בִּרְכָּת גָּאַל יִשְׂרָאֵל | Emet v'Emunah, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=29411

Date: 2020-01-21

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

Categories: Birkat Ga'al Yisrael for Ma'ariv/Arvit

Tags: blessings following the shema, אמת ואמונה Emet v'Emunah, ברכת גאל ישראל birkat ga'al yisrael, געולה ge'ulah (redemption)

Excerpt: The first of two blessings following the shema in the evening, rendered by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in his English "praying translation." . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
	It is true, and we believe it… That You are our redeemer. I am awed when I recall the miracles, And the help you gave me. You kept my spirit alive. You kept me from stumbling. In the past, You helped our people. We all accepted You, As our leader, And vowed to follow Your lead. With Moshe, Miriam, And all Israel, We sang to You… Mi Kamokha ba’elim Y-ah Mi Kamocha ne’dar bakodesh Nora’ t’hillot ‘Osseh fele’ And we continue To celebrate You, As Redeemer of Israel.
	You, Yah, Who saved our ancestors, May You Soon bring redemption To us also. Barukh attah Yah Ga’al Yisrael. [Blessed are you, YHVH, redeemer of Yisrael.]

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Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of Emet v’Emunah, the first blessing following the recitation of the Shema in the evening 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 phrases comprising the prayer. –Aharon N. Varady

Source(s)

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Contributor: Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation)
  Bio: Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zalman_Schachter-Shalomi
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/zalman-schachter-shalomi-translation
• 
  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