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.

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

“Odekha ki anafta bi (I give thanks to you although you were angry with me) was composed by Joseph ben Solomon of Carcassonne, who is dated to the first half of the eleventh century. This elegant and abstruse poem tells an epic tale of the Jews’ resistance to the decrees of Antiochus IV and includes accounts of both the Hasmonean bride and Judith. It bears a considerable resemblance to texts 4 and 12 of the Hanukkah midrashim (find Grintz, Sefer Yehudit, pp. 205, 207–08) and this is evidence for the circulation of the joint Hasmonean daughter-Judith tales in the eleventh century, even if the surviving manuscripts of these stories are from a later date.” (Deborah Levine Gera, “The Jewish Textual Traditions” in The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies Across the Disciplines (2010).)

The 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.

“Ezkera Matsok” (I remember the distress) is a seliḥah in alphabetic acrostic recited on the Fast of Tevet in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ minhag Polin.

The full qedushtaot and “seder” azhara for Shabbat haGadol, largely by the great eleventh-century paytan R. Yosef Bonfils (with one additional rahit by Yannai), including all the catenae of verses and repeated refrains often skipped in Ashkenazi practice. Alphabetical texts are translated with alphabetical acrostics.

A zulat (piyyut inserted into the blessing after the Shema) used in the Minhag Polin (Eastern Ashkenaz) rite for Shabbat hGadol, by R. Joseph Bonfils. This poem is a narrative of a debate between Pharaoh and the sons of Amram on whether the people Israel are engaged to God or not.

This is a variation of the qinah for Tishah b’Av, “Shomron Qol Titein” in its Ashkenazi nusaḥ. Isaac Gantwerk Mayer first shared this translation via his Facebook page on Tishah b’Av, 2022.

A “bikkur” piyyut traditionally added at the end of Hashkivenu for Shavˁuot in the Old French (and Maḥzor Vitry) and Romaniote rites. From the acrostic we know the author was named Yosef ben Yaˁakov. Other than that we know very little about this poem’s origin and age, although its structure fits with the early Ashkenazi piyyut oeuvre.

An “angels on all sides” formula included with the Bedtime Shema service in the Maḥzor Vitry.

The custom of reciting BaMeh Madliqin, the second chapter of Mishnah Shabbat, on Friday nights probably originated as an anti-Karaite polemic. While the Karaites were opposed to any use of fire on Shabbat, rabbinic Jews kindle lights before Shabbat, and the recitation of BaMeh Madliqin — the laws of Shabbat lights — emphasized this distinction. One of the best firsthand sources we have for this is the following introductory blessing from the Cairo Genizah (T-S NS 299.150 verso) for the recitation of BaMeh Madliqin, first published by Naftali Wieder in this article. This blessing emphasizes the continuity of the Torah both written and oral from Sinai to the sages and elders.

A blessing before the recitation of psalms, used in the old Eretz Yisrael rite as found in the Cairo Geniza. Since its structure is similar to the blessing before the haftara which is often cantillated, I have taken the liberty of adding psalmodic cantillation to the text.

The reshut for the prayer for rain and dew on Shemini Atseret and Pesaḥ, in Hebrew with English translation.

A piyyut by Shlomo ibn Gabirol included in the arrangement of Baqashot before the morning service in the liturgical custom of Sefaradim.

The seliḥah with its English translation as found in Siddur Siftei Tsadiqim (The Form of Prayers) vol. 6: Seder haTefilot laTaaniyot (ed. Isaac Leeser 1838) p.107-109.

A piyyut presenting a dialogue between a couple and Hashem.

This translation by Rabbi David de Aaron de Sola of “Lema’ankha v’lo lanu” by an unknown paytan was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857).

The following love poem is one of the Selihot recited between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Ibn Gayat (1038 – 1089) was not timid about using the most intimate symbols in asking God to become reconciled with us.

The text of the piyyut, “HaMavdil,” with a German translation by Franz Rosenzweig.

A rhymed translation of the piyyut sung following the Havdallah ritual.

Ḳerovot for Tu biShvat, a celebration of Divine verdancy, which namedrops a stunning array of flora from throughout the land of Israel.

The short form of the piyyut for motsei shabbat, with English translation.

This piyyut, Elaha Taqifa (Mighty God), the third in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the concluding verse of the second aliyah (third on Shabbat). The translation preserves the alphabetical acrostic, as well as the authorial tag — Jequtiel son of Joseph.

This piyyut, Izel Moshe (Arise, Moses), the fifth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the second verse of the song proper, as an elaboration on God’s strength. The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the original.

This piyyut, Abunan D’biShmaya (Our Parent in Heaven), the second in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the fifth verse of the first aliyah (or second verse of the second aliyah on Shabbat).

This piyyut, Elaha Alam (Ageless God), the fourth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the Song of the Sea proper as an introduction to the targum of the text.

This piyyut, Ilu Pume Nima (If Our Mouths Were Thread), the first in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the first aliyah, as an introduction or ‘reshut’ to the seder meturgeman as a whole.

A prayer for those martyred in the First Crusade and Rhineland Massacres, and by extension, all subsequent pogroms up until and including the Holocaust.

The piyyut read as an introduction to the Decalogue during the Torah reading on Shavuot.

An Aramaic piyyut composed as an introduction to the reading of the Targum for the Torah reading on Shavuot.

The traditional Ashkenazi qerovot added to the Musaf repetition for Shabbat Sheqalim, alongside a new gender-neutral translation

An interpretive translation of Yehudah haLevi’s shabbat song, “Yom Shabbaton.”

The poem Mi Khamokha v-Ein Khamokha, an epic retelling of the book of Esther in verse, was written for Shabbat Zakhor, the Shabbat before Purim, by the great paytan Yehuda ben Shmuel haLevi. It was originally written as a “geulah,” meant to be inserted into the prayer after the Shema in place of the verse beginning with “A new song…” But later Sephardic poskim ruled that it was forbidden to insert piyyutim into the Shema blessings, so in the communities that recite it today it is generally either read after the Full Kaddish as an introduction to the Torah service, or (for instance, in most Spanish and Portuguese communities) within the verse “Kol atzmotai tomarna” in the Nishmat prayer. Wherever you include it in your service, it’s a beautiful and intricately rhymed piyyut, and surprisingly easy to understand at that. It is presented here in a gender-neutral translation with all the Biblical verses cited, alongside a new translation that preserves the fourfold acrostic, two alphabetical and two authorial. –Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A Karaite song for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Ashira k-Shirat Moshe is a brief piyyut of uncertain origin, recited in Moroccan Jewish practice as an introduction to the Song of the Sea at the end of Zemirot on Shabbat Shirah and the seventh day of Pesaḥ. It lists seven Biblical songs — those of Moses, Miriam, Joshua, Deborah, Hannah, David, and Solomon — and concludes with an eighth song, the song that Israel will sing at the the future redemption.

“ben Adam Mah Lekha Nirdam,” of unclear origin, is the opening piyyuṭ of the Sephardic seliḥot service every morning. Drawing a parallel between the literal slumber from which the petitioner has just awoken and the metaphorical slumber of sin, it serves as a fitting introduction to the early morning liturgy. As with any piyyuṭ in such a prominent place, of course, has been translated into the colloquial for all the people to appreciate its language. The following is not only the complete Hebrew text of Ben Adam Ma Lekha Nirdam along with a new English translation, but also a rhyming Ladino translation composed by R. Reuven Eliyahu Yisrael, the spiritual leader of the Sephardic community of Craiova, Romania, and published in the aforementioned town in the year 1910 (in טראדוקסייון ליברי די לאס פואיזיאס איבראיקאאס). To demonstrate the techniques used by R. Yisrael in his translation, a literal translation of the Ladino, as well as a transcription into the Latin-script Aki Yerushalaim orthography, is also provided.

Recited in many Sefaradi and other non-Ashkenazi rites for the seventeenth of Tammuz, this piyyuṭ, like many 17 Tammuz seliḥot, has a stanza for each of the five tragedies discussed in the mishnah. It is here included alongside an acrostic translation.

Composed by an unknown paytan, this is the reshut offered before the Barkhu at the outset of Shaḥarit on Shabbat Shim’u.

Composed by Yaaqov, a paytan of Castile, this is the reshut offered before the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai (commencing Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Shim’u.

Composed by a Elyaqim haPaytan, this is the reshut offered before the Qaddish (before the Barkhu at the outset of Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Shim’u.

This is the reshut offered before Barukh sheAmar commencing the Zemirot before Shaḥarit on Shabbat Shim’u, composed by Shmuel haPayyetan.

The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of the Sefaradim.

The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of Ashkenaz.

“Qol Ohalah” is the reshut offered before the Torah service following Shaḥarit. It is the ninth reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

“Aryeh Shâăg” is the second reshut offered before Barukh sheAmar at the outset of the Zemirot (preceding Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av. It is the second reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon.

“Éikh Mishkenai Elyōn” is the first reshut offered before Nishmat at the outset of Shaḥarit (concluding the Zemirot). It is the third reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

“Eftaḥ Pi le-Hodot” is the first reshut offered before Barukh sheAmar at the outset of the Zemirot (preceding Shaḥarit) on Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av. It is the first reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon.

“Boré ‘ad Anah” is the second reshut offered before the Torah service following Shaḥarit. It is the tenth reshut among the reshuyot in the Old Sefaradi Tiqun for Shabbat Ḥazon — the final shabbat before 9 Av.

This is the reshut “Yareti” by Yequtiel bar Mosheh (known from the acrostic signature), as translated into rhymed English verse by Elsie Davis, and published in Herbert Adler and Arthur Davis’s Maḥzor Avodat Ohel Moed: Avodat Yom haZikaron (1907), pp. 95-96. This reshut is offered by the shaliaḥ tsibbur at the outset of their repetition of the Amidah for shaḥarit on Rosh haShanah in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ, minhag Polin.

An ofan (a piyyut inserted into the Qedusha d’Yotser) recited in the eastern Ashkenazi Minhag Polin rite for Shabbat haGadol. Signed “Benjamin,” Davidson ascribes it to the great paytan R. Binyamin bar Zeraḥ, possibly as part of the same poetic cycle as Itti MiLvanon (his yotser for the same day).