Almighty,

Master over all [created] works,

blessed [is He]²²

footnotes: ²² Hashem is the source of all blessing, and is blessed even without the blessing of man.

and He is blessed by the mouth of every soul.

His greatness and goodness fill the world,

perception and understanding

surround Him.

He is most high, over the holy chayos,²³

footnotes: ²³ Chayos are angels which exist eternally, unlike other angels which exist for short periods for specific functions.

and adorned in glory above the chariot;²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ The “chariot” refers to the retinue of angels at their positions in heaven.—Siddur HaGra

merit and uprightness are before His throne,

kindness and mercy are before His glory.²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ First the prayer mentions merit and uprightness, the qualities that man must acquire and live by and then it mentions kindness and mercy, the attributes with which Hashem conducts the world of man.—Avudraham

Good are the luminaries

which our God created

He formed them with perception,

understanding, and wisdom,

strength and power He put into them,

to be rulers²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ See Bereishis 1:16.

within the inhabited world.

Full of luster and radiating brightness,

beautiful is their luster throughout the world,

joyous in their rising

and happy in their setting,

they perform with reverence,

the will of their Possessor.

Glory and honor, they give to His Name,²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ The steadfastness of their orbits and the efficiency of their functions testify to Hashem’s creation and providence. Thus they reflect honor and glory to His Name.—Avudraham

jubilation and joyous song

at the mention of His Kingship.

He called to the sun and it shone with light,

He saw and fashioned²⁸

footnotes: ²⁸ Hashem saw that mankind would one day worship the sun and therefore created the moon to diminish the influence of the sun as a total force.—Avudraham

the form of the moon.

Praise [they] give Him, all hosts on high,

glory and greatness [are given Him by]

the serafim, the ofanim and the holy chayos.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁹ Ofanim, chayos and serafim refer to various classes of angels.—Avudraham

To the Almighty,

Who rested from all the creation.

On the Seventh Day, He elevated Himself³⁰

footnotes: ³⁰ Hashem elevated Himself above everything He created during the six days of creation.

and sat upon the throne of His honor.

With glory He enwrapped Himself³¹

footnotes: ³¹ This sentence is based on the verse: ה' מָלָךְ גֵאוּת לָבֵשׁ—Adonoy has begun His reign He has clothed Himself with majesty (Tehillim 93:1).

for the day of rest,

a delight, He called the Sabbath Day;

this is the praise of the Seventh Day—

that on it, the Almighty rested

from all His work.

The Seventh Day [itself] offers praise and says:

“A Psalm, a song by the Sabbath Day:

‘It is good to give thanks to Adonoy.’”³²

footnotes: ³² When man is rested from his everyday tasks and freed from everyday problems, he is able to thank Hashem for all His blessings.

Therefore glorify and bless the Almighty

all beings that He has formed;

praise, honor and greatness

will they give to the Almighty, King,

Creator of all,

Who apportions rest

to His people Yisrael, in His holiness

on the holy Shabbos Day.

Your Name, Adonoy, our God

will be sanctified,

and Your mention, our King, will be glorified

in the heavens above and on the earth below.

Be blessed, our Deliverer

for the praiseworthy work of Your hands

and for the light-giving luminaries

which You made

—that will glorify You, Selah.

Be blessed, our Former,³³ our King,

footnotes: ³³ Some render צוּרֵנוּ “our Rock.” The Gaon of Vilna, however, maintains that it refers to Hashem as our Creator, thus describing Him in the tri-epochal aspect of His Unity: past, present, and future. He was our Creator, He is our King, and He will be our Redeemer.

and our Redeemer—Creator of holy beings.³⁴

footnotes: ³⁴ These are the Jewish People, who are sanctified in body and soul. The word Creator implies a creation of real substance—the Jewish People rather than angels.—Gaon of Vilna

Praised be Your Name forever, our King,

Who forms ministering angels;

and Whose ministering angels

all stand at the height of the Universe,

and proclaim with reverence, in unison aloud

the words of the living God,

King of the Universe.

All of them are beloved,³⁵

footnotes: ³⁵ Beloved—there is no envy, jealousy or rivalry among them. Pure—they have no selfish or ulterior motives; they serve Hashem with all their being.—Siddur HaGra

all of them are pure,

all of them are mighty;

and all of them perform

with awe and reverence

the will of their Possessor.

And they all open their mouths

in holiness and purity,

with song and music,

and they bless, and praise, and glorify,

and revere, and sanctify,

and proclaim the sovereignty of—

the Name of the Almighty, the King,

the Great, the Mighty, the awesome One;

holy³⁶ is He.

footnotes: ³⁶ Despite the attributes we use to describe Him, He remains holy—beyond our conception.

And they all take upon themselves

the yoke³⁷ of Divine sovereignty

footnotes: ³⁷ The yoke of Divine Sovereignty is borne willingly and joyfully by each creature as an emblem of his free service to Hashem.—S.R. Hirsch

one from the other,

and give leave to one another³⁸

footnotes: ³⁸ They take care not to precede one another in their praise of Hashem. On the contrary, each says to the other, “You begin, because you are greater and more worthy than I.”—Avos of R’ Nosson

to sanctify their Former

in a spirit of serenity

with clear speech and pleasantness,³⁹

footnotes: ³⁹ The clear speech of the angels is the holy tongue (pure Hebrew).—Yaavetz

all exclaim Kedushah in unison,

and reverently exclaim:

“Holy, holy, holy

is Adonoy of Hosts,

the fullness of all the earth is His glory.”⁴⁰

footnotes: ⁴⁰ Yeshaya 6:3. Targum Yonoson paraphrases this verse: “Holy [is Hashem] in the highest heights of heaven, the abode of His Divine Presence; holy upon earth, the work of His almighty power; holy [is He] forever and for all eternity.” The Talmud, (Maseches Chulin 91b) refers to this verse as the “Sanctification of the Angels.” According to Avudraham and Yaavetz, this Kedushah has been inserted here to refute those who maintain that Hashem relinquished His control over the heavenly bodies, and they are now able to function independently. We are therefore told that all the heavenly hosts proclaim Hashem’s sanctification and dominion over all the universe.

And the Ofanim and the holy Chayos,

with a mighty sound rise

toward the Serafim.

Facing them, they offer praise and say,

“Blessed is the glory of Adonoy

from His place.”⁴¹

footnotes: ⁴¹ Yechezkel 3:12. According to the Kuzari, Hashem’s glory is a euphemism for Hashem Himself. Thus the verse means, “Blessed is Adonoy from His place,” conveying this concept: Hashem is more blessed (i.e., greater) than His place; He is not confined to any place. Another view set forth in the Kuzari is that “Hashem’s glory” includes the angels, His throne, His chariot, the firmament, and the spheres. These are called Hashem’s glory similar to a king’s retinue which is his royal splendor.

To the Blessed Almighty,

they⁴² offer pleasant melodies;

footnotes: ⁴² The angels.

to the King, the Almighty,

[Who is] living and enduring,

they utter hymns

and make praises heard.

For He alone

is the Performer of mighty deeds,

Maker of new things;

Master of battles,

Sower of acts of righteousness,⁴³

footnotes: ⁴³ Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair was given two measures of barley for safekeeping. The owner forgot about it for a number of years. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair planted the barley seed, and each year replanted the previous year’s harvest until it grew to be a substantial crop. After seven years, the owner returned to claim his two measures of barley and Rabbi Pinchas told him, “Come I will show you the great fortune you have accumulated.” Hashem does the same with the good and righteous deeds of man. He sows each righteous deed, and when the person is ready to receive his reward, Hashem returns the original righteous investment plus all the accumulated dividends. Midrash Rabba, Devarim 3:6

Causer of deliverance to sprout forth;

Creator of cures.

Awesome in praise, Master of wonders,

He renews in His goodness,

each day, continuously,⁴⁴

footnotes: ⁴⁴ Since the blessing began with the praise of Hashem as the Former of light Who continually renews the creation, it concludes on the same note.

the work of creation,

as it is said: “[Give thanks to Him]

Who makes the great luminaries,”

for His kindness is everlasting.”⁴⁵

footnotes: ⁴⁵ Tehillim 136:7.

Shine a new light upon Tziyon,⁴⁶

footnotes: ⁴⁶ We pray that we will be worthy of enjoying the original light of creation, which Hashem put aside for the righteous in the future world.—Yaavetz

and may we all soon be privileged

to [enjoy] its brightness.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Former of the luminaries.⁴⁷

footnotes: ⁴⁷ When reciting this blessing, bear in mind that even though the heavenly spheres appear immense to us and we attach much importance to them because of the vital functions they perform, in the eyes of their Creator they are no greater than worms. On the contrary, His wisdom and providence are more acutely recognized in an ant or bee because, in spite of their minuteness, they are endowed with a complex of faculties and organs.—Kuzari

[With] unbounded love You have loved us⁴⁸

footnotes: ⁴⁸ The Kuzari writes, “When reciting the blessing ‘Unbounded Love’ אַהֲבָה רַבָּה, one should bear in mind that Hashem’s Divine influence is especially directed at the Jewish People who receive it as naturally as a mirror receives rays of light. He should also bear in mind that the Torah is the expression of Hashem’s will and through it He establishes His dominion on earth as in heaven. Whenever an individual or a community attains a high degree of spiritual purity, they become worthy of receiving the Divine light to guide their destiny in a miraculous manner far removed from the ordinary course of events which affect the world. This special relationship with the Creator is called love.”

Adonoy, our God;

[With] great and abundant pity⁴⁹

footnotes: ⁴⁹ Hashem bestowed His great and abundant pity on us after we sinned in making the golden calf. He not only pardoned us, but gave us the Second Tablets and ordained the construction of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) for His Divine Presence to dwell among us.—Siach Yitzchak

have You pitied us.

Our Father, our King!

for the sake of our forefathers

who trusted in You,

and whom You taught statutes of life,

so too, be gracious to us and teach us.

Our Father, merciful Father,

Who acts with compassion

have compassion on us

and put into our hearts

to comprehend,

and to be intellectually creative,

to listen, to learn, and to teach,

to preserve, to practice, and to fulfill⁵⁰

footnotes: ⁵⁰ We preserve the Torah by not forgetting its teachings; we practice the commandments and we fulfill them by making them permanent parts of our lives.—Siach Yitzchak

all the words of instruction in Your Torah

with love.

And enlighten our eyes in Your Torah,

and cause our hearts to hold fast

to Your commandments,

and unify⁵¹ our hearts

footnotes: ⁵¹ Make us single-hearted and undivided in our love and reverence of Your Name. Keep us from distraction of personal thoughts and selfish motives.—Siach Yitzchak

to love and fear Your Name;

and may we never be put to shame,⁵²

footnotes: ⁵² When one has to receive a favor that is completely undeserved, he feels a sense of shame. We therefore pray to Hashem, that our redemption will not be a “hand out” without merit and cause us to be ashamed. We proclaim that since we “trusted in His Name” and accepted the bitterness of our exile, our deliverance is not totally undeserved.—Siach Yitzchak

for in Your holy, great, and awesome Name—

have we trusted;

may we exult and rejoice in Your deliverance.

And bring us to peace

from the four corners of the earth

and lead us upright⁵³ to our land.

footnotes: ⁵³ May we return from our exile with our heads held high, not in meekness.—Siach Yitzchak

Because, You are the Almighty,

Who performs acts of deliverance,⁵⁴

footnotes: ⁵⁴ Even if we do not deserve to be saved in our own merit, save us anyhow because You perform acts of deliverance.

and You have chosen us⁵⁵

footnotes: ⁵⁵ At the moment Hashem gave the Torah to the Jews at Sinai, we became His chosen people and were brought close to Him for eternity.—Siach Yitzchak

from among all peoples and tongues,

and You have brought us close

to Your great Name, forever in truth;

that we may give thanks⁵⁶ to You,

footnotes: ⁵⁶ These final words complete the prayer begun earlier: “Bring us in peace, and lead us upright to our land, so that we may give thanks to You, and proclaim Your Oneness, with love.—Siach Yitzchak

and proclaim Your Oneness, with love.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who chooses His people Yisrael with love.