אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז)‏ | Adōn Olam (Rabbinical Assembly & United Synagogue of America, 1946)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=36076

Date: 2021-03-12

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

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

Tags: 11th century C.E., 49th century A.M., ABCB rhyming scheme, cosmological, Openers, rhyming translation, אדון עולם Adon Olam, חתימות ḥatimot (concluding prayers), פיוטים piyyutim

Excerpt: The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּטֶֽרֶם כׇּל־יְצִיר נִבְרָא׃ לְעֵת נַֽעֲשָׂה כְּחֶפְצוֹ כֹּל אֲזַי מֶֽלֶךְ שְׁמוֹ נִקְרָא׃	Lord of the world, the King supreme, Ere aught was formed, He reigned alone. When by His will all things were wrought, Then was His sovereign name made known.
וְאַֽחֲרֵי כִּכְלּוֹת הַכֹּל לְבַדּוֹ יִמְלֹךְ נוֹרָא׃ וְהוּא הָיָה וְהוּא הֹוֶה וְהוּא יִֽהְיֶה בְּתִפְאֲרָה׃	And when in time all things shall cease, He still shall reign in majesty. He was, He is, He shall remain All-glorious eternally.
וְהוּא אֶחָד וְאֵין שֵׁנִי לְהַמְשִׁיל לוֹ לְהַחְבִּירָה׃ בְּלִי רֵאשִׁית בְּלִי תַּכְלִית וְלוֹ הָעֹז וְהַמִּשְׂרָה׃	Incomparable, unique is He, No other can His Oneness share. Without beginning, without end, Dominion’s might is His to bear.
וְהוּא אֵלִי וְחַי גּֽוֹאֲלִי וְצוּר חֶבְלִי בְּיוֹם צָרָה׃ וְהוּא נִסִּי וּמָנוֹס לִי מְנָת כּוֹסִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא׃	He is my living God who saves, My Rock when grief or trials befall, My Banner and my Refuge strong, My bounteous portion when I call.
בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי בְּעֵת אִישַׁן וְאָעִֽירָה׃ וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי אֲדֹנָי לִי וְלֹא אִירָא׃	My soul I give unto His care, Asleep, awake, for He is near, And with my soul, my body, too; God is with me, I have no fear.

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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 10 line (5 stanza) version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (Sefaradi siddurim have 12 line (six stanza) variants, and there are some with 14 or 15 lines.) The translation appearing here is as found on page 41 of the Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book (1946), compiled by the Rabbinical Assembly & United Synagogue of America and adapted from a manuscript by Rabbi Morris Silverman.

Source(s)

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Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Morris Silverman
  Bio: Rabbi Morris Silverman (1894–1972) was a Conservative rabbi as well as an editor and writer of Jewish prayer books. In 1939, he edited the High Holiday Prayer Book, popularly known as the "Silverman Machzor" which became the official prayer book for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for the United Synagogue of America of the Conservative Movement for over half a century.Likewise, his manuscript for a siddur became the basis of the Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book (Seder Tefilot Yisrael), the official prayer book for the Conservative movement. Silverman served as rabbi for The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Silverman
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/morris-silverman
• 
  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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Title: 1024px-Observable_universe_logarithmic_illustration
Caption: "Observable Universe Logarithmic Illustration" by Pablo Carlos Budassi, a CC BY-SA licensed logarithmic scale conception of the observable universe with the Solar System at the center, inner and outer planets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Alpha Centauri, Perseus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda galaxy, nearby galaxies, Cosmic Web, Cosmic microwave radiation and Big Bang's invisible plasma on the edge.