My Master, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare Your praise.

THE VIRTUE OF OUR FOREFATHERS

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

our God, and God of our fathers,

God of Avraham, God of Yitzchak,

and God of Yaakov,

the Almighty,

the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome,

most high Almighty,

Who bestows beneficent kindness,

Who possesses everything,

Who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs,

and Who brings a redeemer

to their children’s children,

for the sake of His Name, with love.

Invoking the doctrines

of our wise and understanding Sages,

and with the teachings [acquired]

from their perceptive intuition,

I open my mouth in prayer and supplication

to plead and seek favor

before the presence of the King,

the King of kings—

the Master of masters.

Remember us for life

King, Who desires life;

and inscribe us in the Book of Life,

for Your sake, Living God.

King, Helper, and Deliverer and Shield.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Shield of Avraham.

DIVINE MIGHT

You are mighty forever, my Master;

You are the Resurrector of the dead

the Powerful One to deliver us.

Sustainer of the living with kindliness,

Resurrector of the dead with great mercy,

Supporter of the fallen,

and Healer of the sick,

and Releaser of the imprisoned,

and Fulfiller of His faithfulness

to those who sleep in the dust.

Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds,

and who can be compared to You?

King Who causes death and restores life,

and causes deliverance to sprout forth.

Who is like You merciful Father,

Who remembers His creatures for life,

in His mercy.

And You are faithful

to restore the dead to life.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Resurrector of the dead.

Adonoy will reign forever;

your God, Tziyon, throughout all generations!

Praise God.

And You, Holy One,

are enthroned upon the praises of Yisrael.

Almighty, we beseech You.

Almighty of truth, as You prepare judgment

Should you exact the full measure of justice,

who would be [found] righteous

before You, in judgment?

[You are the] Holy One.

If not for His sake will He act

and remove [His] fierce anger and wrath,

it is useless to examine [our conduct]

to find meritorious deeds.

[You are the] Holy One.

And thus He was King in Yeshurun.

Most high King!

Almighty, Who dwells on high,

mighty One on high,

His strong hand is uplifted.

Forever will He reign, our most high King!

He is mighty among the holy host,¹

footnotes: ¹ See Shmuel I 19:20. The author may have substituted the word לְהָקִים for לַהַקַת which means company or host. See Rashi and Metsudas Tziyon.

He decrees and fulfills,

He reveals deep things.²

footnotes: ² See Job 12:22. מְגַלֶה עַמֻקו‍ֹת מִנִי חשֶׁךְ.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

[He is] the One Who speaks

with righteousness,

[He is] the One garbed with righteousness,

[He is] the One Who gives ear

to the cry [of prayer].

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

He remembers the Patriarchs,³

footnotes: ³ The word צוּר is found in Yeshaya in reference to Avraham. “Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” Thus צוּרִים, rocks, refers to the Patriarchs. See Yeshaya 51:1-2.

and He confers merit on [His] creatures,

He is angered by the enemies [of His people].

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

Good is He Who dwells eternally

His goodness is eternal,

He spans the eternal heavens.⁴

footnotes: ⁴ Yeshaya 48:13.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

Garment-like, He is enwrapped in light,

[He created] all the light-giving luminaries,

He is grand and enlightened.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

He is King for all times,

He reveals hidden things,

He gives speech to the mute.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

He upholds everything,

He is Ancient and outlasts everything,

He observes everything.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

His glory is mighty,

the work of His right hand is mighty,

He is the Redeemer and He is mighty.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

His holy [angels] are like flaming fire,

He calls the waters of Rahav⁵

footnotes: ⁵ Rahav is the name given to the angel-lord of the sea. (See Maseches Baba Basra 74b.)

He is near to all who call upon Him in love

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

There is no sleep for Him,

serenity abounds among His angels,⁶

footnotes: ⁶ The word פְּנִינָיו refers to Hashem’s angels, who serve Him in His innermost sanctuary, לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים.

excellent praise [for the righteous]

is hidden away among His secrets.

Forever will He reign, our most high King.

Wretched [mortal] king!

He decays and descends to the grave,

into the lower world and beneath,

he toils without satisfaction.

How long will he reign,

this wretched king?

Sleep overtakes him;

deep slumber overcomes him,

[he is] crushed with desolation.

How long will he reign?

But the most high King — His power is forever,

His glory is forever,

His praise endures forever,

forever will He reign.

And thus unto You

may [our saying of] the Kedushah ascend,

for You our God are King.

There is a famous legend behind this stirring prayer as recorded in the thirteenth century work, Ohr Zerua, by Rabbi Yitzchak of Vienna. In the section dealing with laws of Rosh Hashana (Section 276), he writes, “I found a letter from Rabbi Ephraim of Bonn, in which he wrote that Rabbi Amnon of Mayence authored the וּנְתַנֶּה תֹּקֶף as a result of a tragic incident in his life.” This is the story as recorded in the letter:

Let us describe

the great holiness of this day,

for it is awesome and frightening.

On this day, Your Kingship is uplifted,⁷

footnotes: ⁷ His Kingship is uplifted through our saying of “מַלְכֻיּו‍ֹת—זִכְרו‍ֹנו‍ֹת—שׁו‍ֹפָרו‍ֹת” and the sounding of the shofar.

and Your throne is established with kindness,⁸

footnotes: ⁸ Hashem rules with kindness.

and You sit upon it in truth.⁹

footnotes: ⁹ See Yeshaya 16:5. Truth in this sense might refer to Hashem’s permanence (Metsudas Dovid) or to Hashem’s love of truth (Malbim).

True that You are judge,

admonisher, knower and witness;

and You inscribe, seal, record and count,

and recall all forgotten things.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ Forgotten things refer only to things we may have forgotten, for there is no forgetfulness before Hashem.

You open the book of records

and it reads of itself;

and the signature of every man is in it.

A great shofar is sounded,

and a silent, gentle voice is heard;

and the angels are alarmed,

pangs of fear and trembling seize them,¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ See Job 4:18, “הֵן בַּעֲבָדָיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וּבְמַלְאָכָיו יָשִׂים תָּהָלָה” Behold! He puts no trust in His servants, and His angels, He charges with foolishness.”

and they declare,

“behold the Day of Judgment.”

The heavenly host is arraigned in judgment,

for they are not guiltless in Your eyes

in judgment.¹²

footnotes: ¹² See Job 15:16, “הֵן בִּקְדו‍ֹשָׁיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וְשָׁמַיִם לֹא זַכּוּ בְעֵינָיו” Behold! “He puts no trust in His holy ones, and even those in the heavens [angels] are not guiltless in His eyes.”

All mankind pass before You

like young sheep.¹³

footnotes: ¹³ See Mishnah, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:2. “All mankind passes before Hashem to be judged individually, like young sheep who pass through a small opening in the corral as they are counted for tithing. Bartenura

As a shepherd inspects his flock,

making his sheep pass under his rod,

so do You cause to pass, count, number,

and review the soul of every living being,

determining the life-span of every creature;

and You record the decree of their judgment.

On Rosh Hashana their decree is inscribed,

and on Yom Kippur it is sealed,¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁴ This formula of judgment is only for those who are considered בֵּינו‍ֹנִים, neither righteous nor wicked. The truly righteous are inscribed and sealed for life on Rosh Hashana, and the wicked also receive their full verdict on Rosh Hashana. Thus it is only the בֵּינו‍ֹנִי, one in between, who is given time until Yom Kippur to mend his ways and be judged for life. Talmud Yerushalmi, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:3.

how many will pass away

and how many will be created,

who will live and who will die;

who will come to his timely end,

and who to an untimely end;

who will perish by fire and who by water;

who by the sword and who by beast;

who by hunger and who by thirst;

who by earthquake and who by the plague;

who by strangling and who by stoning;

who will be at rest

and who will wander about;

who will have serenity

and who will be confused;

who will be tranquil

and who will be tormented;

who will become poor

and who will become wealthy;

who will be brought to a low state

and who will be uplifted.

But repentance, and prayer and charity

annul the evil decree.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁵ This is based on Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis 44:13.

For as Your Name, so is Your praise,¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁶ See Tehillim 48:11. This refers to His Name, described in the thirteen attributes of Hashem.

You are slow to anger and easy to pacify;¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ See Maseches Avos 5:1.

For You do not desire death [for the sinner]

but that he turn from his evil way and live.¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ See Yechezkel 18:32, 18:23.

And even until his dying day,

You wait for him—

if he repents, You immediately accept him.

True, You are their Creator,

and You know their impulse

that they are [but] flesh and blood.

Man, his beginning is from dust

and ends in dust;

risking his life, he gets his bread,

he is like a potsherd that is breakable,

like grass that withers,

like the flower that fades,

like the shadow that passes,

like the cloud that vanishes,

like the wind that blows,

like the dust that flies,

and like a fleeting dream.

But You are the King,

the Almighty, the living and everlasting God.

There is no end to Your years

and there is no limit

to the length of Your days.

Immeasurable

are the chariots of angels who glorify You,

and there is no way to describe

Your imperceptable Name.

Your Name is fitting for You,

and You are worthy of Your Name;

and our name,

You have called by Your Name.¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁹ The name יִשְׂרָאֵל, the name by which we are called contains the Name of Hashem, יִשְׂרָ־אֵל.

Act for the sake of Your Name,

and sanctify Your Name

through those who hallow Your Name.²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ This refers to the Jewish people who recite the kedusha, sanctification, twice each day.

For the sake of Your glorious Name,

which is reverenced and sanctified,

with the mystic speech

of the holy serafim

who sanctify Your Name in the Sanctuary.

Those who dwell on high [the angels]

unite with those who dwell on earth,

to proclaim

the three-fold sanctification;

in [Your] Sanctuary

as it is written by the hand of Your prophet,

“And they called one to another and said: