Yigdal

Yigdal a hymn which shares with Adon Olam the place of honor at the opening or closing of synagogue services. The S&P sing it at the close of the Friday Evening service. It was written by Daniel ben Judah Dayan, who is said to have worked on it for eight years, completing it in 1404.

It is based on the 13 Principals of Faith formulated by Rambam; though it has been said that it is good the words are sung rather than said as a prayer, since most if not all of these principals are a matter of dispute, and many are even contradicted in the writings of Rambam himself.

While Ashkenazim have thirteen verses, one for each principal, the Sephardim, have a 14th line: "These are the 13 bases of the Rule of Moses and the tenets of his Law", which helps fit the verses with tunes that cover two stanzas. In modern S&P books the penultimate verse (the Thirteenth principle) is repeated, bringing the number of stanzas to fifteen, thereby fitting some of the best loved melodies for this hymn, which treat the verses in threes (such as the example below).

Here's me and my family singing one of the favourite S&P melodies for Yigdal sung at the end of the Friday evening service.

♫ Yigdal

When singing at home we don't do the rather theatrical ending the way it's done in synagogue with a choir. Here's a nice recording of that ending: