000

In The History and Varieties of Jewish Meditation (1996) Mark Verman mentions a particular custom, now obscure, described in Rabbi Abraham b. Isaac of Narbonne’s Sefer ha-Eshkol (ca. 12th c.) of nodding one’s head in the six cardinal directions while reciting the opening verse of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4). I’ve taken on this practice with several piyyutim in mind, the oldest being Yehuda haLevi’s Ana Emtsaeka, and the most recent being this children’s song introduced to me in pre-school by Moreh Reba Sharfstein (to whom I am forever grateful!), my earliest introduction to the alef-bet and panentheist thought within Judaism and Ḥassidut. In the instructions for the song, pointing is an essential part of its performance. I had forgotten this! In searching for the original recording of the song and its accompanying story I not only rediscovered (for myself) these instructions, but also learned that along with the six directions, it was integral to recognize a seventh direction by pointing inward towards one’s self. In so doing, one explicitly affirms the idea of the divine within ourselves and implicitly, in each other.

I have here transcribed Rabbi Yosef Goldstein’s introduction to the story, “Where is Hashem?” framing the song “Hashem is Everywhere!”^[2] This seems to be the informal, popular title for the song, as given on the liner notes of the second album in the series (מדות טובות Jewish Ethics Through Story and Song vol. 1, no. 2, Menorah Records 1972). There is no title given for the song on the cover and liner notes of the album on which it originally appears. Only the name of the framing story is provided there. as well as his instructions for reciting the song, which begins as follows:

A wise man was once asked, “Can you tell me, where is God?” To this he answered, “Can you tell me where he is not?”^[3] This question is almost certainly referencing Yehudah haLevi’s 12th century piyyut Ana Emtsaeka. A short prayer on this theme is quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot (Duties of the Heart, First Treatise on Unity 10:69) by Baḥya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says Hashem (Jeremiah 23:24)”). Find also Proverbs 7:15 and Song of Songs 8:1.

God is everywhere. Yes, dear children, God is everywhere. True, we cannot see him. He is invisible, but he is everywhere. He fills the world and surrounds it too.^[4] This idea is foundational within speculative Jewish thought from the piyyut Anim Zemirot through Zohar III:225a (Raya Mehemna, Parshat Pinchas) to the Schneur Zalman of Lyadi’s Tanya and Rebbe Naḥman’s Likutei Moharan. In the Zohar, the phrase is: מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין וְסוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין.

Oh what a lovely feeling to know that God is at all times and in all places together with us. He is looking over us with an ever watchful eye. He protects us and blesses us with all good.

Translation (Yiddish)	Source (English)
	Don’t forget to point to the corners as you sing the song. As you say “Up up,” you point upwards. As you say “Down down,” you point downwards and so on. And remember, when you say “Here, there, and everywhere,” you first point to yourself, and then make a big circle and point everywhere.^[5] In the story Rabbi Goldstein uses to frame the song, the child singing the song and pointing shares the following insight with his mother, “I just learnt in the Torah that Hashem blew a soul, a neshamah, into Adam, the first man, and that made him alive. So that means that we have a neshamah, a soul which is a part of God. God blew it into us and it keeps us alive. So, the seventh place to point to is to myself. I have a part of God right in me.” Find Genesis 2:7, and the development of the Jewish belief in a pintele yid. On the history of this idea, the scholar Rabbi Louis Jacobs (1920-2006) writes: “The belief that there is a special mystical ‘spark’ in every human breast can be traced back, in western mysticism, at least to Jerome in the fourth century. Both Bonaventura and Bernard of Clairvaux speak of this mystical organ; the latter, calling it scintillula, a small spark of the soul, and speaking of the nearness of God, said: ‘Angels and archangels are within us, but He is more truly our own who is not only with us but in us.’ However, both these mystics are anxious to prevent an identification of this mystical spark with the divine. Eckhart, on the other hand, embraces the identification, calling the spark, among other endearing names, das Kleidhaus Gottes, ‘the house in which God attires Himself ’. This and other pantheistic tendencies in Eckhart’s thought were condemned in the papal Bull of 1529…” (in “The Doctrine of the ‘Divine Spark’ in Man in Jewish Sources” Studies in Rationalism, Judaism and Universalism, ed. Raphael Loewe (Humanities: 1966) 87-114.) For those more familiar with Quaker theology than Ḥassidut, they might recall a similar belief shared by George Fox (1624-1691). Elsewhere, one can find the idea of the pintele yid associated (or conflated) with the idea of the tselem Elohim of Genesis 1:26-27 rather than the animating breath of Genesis 2:7.
ה׳ איז דא ה׳ איז דארט ה׳ איז באמת אומעטום	Hashem is here Hashem is there Hashem is truly everywhere (×2)
אױבּן אױבּן אונטן אונטן רעכט לינקס און אין אַלע ערטער דאָ, דאָרט און אומעטום ס׳איז װוּ מ׳קען ה׳ געפינען.	Up up Down down Right left And all around Here, there, and everywhere That’s where he can be found. (×2)

The pedagogical song “Hashem is Everywhere!” by Rabbi Yosef Goldstein (1928-2013) can be found in the context of his story, “Where is Hashem?,” the second track on his album מדות טובות Jewish Ethics Through Story and Song (Menorah Records 1972). To the best of my limited abilities, I have added a Yiddish translation. Please offer corrections, improvements, or additional translations. (Leave a comment or contact us.) Many thanks to Baruch Thaler for his improvements!

We have not yet been able to determine whether the song was originally published along with the album, or whether the notes to the album were, themselves, registered with the Copyright Office. No copyright notice appears on the album cover, a requirement for materials receiving copyright at the time of its publication. Since the copyright status of this work is ambiguous at best, we are invoking the rarely used Fair Use declaration under which this sort of content may still be shared, dina malkhuta dina, in the United States, for non-commercial, scholarly, and educational purposes only. However, we should stress, this work may indeed already be in the Public Domain due to the lack of a copyright notice on the album cover on which the work was published.

One last point. While we don’t know (yet) how long this song existed before it was recorded, I believe that the phrase “here, there, and everywhere” helps to date it to after the Beatles’s album Revolver (1966), as the fifth track, “Here, There, and Everywhere,” by Paul McCartney became very well established. It would be lovely to learn whether the line “Here, there, and everywhere” in “Hashem is Everywhere!” was inspired by (or composed in response to) any work by the Beatles. For a song whose explicit theme is directly related, find George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” from Sgt. Pepper (1967). –Aharon Varady

Recordings

https://archive.org/download/where-is-hashem-yosef-goldstein-1972/Where%20is%20Hashem%20-%20Yosef%20Goldstein%20%281972%29.mp3

Source(s)

Midot Tovot- Jewish ethics through story and song (Yosaif Goldstein 1972) – verso cover

Midot Tovot- Jewish ethics through story and song vol. 1 no. 2 (Yosef Goldstein 1972) – verso cover

Notes

Notes
1	Find “An Ancient Meditation,” in The History and Varieties of Jewish Meditation (Mark Verman 1996), pages 151-160.
2	This seems to be the informal, popular title for the song, as given on the liner notes of the second album in the series (מדות טובות Jewish Ethics Through Story and Song vol. 1, no. 2, Menorah Records 1972). There is no title given for the song on the cover and liner notes of the album on which it originally appears. Only the name of the framing story is provided there.
3	This question is almost certainly referencing Yehudah haLevi’s 12th century piyyut Ana Emtsaeka. A short prayer on this theme is quoted in Ḥovot haLevavot (Duties of the Heart, First Treatise on Unity 10:69) by Baḥya ibn Paquda (1050-1120): ונאמר על קצת מן החכמים שהיה אומר בתפלתו אלהי אנה אמצאך אך אנה לא אמצאך נסתרת ולא תראה והכל ממך מלא. דומה למה שאמר יתברך אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ירמיהו כג:כד) (It is said of one of the Sages who would say in his prayer: “My elo’ah, where can I find you, yet where can I not find you. You are hidden and invisible yet everything is filled with you, similar to the verse “‘Do I not fill heaven and earth,’ says Hashem (Jeremiah 23:24)”). Find also Proverbs 7:15 and Song of Songs 8:1.
4	This idea is foundational within speculative Jewish thought from the piyyut Anim Zemirot through Zohar III:225a (Raya Mehemna, Parshat Pinchas) to the Schneur Zalman of Lyadi’s Tanya and Rebbe Naḥman’s Likutei Moharan. In the Zohar, the phrase is: מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין וְסוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין.
5	In the story Rabbi Goldstein uses to frame the song, the child singing the song and pointing shares the following insight with his mother, “I just learnt in the Torah that Hashem blew a soul, a neshamah, into Adam, the first man, and that made him alive. So that means that we have a neshamah, a soul which is a part of God. God blew it into us and it keeps us alive. So, the seventh place to point to is to myself. I have a part of God right in me.” Find Genesis 2:7, and the development of the Jewish belief in a pintele yid. On the history of this idea, the scholar Rabbi Louis Jacobs (1920-2006) writes: “The belief that there is a special mystical ‘spark’ in every human breast can be traced back, in western mysticism, at least to Jerome in the fourth century. Both Bonaventura and Bernard of Clairvaux speak of this mystical organ; the latter, calling it scintillula, a small spark of the soul, and speaking of the nearness of God, said: ‘Angels and archangels are within us, but He is more truly our own who is not only with us but in us.’ However, both these mystics are anxious to prevent an identification of this mystical spark with the divine. Eckhart, on the other hand, embraces the identification, calling the spark, among other endearing names, das Kleidhaus Gottes, ‘the house in which God attires Himself ’. This and other pantheistic tendencies in Eckhart’s thought were condemned in the papal Bull of 1529…” (in “The Doctrine of the ‘Divine Spark’ in Man in Jewish Sources” Studies in Rationalism, Judaism and Universalism, ed. Raphael Loewe (Humanities: 1966) 87-114.) For those more familiar with Quaker theology than Ḥassidut, they might recall a similar belief shared by George Fox (1624-1691). Elsewhere, one can find the idea of the pintele yid associated (or conflated) with the idea of the tselem Elohim of Genesis 1:26-27 rather than the animating breath of Genesis 2:7.

After the weekday Amidah, a prescription for taḥanun from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:56:26 +0000

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	After the Amidah, it is important to find a moment to search your heart and conscience. If you find something that needs repair, make your commitment to do so, and ask for the grace to fulfill that tikkun.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included this prescription in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). –Aharon N. Varady

Source(s)

An Untitled Prayer for Shaḥarit on days without Taḥanun after Psalms 15, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 03:31:33 +0000

Contribute a translation	Translation (English)
	Dear God, We take delight in the privilege To be created for Your glory — Not to walk about in confusion; To feel in us, Your implant of eternal life.
	Open our hearts to Your Torah. Secure in our hearts, Love and Awe for You. May we not waste our lives Or cause discord.
	We plead with You, Yah, Our God, Support of our Parents, That in this life We may be faithful to Your intent. And that we may live, To experience The days of Mashiaḥ, And the life of the world to come.
	To trust in You, Yah, Is our blessing. I will keep chanting in Your honor, And offer my gratefulness, And not be silent.
	Yah will prove trustworthy. Yah shaped the worlds, We can stake our trust on this. Knowing how to call on You, We can depend on You.
	You never abandoned those Who sought You, Yah.
	This is true because— You, Yah, desire this.
	In order that Your justice prevail, You extend the Torah, To be ever more Compelling and strong.

Source(s)

In his Siddur Tehilat Hashem Yedaber Pi (2009), this untitled teḥinah appears just below Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 15 (recited on joyful and celebrative days when Taḥanun is not recited) and just above the Psalms of the Day section. We are not certain whether this teḥinah is an original prayer by Reb Zalman, a translation of an existing teḥinah found for Taḥanun, or a composite of teḥinot found in the Taḥanun service.