הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב

הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד


Hineh ma tov u’ma-nayim
Shevet akh-im gam ya-chad.

The Shabbat afternoon prayer service, called the minha, often ends with the song "Hineh ma tov," a song about humans doing the impossible.

It is usually translated in the following way:

How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in Unity.

Here's a translation that is closer to the literal meaning:

How good and pleasant it is for brothers to be sitting as One.

Tov, meaning good, is masculine, while maynaim, meaning pleasant, is feminine; achim, meaning brothers, is masculine plural (women are included). Yachad is the closest concept to a Jewish definition of God: perfect Unity.

The song is about transformations: the many become One, the human become the divine. None of it is actually possible... or is it?

The singing of Hineh Ma Tov fulfils its own hope: it is the closest anyone ever comes to Yachid. Singing the song serves as a reminder that we can only reach the eternal in the fleeting present moment. And in the Jewish worldview, we can only do so together.

I recorded a version today -- here.