זֶמֶר לְט״וּ בְּאָב | Zemer for Tu b’Av, by Avraham ben Ḥalfon (ca. 12th c.)
This 12th century Yemenite liturgical poem for Tu b’Av is based on the Babylonian Talmud Taanit 30b-31a. . . .
Languages & Scripts← Back to Languages & Scripts Index זֶמֶר לְט״וּ בְּאָב | Zemer for Tu b’Av, by Avraham ben Ḥalfon (ca. 12th c.)This 12th century Yemenite liturgical poem for Tu b’Av is based on the Babylonian Talmud Taanit 30b-31a. . . . צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי | Tsam’ah Nafshi, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (trans. Avi Shmidman & Tzvi Novick)This translation of Tsam’ah Nafshi was made by Avi Shmidman and Tzvi Novick, and first published by the Az Yashir Moshe Project birkon (2009), p. 56-57. . . . צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי | Tsam’ah Nafshi, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)An interpretive translation of a piyyut composed as an introduction to the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai. . . . חרוז על שחוק האישקקי | Rhymed Poem on Chess (short), by Avraham ibn Ezra (HS. Vatican 171 f.2, oben S. 180)A medieval Jewish poem on the game of Chess by Avraham ibn Ezra.. . . . אֲגַדֶלְךָ | Agadelkha, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (ca. 12th c.)A popular piyyut for all occasions by Avraham ibn Ezra. . . . אֲגַדֶלְךָ | Agadelkha, a piyyut by Avraham ibn Ezra (ca. 12th c.) translation by Sara LapidotThe piyyut, Agadelkha, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . אַבְנֵי יְקָר | Avnei Y’qar — a Ḥanukkah piyyut attributed to Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra“Avnei Y’qar” is a succint piyyut for Ḥanukkah, traditionally attributed to R. Abraham ibn Ezra, and particularly beloved by the Yemenites. Interestingly, it doesn’t mention the miracle of the oil whatsoever, focusing on the degradation of the land under Greek occupation as well as the Hasmonean victory itself. Included is a poetic acrostic translation into English. . . . חֲרוּזִים עַל שְּׂחוֹק שָׁ״הּ־מָ״תּ | Rhymed Poem on Chess (long), by Avraham ibn Ezra (ca. 12th c.)A poem on how to play chess, one of the oldest historical descriptions of the game of Chess, by Avraham ibn Ezra (12th century) . . . אֲֽדֹנָי נֶגְדְּךָ כׇל־תַּאֲוָתִי | Adonai Negdekha kol Ta’avati, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi (early 12th c.) rhyming translation by Alice Lucas (1894)A rhyming English translation of the piyyut Adonai Negdekha kol Ta’avati. . . . יָהּ, אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ | Yah, Where shall I find you?, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)A piyyut that expresses the paradox of a divinity that is both “Beyond” and “Present.” . . . רָאשֵׁי עָם עֵת הִתְאַסֵּף | When the chiefs of the people meet, a muwassaha poem by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)“Roshei am et hitasef umlekhim b’sodam” by Yehuda Halevi was translated by Herman Prins Salomon in “Yehuda Halevi and his ‘Cid’” and published in The American Sepharadi (1978), pp. 22-46. . . . בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי | Preise ihn, meine Seele! | Barkhi Nafshi, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi in abridged translation by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1835)“Zweites Gebet vor Neïla” is an abridged, adapted translation by Yehoshua Heshil Miro of the piyyut by Yehudah haLevi “Barkhi Nafshi et Adonai.” There are seven stanzas missing near the end including the final stanza and a portion of the penultimate stanza. The translation was published in Miro’s anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaicher Religion. It first appears in the 1835 edition, as teḥinah №48 pp. 83-85. In the 1842 edition, it appears as teḥinah №50 on pp. 86-90. . . . אֱלִי, רְפָאֵנִי וְאֵרָפֵא | Eli Refa’eni v’Erafé, the personal physician’s prayer of Rabbi Dr. Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)The physician’s prayer of Rabbi Dr. Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi in the 12th century CE. . . . עַל אַהֲבָתְךָ אֶשְׁתֶּה גְבִיעִי | Al Ahavatekha Eshteh Gəvi’i, a piyyut of Yehudah haLevi (partial translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman)This is a partial English translation of Al Ahavatekha offered by rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman to accompany a video by Nigunim Ensemble presenting their musical setting of the piyyut on Youtube in 2018. . . . אִמְרוֹת הָאֵל טְהוֹרוֹת | Imrot ha-El Ṭ’horot — a meorah piyyut for days on which the Decalogue is recited, by Yehuda ben Shmuel haLeviA meorah — a piyyuṭ to be inserted before the ḥatima of the first blessing of the Shema’ — by the great payṭan Yehuda haLevi. This piyyuṭ was traditionally recited in eastern Ashkenazi communities on Shabbat Yitro and VaEtḥanan, the two Shabbatot where the Ten Commandments are read. Some also included it on the first day of Shavuot for the same reason. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים במזרח) | Adōn Olam, translation by Annie KantarThe piyyut, Adon Olam, in its expanded fifteen line variation, in Hebrew with English translation. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | 世界的主 | Adon Olam (Shìjiè de zhǔ) — Chinese translation by Richard Collis (2022)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). . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adon Olam: A Mystical Interpretation, by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan (2018)“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). . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adōn Olam, interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-ShalomiRabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s interpretive “praying translation” of the piyyut, Adon Olam. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam, translated by Ben Zion Bokser (1957)The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam (Italian translation by Rabbi Dr. David Prato, 1949)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (Rabbinical Assembly & United Synagogue of America, 1946)The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam (Portuguese translation by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto, 1939)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam, rhyming translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1937)A rhyming translation in English to the popular piyyut, Adon Olam. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adaun Aulom, a paraliturgical adaptation of Adon Olam by Lise Tarlau (1907)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (Polish translation by Rabbi Dr. Mojżesz Schorr, 1936)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). . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by Jessie Ethel Sampter, 1917)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by Israel Zangwill, 1901)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam, translated by Alice Lucas (1894)The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים במזרח) | Adōn Olam (Ladino translation from the Sidur Tefilat Kol Pe, 1891)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Αδὸν Ὀλὰμ | Adōn Olam (Greek translation by Yosef Naḥmuli, 1885)This is Yosef Naḥmuli’s Greek translation of Adon Olam from his bilingual Hebrew-Greek everyday siddur, Καθημεριναι Προσευχαι (Corfu 1885), p. 6-9. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (Romanian translation by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster, 1883)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Adōn Olam, translated by Rabbi Marcus Jastrow after the abridged arrangement of Rabbi Benjamin Szold (1873)An English translation of an abridged arrangement of the piyyut, Adon Olam. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by Jacob Waley, before 1873)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam, translated by Tsvi Hirsch Filipowski (1862)The cosmological piyyut, Adon Olam, in its Ashkenazi variation in Hebrew with an English translation. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam, translated from Rabbi David Einhorn’s Olat Tamid (1858)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam, rhyming translation by Rosa Emma Salaman (1855)A rhyming English translation of Adon Olam by Rosa Emma Salaman. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (אשכנז) | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by George Borrow, 1842)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.) . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam (rhyming translation by David de Aaron de Sola, 1836)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. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם | Before the Glorious Orbs of Light, a paraliturgical adaptation of Adon Olam by David Nunes Carvalho (ca. 1826)A paraliturgical adaptation of the piyyut Adon Olam by an early leader of the Reform movement. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam, translation by Isaac Pinto (1766)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). . . . 💬 התפילות של מרדכי ואסתר | the Prayers of Mordekhai and Esther, from Divrei haYamim l’Yeraḥmiel (ca. 11-12th c.)The dream and prayer of Mordecai, and the prayer of Esther, as copied in the medieval pseudo-historical Chronicle of Yeraḥmiel. . . . אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם (מנהג הספרדים) | Adōn Olam, translation by Ḥakham Ishak Nieto (1740)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). . . . שְׁנֵי זֵיתִים | Shnei Zeitim (Two Olive Branches) — a meorah piyyut for Shabbat Ḥanukkah, by Shlomo ibn GabirolShnei 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. . . . כָּל־בְּרוּאֵי | Kol B’ru-ei, a piyyut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)A piyyut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol included in the arrangement of Baqashot before the morning service in the liturgical custom of Sefaradim translated by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola. . . . בִּמְתֵי מִסְפָּר | BiM’tei Mispar, a seliḥah for Taanit Esther by Meshullam ben Ḳalonymus (11th c.)A reverse alphabetic acrostic seliḥah piyyut for Taanit Esther in Hebrew with English translation . . . אָדָם בְּקוּם עָלֵֽינוּ | Adam B’qum ‘Alenu, a seliḥah for Taanit Esther by Menaḥem ben Makhir (ca. 11th c.)An alphabetic acrostic seliḥah piyyut for Taanit Esther in Hebrew with English translation . . . שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ | Shaḥar Avaqeshkha (At dawn I seek you), a reshut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (ca. 11th c.) translated by Nina Salaman (1901)The reshut for praying at dawn, in Hebrew with English translation. . . . Maaravot for the first night of Shavuot, by Joseph ben Samuel BonfilsThe maaravot-cycle of piyyutim for the first night of Shavuot, by Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils. In normative maaravot fashion, it is one extended cycle with an overarching structure (the first words of each of the Ten Commandments) throughout the whole of the kriat shema, with additional piyyutim incorporated into the first blessing after the shema. . . . אֶזְכְּרָה מָצוֹק | Ezkerah Matsōk (“I remember the distress”), a seliḥah for the Fast of Tevet attributed to Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (11th c.)“Ezkera Matsok” (I remember the distress) is a seliḥah in alphabetic acrostic recited on the Fast of Tevet in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ minhag Polin. . . . |