El Adon
El Adon or El Adon al kol ha-ma'asim is a well-known Jewish liturgical poem, a so-called piyyut that was probably written in the Land of Israel during the Middle Ages but could be as old as the 2nd century, making it possibly one of the oldest Jewish prayers in continuous use. Like many other liturgical poems, it is written without rhyme and as an alphabetical poem - meaning that the first line starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second line starts with the second letter thereof, and so on.
Text
Text below is Nusach Sefard; Nusach Ashkenaz wording differs slightly. The first Hebrew letter of each line is made bold as to indicate the alphabetical nature of the poem.| Hebrew | Transliteration | English translation |
אל אדון על כל המעשים ברוך ומבורך בפי כל הנשמה גדולו וטובו מלא עולם דעת ותבונה סובבים הודו המתגאה על חיות הקודש ונהדר בכבוד על המרכבה זכות ומשור לפני כסאו חסד ורחמים מלא כבודו טובים מאורות שבראם אלוהינו יצרם בדעת בבינה ובהשכל כח וגבורה נתן בהם להיות מושלים בקרב תבל מלאים זיו ומפיקים נוגה נאה זיום בכל העולם שֹמחים בצאתם וששים בבואם עושים באימה רוצון קוניהם פאר וכבוד נותנים לשמו צהלה ורינה לזכר מלכותו קרא לשמש ויזרח אור ראה והיתקין צורת הלבנה שבח נותנים לו כל צבא מרום תפארת וגדולה שרפים, וחיות ואופני הקודש | El Adon 'al kol ha-ma'asim Barukh u'mevorakh be'fi kol ha-neshama God'lo ve'tuvo male 'olam Da'at u'tvonah sovevim hodo Ha-mitga'eh al Hayot ha-qodesh Ve'nehdar be'khavod 'al ha-merkavah Zekhut u'mishor lifne khis'o Hesed ve'raHamim male kevodo Tovim me'orot she'bram Elohenu Yetzaram be'da'at, be'vina u'v'ha'skel KoaH u'gvorah natan ba'hem Lihyot moshelim be'kerev tevel Mele'im ziv u'mfiqim nogah Na'eh zivam be'khol ha-olam SemeHim be'tzetam ve'sasim be'voam 'Osim be'emah retzon qonehem Pe'er ve'khavod notenim li'shmo Tzahala ve'rina le'zekher malkhuto Qara la'shemesh va'yizraH or Ra'ah ve'hitkin tzorat ha-levanah ShevaH notenim lo kol tz'va marom Tiferet u'gdulah serafrim, ve'Hayot, ve'ofanei ha-qodesh | God is the Lord of all creation He is praised by the breath of all life His greatness and goodness fills the universe Knowledge and wisdom surround his presence Exalted is He by the celestial beings Adorned in the glory by the mysteries of heaven Purity and justice guard his throne Kindness and mercy abound in his glory Good are the luminaries which our God created Made with understanding, wisdom, and insight He endowed them with energy and power To dominate within their sphere of the universe Full of splendour, they radiate brightness Their brilliance adorns the universe Rejoicing in rising and exalting in setting With reverence they obey the will of their creator Glory and honor they give to his name And sing his sovereignty with joyous praise He summoned the sun, and it shed its light He set the cycle of the moon's phases All the armies of heaven give him praise His glory and grandeur they proclaim - all the various celestial beings |