The Layers of Matthew - X

אבינו יתקדש שמך ויתברך מלכותך רצונך יהיה עשוי בשמים ובארץ ׃

ותתן לחמנו תמידית ׃

ומחול לנו חטאתינו כאשר אנחנו מוחלים לחוטאים לנו

ואל תביאנו לידי נסיון ושמרינו מכל רע אמן ׃

Avinu yitkadash shmekha v'yitbarak malkhutekha ritzonkha yihyeh osuy bashamayim uvaaretz.

V'titen lechmenu tamidit.

Umachol lanu cheteteynu kaasher anachnu mochlim lachoteyim lanu.

V'al t'viyenu liydey nisayon v'shamreynu mekol ra ameyn.


Our Father, may your name be sanctified,

and may your kingdom be blessed.

May your will be done

in the heavens and on earth.

Give us our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive

those who sin against us.

And do not lead us into

the power of temptation,

but keep us from all evil.

Amen.



The above is from Hebrew Matthew, as preserved for us by Shem-tob ben-Isaac ben-Shaprut. It is arguably the oldest form of the Our Father, or Avinu, that has come down to us. I also think it is the most beautiful. May it be a blessing to us all.

I'm pleased to announce that this blog has now passed the milestone of 49,000 visits. Of course, it's no longer all poetry, as I've been concentrating lately on expository writing. The prime example of this is my series "The Layers of Matthew," currently in nine parts.

I like to take material that is inherently complex and technical, and make it comprehensible to non-specialists. Hopefully, some specialists will still be able to relate. What I really like, though, is to publish content, no matter what the genre, that reminds us where we have come from, and that we are all sisters and brothers. May this series, and other writings to come, do just that.

Thank you all for your interest and encouragement.