Concluding Prayers

siyum hatfilah

סיום התפילה

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

Some congregations recite this song at the conclusion of the service.

שִׁיר הַכָּבוֹד: אַנְעִים זְמִירוֹת

A Song of Glory: Anim Z’mirot

Hebrew

אַנְעִים זְמִירוֹת וְשִׁירִים אֶאֱרוֹג, כִּי אֵלֶיךָ נַפְשִׁי תַעֲרוֹג.
נַפְשִׁי חָמְדָה בְּצֵל יָדְךָ, לָדַעַת כָּל רָז סוֹדֶךָ.
מִדֵּי דַבְּרִי בִּכְבוֹדֶךָ, הוֹמֶה לִבִּי אֶל דּוֹדֶיךָ.
עַל כֵּן אֲדַבֵּר בְּךָ נִכְבָּדוֹת, וְשִׁמְךָ אֲכַבֵּד בְּשִׁירֵי יְדִידוֹת.
אֲסַפְּרָה כְבוֹדְךָ וְלֹא רְאִיתִיךָ, אֲדַמְּךָ אֲכַנְּךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתִּיךָ.
בְּיַד נְבִיאֶיךָ בְּסוֹד עֲבָדֶיךָ, דִּמִּיתָ הֲדַר כְּבוֹד הוֹדֶךָ.
גְּדֻלָּתְךָ וּגְבוּרָתְךָ, כִּנּוּ לְתֹקֶף פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ.
דִּמּוּ אוֹתְךָ וְלֹא כְּפִי יֶשְׁךָ, וַיְשַׁוּוּךָ לְפִי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ.
הִמְשִׁילוּךָ בְּרוֹב חֶזְיוֹנוֹת, הִנְּךָ אֶחָד בְּכָל דִּמְיוֹנוֹת.
וַיֶּחֱזוּ בְךָ זִקְנָה וּבַחֲרוּת, וּשְׂעַר רֹאשְׁךָ בְּשֵׂיבָה וְשַׁחֲרוּת.
זִקְנָה בְּיוֹם דִּין וּבַחֲרוּת בְּיוֹם קְרָב,
כְּאִישׁ מִלְחָמוֹת יָדָיו לוֹ רָב.
חָבַשׁ כּוֹבַע יְשׁוּעָה בְּרֹאשׁוֹ,
הוֹשִׁיעָה לּוֹ יְמִינוֹ וּזְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ.

Israeli

anim z'mirot veshirim e-erog, ki elecha nafshi ta-arog.
nafshi chamedah b'tzel yadcha, lada-at kol raz sodecha.
midei dabri bichvodecha, homeh libi El dodecha.
al ken adaber b'cha nichbadot, veshimcha achabed b'shirei yedidot.
asaprah ch'vodcha velo re-iticha, adamecha achanecha velo yedaticha.
b'yad nevi-echa b'sod avadecha, dimita hadar k'vod hodecha.
g'dulatcha ugvuratcha, kinu letokef pe-ulatecha.
dimu otcha velo k'fi yeshcha, vayshavucha lefi ma-asecha.
himshilucha b'rov chezyonot, hinecha echad b'chol dimyonot.
vayechezu v'cha ziknah uvacharut, use-ar roshcha b'seivah veshacharut.
ziknah b'yom din uvacharut b'yom k'rav,
ke-ish milchamot yadav lo rav.
chavash kova yeshu-ah b'rosho,
hoshi-ah lo yemino uzroa kodsho.

English

I shall chant melodies and weave together verses, for my soul thirsts for You. My soul longs to live in the shadow of Your hand, that I might learn the secrets of Your mysterious being. Even before speaking any words describing Your glory, already my heart sings of Your love. I would, therefore, ever glorify You, and honor Your name with songs of love. Though I have never seen You, I would tell of Your glory: I imagine You, I describe You, but I know You not. In the words of Your prophets and mysteries revealed to the faithful, You provided images of glorious majesty. Your greatness and Your power were pictured in accord with Your deeds. They portrayed You not as You truly are, but imagined You from what You had created. In endless visions and countless metaphors they described You, but through it all, You are the singular one. They represented You as old and as young, with graying hair and in the prime of youth: as an elder on the Day of Judgment, and as a youth in time of war, as a soldier who was fully armed, and with a victory helmet on Your head, having won battles with Your right hand and holy arm—

continued

Commentary

A SONG OF GLORY שִׁיר הַכָּבוֹד. Sometimes called by its first two words, Anim Z’mirot is ascribed to Judah the Pious of Regensburg (d. 1217), one of the most important figures of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz, the 13th-century German pietist movement. The poem asserts that human beings cannot grasp God’s mysterious nature, but that prophetic metaphors and rabbinic allusions allow us to imagine God’s glory, kavod, and to see a “shadow” of the Divine. Many of these images were significant for the spiritual vocabulary of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz. For instance, the light emanating from God’s head and God’s crown were important images of mystic contemplation. The first four verses of the poem constitute an introduction. This is followed by an enumeration of images in verses arranged in an alphabetic acrostic. The concluding verses of the poem are a personal plea that God hear our prayers. Some recite Shir Hakavod on each Shabbat; others include it only on festivals. Some recite it here, others at the conclusion of Shaḥarit, and many others at the beginning of the entire service.

YOUR GLORY בִּכְבוֹדֶךָ. As noted above, God’s “glory” frequently has a technical meaning in medieval Jewish mystical thought: it is that aspect of God which is accessible to humans. The Bible reports that at Sinai God’s “glory” descended on the mountain (Exodus 24:15), and similarly Moses asks to see God’s “glory” (Exodus 33:18).

YOUR PROPHETS נְבִיאֶיךָ. The poet will use only metaphors previously offered by prophets and sages—that is, those that were adduced by divine inspiration.

IN ACCORD WITH YOUR DEEDS כִּנּוּ לְתֹקֶף פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ. No human being can have a direct encounter with God’s essence (God’s “face”), but we can experience God’s impact in the world (God’s “back”).

YOU ARE THE SINGULAR ONE הִנְּךָ אֶחָד. The word eḥad (literally “one”) references the Sh’ma. Jewish mystics, while eloquently describing the myriad manifestations of God, insist that God is ultimately “one.”

AS OLD AND AS YOUNG זִקְנָה וּבַחֲרוּת. In commenting on the first words of the Decalogue, “I am Adonai, your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt,” Rashi (1040–1105, northern France), reprising the midrash, writes: “Do not think that because I appear to you in different guises—at Sinai as an elder and at the Sea as a young warrior—there are multiple deities; it is I who took you out.”

THE PRIME OF YOUTH שַׁחֲרוּת. As vocalized, the Hebrew means “youthful.” However, the word also contains the same letters as the word for “black” (shaḥor), as opposed to gray hair as a sign of age.

A VICTORY HELMET כּוֹבַע יְשׁוּעָה. The image is taken from the language of Isaiah: “God donned righteousness like a coat of mail, with a helmet of victory on God’s head” (59:17).