Sing for joy and sing praise to HaShem our G-d
Let our joy increase as we trust in Your Judgment, O L-rd
For unto you do we pray; I examine my heart to follow in Your Ways
For Your Torah is beautiful; Your Laws are pleasing
Our hands are unbounded to serve you; our feet escape the snare to follow You in liberty
You deliver us; redeem Your people Israel to unburden our hearts to sing joyously
Your Judgments are true, O G-d; it is we who have done evil, neglecting the downtrodden and oppressed
L-rd of Hosts, Your Name be praised through all the earth for all time
I delight in your discipline, for refined we become through Your watchfulness
Your Instruction is to purify our souls, our behaviors; for inner shalom
Your mercies extend over all the earth; should you mark iniquities L-rd, who could stand?
Render a requital to the tyrannous; humble those that denigrate Your Torah
Rebuke those that lure Israel to worship false gods and intermediaries; upbraid those that seek to nullify Your holy & just laws, statutes, and ordinances leading others astray
For all Your ways are pleasantness; Your Instruction is for shalom and harmony amongst us
I stand in awe of You, HaShem; inscrutable is Your majesty, Your fullness
You uplift those who are bowed to help them walk uprightly
Crowns and dignity are freely given by Your hand to those who guard Your Torah
Inspiring of love and reverence are You, L-rd; in awe do we make it a harmony
To keep your Shabbat and yom tovim; to preserve Your Teachings
As the prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) saw: the whole earth will see how they have unjustly oppressed Israel, Your true servant
For You are neither man nor the son of man; eternally existent for all time are You
The nations will see how they have despised Your people; all shall see how they have ignored in empathy the pleas of the righteous, the innocent, the poor
Not because of our rightness do we sing unto thee, O L-rd; but because of thy great and abundant mercies we recognize you as our King, You HaShem alone through no other
The sparrows eat freely from Your hands; you renew each day for us
I lie in your bosom my eyes longing for You, whispering my song to You
My feet take to dance; we sing through all the earth of Your goodness, O L-rd
Though the wicked encircle me, I shall be not silent
I praise your holy Name though the wicked want to destroy, quiet, us, Your people
Deliver us, O L-rd, for Your Name is upon Your People
Restore us and Your Presence, for Your Name is upon Your city and holy mountain
Let Jerusalem sing for joy; remove our captivity as if we were in a dream
As if in a dream, we awake to joy and delight in You for Your abundant blessings
The infinite blessings each day, O L-rd; we acknowledge You as the only Source
Swiftly do our feet glide, majestically do our arms soar and flutter amidst the air
Through the darkness shines light; emerging through the cracks does the egg yield her young
The flame flutters amidst the cold, dark air; warmth and light tingle our senses
Swirling do they mix to nip and comfort us; O that I should have the wisdom to come closer to You
That Israel be a light; to warm those who delight in it and burn those who respect it not
For You do not change, O L-rd; our prayers and our observance of Torah change us, the vessel, O HaShem
One vessel is mended in your heat, the other melts away
Sing, O earth; shout for joy!
The L-rd will not cast off those who draw near humbly and who rectify their wrongs
The L-rd shows mercy to those who mend their ways, restoring justice to the oppressed
Who is like our G-d? There is none like our L-rd!
Abounding in mercy to those that revere the L-rd, revere G-d in truth
Let us take joy and be thankful for all the goodness in this, Thy world, O G-d
The beautiful song of the song-bird; the sweet love of the animals
The pure soul You endowed us with; the goodness You created, O L-rd
That we too open our hearts to serve you in love and reverence
To open our hearts to those who cry out, to sit with those who mourn
To give justly by abundantly opening our hands to the poor; to clothe the naked
Not to offer trite words to the grieving, not to justify suffering to those with tears in the eyes
Sing, sing a quiet comforting song; listen to the music of the downtrodden
That we add to the symphony, to compliment their tenor
Before we reprove their notes that I listen to the wisdom of our fathers, great sages
To bear their burdens, as did Moshe (Moses) when we Ya'akov (Jacob) were enslaved in narrowness
That our reproof uplifts and heals, comforts the soul
Like pleasing spices; our spirits are restored by fragrant melodies
G-d, our sheltering Rock for all time
As You promised, these words of Thy Torah have not departed in all the generations
Timeless, Eternal are You our Ruler
Make Thy Torah penetrate, to bind upon our heart
And let us sing for joy so that the nations, all of them, acknowledge You, L-rd G-d of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yisrael
That the love You lavish on Yeshurun be not concealed; unveil Your Shekinah
Oh, that we see Your speedy return to Zion, Your tenderness great and profuse
O L-rd, how long yet? Our soul, sometimes silently, concealed even to our eyes, cries for You at all times
We cry and nothing is heard from our lips; we weep and our eyes are dry
O that our mourning be turned to dancing to You; for then we would be pious O Deliverer
To sing the song piercing our lips without sound; to praise You in the silence ‘tween the notes
All creations, sing and laud our Creator; our G-d who has given us, kept us renewing in life
The universe is not empty and cold, devoid of the L-rd; the L-rd has not forgotten us
Let us not forget those in the cold with empty hands; O L-rd be gracious unto us for our lacking tzedakah
That we seek that which we missed; to pursue peace to dwell together in unity
Our voices falter; throats run dry from so many songs! From songs misdirected
O L-rd, that I may learn to take delight in the struggle for growth
To serve You in joy; delight in Your blessings to keep the base inclinations at bay
As Koheleth enjoined us to serve You and obey Your Torah in pleasant gratitude
Open our lips, that we may declare Your praise evermore
O L-rd, let the songs of offering and praise of Yehudah and Yisra’el be pleasant to You as in days and years of old
For You, You alone: Shema Yisra’el Ad-nai Elokeinu Ad-nai Echad
(Baruch shem kavod malchuto l’olam va’ed)
Selah.
Blessed are You L-rd. Amein and amein