Adir Hu (English: Mighty is He, Hebrew אדיר הוּא) is a hymn sung by Ashkenazi Jews worldwide at the Passover Seder. It switches rapidly between saying the virtues of God in an alphabet format (Aleph, Bet, Gimel,...), and expressing hope that God will "rebuild the Holy Temple speedily." Most of the virtues of God are adjectives (for instance, Holy (Kadosh) is he); however, a few are nouns. (Lord is he).
Adir Hu is sung towards the end of the Seder. The traditional melody is a bouncy, major one.[1] Other melodies, however, have been composed for the alphabetical song.[2]
History
editThe tune of Adir Hu has gone through several variations over the years, but its origin is from the German minnesinger period.[citation needed] The earliest existing music for Adir Hu is found in the 1644 "Rittangel Hagada".[3] The second form is found in the 1677 "Hagada Zevach Pesach", and the third and closest form can be found in the 1769 "Selig Hagada".[4] In the 1769 version of the haggadah, the song was also known in German as the "Baugesang" (the song of the rebuilding of the Temple). A traditional German greeting on the night of Passover after leaving the synagogue was "Bau Gut" ("build well"), a reference to Adir Hu.
Text
edit| Transliteration | English Translation |
|---|---|
|
ADIR HU Adir hu, adir hu Chorus: Bachur hu, gadol hu, dagul hu, Hadur hu, vatik hu, zakai hu, chasid hu, Tahor hu, yachid hu, kabir hu, Kadosh hu, rachum hu, shaddai hu, |
GOD IS MIGHTY He is mighty, He is mighty Chorus: He is distinguished, He is great, He is exalted He is glorious, He is faithful, He is faultless, He is righteous He is pure, He is unique, He is powerful He is holy, He is compassionate, He is almighty, He is omnipotent |
Variants
editModern variants of the hymn have been written, such as a feminist version by Rabbi Jill Hammer.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Standard version of Adir Hu
- ^ "Adir Hu in 5/4". Archived from the original on 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Cohen, Francis L. (1906). "Addir Hu". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Der Jude, 3. Band, 25. Stück, Leipzig 1769". Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Orah Hi: A New Passover Hymn". telshemesh.org. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-14.