“Nilah l’Heilil” is the fourth reshut offered before Nishmat at the outset of the Zemirot (preceding Shaḥarit). It is the sixth reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

Emma Lazarus’s translation, “In the Night” — derived from the piyyut נַפְשִׁי אִוִּיתִיךָ בַּלַּיְלָה by Moses ibn Ezra — was first published in her anthology, Songs of a Semite: The dance to death and other poems (1882), pages 78-80.

This prayer for divine contemplatives, beginning with the incipit “Tefilat Lisgulat Ishim” (prayer for distinguished individuals), is attested in several manuscripts prefaced by the title, תפלת הרב רבינו משה זצ״ל (prayer of our teacher, Rabbi Mosheh, may their righteousness be remembered for a blessing). The assumption of earlier scholars was that the Rabbi Mosheh here refers to Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon — Maimonides (1138-1204). While our reading of the prayer finds nothing outside the concepts articulated by Rambam in his Mishneh Torah (Yesodei haTorah) and Moreh Nevukhim, it seems more likely that the Rabbi Mosheh referred to here is the famous paytan Mosheh ben Yaaqov ibn Ezra (ca. 1055-after 1138), who is quoted sharing similar ideas as found in this prayer by Rabbi Abraham ben Azriel in Arugat ha-Bosem (ca. 1230). Transcribed from the manuscript Leiden Or. 4779, this is the first time this obscure and long overlooked prayer has been translated.

This ahavah piyyut, likely by the paytan Yitsḥaq ben Reuven Albargeloni (the acrostic signature is ambiguous), is a longing love song between Israel, the “amazing one,” and God, the “Mighty One.” As an ahavah, it is recited prior to the final line of the guf and the ḥatima of the Ahavah Rabba blessing.

“Heikhal [Hashem]” is the reshut offered before the Qaddish preceding Barkhu and the Shaḥarit blessings before the Shema. It is the seventh reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

The yotser for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir. Each line ends with a verse from either Hosea or Joel, the two books from which Ashkenazim read as the haftara on Shabbat Shuva. Also included is a German translation by Isaac Seligman Baer.

The ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir. A half-acrostic, each stanza begins with a word from parashat Ha’azinu, usually read on Shabbat Shuva, and ends with a verse that includes the word “holy” or “sanctify” in it.

The zulat piyyuṭ for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir.

An alphabetic acrostic seliḥah piyyut for Taanit Esther in Hebrew with English translation

This is a transcription of “Amarer b-Vekhi,” a seliḥah for the 17th of Tammuz by Menaḥem ben Makhir. The German translation by an unknown translator can be found in סידור שפה ברורה Tägliches Gebetbuch der Israeliten für das ganze Jahr (B.L. Monasch, Krotoschin: 1845), pp. 405-407.

A seliḥah for the seventeenth of Tammuz, the second piyyuṭ recited in the Eastern Ashkenazi custom for that day, written by Menachem ben Machir, an eleventh-century German paytan. This was first translated in 2005 for a summer event with the European Academy for Jewish Liturgy.

This is a transcription of “Atanu l’Kha Yotsér,” a seliḥah for the 17th of Tammuz of unknown authorship found in 13th century Ashkenazi manuscripts and translated by Isaac Seligman Baer in הסליחות לכל השנה: לפי מנהג האשכנזים Ha-Seliḥot le-khol ha-shanah: le-fi minhag ha-Ashkenazim (1865), pp. 558-561..

Emma Lazarus’s translation, simply referred to as “Hymn” — derived from the piyyut יְיָ מָה אָדָם by Shlomo ibn Gabirol — was first published in her anthology, Songs of a Semite: The dance to death and other poems (1882), pages 68-70.

A seliḥah for 17 Tammuz by the great payṭan and philosopher Shlomo ibn Gabirol. This seliḥa is referred to as pizmon, meaning that (in the Ashkenazi rite) each stanza is recited aloud by the congregation followed by the shaliaḥ tzibbur. This piyyuṭ, in Ashkenazi practice, serves as the final unique seliḥa of the 17 Tammuz seliḥot. (There are other piyyutim recited as part of fast day seliḥot but they aren’t unique to 17 Tammuz.)

The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation.

The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation.

“Prayer” for Sabbath—ⅩⅬⅢ is Alice Lucas’s English verse adaptation of the piyyut “Shaḥar Avaqeshkha Tsuri u-Misgabi” by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, published in her The Jewish Year: A Collection of Devotional Poems for Sabbaths and Holidays throughout the Year (1898), page 97.

The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation.

This is a transcription of “Shə’éh Neèsar,” a seliḥah for the 17th of Tammuz by Shlomo ibn Gabirol and translated by Isaac Seligman Baer in הסליחות לכל השנה: לפי מנהג האשכנזים Ha-Seliḥot le-khol ha-shanah: le-fi minhag ha-Ashkenazim (1865), pp. 566-569.

The piyyut, Adon Olam, in its expanded fifteen line variation, in Hebrew with English translation.

This Chinese translation of an Ashkenazi nusaḥ for the piyyut “Adon Olam,” is found on page 73 of the liner notes for the Chinese edition of Richard Collis’s album We Sing We Stay Together: Shabbat Morning Service Prayers (Wǒmen gēchàng, wǒmen xiāngjù — Ānxírì chén dǎo qídǎo).

“Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation” by Laura Duhan Kaplan, was created for a music and spoken word performance at Limmud Vancouver, 2018. It was first published in The Infinity Inside: Jewish Spiritual Practice Through A Multi-Faith Lens (Boulder: Albion Andalus, 2019). This is the full original version. A much abridged version (edited by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat) appears in Renew Our Hearts: A Siddur for Shabbat Day (Bayit Ben Yehuda Press, 2023).

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s interpretive “praying translation” of the piyyut, Adon Olam.

The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation.

This is Rabbi Dr. David Prato’s Italian translation of Adon Olam from his bilingual Hebrew-Italian everyday siddur, Tefilah l’David: Preghiere di Rito Italiano (1949), p. 272-275.

The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation.

This is Artur Carlos de Barros Bastos’s Portuguese translation of Adon Olam from his prayer-pamphlet, Oração Matinal de Shabbath (1939), p. 52-53. I have set the translation side-by-side with the Hebrew text from which it was derived.

A rhyming translation in English to the popular piyyut, Adon Olam.

Rabbi Dr. Mojżesz Schorr’s translation of Adon Olam in Polish was first printed on pages 8-9 of Modlitewnik na wszystkie dni w roku oraz modlitwę za Rzeczpospolitą ułożoną przez prof. Schorra (1936).

Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by Jessie Ethel Sampter was transcribed from Joseph Friedlander and George Alexander Kohut’s The standard book of Jewish verse (1917), p. 394.

The paraliturgical adaptation and expansion of “Adaun Aulom” by Lise Tarlau can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald’s anthology of Jewish women’s prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), pages 93-94. I have set the stanzas or verses from Adon Olam in their original Hebrew side-by-side with Lise Tarlau’s adapted text (according to the arrangement that seems closest to me) so that their proximity may illuminate her inspiration.

This translation Rabbi J. Leonard Levy of Shlomo ibn Gabirol’s “Adon Olam” was first published in The Children’s Service for Use in Religious Schools (1902). In the second edition from 1904, it is found on page 127.

Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by Israel Zangwill was transcribed from the Jewish Quarterly Review vol. 13 (January 1901), p. 321.

The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation.

The Seder Tefilat Kol Peh was printed in 1891 in Vienna, and features a full Ladino translation of the entire siddur. The Ladino translation here is found on the left side of pagespread №145. Along with a full transcription of the Ladino text, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer has also prepared a full romanization of the Ladino.

The piyyut, “Adon Olam” became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the fifteen line version familiar to some Mizraḥi and eastern Sefaradi congregations. (A twelve line variant is common among the Western Sefaradim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The Marathi translation was made by Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurkar as published in סדר תפלת החדש The Daily Prayers translated from Hebrew in Marathi (1889), pp. 7-8.

This is Yosef Naḥmuli’s Greek translation of Adon Olam from his bilingual Hebrew-Greek everyday siddur, Καθημεριναι Προσευχαι (Corfu 1885), p. 6-9.

Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster’s translation of Adon Olam in Romaninan was first printed on pages 3-4 of Siddur Tefilat Yisrael: Carte de Rugăcĭunĭ Pentru Israeliţĭ (1883), his daily Siddur.

An English translation of an abridged arrangement of the piyyut, Adon Olam.

Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by Jacob Waley was transcribed from the prayerbook of his daughter Julia M. Cohen’s The Children’s Psalm-Book (1907), pp. 298-299.

The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation.

The German translation of “Adon Olam” appearing here is as found in Rabbi David Einhorn’s עלת תמיד Gebetbuch für Israelitische Reform-Gemeinden (1858), pp. 1-2. The English translation here, by Joshua Giorgio-Rubin, translating Rabbi David Einhorn, is as found in Rubin’s Olat Hadashah: A Modern Adaptation of David Einhorn’s Olat Tamid for Shabbat Evening (2020), p. 14.

A rhyming English translation of Adon Olam by Rosa Emma Salaman.

Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 10 line version familiar to Ashkenazi congregations. (There are also twelve, fifteen, and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim.) The rhyming translation here by George Borrow was shared in his tales in The Bible in Spain (1843), p. 222. (The text in the 1913 edition on page 546 is a bit easier to read.)

Adon Olam is a piyyut that became popular in the 15th century and is often attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) and less often to Sherira Gaon (900-1001), or his son, Hai ben Sherira Gaon (939-1038). The variation of the piyyut appearing here is the 12 line version familiar to Sepharadi congregations. (There are also fifteen and sixteen line variants found in Sepharadi siddurim. The Ashkenazi version has ten lines.) The rhyming translation here by David de Aaron de Sola was transcribed from his prayerbook Seder haTefilot vol. 1 (1836), p. 122.

A paraliturgical adaptation of the piyyut Adon Olam by an early leader of the Reform movement.

This is Isaac Pinto’s English translation of Adon Olam from Prayers for Shabbath, Rosh-Hashanah, and [Yom] Kippur (1766), p. 29. The translation there appears without the Hebrew. The Hebrew text of the piyyut set side-by-side with the translation was transcribed from Rabbi David de Sola Pool’s Tefilot l’Rosh haShanah (1937).

Ḥakham Ishak Nieto’s translation of Adon Olam was first printed on page 197 of Orden de las Oraciones de Ros-ashanah y Kipur (1740), his maḥzor in Spanish translation for Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur. The Hebrew text of the piyyut set side-by-side with the translation was transcribed from Rabbi David de Sola Pool’s Tefilot l’Rosh haShanah (1937).

The dream and prayer of Mordekhai, and the prayer of Esther, as copied in the medieval pseudo-historical Chronicle of Yeraḥmiel.

Shnei Zeitim, by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, was once the most beloved song for Ḥanukkah. Though in recent years it has largely been replaced in popular consciousness by Maoz Tsur, in rites which preserve the customs of piyyut recitation within the Shema service it is still a beloved part of the holiday. The piyyut, a meorah — intended to introduce the ḥatimah for the Ahavah Rabbah blessing before the Shema, is included here with an original translation. Interestingly enough, Shnei Zeitim has an anti-Hasmonean focus, with emphasis on the importance of separation of powers between priest and king. For further discusson of this aspect, I’d recommend Yitzhak Szyf’s article on The Lehrhaus.