Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Preparatory Prayers, Yigdal
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פיוט המיוסד על שלושה עשר עקרי האמונה. מיוחס לר' דניאל בן יהודה הרומי
This hymn, written by Daniel ben Yehuda, who was a Dayan in Rome about 1300, is based on Maimonides’ 13 principles of Judaism. According to Maimonides, failure to believe in a single one of these principles places one outside the pale of Judaism.
מציאות השם
1) the existence of God
יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים חַי וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח, נִמְצָא וְאֵין עֵת אֶל מְצִיאוּתוֹ:
Exalted is the living God, and praised He exists, and His existence transcends time.
אחדות השם
2) God is One
אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדוֹ, נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדּוּתוֹ:
He is One, and there is no unity like His, He is invisible, His unity is infinite.
שאינו גוף
3) God is incorporeal
אֵין לוֹ דְמוּת הַגּוּף וְאֵינוֹ גוּף, לֹא נַעֲרֹךְ אֵלָיו קְדֻשָּׁתוֹ:
He is unlike the corporeal or even the non-corporeal,¹ His holiness is beyond comparison.
footnotes: ¹ God can also not be compared to the angels.
קדמות השם
4) God is Eternal
קַדְמוֹן לְכָל־דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא, רִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵאשִׁיתוֹ:
He preceded every being that was created, He was First, and there was no genesis to His beginning.
שרק אותו ראוי לעבוד
5) God alone must be worshipped
הִנּוֹ אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם לְכָל־נוֹצָר, יוֹרֶה גְדֻלָּתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ:
He is Master of the Universe to every creature, (all) proclaim His greatness and His majesty.
נבואה
6) Truth of Divine Prophecy
שֶֽׁפַע נְבוּאָתוֹ נְתָנוֹ, אֶל אַנְשֵׁי סְגֻלָּתוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ:
The fullness of His prophecy, He bestowed on those He treasured, and in whom He gloried.
נבואת משה אמיתית
7) Moses was the greatest of all prophets
לֹא קָם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמשֶׁה עוֹד, נָבִיא וּמַבִּיט אֶת־תְּמוּנָתוֹ:
There never arose in Israel another like Moses, a prophet who beheld God’s image.
תורה מן השמים
8) Divine revelation of the Torah
תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת נָתַן לְעַמּוֹ אֵל, עַל יַד נְבִיאוֹ נֶאֱמַן בֵּיתוֹ:
The Torah of truth the Almighty gave to His people through His prophet, the trusted one of His house.
נצחיות התורה
9) The Torah is immutable
לֹא יַחֲלִיף הָאֵל וְלֹא יָמִיר דָּתוֹ, לְעוֹלָמִים לְזוּלָתוֹ:
The Almighty will not exchange nor alter His Law. Never will He offer any alternative.
השגחה
10) God knows the acts and thoughts of man
צוֹפֶה וְיוֹדֵֽעַ סְתָרֵֽינוּ, מַבִּיט לְסוֹף דָּבָר בְּקַדְמָתוֹ:
He scrutinizes and knows our secrets. He beholds the end of a thing at its beginning.
שכר ועונש
11) Divine reward and punishment
גּוֹמֵל לְאִישׁ חֶֽסֶד כְּמִפְעָלוֹ, נוֹתֵן לְרָשָׁע רָע כְּרִשְׁעָתוֹ:
He rewards man with kindness according to his deeds. He sends evil to the wicked according to his wickedness.²
footnotes: ² The word “deed” is not applied to the wicked man. Since Divine reward and punishment are distributed with kindness, reward is granted to man not only for his deed, which may itself be insignificant, but also for the long range effect of that deed. He is punished, however, only for his act of wickedness, not for the consequences of his deed.—Etz Yosef
ביאת המשיח
12) Belief in the coming of the Messiah
יִשְׁלַח לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין מְשִׁיחֵֽנוּ, לִפְדּוֹת מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתוֹ:
He will send our Messiah at the end of days, to redeem all who await His final deliverance.
תחיית המתים
13) Divine resurrection of the dead
מֵתִים יְחַיֶּה אֵל בְּרֹב חַסְדּוֹ, בָּרוּךְ עֲדֵי עַד שֵׁם תְּהִלָּתוֹ:
The Almighty will revive the dead because of His abundant kindness: Blessed forever is His praised Name.