אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by David de Aaron de Sola, 1836)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=51563

Date: 2023-06-11

Last Updated: 2025-05-09

Categories: Bedtime Shema, Morning Baqashot, Arvit l'Shabbat, Musaf l'Shabbat

Tags: 11th century C.E., 19th century C.E., 49th century A.M., 57th century A.M., cosmological, Nusaḥ Sefaradi, rhyming translation, אדון עולם Adon Olam, פיוטים piyyuṭim

Excerpt: Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by David de Aaron de Sola was transcribed from his prayerbook Seder haTefilot vol. 1 (1836), p. 122. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃ לְעֵת נַֽעֲשָׂה כְּחֶפְצוֹ כֹּל אֲזַי מֶֽלֶךְ שְׁמוֹ נִקְרָא׃	Lord over all! whose power the sceptre swayed, Ere first Creation’s wondrous form was framed, When by his will Divine all things were made; Then, King, Almighty was His name proclaimed!
וְאַֽחֲרֵי כִּכְלּוֹת הַכֹּל לְבַדּוֹ יִמְלֹךְ נוֹרָא׃ וְהוּא הָיָה וְהוּא הֹוֶה וְהוּא יִֽהְיֶה בְּתִפְאֲרָה׃	When all shall cease — the universe be o’er, In awful greatness he alone will reign, Who was, who is, and who will evermore In glory most refulgent still remain.
וְהוּא אֶחָד וְאֵין שֵׁנִי לְהַמְשִׁיל לוֹ לְהַחְבִּירָה׃ בְּלִי רֵאשִׁית בְּלִי תַּכְלִית וְלוֹ הָעֹז וְהַמִּשְׂרָה׃	Sole God! unequalled, and beyond compare, Without division or associate; Without commencing date or final year, Ominpotent He reigns in awful state.
בְּלִי עֵֽרֶךְ בְּלִי דִמְיוֹן בְּלִי שִׁנּוּי וְהַתְּמוּרָה׃ בְּלִי חִבּוּר בְּלִי פֵרוּד גְּדׇל־כֹּחַ וְהַגְּבוּרָה׃	To him, no like, no equal e’er can be; He, without change or substitute remains, Without divisibleness or adjunct, he In highest might and power supremely reigns.
וְהוּא אֵלִי וְחַי גּֽוֹאֲלִי וְצוּר חֶבְלִי בְּיוֹם צָרָה׃ וְהוּא נִסִּי וּמָנוֹס לִי מְנָת כּוֹסִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא׃	He is my God! my living Savior he! My sheltering Rock in sad misfortune’s hour! My standard, refuge, portion, still shall be, My lot’s Disposer when I seek his power.
בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי בְּעֵת אִישַׁן וְאָעִֽירָה׃ וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי אֲדֹנָי לִי וְלֹא אִירָא׃	Into his hands my spirit I consign Whilst wrapped in sleep, that I again may wake: And with my soul, my body I resign; The Lord with me, — no fears my soul can shake.

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Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by David de Aaron de Sola was transcribed from his prayerbook Seder haTefilot vol. 1 (1836), p. 122.

Source(s)

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  Name: Shlomo ibn Gabirol
  Bio: Solomon ibn Gabirol (also Solomon ben Judah; Hebrew: שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול‎ Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول‎ Abu Ayyub Sulayman bin Yahya bin Jabirul, Latin: Avicebron or Avencebrol) was an 11th-century Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics, and satire.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_ibn_Gabirol
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/shlomo-ibn-gabirol

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