Blessed are You, Adonoy our God, King of the Universe, Former¹ of light, Creator of darkness, Maker² of peace, Creator³ of all things.

footnotes: ¹ Forming, יוצר, is the act of refining or modifying an original substance, whereas, creating, בורא, refers to creating the original substance from nothing. For example, when one shapes a wooden table, to make it round, he “forms” the wood, the original substance which was “created.” Similarly, God “forms the light” which is His act of modifying or limiting the darkness He created.—Siddur HaGra ² Making, עושה, is the act of completion, such as when one completes a table by painting it. Similarly, God’s finishing touch of creation is “making peace,” the vessel that holds it all together, as stated in the Mishna, “God found no vessel to contain blessing other than peace.” לא מצא הקב״ה כלי מחזיק ברכה אלא השלום—Siddur HaGra ³ The verse in Isaiah 45:7, on which this blessing is based concludes with the words, “and creates evil.” In His original creation, God created the potential for evil, which He constantly limits and controls as the Former and Maker.—Siddur HaGra

He illuminates the earth [and provides light] for those who dwell on it, with compassion;⁴ and in His goodness renews every day, continually,⁵ the work of creation. How many are Your works, Adonoy; You made them all with wisdom, the earth is full of Your possessions.⁶ The King Who alone is exalted from then,⁷ Who is praised and glorified and uplifted, from the beginning of time.⁸ Eternal God, in Your abundant mercy, have compassion on us, Master, Who is our strength, Rock, Who is our stronghold Shield, of our deliverance, [Be] a stronghold for us. The blessed Almighty, great in knowledge, prepared and made the rays of the sun. [The] Good [One] created [everything] for the glory of His Name:⁹ the luminaries He set around His strength (His throne). The chiefs of His hosts are holy beings,¹⁰ the exalters of Shadai¹¹ continually recount the glory of the Almighty and His holiness. Be Blessed, Adonoy, our God, for the excellent works of Your hands,¹² and for the light-giving luminaries which You formed; they will glorify You forever.¹³

footnotes: ⁴ God causes light to appear in stages, gradually. This is an act of great compassion for if He made it appear all at once, we would be overwhelmed and blinded by its brightness.— Avudraham ⁵ God is not a far-off observer of a mechanism which He created and ignores, but a Living Ruler, Who guides the universe and continually maintains it. ⁶ Lit., Your acquisitions: See Genesis 14:22. ⁷ I.e., before Creation, See p. 9: God was King before all creatures were created. ⁸ I.e., after Creation. Ever since Creation, God has been praised and glorified by His creatures. ⁹ See Isaiah 43:7: “All that is called by My Name, I have created for My glory.”—Avudraham ¹⁰ “Holy beings” are angels. In Hebrew, the word for angels means messenger, and includes all the instruments of Divine purpose, whether in human form, or in the forces of nature.—Kuzari ¹¹ A name of God (Genesis 17:1; 35:11; 43:14, etc.) which refers to His setting boundaries and limits throughout creation. ¹² The Heavenly throne is thus conceived of as surrounded by angels and all the adoring heavenly bodies.—See Isaiah 6:12 ¹³ Those of His creatures capable of praising Him do so. The rest are evidence of His astonishing wisdom and arouse the others to praise Him.

Be blessed our Former,¹⁴ our Creator, He is our King, and He will be our Redeemer. our King, and our Redeemer—Creator of holy beings.¹⁵ 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,¹⁶—there is no envy, jealousy or rivalry among them. Pure—they have no selfish or ulterior motives; they serve God 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—

footnotes: ¹⁴ Some render צורנו “our Rock.” The Gaon of Vilna, however, maintains that it refers to God as our Creator, thus describing Him in the tri-epochal aspect of His Unity: past, present, and future. He was ¹⁵ 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.—Vilna Gaon ¹⁶ Beloved

the Name of the Almighty, the King, the Great, the Mighty, the awesome One; holy¹⁷ is He. And they all take upon themselves the yoke¹⁸ of Divine sovereignty one from the other, and give leave to one another¹⁹ to sanctify their Former in a spirit of serenity with clear speech and pleasantness,²⁰ all exclaim Kedushah in unison and reverently exclaim:

footnotes: ¹⁷ Despite the attributes we use to describe Him, He remains holy—beyond our conception. ¹⁸ The yoke of Divine Sovereignty is borne willingly and joyfully by each creature as an emblem of his free service to God.—S.R. Hirsch ¹⁹ They take care not to precede one another in their praise of God. On the contrary, each says to the other, “You begin, because you are greater and more worthy than I.”—Avos of R’ Nosson ²⁰ The clear speech of the angels is the holy tongue (pure Hebrew).—Ya’avetz

Holy, holy, holy is Adonoy of Hosts, the fullness of all the earth is His glory.²¹ paraphrases this verse: “Holy [is God] 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, (Masechcs Chulin 91b) refers to this verse as the “Sanctification of the Angels.” According to Avudraham and Ya’avetz; this Kedushah has been inserted here to refute those who maintain that God 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 God’s sanctification and dominion over all the universe.

footnotes: ²¹ Isaiah 6:3. Targum Yonoson

And the Ofanim²² and Serafim are various classes of Angels. Ofanim denotes animated wheels as conceived in association with the Heavenly throne. (Avudraham); Chayos are those angels who exist eternally (Ya’avetz; some angels exist only for short times for specific functions.) Serafim indicate “beings of fire.” and the holy Chayos, with a mighty sound rise toward the Serafim. Facing them, they offer praise and say,

footnotes: ²² Ofanim, Chayos haKodesh,

Blessed is the glory of Adonoy from His place.²³ God’s glory is a euphemism for God Himself. Thus the verse means, “Blessed is Adonoy from His place,” conveying this concept: God 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 “God’s glory” includes the angels. His throne, His chariot, the firmament, and the spheres. These are called God’s glory, similar to a king’s retinue, which is his royal splendor.

footnotes: ²³ Ezekiel 3:12. According to the Kuzari,

To the Blessed Almighty, they²⁴ offer pleasant melodies; 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,²⁵Deuteronomy 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,²⁶ the work of creation, as it is said: “[Give thanks to Him] Who makes the great luminaries,” for His kindness is everlasting.”²⁷ Shine a new light upon Zion,²⁸ and may we all soon be privileged to [enjoy] its brightness. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Former of the luminaries.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁴ The angels. ²⁵ Rabbi Pinchos ben Ya’ir was given two measures of barley for safekeeping. The owner forgot about it for a number of years. Rabbi Pinchos ben Ya’ir 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 Pinchos told him, “Come I will show you the great fortune you have accumulated.” God 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, God returns the original righteous investment plus all the accumulated dividends.—Midrash Rabba, ²⁶ Since the blessing began with the praise of God as the Former of light Who continually renews the creation, it concludes on the same note. ²⁷ Psalms 136:7. ²⁸ We pray that we will be worthy of enjoying the original light of creation, which God put aside for the righteous in the future world.—Ya’avetz ²⁹ 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