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. . . .

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. . . .

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. . . .

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 “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. . . .

“Alelai Li” is a ḳinah recited on the morning of Tisha bAv. It was written by HaKalir around the 7th century. According to the Koren Mesorat HaRav Kinot, it is number 17 of 50. The title is the refrain of the poem and is an onomatopoeic whimper (try saying it aloud, focusing on the alliteration). It is difficult to translate the opening word “im” which means “if” or “should”. This is an allusion to Job 10:15, “If I have done evil, then woe unto me.” I have decided to translate the ḳinah not in the conditional tense (which would render “If these horrible things happened, then woe is me!”) but as a lament upon memory; however, the former would be a more accurate (if not more awkward in English) translation. Adding to the awkwardness of the poem’s language is the feminine conditional verb that each line has after the word “im”. I have maintained this strange verb tense and placement in my translation by using the English progressive tense. The ḳinah ends with a collection in lines in a different meter suggesting that the Holy One (and the paytan himself) is angered that the Jewish people announce their sufferings but not their transgressions. . . .

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. . . .

The qinah, Eikh T’naḥamuni Hevel, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .

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. . . .

Az Bahalokh Yirmiyahu is a kinah, “based on Eikhah Rabati Petikhta 24, in which Jeremiah says to God: “I am like a father who prepared to take his only son to be married, and the son tragically died under the wedding canopy. Do you not feel any pain for me or for my son?” God responds: “Go and rouse Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses from their graves, for they know how to cry…” (Daniel Goldschmidt, Seder Kinot le-Tisha b’Av, Jerusalem, 1972, 98). . . .

This anonymously authored ḳinah (קינה, song of “lamentation”) begins with the line “אוֹי נָא לָֽנוּ כִּי חָטָֽאנוּ” (oy na lanu ki ḥatanu, “Woe—alas—unto us, for we have sinned”). Although the ancient Roman Jewish historian Flavius Josephus blames the Roman Empire for the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE—and Roman art even celebrates the Roman capture of the Temple’s candelabrum—this ḳinah suggests that the destruction of Jerusalem was, at least partially, the result of Jewish discord. The ḳinah, which was long part of the Romanian prayer service for Tish’ah b’Av, appears in few other traditional prayerbooks for Tish’ah b’Av. It seems that the author of this ḳinah was El’azar ben Kallir (ca. 570–640 CE), who composed approximately half of the kinot most commonly inserted into contemporary Tish’ah b’Av prayerbooks that include the 40-odd most common kinot (קינות, plural of ḳinah) Jews sang throughout Europe during much of the early modern period. The author did not sign their name but left us with an alphabetical acrostic listing of often-concrete reasons to mourn today. . . .

The poetic genre known as ḳerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar biRabbi Qallir’s Purim “Qrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, and this one is by the same author! The weekday qerovot cycle for Ḥanukkah, retelling the story of the Greek oppression using intricate poetic language. Included within is a qedushtah that instructs us on some of the halakhic requirements for the Ḥanukkah lights. . . .

The piyyut, Omets G’vurotekha by Elazar ha-Qalir, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel. . . .

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. . . .

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). . . .

In many communities, the practice of Yaḥats, or breaking the matsah before maggid, is done with liturgical and ritual additions. The additions included here are one practice out of many variants as found in the practice of Djerba, the island off the coast of Tunisia. . . .

An alphabetical acrostic piyyut celebrating the victory of Esther and Mordekhai over the forces of Haman. . . .

The Təʾəzazä Sänbät, or the Commandments of the Sabbath, is a unique and fascinatingly eclectic work, combining Enochic and aggadic material with an almost kabbalistic personification of Shabbat, and influence from Islamic and Christian texts. Attributed to Abba Ṣabra, a famed 15th-century convert to Judaism, it is a compilation of texts meant to be studied and considered on Shabbat, alongside unique and striking visualizations of divine cosmology, heaven and hell, and midrashim found nowhere else. . . .

The first day of Pesach, according to the Sages, is the day the world is judged for grain and dew. Because of this, many customs have developed tying it into the pomp of the High Holy Days. One custom preserved in many medieval maḥzorim is to extend the final blessing of the the Musaf “Tal” (Dew) service, including a Hayom piyyut, a piyyut form otherwise almost exclusively associated with the Yamim Noraim. This extended Sim Shalom berakha including piyyutim is presented here, largely based on the form compiled by Ernst Daniel Goldschmidt (zatsal). . . .

This song is performed in honor of the Ḥatan Bereshit – the person who reads the first aliya of the torah, which begins Bereshit Bara. These words – Bereshit Bara – are repeated throughout the poem. The poem is similar in structure and meter to Kelil Yofi, which is performed in honor of the Hatan Torah, the person who reads the last aliya of the Torah, which begins Vaya’al Moshe. . . .

The Italian rite, unique among Jewish rites, has preserved up until very recently the custom recorded in the Talmud, Masekhet Tagnanith, for communally declared fast days. In this rite, sometimes referred to as the Twenty-Four Blessings, six more blessings are added to the liturgy — the Zikhronot and Shofrot portions more commonly recited on Rosh haShanah, and four different psalms, all interspaced with a poetic litany on behalf of the ancestors’ merit and shofar blasts. It’s a fascinatng service! . . .

This is Ha Laḥma Anya in Aramaic with translations in Ladino and English, from the Passover Seder Haggadah of Rabbi Emily Aviva Kapor-Mater, Haggadah Shir Geulah (2015, v.2.1/2016). . . .

The piyyut, Dayenu, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel. . . .

This qina is recited in the Spanish-Portuguese rite (as practiced in the Snoge in Amsterdam, the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, and Shearith Israel in New York City among many other communities) at the conclusion of the recitation of qinot on the evening of the Ninth of Aḅ. Its refrain, taken from the Four Questions of the Passover liturgy, is reframed* as a reflection of the suffering of such a day, contrasting the celebration of salvation on Passover with the fear and desolation of the fast day. . . .

The alphabetic acrostic piyyut, Adir Hu, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel as found in his translation of the Pesaḥ seder haggadah, Liber Rituum Paschalium (1644). . . .

A quadrilingual text of U-N’taneh Tokef — Yiddish, Ladino, English, and Hebrew. . . .

The works of the great paytan Yannai were, with the exception of a small handful of poems, almost completely lost until their rediscovery in the Cairo Geniza. This poem, an acrostic comparison of the days of Moses and Jeremiah, was written by Yannai to serve as part of the Musaf Ḳedushah on the first Shabbat after 17 Tammuz, on which the opening section of Jeremiah is recited. It bears structural and linguistic similarities to the later famous ḳinah Esh Tuqad. In its liturgical context, it was intended to introduce the final few verses of the Ḳedushah . Nowadays the custom of poetic inserts into the ḳedushah is nearly extinct, but the poem stands as a moving and powerful work nonetheless. . . .

This piyyut of unknown authorship is certainly ancient, showing the lack of a rhyme scheme characteristic of the REALLY old piyyutim (see also Aleinu or El Adon). It is still found in some Ashkenazi and Teman maḥzorim, with many different mostly minor variants (which have been combined together somewhat eclectically into one text here). It is presented here along with an English translation attempting to preserve the Hebrew acrostic. Originally it was recited before the Ashrei leading into musaf, but perhaps for those who follow Ashkenazi customs a more appropriate location would be as an introduction to the Yizkor service on Shmini ‘Atzeret — which for those who don’t keep second-day yontef is the same day. It could also be adapted as part of the liturgy for the seventh of Adar, although the final verse (the old Western rite berakha for finishing a full Torah cycle) would have to be elided. . . .

A work of Jewish astrology and magic containing recipes specific to the angelic rulers of each day of the week. . . .