כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyuṭ by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.)

Adam Zagoria-Moffet (translation) — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 16:48:06 +0000

“Kol B’ru-ei” is a piyyut by the 11th century poet and philosopher, Shlomo ibn Gabirol. Like many Hebrew liturgical poems, it is written as an acrostic. The first letters of the second through the fifth stanzas spell out the poet’s name, Shlomo. The reference to the thirty two paths of wisdom first appear in one of the oldest Jewish mystical texts, Séfer Yətsirah. There, these pathways are made up of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the first ten digits, and undergird the architecture of creation.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי מַעְלָה וּמַטָּה יְעִידוּן יַגִּידוּן כֻּלָּם כְּאֶחָד ה׳ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד	All creatures, above and below Testify and proclaim as one; “YHVH is one and their Name is one.”
שְׁלוֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם נְתִיבוֹת שְׁבִילָךְ לְכָל־מֵבִין סוֹדָם יְסַפְּרוּ גָדְלָךְ מֵהֶם יַכִּירוּן כִּי הַכֹּל שֶׁלָּךְ וְאַתָּה הָאֵל הַמֶּלֶךְ הַֽמְּיֻחָד	Your way is made of thirty-two paths; All who understand their mystery, proclaim your greatness; From them, they know that all is yours, You are El, majestic one.
לְבָבוֹת בְּחָשְׁבָם עוֹלָם בָּנוּי יִמְצְאוּ כָל־יֵשׁ בִּלְתְּךָ שָׁנוּי בְּמִסְפָּר בְּמִשְׁקָל הַכֹּל מָנוּי כֻּלָּם נִתְּנוּ מֵרוֹעֶה אֶחָד	Minds in contemplation find a world created; Everything is created, in pairs but you. By number and measure, all is counted, But through only one Shepherd, all was given.
מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד סוֹף יֵשׁ לְךָ סִמָּן צָפוֹן וָיָם וְקֶֽדֶם וְתֵימָן שַֽׁחַק וְתֵֽבֵל לְךָ עֵד נֶֽאֱמָן מִזֶּה אֶחָד וּמִזֶּה אֶחָד	Your signs are everywhere, Beginning and End, North, South, East and West. Heaven and Earth are faithful witnesses; Together they are, “One.”
הַכֹּל מִמְּךָ נִזְבַּד זָבוֹד אַתָּה תַֽעֲמֹד וְהֵם יֹאבְדוּ אָבוֹד לָכֵן כָּל־יְצוּר לְךָ יִתֵּן כָּבוֹד כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד־סוֹף הֲלֹא אָב אֶחָד׃	Everything is yours, a gift to cherish You exist eternally, while humans perish. Therefore all creatures to you give respect From end to beginning, is there not one Principle?

This translation of Kol Berué, by Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet, was first published in his Siddur Masorti (Izzun Books 2019). I have made subtle changes in the translation. While Adam has “parent” for ‘av’ as a gender-neutral choice, I prefer “principle” following the meaning of ‘avot’ in the Sefer Yetsirah. Instead of “You are a singular sovereign ruler,” I prefer “You are El, majestic one.” All other differences in punctuation or capitalization are comparably minor. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyuṭ by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

David de Aaron de Sola (translation) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:56:49 +0000

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי מַעְלָה וּמַטָּה יְעִידוּן יַגִּידוּן כֻּלָּם כְּאֶחָד ה׳ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד	All created beings, celestial and terrestrial, Testify and declare, with unanimous sound, That the Lord is ONE, His name the only ONE.
שְׁלוֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם נְתִיבוֹת שְׁבִילָךְ לְכָל־מֵבִין סוֹדָם יְסַפְּרוּ גָדְלָךְ מֵהֶם יַכִּירוּן כִּי הַכֹּל שֶׁלָּךְ וְאַתָּה הָאֵל הַמֶּלֶךְ הַֽמְּיֻחָד	Interminable^[1] Heb. Thirty-two, according to a cabalistical system in the Book Yetsirah. I have, however, rendered it more according to the spirit than to the letter. are Thy wisdom’s paths. They who penetrated their mystery can alone relate Thy greatness. They acknowledge that all are derived from Thee, And that Thou art the only God and King!
לְבָבוֹת בְּחָשְׁבָם עוֹלָם בָּנוּי יִמְצְאוּ כָל־יֵשׁ בִּלְתְּךָ שָׁנוּי בְּמִסְפָּר בְּמִשְׁקָל הַכֹּל מָנוּי כֻּלָּם נִתְּנוּ מֵרוֹעֶה אֶחָד	When the mind contemplates the world’s structure, It finds all but Thee subject to corruption and change; That everything was numbered and weighed by Thee;^[2] i.e. their quantity and quality were fixed and determined at their creation. And that all derive their existence from One eternal source.
מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד סוֹף יֵשׁ לְךָ סִמָּן צָפוֹן וָיָם וְקֶֽדֶם וְתֵימָן שַֽׁחַק וְתֵֽבֵל לְךָ עֵד נֶֽאֱמָן מִזֶּה אֶחָד וּמִזֶּה אֶחָד	In every extreme of the universe Thou hast established determined signs. North, West, East and South, Heaven and Earth, Attest Thy almighty power on every side.
הַכֹּל מִמְּךָ נִזְבַּד זָבוֹד אַתָּה תַֽעֲמֹד וְהֵם יֹאבְדוּ אָבוֹד לָכֵן כָּל־יְצוּר לְךָ יִתֵּן כָּבוֹד כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד־סוֹף הֲלֹא אָב אֶחָד׃	Their order and union were fixed by Thee; They all must perish, and Thou alone remain. Let, therefore, every creature ascribe glory unto Thee, Since Thou alone, O Father, existent eternally.

This translation of “Kol Beruei” by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857).

Recordings

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	Heb. Thirty-two, according to a cabalistical system in the Book Yetsirah. I have, however, rendered it more according to the spirit than to the letter.
2	i.e. their quantity and quality were fixed and determined at their creation.

tagged: כל ברואי kol beruei • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶקְט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyuṭ by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.)

Source(s)

כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyuṭ by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)

Recordings

Source(s)