אֱלֹהִים יִסְעָדֵנוּ | Elohim Yisadenu, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=41992
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2022-01-24
Last Updated: 2025-03-11
Categories: Se'udah haShlishit, Motsei Shabbat
Tags: 12th century C.E., 50th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, זמירות zemirot, פיוטים piyyuṭim
Excerpt: This translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of "Elohim Yisadenu" by a paytan named Avraham (possibly Avraham ibn Ezra) was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). . . .
Content:
| Source (Hebrew) |
Translation (English) |
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אֱלֹהִים יִסְעָדֵנוּ
בְּרָכָה בִּמְאַדֵּנוּ,
וְזֶבֶד טוֹב יִזְבְּדֵנוּ
בְּכׇל מִשְׁלַח יָדֵינוּ
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May God support us,
bless our substance,
And endow with His bounty
the work of our hands.
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בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן לִמְלָאכָה
יְצַו אִתָּנוּ בְּרָכָה
וְיוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי כָּכָה
יַמְתִּיק אֶת סוֹדֵנוּ
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On the first working day
may we experience His blessing,
and also on the second day
may He cause our counsel to prosper.
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רַבֵּה צְבָאֵי יִשְׁעִי
בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי וּבָרְבִיעִי
בַּחֲמִישִׁי אַךְ לֹא בְּעִי
יִשְׁלַח אֶת פּוֹדֵנוּ
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May His aid continue and increase
on the third and fourth days,
and on the fifth — but without terror —
may He send our Redeemer!
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הָכֵן טְבוֹחַ טֶבַח
בְּיוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי זֶבַח
קֹדֶשׁ הִלּוּל וָשֶׁבַח
עַל כׇּל מַחְמַדֵּנוּ
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On the sixth day
the cattle was slaughtered and prepared.
It is celebrated with sanctification, praise and thanksgivings,
for the choice blessings vouchsafed unto us.
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מַעֲדַנִּים לְנַפְשֵׁנוּ
נִתֵּן בְּיוֹם קָדְשֵׁנוּ
וְרַעֲנָנָה עַרְשֵּׂנוּ
וְלַיְלָה אוֹר בַּעֲדֵנוּ
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May we, on our holy Sabbath,
experience delight for our souls.
“May our couch be ever verdant,”
and night’s gloom be made lucid unto us.
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This translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of “Elohim Yisadenu” by a paytan named Avraham (possibly Avraham ibn Ezra) was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857).
Source(s)
Contributor: David de Aaron de Sola (translation)
Co-authors:
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Name: David de Aaron de Sola (translation)
Bio: David de Aaron de Sola or David Aaron de Sola (1796 – 1860) (Hebrew: דוד אהרן די סולה) was a rabbi and author, born in Amsterdam, the son of Aaron de Sola. In 1818, D.A. de Sola was called to London to become one of the ministers of the Bevis Marks Congregation under Haham Raphael Meldola (who would also later become his father-in-law). De Sola's addresses before the Society for the Cultivation of Hebrew Literature led the mahamad (board of directors of the congregation) to appoint him to deliver discourses in the vernacular, and on March 26, 1831, he preached the first sermon in English ever heard within the walls of Bevis Marks Synagogue (all previous ones being spoken in Spanish or Portuguese). His discourses were subsequently published by the mahamad. Of his style, one observer wrote: "Though a scholar and a thinker, yet he...used the most unpedantic terms and assumed a quiet, colloquial manner.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_de_Aaron_de_Sola
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/david-de-aaron-de-sola-translation
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Name: Avraham ibn Ezra
Bio: Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם בֶּן מֵאִיר אִבְּן עֶזְרָא ʾAvraham ben Mēʾīr ʾībən ʾĒzrāʾ, often abbreviated as ראב"ע; Arabic: إبراهيم المجيد ابن عزرا Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra; also known simply as Ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167) was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela in northern Spain.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_ibn_Ezra
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/avraham-ibn-ezra
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Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription
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