“V’ahimah Miyamim Yamimah” is a ḳinah that recounts the tragic tale of the children of Rabbi Yishmael as told in the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 58a). The handsome brother and fair sister were separated and sold into slavery during the conquest of Jerusalem. Their respective masters, not knowing the two were siblings, paired them with the intent of creating beautiful offspring. In their shared cell, the two wept all night until morning, when they recognized one another. They cried on each other’s necks until their souls departed from their bodies. The narrator of our story laments their terrible fate, ending each verse with a haunting refrain: “And so I will wail for all time.” . . .

Based on the acrostic signature, this piyyut popularly sung at the Shabbat table, is attributed to an otherwise unknown paytan named Yehonatan. . . .

This prayer appears on page 11-12 of Hayyim Obadya’s Seder Akhilat haSimanim for 5781. It is a variant of the prayer, “Eloheinu Shebashamayim,” a supplication read in the sephardic tradition during seliḥot. This version contains twenty-five lines as found in Sefer Selihot haShalem, Hazon Ovadia, p.48-51/. Other variations have fifty or more lines. . . .

This beautiful piyyut of unknown authorship is recited in most Sephardic, Mizrahi and Yemenite traditions on Tisha B’ab at Minḥah. In its stanzas, rich and replete with biblical references (as is particularly common in Sephardic Piyyut), God speaks to Jerusalem and promises to comfort her, and comfort and redeem her people. . . .

A prayer for unveiling a tombstone, according to the custom of the Jews of Pressburg. . . .

The ancient Jewish community of Djerba, an island off the coast of southern Tunisia, has many unique customs and practices. Among them is that during the Maggid, after the citation of Joshua 24:2-4 and before the paragraph beginning “Praise the One who keep faith with the people Israel,” an extensive work in Judeo-Tunisian Arabic is recited, telling the well-known story of Abraham’s realization of divine unity and his ordeal in the oven of fire. Here is a transcript of that text, vocalized according to the original manuscripts, transcribed, and translated into English and modern Hebrew. . . .

In many eastern communities, including the communities of Aleppo and Yemen as well as the haggadah of Ḥakham Ovadia Yosef, this text is added to the extrapolation of the First Fruits declaration found in the Pesaḥ Maggid. Specifically, it is found after the citation of Exodus 12:12, specifically within or after the passage concluding “…who is Me and there is no other.” . . .

In many Eastern rites, as well as in the writings of R. Avraham ben haRambam, it is customary to add this brief midrash to Dayenu, after the verse that ends “but had not given us their wealth, dayenu.” Here it is translated into English, including some notes for certain locations where the Yemenite nusaḥ differs from others. . . .

Emunim ʿIrkhu Shevaḥ is a brief piyyut recited in North African communities in Rabban Gamliel’s list, between Pesaḥ and Maror. It spells out “Aaron the Priest” as an alphabetical acrostic, but it is uncertain whether this is an authorial signature or a mystical reference to the Biblical figure. . . .

A zemirah for havdallah by an otherwise unknown rabbinic payyetan known only by his signature acrostic. . . .

This piyyuṭ, bearing the acrostic signature “Samuel,” is traditionally recited in the communities of Babylonia and India as a petiḥa, or opening poem, before the Song of the Sea. It is also sung on Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath where we read the Song of the Sea in public. This translation is an attempt to preserve the original meaning as well as the rhyme scheme and poetic form. . . .

This piyyut is signed “Elyaqim Ḥazaq.” Alas, we do not know who this Elyaqim was or even whether he was a rabbinic or Karaite Jew. The piyyut has been preserved for us in the Karaite cycle (Vilna printing press, 1852, Vol. IV, p. 135.) and there are several other piyyutim signed with his name. . . .

A litany of mythical guests and creatures presenting at the Passover seder. . . .

A pizmon in the nusaḥ hasepharadim recited at Seliḥot during the monh of Elul and Yom Kippur. . . .

An alphabetic acrostic pizmon for seliḥot and Yom Kippur with an alphabetic acrostic English translation. . . .

One of the most well-known of the kinot (liturgical poems for mourning), Eli Tsiyon v’Areha is an alphabetical acrostic describing the destruction of Jerusalem. It is recited towards the conclusion of ḳinot, due to the hopeful note in the comparison of Zion to a woman about to give birth, thought by many to be a messianic reference. The author of the work is unknown. . . .

This prayer appears on page 13-16 of Hayyim Obadya’s Seder Akhilat haSimanim for 5781. It is a variation of the piyyut Tayanu v’Tayatru albeit with a different opening line. . . .

A penitential piyyut for the fast of the 17th of Tammuz. . . .

A song for celebrating the Shabbat. . . .

The Tabula Smaragdina, or the Emerald Tablet, is a cryptic and compact work, part of the Technical Hermetica — a genre of mystical and magical texts of great popularity in the medieval and renaissance era. Traditionally attributed to the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus, it is considered a foundational text for Near Eastern and European alchemy. It is the ultimate source of the popular occultist expression “as above, so below,” although that specific expression doesn’t appear in the original Arabic text as found in the ninth-century Secret of Creation. . . .

This is a litanic Ḳiddush for a Rosh Ḥodesh meal, constructed based on the Ḳiddush for Rosh Ḥodesh in Jerusalem as described in Masekhet Soferim chapter 19:9, mostly following the GRA’s edition. Traditionally it would be done in the presence of twelve town elders and twelve scholars of ritual purity, but today we could adapt it to be recited at a festive meal for Rosh Ḥodesh in the presence of seven — the minyan count according to the traditional Western practice recorded elsewhere in Masekhet Soferim 10:7. . . .

The “minor tractate” Soferim is one of our best sources for early liturgical practice. It is the oldest known source for multiple practices still followed today, such as the blessing for the haftarah. Such luminaries as the Vilna Gaon considered it a vital work. But some of its practices are… well, odd. There are customs in Tractate Soferim which are found nowhere else in classical rabbinics — blessings for the recitation of books in Writings other than the scrolls, a three-year cycle of Torah readings, and a custom to divide the scrolls in half when reading them. This service is constructed based on the descriptions and passages of Tractate Soferim, mostly following the Gra’s edition. In some ways it may be very familiar, especially to Ashkenazim, but in others it is a fascinating glimpse into a heretofore lost practice of Judaism. . . .

This is the schedule for the reading of psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Tractate Soferim 18:2-3 and 19:2. . . .

In Yemenite Jewish children’s schools, this prayer of unknown authorship is said before the lesson in unison. The teacher conducts and the children sing together to a melody. The prayer is printed in tajjim (Yemenite trilingual Pentateuch codices) before the book of Leviticus, traditionally the starting point for a child’s education. The first twenty-two lines of the prayer are an alphabetical acrostic wherein each line spells out the entire letter in which it starts. For instance, the first line spells out Alef, Lamed, and Pe, which spells out the full name of the letter Alef. This is followed by three Biblical verses all starting with the word “Good,” a brief poem in Hebrew, and a concluding passage largely in Judeo-Arabic. Here the editor has included the original text, along with a non-gendered English translation and a transcription of the Judeo-Arabic text into Arabic script. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Qədusha of Minḥah for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content of these tashlumim is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Qaddish Y’hei Shmeih after Shaḥarit for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content of these tashlumim is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Full Qaddish after Shaḥarit for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content of these tashlumim is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. The entire midrash provided here is sometimes found under the name “The Feast of the Garden of Eden.” . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Qədusha of Shaḥarit for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Qədusha d-Sidra for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. (The Qədusha d-Sidra is no longer considered dəvarim she-biqdushah, although Baladi-rite Yemenites replace “קדוש קדוש קודש” with one “קדושת.”) Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Ḥatsi Qaddish between Taḥanun and Ashrei for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Qədushah d-Yotser for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Barkhu for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdushah, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədushah. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is the Half Qaddish before Barkhu for an individual from Seder Rav ȝAmram, the oldest known full siddur. Much of the content is from the hekhalot literature or the Gemara, often demonstrating girsaot not otherwise known. . . .

This piyyut, “Ḥanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah,” was originally written to be recited as an introduction to the targum of the Second Commandment, the prohibition on worshiping other gods. It is a dispute-poem retelling the story of Ḥanaiah, Mishael, and Azariah, the three “holy children” of Daniel chapter 3 who would rather be thrown into an oven than worship an idol. It’s an intricate multi-part acrostic that I absolutely love. (I also am partially convinced it may be influenced by the apocryphal “Song of the Three Holy Children,” if not in context then in the idea of an extensive poem related to their story.) Since the original poem’s acrostic only goes halfway through the alphabet, the great Meir bar Isaac Nehorai of Orleans wrote a continuation that is also included here. . . .

One of many variants of this notorious work, the Sefer Toldot Yeshu is an irreverent retelling? a bitter deconstruction? a mocking parody? of the Christian narrative of the birth, life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Taking its general structure from the gospels, it coöpts and alters it to make the main character look like a petty, vindictive sorcerer, his disciples into either sectarian liars or loyal rabbinic plants, and his followers into easily duped fools. Toldot Yeshu was a very popular work in medieval times, and you can tell — this sort of a text was certainly written by someone whose primary relationship with Christians was fear. It’s the bitter invective of an oppressed people without power for themselves, the dirty laundry that two thousand years of murder leaves behind. It’s also, just, like unspeakably, hilariously crude. Have a garlicky Nittel, everyone! . . .

The Words of Gad the Augur is a lost work mentioned in I Chronicles 29:29. It is also an apocryphal Hebrew work of fourteen chapters, attributed to the Jews of Cochin in India. Most famous for its unique verse for the letter נ (nūn) in its variant of Psalms 145, this text also features multiple unique midrashim, reworked Biblical texts, and Hebrew forms and names not found elsewhere. . . .

The “angels on all sides” formula included with the Bedtime Shema service in many contemporary siddurim. . . .

The origin story of Lilith as told in the Alphabet of ben Sira. . . .

Azalat Yokheved is part of a whole genre of midrashic works suggesting Yokheved lived to see her son die — a concept even found in the Ethiopian literature. With repeated refrains, it emphasizes the desperate search of a mother trying to find her son, retracing all her steps and desperately asking everyone she can. But just as Moshe’s journey to the Promised Land ends without a conclusion, so too Yokheved never finds her Moshe. It’s been translated preserving monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (2018), it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . .

Azalat Bekhita, is probably incomplete, extending only to ḥeth in known manuscripts. It features multiple people, places, and things important in Moshe’s life taking turns to eulogize him. It’s been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (2018), it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . .

Amar Kiris l-Moshe, is a midrashic narrative of Moshe going to Adam to ask why he cursed humanity with death. It’s been translated preserving the acrostic and monorhyme scheme. Taken from Sokoloff and Yahalom’s “Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity,” it is presented here vocalized with an original translation. . . .

The piyyut El Adon in its nusaḥ Ashkenaz variation set side-to-side with an acrostic alphabetic translation in English. . . .

The piyyut, El Adon, in Hebrew with an interpretive “praying translation” by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalom, z”l. . . .

The piyyut, El Adon, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .

This piyyut, Man K’vatakh (Who is Like You), the seventh in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the Targum of the verse that includes “Mi Khamokha.” The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the Aramaic. . . .

This piyyut, Amar Oyev (The Enemy Said), the sixth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the targum of Exodus 15, verse 9. . . .

‘Ad Ana Bikhya B’Tsiyon, is one of the oldest qinot of the cycle, dating to the period before rhyme schemes were the norm for Hebrew poetry. It describes the heavenly luminaries themselves as sympathizing with and lamenting for Israel. It goes through the entire zodiac, beginning with Ares and ending with Pisces. It is traditional to stand and recite the last few lines aloud before transitioning into the Ḳedusha d’Sidra. . . .

Many communities recite a series of poems interwoven with the Amidah on Purim. These poems, known as the “krovets,” were written by Elazar b. Rabbi Kalir, the greatest of the early paytanim. But lesser known than the krovets for Purim are the krovets for Tisha b’Av, written as well by Elazar b. Rabbi Kalir. A fine example of Elazar’s intricate poetry, the krovets for Tisha b’Av is rife with Biblical citations, finally culminating with the prayer for Jerusalem. Each stanza begins with five tightly rhymed lines beginning with a constant א followed by a quintuple half-acrostic on the second letter, then a poetic volta on the word אֵיכָה, followed by a Biblical citation, a verse starting with the last word in the citation, a letter from Elazar’s name, and a final Biblical citation. The krovets for Tisha b’Av is meant to be part of the morning service, tied into the cantorial repetition for Tisha b’Av. . . .

This translation of “Adonai boker e’erokh lekha” by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of a piyyut by an unknown paytan was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). . . .

This piyyut, Tanun Shvaḥeih (Tell the Praise), the eighth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited as an introduction to the Targum of Exodus 15:18, the famous verse “Adonai yimlokh l-‘olam va-‘ed.” The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the Aramaic. . . .