Concluding Prayers

siyum hatfilah

סיום התפילה

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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

Hebrew

רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת קוֹרֵא מֵרֹאשׁ,
דּוֹר וָדוֹר עַם דּוֹרְשֶׁיךָ דְּרוֹשׁ.
שִׁית הֲמוֹן שִׁירַי נָא עָלֶיךָ, וְרִנָּתִי תִּקְרַב אֵלֶיךָ.
תְּהִלָּתִי תְּהִי לְרֹאשְׁךָ עֲטֶרֶת, וּתְפִלָּתִי תִּכּוֹן קְטֹרֶת.
תִּיקַר שִׁירַת רָשׁ בְּעֵינֶיךָ, כַּשִּׁיר יוּשַׁר עַל קָרְבָּנֶיךָ.
בִּרְכָתִי תַעֲלֶה לְרֹאשׁ מַשְׁבִּיר, מְחוֹלֵל וּמוֹלִיד צַדִּיק כַּבִּיר.
וּבִרְכָתִי תְנַעְנַע לִי רֹאשׁ, וְאוֹתָהּ קַח לְךָ בְּשָׂמִים רֹאשׁ.
יֶעֱרַב נָא שִׂיחִי עָלֶיךָ, כִּי נַפְשִׁי תַעֲרֹג אֵלֶיךָ.

Israeli

rosh d'varecha emet korei merosh,
dor vador am doreshecha d'rosh.
shit hamon shirai na alecha, verinati tikrav elecha.
tehilati tehi leroshcha ateret, utfilati tikon k'toret.
tikar shirat rash be-einecha, kashir yushar al korbanecha.
birchati ta-aleh lerosh mashbir, mecholel umolid tzadik kabir.
uvirchati t'nana li rosh, ve-otah kach lecha b'samim rosh.
ye-erav na sichi alecha, ki nafshi ta-arog elecha.

English

You uttered truth from the first as you called the world into being; You seek, in each generation, the people who seek You. Set my many songs before You and allow my prayers to reach You. Let my songs be a crown upon Your head, and receive my prayers as a savory offering. Let the song of one lacking merit be unto You as those chanted over the sacrifices You received. Reckon my praise, Sustainer, Creator, Life-giver, Supremely Righteous One. Nod assent to my blessings; take them as choice perfume upon Your head. May my words delight You, for my soul thirsts for You.

Read softly:

Hebrew

לְךָ יְהוָה הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד,
כִּי כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ לְךָ יְהוָה הַמַּמְלָכָה,
וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְכֹל לְרֹאשׁ.

Israeli

lecha Adonai hagdulah vehagvurah vehatiferet vehanetzach vehahod,
ki chol bashamayim uva-aretz lecha Adonai hamamlachah,
vehamitnasei lechol lerosh.

English

The greatness is Yours, Adonai, the strength and the glory, the triumph and the splendor—for all in heaven and on earth is Yours. The sovereignty is Yours, Adonai, and the majesty above all.

All in unison:

Hebrew

מִי יְמַלֵּל גְּבוּרוֹת יְהוָה, יַשְׁמִיעַ כָּל־תְּהִלָּתוֹ.

Israeli

mi yemalel g'vurot Adonai, yashmia kol-tehilato.

English

Who can recount Adonai’s power? Who can declare all of God’s praises?

Certain congregations say Mourner’s Kaddish here; see page 207.

Commentary

YOU UTTERED TRUTH FROM THE FIRST רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת. The poet is quoting Psalm 119:160, sometimes translated as: “The essence of Your teaching is truth.” (See above, page 117, at the psalm for Shavuot.) The poet may mean that God’s promise to redeem Israel holds true in every generation. Also, the last letters of the first three words of Genesis (בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים) are alef, mem, and tav, which spell the word אֱמֶת (emet), “truth.” Since this verse repeats the letter reish and seems to introduce a thought not otherwise developed in the poem, there are some scholars who think that it is a later interpolation.

A SAVORY OFFERING תִּכּוֹן קְטֹרֶת. Psalm 141:2: “Take my prayer as an incense offering . . .”

NOD AGREEMENT תְנַעְנַע לִי רֹאשׁ. A reference to an anthropomorphic story from the Babylonian Talmud, in which God responds to a sage’s blessing with a nod of God’s head (Berakhot 7a). The same word, rosh, is used to indicate the “choice perfume” that was used for anointing in the sanctuary.

MY SOUL THIRSTS נַפְשִׁי תַעֲרֹג. The poet draws on the language of Psalm 42:2, concluding the poem with the same image of yearning with which it began.

YOURS, ADONAI, IS THE GREATNESS לְךָ יְהוָה הַגְּדֻלָּה. 1 Chronicles 29:11. This verse inspired the mystics who developed the system of the s’firot, aspects of God that human beings perceive. Many of the names of the s’firot are drawn from this verse, including G’vurah (triumph), Tiferet (glory), Netzah (eternity), and Hod (splendor). Similarly, to evoke the variety of the aspects of God, this verse is chanted when the Torah scroll is removed from the ark and carried in a procession around the sanctuary.

WHO CAN TELL מִי יְמַלֵּל. Psalm 106:2.