## Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 1 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/1) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** **SHIR HAYIḤUD – Song of God’s Oneness** Originally a single song, now divided into seven, known as the Song of Oneness because of its dominant theme, the unity of God through all manifestations, revelations and intimations. Attributed to Rabbi Samuel the Pious, whose son, Rabbi Judah, composed the Hymn of Glory, *Anim Zemirot*. It is one of the great creations of the *Ḥasidei Ashkenaz*, the pietistic and mystical movement that flourished in northern Germany in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in such centers as Regensburg, Speyer, Worms and Mainz. These were communities that suffered persecution and massacres during the Crusades. The concept of *Kiddush HaShem*, martyrdom, giving one’s life for God, played an important part in their experience and thought. Their religious experience, as evidenced by their writings, was intense, shot through with yearning for God and for the life of holiness. Their ethical teachings are contained in *Sefer Ḥasidim*, *The Book of the Pious*, composed by Rabbi Judah, which emphasizes “humility for the sake of Heaven” and an elevated life in search of spiritual perfection. In some communities the Song faced opposition because of its dense imagery and daring anthropomorphisms, most notably on the part of Rabbi Shlomo Luria in sixteenth-century Poland. Many communities recited it in its entirety only on *Kol Nidrei* night. Others, dividing it into seven, said a section each day, completing it in the course of a week. Many communities, however, say the appropriate daily section in the morning services of the High Holy Days. ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 2 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/2) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** אָשִֽׁירָה וַאֲזַמְּרָה *I shall sing and make music.* A lyrical poem on the inadequacy of any offering to express thanks for the wonder of our existence as finite creatures of the Infinite God. Besides, we have no Temple any more. The priests, the sacrifices, the daily worship of the Sanctuary in Jerusalem, are gone. All each of us can do is to “build an altar out of my shattered heart.” ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 65 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 65](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/65) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** וַאֲנִי עַבְדְּךָ *And I am Your servant*. No words can do justice to God’s greatness as Architect of the universe and Shaper of history. We are Your people, Your children, Your witnesses. ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 114 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 114](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/114) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** אָמְנָם יָדַֽעְתִּי Indeed, I know. You, God of eternal life, give life to all, and know the inner secrets of all. Because You exist beyond all boundaries, we, bounded in space and time, can never fully fathom Your greatness or power. ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 193 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 193](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/193) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** אֲרוֹמֵם I shall exalt. The poet evokes God’s protective power using a series of vivid images drawn from Tanakh: God is Husband, Master, Champion, Shelter, Creator, Redeemer, Judge and Warrior. He is like an eagle, a leopard, a lion, a gazelle, a hart, a bird sheltering its young; like a tall cedar, an apple tree, myrrh and henna. The poet pours out his love for God, “my Promise, my Hope…, my Praise, my Glory, my Strength.” ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 298 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 298](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/298) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** מִי כָמֽוֹךָ *Who is like You?* A hymn to the intricate wisdom with which God created and sustains the world. God transcends all categories of space and time. All things fade; God alone is eternal, transcendent, undiminished, everlasting. ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 375 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 375](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/375) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** אַתָּה לְבַדְּךָ You alone. A creation hymn, which evokes the language and imagery of Psalm 104 and other biblical passages describing God’s wisdom and greatness as evident in nature. ###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 422 [Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Yom Kippur Evening, Shir HaYichud 422](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Yom%20Kippur%20Evening,_Shir%20HaYichud/r/422) **English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:** אָז בַּיּוֹם *Long ago*. A summary of God’s kindness to the Israelites, expressing the hope for redemption, the ingathering of exiles and the restoration of the Temple service.