Ka Keli

Yah Eli

יה אלי

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Most congregations omit the following on days that Yizkor is said. Some also omit on Shabbat.

Hebrew

יָהּ אֵלִי וְגוֹאֲלִי, אֶתְיַצְּבָה לִקְרָאתֶךָ
הָיָה וְיִהְיֶה, הָיָה וְהֹוֶה, כָּל גּוֹי אַדְמָתֶךָ.
וְתוֹדָה וְלְעוֹלָה וְלַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם
וְלִשְׁלָמִים וְלַמִּלּוּאִים כָּל קָרְבָּנֶךָ.
זְכֹר נִלְאָה אֲשֶׁר נָשְׂאָה וַהֲשִׁיבָה לְאַדְמָתֶךָ
סֶלָה אֲהַלֶּלְךָ בְּאַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ.

Israeli

Yah Eli vego-ali, etyatzvah likratecha
hayah veyihyeh, hayah vehoveh, kol goy admatecha.
vetodah vele-olah velaminchah velachatat vela-asham
velishlamim velamilu-im kol korbanecha.
z'chor nilah asher nase-ah vahashivah le-admatecha
selah ahalelcha be-ashrei yoshvei veitecha.

Hebrew

דַּק עַל דַּק, עַד אֵין נִבְדָּק, וְלִתְבוּנָתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר
הָאֵל נוֹרָא, בְּאַחַת סְקִירָה, בֵּין טוֹב לְרַע יְבַקֵּר.
וְתוֹדָה וְלְעוֹלָה וְלַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם
וְלִשְׁלָמִים וְלַמִּלּוּאִים כָּל קָרְבָּנֶךָ.
זְכֹר נִלְאָה אֲשֶׁר נָשְׂאָה וַהֲשִׁיבָה לְאַדְמָתֶךָ
סֶלָה אֲהַלֶּלְךָ בְּאַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ.

Israeli

dak al dak, ad ein nivdak, velitvunato ein cheker
ha-El nora, be-achat s'kirah, bein tov lera yevaker.
vetodah vele-olah velaminchah velachatat vela-asham
velishlamim velamilu-im kol korbanecha.
z'chor nilah asher nase-ah vahashivah le-admatecha
selah ahalelcha be-ashrei yoshvei veitecha.

Hebrew

אֲדוֹן צְבָאוֹת, בְּרֹב פְּלָאוֹת, חִבֵּר כָּל אָהֳלוֹ
בִּנְתִיבוֹת לֵב לְבַלְבֵּב, הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ.
וְתוֹדָה וְלְעוֹלָה וְלַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם
וְלִשְׁלָמִים וְלַמִּלּוּאִים כָּל קָרְבָּנֶךָ.
זְכֹר נִלְאָה אֲשֶׁר נָשְׂאָה וַהֲשִׁיבָה לְאַדְמָתֶךָ
סֶלָה אֲהַלֶּלְךָ בְּאַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ.

Israeli

adon Tz'va-ot, b'rov p'la-ot, chiber kol oholo
bintivot lev levalbev, hatzur tamim po-olo.
vetodah vele-olah velaminchah velachatat vela-asham
velishlamim velamilu-im kol korbanecha.
z'chor nilah asher nase-ah vahashivah le-admatecha
selah ahalelcha be-ashrei yoshvei veitecha.

Commentary

יָהּ אֵלִי LORD my God: A poem written as a prelude to Ashrei (“Happy are those who dwell in Your House”), which first appeared in the siddur Sha’ar Hashamayim of R. Isaiah Horowitz (first published by his grandson in Amsterdam, 1717). Those who say it do so on festivals before the Ashrei that precedes Musaf; it is usually omitted on days on which Yizkor is said; some omit it on festivals that fall on Shabbat.

The land of every nation, that is, the whole world, is Yours. The thanksgiving-offering: a list of sacrifices we are commanded to bring, but cannot, since the Temple no longer stands. זְכֹר נִלְאָה Remember the weary nation: a poignant reminder that the Jewish people, suffering and in exile, cannot yet be among those who “dwell in Your House,” that is, the Temple.

דַּק עַל דַּק Fine beyond fine: beyond the reach of our human senses and understanding. בֵּין טוֹב לְרַע יְבַקֵּר Who distinguishes between good and evil: we cannot see God but He sees us; we cannot understand God but He understands us, instantly knowing our devices and desires.

חִבֵּר כָּל אָהֳלוֹ He joined all His tent: God constructed and connected all that exists under the canopy of the heavens. בִּנְתִיבוֹת לֵב לְבַלְבֵּב The ways of the heart: the Hebrew word for heart, lev, also stands for the number thirty-two, which according to the mystical Sefer Yetzira, represents the “thirty-two paths of wisdom” by which the universe was created (the word Elohim appears thirty-two times in the first chapter of the Torah).