(א) קודם פתיחת הארון אומרים:
אֵין כָּמוךָ בָאֱלהִים אֲדנָי. וְאֵין כְּמַעֲשיךָ:
מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כָּל עולָמִים. וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ בְּכָל דּור וָדור:
ה' מֶלֶךְ. ה' מָלָךְ. ה' יִמְלךְ לְעולָם וָעֶד:
ה' עז לְעַמּו יִתֵּן. ה' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּו בַשָּׁלום:
(ב) אַב הָרַחֲמִים. הֵיטִיבָה בִרְצונְךָ אֶת צִיּון. תִּבְנֶה חומות יְרוּשָׁלָיִם: כִּי בְךָ לְבַד בָּטָחְנוּ. מֶלֶךְ אֵל רָם וְנִשּא אֲדון עולָמִים:
(Before opening the Ark we say):
There is No One like You, Ado-nai, and no one who can match Your creations./You are Our Leader forever, and Your leadership stretches across all generations./Ado-nai is, was, and will always be forever./God gives strength to God's people and blesses the people with peace./Merciful Creator, may You help Zion, and build up the walls of Jerusalem./We rely on You alone, Ruler who is above all, Master of All Time.
*Notice how in each part of the poem Eyn Kamocha, the first part of a sentence and the second have matching words and ideas: no one like you/no one who, Leader/leadership, Ado-nai is/was/will be, God strengthens people/blesses people, Help Zion/Build up Jerusalem
*So far, no mention of the Torah
(א) כשפותחין ארון הקודש אומרים:
וַיְהִי בִּנְסעַ הָאָרן וַיּאמֶר משֶׁה.
קוּמָה ה' וְיָפֻצוּ איְבֶיךָ. וְיָנֻסוּ מְשנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
כִּי מִצִּיּון תֵּצֵא תורָה. וּדְבַר ה' מִירוּשָׁלָיִם:
בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָּתַן תּורָה לְעַמּו יִשרָאֵל בִּקְדֻשָּׁתו:
When the Ark traveled, Moses said: Rise up Ado-nai and sweep away your enemies, and chase Your enemies away from Your Presence./Torah comes from Zion, and the Word of God from Jerusalem./Blessings to the One who gave the Torah to God's people in holiness.
*The original Ark was not fixed in one place, it was designed to be carried.(See pictures in the back of the Etz Chaim chumash.)
*Something about the Ark projected Gopd's strength and God's power. What was it?
*The prayer says Torah comes from Jerusalem, but doesn't the Torah come from Sinai?
*At the end of this poem we finally see the word "Torah", the Torah that God gave us.