Verses Of Praise

Pesukei d'zimrah

פְּסוּקֵי דְּזִמְרָה

Visible layers

God chose Abraham

Hebrew

אַתָּה הוּא יְיָ הָאֱלֹהִים, אֲשֶׁר
בָּחַרְתָּ בְּאַבְרָם, וְהוֹצֵאתוֹ מֵאוּר
כַּשְׂדִּים, וְשַׂמְתָּ שְׁמוֹ אַבְרָהָם:
וּמָצָאתָ אֶת לְבָבוֹ נֶאֱמָן לְפָנֶיךָ–

Sephardi

Atah hu Adonai ha-Elohim, asher
bacharta b'Avram, v'hotzeito me'Ur
Kasdim, v'samta shemo Avraham:
Umatzata et l'vavo ne'eman lefanecha–

English

You Lord, are the God Who chose Abraham when he was still called Abram. You took him out of the land where he was born, Ur Kasdim, and You made his name Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” You found that his heart was completely faithful before You—

God kept His promise to Abraham to redeem the Jewish Nation

Hebrew

וְכָרוֹת עִמּוֹ הַבְּרִית, לָתֵת אֶת
אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַחִתִּי
הָאֱמֹרִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי
לָתֵת לְזַרְעוֹ, וַתָּקֶם אֶת דְּבָרֶיךָ1
כִּי צַדִּיק אַתָּה: וַתֵּרֶא אֶת עֳנִי
אֲבֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְאֶת זַעֲקָתָם
שָׁמַעְתָּ עַל יַם סוּף:
וַתִּתֵּן אֹתֹת וּמֹפְתִים בְּפַרְעֹה
וּבְכָל עֲבָדָיו וּבְכָל עַם אַרְצוֹ, כִּי
יָדַעְתָּ כִּי הֵזִידוּ עֲלֵיהֶם,2 וַתַּעַשׂ
לְךָ שֵׁם כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה: וְהַיָּם בָּקַעְתָּ
לִפְנֵיהֶם וַיַּעַבְרוּ בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם
בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, וְאֶת רֹדְפֵיהֶם הִשְׁלַכְתָּ
בִּמְצוֹלֹת, כְּמוֹ אֶבֶן בְּמַיִם עַזִּים:

Sephardi

V'charot imo hab'rit, latet et
eretz hakena'ani hachiti
ha'Emori v'hap'rizi v'hay'vusi v'hagirgashi
latet l'zar'o, vatakem et d'varecha1
ki tzadik atah: Vatere et oni
avoteinu b'Mitzrayim, ve'et za'akatam
shamata al yam suf:
Vatiten otot umoftim befar'oh
uvechol avadav uvechol am artzo, ki
yadata ki hezidu aleihem,2 vata'as
lecha shem kehayom hazeh: V'hayam bakata
lifneihem vaya'avru b'toch hayam
bayabashah, ve'et rodfeihem hishlachta
bimtzolot, kemo even b'mayim azim:

English

and it was because of this that You made the special Covenant with him. You promised to give his descendants the Land of Israel, which at the time was the land of other nations: the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Emorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite nations. You fulfilled Your word,1 Your promise, because You are righteous. You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt. You heard their cry as they stood trapped at the Sea of Reeds. You performed miracles and wonders to punish Pharaoh, all of his servants, and all the people of his land, because You knew that they acted wickedly toward the Jewish Nation.2 And by performing those miracles in Egypt, You have made Your name famous to this day. You split the sea in front of the Jewish Nation, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on a path of dry land. You threw the Egyptians who were chasing the Jewish Nation into the deep waters, and they drowned like a stone in rough waters.

After the splitting of the Sea of Reeds

Hebrew

וַיּוֹשַׁע יְיָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת
יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּד מִצְרָיִם,
וַיַּרְא יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת מִצְרַיִם מֵת
עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם: וַיַּרְא יִשְׂרָאֵל
אֶת הַיָּד הַגְּדֹלָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְיָ
בְּמִצְרַיִם, וַיִּירְאוּ הָעָם אֶת יְיָ,
וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בַּיְיָ וּבְמֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ:3

Sephardi

Vayosha Adonai bayom hahu et
Yisrael miyad Mitzrayim,
vayar Yisrael et Mitzrayim met
al sefat hayam: Vayar Yisrael
et hayad hag'dolah asher asah Adonai
b'Mitzrayim, vayir'u ha'am et Adonai,
vaya'aminu ba-adonai uvMoshe avdo:3

English

The Lord saved the Children of Israel on that day from the hands of the Egyptians, and the Children of Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore. They then realized that the Egyptians had not survived. The Children of Israel saw the great, strong hand that the Lord had used against the Egyptians. After seeing such amazing strength, the people feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord and everything that Moses, His servant, said.3

A song of praise about the miracles at the Sea of Reeds

Hebrew

אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת
הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַייָ וַיֹּאמְרוּ

Sephardi

Az yashir Moshe uvnei Yisrael et
hashirah hazot la-adonai vayomru

English

Then, when the Jewish Nation saw the great miracle of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, Moses

Hebrew

לֵאמֹר, אָשִׁירָה לַייָ כִּי גָאֹה
גָּאָה,4 סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם:
עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי
לִישׁוּעָה, זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ,
אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ: יְיָ
אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה, יְיָ שְׁמוֹ:
מַרְכְּבֹת פַּרְעֹה וְחֵילוֹ
יָרָה בַיָּם, וּמִבְחַר שָׁלִשָׁיו
טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם סוּף: תְּהֹמֹת
יְכַסְיֻמוּ, יָרְדוּ בִמְצוֹלֹת כְּמוֹ
אָבֶן: יְמִינְךָ יְיָ נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ,5
יְמִינְךָ יְיָ תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב: וּבְרֹב
גְּאוֹנְךָ תַּהֲרֹס קָמֶיךָ, תְּשַׁלַּח
חֲרֹנְךָ יֹאכְלֵמוֹ כַּקַּשׁ: וּבְרוּחַ
אַפֶּיךָ נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם, נִצְּבוּ
כְּמוֹ נֵד נֹזְלִים, קָפְאוּ
תְהֹמֹת בְּלֶב יָם: אָמַר אוֹיֵב,
אֶרְדֹּף אַשִּׂיג אֲחַלֵּק שָׁלָל,

Sephardi

Leimor, ashirah la-adonai ki ga'oh
ga'ah,4 sus v'rochvo ramah bayam:
Ozi v'zimrat Yah vayehi li
lishu'ah, zeh Eli v'anvehu,
Elohei avi vaaromemenhu: Adonai
ish milchamah, Adonai shemo:
Mark'vot Par'oh v'cheilo
yarah bayam, umivchar shalishav
tub'u v'yam suf: T'homot
y'chasyumu, yardu vimtzolot kemo
aven: Yemincha Adonai ne'dari bako'ach,5
yemincha Adonai tir'atz oyev: Uverov
ge'oncha taharos kamecha, t'shalach
charoncha yochlemo kakash: Uvruach
apecha ne'ermu mayim, nitz'vu
kemo ned nozlim, kaf'u
t'homot b'lev yam: Amar oyev,
erdof asig achalek shalal,

English

and the Children of Israel sang this song to give thanks to the Lord, and they said as follows: I will sing to the Lord because He is very high; higher than any praise can describe.4 God threw both the Egyptian horse and its rider into the sea. The strength that God showed the Egyptians, and the revenge that He took on them, saved me. When God’s glory was shown at the Sea of Reeds, the Jewish Nation pointed with their fingers and said: This is my God, and I will glorify Him. The God of my father, and I will exalt Him by telling the whole world about His might. The Lord is the Master of war; He will always win. Even when He is at war, He is known by the name “Lord,” which expresses His kindness, since He is kind to His creations. He threw Pharaoh’s heavy army chariots and his entire army into the sea. Even the best of Pharaoh’s officers sank in the mud at the bottom of the Sea of Reeds, and the deep waters covered them. They dropped quickly into the deepest parts of the sea like a stone. Lord, Your right hand is very strong. It is adorned with strength. Lord, Your right hand crushes the enemy and saves the Jewish Nation.5 With Your great majesty, You destroy those who rise up to fight against You or against the Jewish Nation, Your people. When You send Your anger toward Your enemies, it consumes them like straw being burned by fire. With the blast of wind from Your nostrils, the waters of

Commentary

1 An alternative translation: “And You raised up Your word.” By making a covenant with Abraham, as the beginning of this paragraph describes, God also gave us—Abraham’s descendants—the ability to “raise” and elevate this physical world, which was created by God’s “word.”

2 These words teach us that although God decreed that we would be enslaved by the Egyptians, He didn’t decree that they should harm us. They did so only because they chose to, and therefore they are considered responsible for having purposely harmed us.

3 Our belief in God is strengthened when we have trust and belief in Moses, His servant.

4 This phrase can be translated as, “He is higher than the arrogant.” “The arrogant” refers to unholy creations that receive energy from God. When we raise ourselves above these unholy creations and do not allow ourselves to be associated with them, God responds in kind: He raises Himself “higher than the arrogant” and stops providing energy to them.

5 The Torah is symbolized by the “right hand of God,” because it was with that hand that God gave the Torah to the Jewish Nation. This verse teaches us that the Torah has the power to “shatter the enemy”—the evil inclination.