it is wrong to translate here: “To every creature he teacheth his greatness and his sovereignty.” Through the change of a single character (וְכָל in place of לְכָל), the fifth verse of Yigdal corresponds exactly to the fifth principle of faith formulated by Maimonides: Every creature must declare his greatness and his kingship; that is, everyone must pray to God.
In the Baraitha of Rabbi Ishmael, enumerating the thirteen principles upon which the talmudic exposition of the Bible is based, the ninth principle as well as the tenth contains the word אַחֵר and not אֶחָד. The correct reading is found on the first page of Sifra and in some rare Siddurim, thus: כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא מן הכלל לטעון טען אחר שהוא כענינו... כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא מן הכלל לטעון טען אחר שלא כענינו.
לְעֵֽלָא לְעֵֽלָא, the phrase used in the Kaddish during the High Holyday period, is a reproduction of the Targum on מַֽעְלָה מָֽעְלָה (Deuteronomy 28:43). Though it means higher and higher, it is analogous to all adverbs which are repeated without the use of a conjunction for the purpose of intensification and emphasis; examples: מְאֹד מְאֹד, מַֽטָּה מַֽטָּה, מְעַט מְעַט, סָבִיב סָבִיב. In none of these instances does the Targum add the letter ו as a conjunction.
The phrasing וּלְעוֹלָם לֹא נֵבוֹשׁ כִּי בְךָ בָּטָֽחְנוּ in the Shemoneh Esreh corresponds to בְּךָ חָסִֽיתִי, אַל אֵבוֹשָׁה לְעוֹלָם in Psalm 71:1. It means may we never come to shame, for in thee we trust. This reading has been adopted here on the basis of Maḥzor Vitry (page 67) and the Sephardic editions. Additional support for this reading is offered by the expression שֶׁלֹּא נֵבוֹשׁ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד in the grace recited after meals.
In the prayer וּבָא לְצִיּוֹן, the correct reading הוּא יִפְתַּח לִבֵּֽנוּ... לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנוֹ (“may he open our heart... to do his will”) is found in the Spanish Siddur. The reading וְלַעֲשׂוֹת (“and to do”) is the result of a dittography; that is, the last letter of the preceding word has been erroneously repeated.
