Emet ve-emunah  (Jewish Traditional): Beverley Chiat (Soprano) & Albert Combrink (Piano)


Filmed Live during the “Rosh Hashanah” service at Temple Israel Reform Synagogue, Greenpoint, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2013

Emet ve-emunah (Text in Hebrew)

Emet ve-emunah kol zot,
v’kayam aleinu, ki hu Adonai Eloheinu
v’ein zulato, vaanachnu Yisrael amo.

Emet ve-emunah (Text in English)

All this we hold to be true and trustworthy for us.
You alone are our God, and we are Israel Your people.
You are our Sovereign and Saviour

Emet ve-emunah – Brief Discussion:

The word emet comes from a verb (aman) that means to support or make firm, and expresses the image of strong arms of a parent supporting the helpless infant. Truth stands in active relation to the one who is supposed to know it and “carries the burden,” so to speak, by being the foundation of one’s existence in creation.

“Emet”, (“True and faithful”) is a  Blessing in praise of God’s uniqueness and redemptive power, recited daily in the Evening Service and forming a transition between the Shema and the Amidah sections of the service. It is one of two benedictions that follow the Shema the other being Hashkivenu. Like its counterpart in the Morning Service, Emet Ve-Yatsiv, this prayer was evidently recited in the Temple.

Incidentally, the concept is so powerful and important in Judaism, that it was the title of a publication:

In 1988, the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism issued an official statement of belief, Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism. Emet Ve-Emunah affirms belief in God and in the divine inspiration of the Torah.

Soprano Beverley Chiat

Soprano Beverley Chiat

 

Read More about Beverley Chiat HERE

Find Beverley Chiat on Twitter

Read more about Albert Combrink HERE

 

This is a setting of the first lines of the first prayer. The original Hebrew text is found at the Reform Judaism Website

The Complete Prayer in Hebrew:

Emet ve-emunah kol zot,
v’kayam aleinu, ki hu Adonai Eloheinu
v’ein zulato, vaanachnu Yisrael amo.
Hapodeinu miyad m’lachim, Malkeinu
hago-aleinu mikaf kol he-aritzim,
haoseh g’dolot ad ein cheiker
v’niflaot ad ein mispar, hasam
nafsheinu bachayim v’lo natan lamot
ragleinu, haoseh lanu nisim
b’Faroh, otot umoftim
b’admat b’nei Cham. Vayotzei et
amo Yisrael mitocham l’cheirut
olam. V’ra-u vanav g’vurato, shib’chu
v’hodu lishmo. Umalchuto b’ratzon
kiblu aleihem. Moshe uMiryam
uv’nei Yisrael l’cha anu shirah
b’simchah rabah, v’amru chulam:

 

The Complete Prayer in English:

ll this we hold to be true and trustworthy for us.
You alone are our God, and we are Israel Your people.
You are our Sovereign and Savior,
who delivers us from oppressors’ hands
and saves us from tyrants’ fists.
You work wonders without number, marvels beyond count.
You give us life and steady our footsteps.
You performed miracles for us before Pharaoh,
signs and wonders in the land of the Egyptians;
You led Your people Israel out from their midst to freedom for all time.
When Your children witnessed Your dominance
they praised Your Name in gratitude.
And they accepted Your sovereignty —
Moses, Miriam and all Israel sang to You together,
lifting their voices joyouslyoo