El Adon
El Adon is a beloved medieval piyyut recited on Shabbat morning before the Sh’ma, praising God as the sovereign creator of the sun, moon, and stars and celebrating the harmony and beauty of the ordered universe.
Click Play next to any melody to open the player at the bottom of your screen. You can keep the player open while you follow along in Hebrew or transliteration. To rewind, click anywhere on the waveform. You can also pause, switch tracks, or close the player with the ✕ at any time.
Transliteration / Hebrew
El adon al kol ha-ma‘asim.
Barukh u-mevorakh befi kol neshamah.
Godlo ve-tuvo lifnei olam.
Da‘at u-tevunah sovim oto.
Ha-mitga’eh al hayot ha-kodesh.
Ve-nehdar be-khavod al ha-merkavah.
Zekhut u-mishor lifnei khiso.
H̱esed ve-rahamim maleh khvodo.
Tovim me’orot she-bara Eloheinu.
Yetzaram be-da‘at be-vinah u-ve-haskel.
Koah u-gevurah natan ba-hem.
Lihyot moshlim be-kerev tevel.
Mele’im ziv u-mefikim nogah.
Na’eh zivam be-khol ha-olam.
Semeẖim be-tzetam ve-sasim be-vo’am.
Osim be-eimah retzon konam.
Pe’er ve-khavod notnim lishmo.
Tzaholah ve-rinnah le-zekher malkhuto.
kara la-shemesh va-yizrah or.
Ra’ah ve-hitkin tzurat ha-levanah.
Shevah notnim lo kol tzva marom.
Tif’eret u-gedullah serafim ve-ofannim
ve-hayyot ha-kodesh.
אֵל אָדוֹן עַל כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים. בָּרוּךְ וּמְבֹרַךְ בְּפִי כָּל נְּשָׁמָה.
גָּדְלוֹ וְטוּבוֹ לִפְנֵי עוֹלָם. דַּעַת וּתְבוּנָה סוֹבְבִים אוֹתוֹ:
הַמִּתְגָּאֶה עַל חַיּוֹת הַקּדֶשׁ. וְנֶהְדָּר בְּכָבוֹד עַל הַמֶּרְכָּבָה.
זְכוּת וּמִישׁור לִפְנֵי כִסְאו. חֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים מָלֵא כְבוֹדוֹ:
טוֹבִים מְאוֹרוֹת שֶׁבָּרָא אֱלֹהֵינוּ. יְצָרָם בְּדַעַת בְּבִינָה וּבְהַשְׂכֵּל.
כֹּחַ וּגְבוּרָה נָתַן בָּהֶם. לִהְיוֹת מוֹשְׁלִים בְּקֶרֶב תֵּבֵל:
מְלֵאִים זִיו וּמְפִיקִים נוֹגָהּ. נָאֶה זִיוָם בְּכָל הָעוֹלָם.
שְׂמֵחִים בְּצֵאתָם וְשָׂשִׂים בְּבוֹאָם. עוֹשִׂים בְּאֵימָה רְצוֹן קוֹנָם:
פְּאֵר וְכָבוֹד נוֹתְנִים לִשְׁמוֹ. צָהֳלָה וְרִנָּה לְזֵכֶר מַלְכוּתוֹ.
קָרָא לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּזְרַח אוֹר. רָאָה וְהִתְקִין צוּרַת הַלְּבָנָה:
שֶׁבַח נוֹתְנִים לוֹ כָּל צְבָא מָרוֹם. תִּפְאֶרֶת וּגְדֻלָּה שְׂרָפִים וְאוֹפַנִּים וְחַיּוֹת הַקֹּדֶשׁ:
Translation (Lev Shalem)
God, master of all existence, praised by all that breathes,
the world is filled with Your greatness and glory; knowledge and understanding surround You.
Exalted above holy beings,
resplendent in glory on Your chariot, integrity and mercy stand before Your throne, love and merit accompany Your presence.
How good are the lights that our God created— fashioned with understanding, intelligence, and insight;
endowed with the strength and power to have dominion over earthly realms.
Fully luminous, they gleam brightly, radiating splendor throughout the world.
Happy as they go forth, joyous on their return, they accomplish, with awe, the will of their creator.
They give glory and honor to the name of God, invoking God’s sovereignty with joyful song.
God called forth the sun, and light dawned, then considered and set the cycles of the moon.
And so the array of heaven, s’rafim, ofanim, and holy beings, all the heavenly hosts,
give praise, and glory, and honor to God—