Blessing for the Seder Night

Unknown

Before the 10th Century

Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us above any people, and raised us higher than all tongues. He chose us and made us great. He wanted us and adorned us. He separated us as a portion from all nations. He gave us as an inheritance a pleasant land.

He sanctified His name in the entire world,

on account of the patriarchs, who performed His will.

He performed many mighty deeds for His sake,

and His marvelous acts are unsearchable [see Job 5:9].

He called us an assembly of holy ones,

a pleasant vineyard, the plant of delights [see Isaiah 5:7].

He called them a treasure [see Exodus 19:5] for His name.

He took them as the first from all the peoples of the lands,

Which are compared to the hosts of the high heaven,

and they were established like the stars of the firmament.

They were set up high in the midst of the world [see Deuteronomy 28:1]

and were made more honorable than all the nations.

The radiance of their faces is like the radiance of the sun,

and their appearance is like the ministering angels.

Kings will see them and arise,

ministers will prostrate themselves,

because of the Lord, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, for He has chosen them [see Isaiah 49:7].

All who see them shall acknowledge them,

that they are the seed which the Lord has blessed (Isaiah 61:9).

He has sanctified us with an everlasting holiness,

and He called His great name upon us [see Deuteronomy 28:10].

He called us an assembly in His name,

a treasure and an inheritance from ancient days.

He brought us before Mount Sinai,

and drew us near Horeb.

He bequeathed to us words of life,

written with the finger of His glory.

He performed miracles and mighty acts for us,

and delivered us from our adversaries (Psalms 136:24).

He redeemed us from the palm of the enemy,

and saved us from the hand of our haters [see Psalms 106:10]. [ . . . ]

And He chose this day from all the days, and favored it and sanctified it above all times, for us to praise Him on this day for His wondrous deeds, and to remember it each and every year.

To declare that on this day He brought out His servants from Egypt, delivered us from the iron furnace [see Deuteronomy 4:20].

To declare that on this day they accepted His reign to serve Him with a full heart and a willing mind (1 Chronicles 28:9).

To declare that on this day He enacted vengeance upon their enemies, and on this day He sunk their adversaries in the sea.

To declare that on this day He performed mighty deeds for His loved ones, and many wonders for the children of His beloved ones.

To declare that You chose us, etc.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Blessing for the Seder Night

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