The Minhag Ashkenaz (Western Ashkenazi) yotser (piyyut inserted into the beginning of the first blessing of the Shema service) for Shabbat haGadol, by Binyamin bar Zeraḥ. Also recited by some eastern Ashkenazim, although not as commonly as Aamir Mistater (the standard in Minhag Polin). Translated here with preserved acrostic and rhyme scheme. This piyyut uses the language of Song of Songs to retell the story of the exodus via the language of a romantic relationship.

This is the piyyut “Pesaḥ Emunim (At Passover, the faithful…)” by Yosef bar Yaaqov Kalai for maariv (after the shema) on the seventh night of Pesaḥ, published in Adler and Davis’s Maḥzor for Shavuot, Avodat Ḥag ha-Matzot (1909), pp. 219-222.

The 7th of Adar is the traditional date for the yahrzeit of Mosheh Rabbeinu and it is also remembered as the day of his birth 120 years earlier. This variation of of the piyyut, Tsa’aqah Yokheved, popularly sung on 7 Adar, is first attested in a 1712 Sepharadi mahzor published in Amsterdam, as transcribed above with some minor changes with the contemporary audio recording of the Iraqi nusaḥ made by משה חבושה (Moshe Ḥavusha). (The piyyut appear without niqqud.) An older version (perhaps the original version), attributed in the Maagarim database to Shmuel Shlomo and dated before 1050 CE, is attested in two manuscripts: “London, British Library 699” and “Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Ham. 288”. Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) quotes a stanza from the version we have presented here (“וכבד אמי אחרי התנחמי”) indicating that this version may be at least as old.

This yotser, by the great eleventh-century payṭan R. Binyamin bar Zeraḥ, goes through the entire alphabet with which the Torah was written, giving midrashic and mystical interpretations of each letter. As a yotser, it is recited immediately after the petiḥah of the Yotser Or blessing.

This anonymous ofan, also recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities, uses alliteration to describe the many hosts of angels descending upon Sinai in awe and reverence as the Torah was given. The translation preserves the alliteration over the alphabet, seeing as the ofan in this form doesn’t include the entire alphabet either. As an ofan, it is recited within the Ḳedusha d-Yotser, between the verses of Isaiah and Ezekiel (included here). The ofan is recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities.

This is the alphabetic acrostic piyyut “Etén l’Foali Tsedeq” by Shimon bar Yitsḥaq (b. Abun of Mainz, identified via his 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), p. 104 (also, p. 200).

Israel Zangwill’s rhyming translation of “Otekha Edrosh” by Rabbi Shimon ben Yitsḥaq ben Abun of Mainz, was first published in Arthur Davis and Herbert Adler’s Maḥzor Avodat Ohel Moed: Avodat Yom haKippurim (Evening Service) (1904), pp. 41-43.

This is the piyyut “Asher Eimatekha (Thou whose fear…)” a piyyut by Meshullam ben Ḳalonymous for the reader’s repetition of the Yom Kippur musaf amidah, published in Adler and Davis’s Maḥzor for Yom Kippur, Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim vol. 2 (1904), pp. 147-149.

This is the piyyut “Asher Omets Tehilatekha (Thou, the might of whose praise)” a piyyut by an unknown paytan (possibly Meshullam ben Ḳalonymous) in the qerovot section of the reader’s repetition of the Yom Kippur shaḥarit amidah, published in Adler and Davis’s Maḥzor for Yom Kippur, Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim vol. 2 (1904), p. 68.

This is Israel’s Zangwill’s versified English translation of the ofan piyyut of Shimon ben Yitsḥaq Abun of Mainz as published in Arthur Davis and Herbert Adler’s Maḥzor Avodat Ohel Moed: Avodat Ḥag haShavuot (1909), p. 149.

This is the piyyut “Ma’aseh Eloheinu (The work of our God)” a piyyut by Meshullam ben Ḳalonymous in the qerovot section of the reader’s repetition of the Yom Kippur shaḥarit amidah, published in Adler and Davis’s Maḥzor for Yom Kippur, Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim vol. 2 (1904), p. 67.

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

A magen piyyut (recited as part of the first blessing of Shaḥarit) for the second day of Rosh haShanah by Rabbi Shimon bar Isaac “the Great” of Mainz. Here translated preserving the acrostic, slightly edited from its form as part of a day 2 service maḥzor designed by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer.

An ofan (a yotser piyyut for the qedushah) on the Shabbat upon which Parashat Matot-Mas’ei is read, by the paytan Rav Shemu’el HaShelishi.

A rahit (a chain piyyut before the silluq) for the second day of Rosh haShanah, by R’ Shimon bar Isaac “the Great” of Mainz. Here translated preserving the acrostic, slightly edited from its form as part of a day 2 service maḥzor designed by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer.

A millennium-old tradition, recorded by Rav Sherira Gaon in 10th-century Iraq. He would always have three cooked foods on the seder plate. The egg, a product of the birds of the sky, a sign of renewal and rebirth, represented Moses, the law, the heavens, and the revelational aspects of faith. The shankbone, a product of the animals of the field, a commemoration of the original Pesaḥ sacrifice, represented Aaron, the priesthood, the earth, and the ritual aspects of faith. And the fish, representing the constant flowing nature of water, represented Miriam, prophecy, the waters, and the spiritual aspects of faith.

The popular piyyut, D’ror Yiqra, in Hebrew with English translation.

The popular table song for Shabbat.

The Shimmush Tehillim is a medieval work providing prescriptive theurgical associations for Psalms and verses from Psalms. It has been historically attributed to Rav Hai Gaon (939-1038 CE) but any definitive statement of authorship is lacking. The suggestion that portions of the Shimush Tehillim were authored during the late Geonic period in Iraq isn’t implausible. We also know that Hai Gaon was knowledgeable of Hekhalot writings that should at least be considered part of the same thought world as the Shimmush Tehillim. Writings found in the Shimush Tehillim have been found in manuscripts dating from the 12th century. This digital transcription of Shimush Tehillim derives from Elias Klein Békéscsaba’s 1936 compilation. This edition should not be considered a critical text, as earlier editions certainly exist. Not all of the Psalms are identified as having a particular theurgical use.

A passage from Rav Saadia Gaon’s Sefer haGalui providing a description and justification of the practice of cantillating works outside the TaNaKh (in the Geonic period!)

A seliḥah for the Fast of Gedalyah, attributed to Rav Saadia Gaon.

This prayer for captives, containing a piyyut followed by meaningful verses and a mi sheberakh, was transcribed by Dr. Yehoshua Granat from a manuscript produced in late medieval France, Ms. Barginsky 206 (fol. 67b) in the Braginsky Collection in Zurich, Switzerland, under the title “יש מקומות שנהגו לבקש רחמים על האסור בבית האסורים כדרך הזה” (“There are places where it was customary to ask for mercy for the imprisoned in this way”).

The nusaḥ Italki (Italian rite) preserves a full curriculum of Torah study in advance of the morning prayers. Included are passages from the Torah, Mishnah, and Gemarah familiar to other nusḥaot. In the Italian rite, the blessings over Torah study and ensuing passages appear after all the other birkhot hashaḥar, concluding it and providing a bridge to liturgy preceding the Zemirot (a/k/a Pesuqei d’Zimra). What is remarkable in this tradition is how interlinked the blessing and recitation of these passages is to the otherwise separate and adjacent section concerning the sacrificial offerings in the Temple and the rules of halakhic exegesis in Rabbinic hermeneutics. While additional portions and verses are presented, the passages provide an explicit justification for the otherwise radical innovation carried forth in rabbinic Judaism to offer services of prayer in place of the services of the Temple cult, providing Hosea 14:3 as the authority to do so — a necessity in an age where the Torah mandated arrangements of animal sacrifices, incense and grain offerings, and wine libations remains otherwise interrupted.

This is the form of the prophylactic prayers following the birkhot hashaḳar and which precede the birkhot Talmud Torah in the Italian nusaḥ attested by Rabbi David Prato from his siddur, תפלה לדוד Preghiere di Rito Italiano (1949), pp. 10-12.

The poetic genre known as qerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar haḲalir’s Purim “Ḳrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, many of which were discovered in the Cairo Geniza. This set of ḳerovot, composed by the prolific Spanish paytan Yosef ibn Abitur, is meant to be included within the Shaḥarit amidah for Ta’anit Esther, the fast day before Purim. Consequently, it only goes up to the sixth blessing (the blessing for forgiveness) and concludes by leading directly into Seliḥot, which (before R. Yosef Karo’s standardization of the liturgy, and even now among some Western Ashkenazim) were inserted into the aforementioned blessing. In order to demonstrate this structure on a large scale, the editor here has compiled a full Shaḥarit repetition, nusaḥ Ashkenaz, incorporating the qerovot of Yosef ibn Abitur as well as the three seliḥot piyyutim of the Ashkenazi rite.

The Minhag Polin (Eastern Ashkenazi) yotser (piyyut inserted into the beginning of the first blessing of the Shema service) for Shabbat haGadol, by the Sefaradi sage and paytan Joseph ibn Abitur. Translated with preserved acrostic and rhyme scheme. This piyyut juxtaposes the seven days of creation with the miracles of the Exodus as well as the promised future salvation in a three-by-three structure.

A Byzantine-era Aramaic piyyut for Purim, perhaps written as an introduction to the Megillah reading. It tells the narrative of the Jewish people from Abraham to the final redemption, focusing on the foes who sought to destroy us and their inevitable failure to do so. Uniquely among early-medieval poems, this one actively mentions the Romans (read: Christians) and Saracens (read: Muslims) and prays for their downfall in non-coded language. This translation loosely preserves the couplet rhyme scheme, as well as the alphabetical acrostic — perhaps with a phonetic punning reference to the name “Shlomo” at the end.

This translation was prepared by Shir Meira Feit in loving memory of his sister, Laurie Feit, z”l, (1961-2017). “Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is an anonymous late (14th century) compilation of aggadic midrashim on the Pentateuch taken from the two Talmuds and earlier Midrashim of Yemenite provenance. In addition, it borrows quotations from the Targums, and Maimonides[2] and Kabbalistic writings (Oesterley & Box 1920), and in this aspect is unique among the various midrashic collections. This important work—the largest of the midrashic collections—came to popular attention only relatively recently (late 19th century) through the efforts of Jacob Saphir, Solomon Schecter, and David Zvi Hoffman. In addition to containing midrashic material that is not found elsewhere, such as the Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the Midrash HaGadol contains what are considered to be more correct versions of previously known Talmudic and Midrashic passages.” (via wikipedia)

The full text of the alphabetic mesostic piyyut, Hayom, according to the Italian nusaḥ.

“Elimelekh G’la” is a Byzantine-era Western Aramaic poetic retelling of the Book of Ruth. It was probably originally used as part of the liturgy for Shavuot, perhaps as a poetic addition to the recitation of a Targumic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. (The verses from Ruth and Psalms appended to the coda of the piyyuṭ would suggest such a Sitz im Leben.) But in any case, it has a great acrostic structure and rhyme scheme, and ought to be preserved! Here is included a vocalized text, largely based on the unvocalized text compiled in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (ed. Yahalom and Sakaloff, 1999) where it’s the tenth poem recorded. ‘ve added a rhyming poetic translation that preserves the Hebrew acrostic. Credit to Laura Suzanne Lieber’s literal translations of these poems (in Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity: Translations and Commentaries, 2018), which have served as a very helpful resource for the project.

A poetic Birkat haMazon text for the breakfast after Yom Kippur found in British Library MS Or. 9772 D. All the opening words of the alphabetical acrostic are from Psalms 111.

“Aḥeinu” is the final prayer in a set of supplications recited on Mondays and Thursdays as the Torah scroll is being prepared to be returned to the Aron. The prayer is first found with variations in wording in the surviving manuscripts of the Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 9th c.).

This translation of Aḥeinu was written for the hostages taken in Israel on 7 October 2023. It was written to musically match the version composed by Abie Rotenberg. The Hebrew has been reconstructed to include both Aḥeinu (brothers) and Aḥyoteinu (sisters).

A birkat haMazon found in the collection of Cairo Geniza fragments at the University of Cambridge library.

This is a vocalized reconstruction, arrangement and translation of the Haggadah according to the ancient Land of Israel rite, based on multiple manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza, including Halper 211 and T-S H2.152, with additional input from the Italian rite and customs recorded by Rav Saadia Gaon. It is translated in gender-neutral Hebrew.

This is a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Ḥanukkah witnessed in multiple Cairo Geniza manuscripts, including Cambridge, CUL: T-S H4.13; T-S H6.37; T-S 8H10.14; T-S NS 328.56; T-S NS 328.61; T-S AS 101.293; New York, JTS: ENA 2885.7; Oxford: MS heb. e.71/27 – MS heb. e.71/32; St. Peterburg: Yevr. III B 135.

A Birkat haMazon for Shavuot presenting an alphabetic acrostic from a manuscript preserved in the Cairo Geniza.

This is a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Purim witnessed in the Cairo Geniza fragment T-S H6.37 (page 1, recto and verso)‬.

The following piyyut seems to have been customarily used in some Babylonian communities as an extensive replacement for the “creator of the vine-fruit” opening of the kiddush. Rav Saadia Gaon forbade it for being an alteration of the talmudic formula, but his successor Rav Hai Gaon permitted it for its cherished status. No communities today have preserved a custom of reciting it, but in 1947 Naphtali Wieder (zçl) published a text he found in the Cairo Geniza, which is replicated and translated below. Daniel Goldschmidt (zçl) suggests that it may be in it of itself a compilation of two different rites. The conjunction point is marked below with a black line.

This is a poetic Birkat haMazon for Pesaḥ, from the Cairo Geniza (CUL T-S H11.88 1v). Much thanks to the work of Dr. Avi Shmidman, whose 2009 doctoral thesis is the foundational work for poetic Birkat haMazon studies. He marks it as Piyyut 64, and his Hebrew-language commentary begins on page 394 of his work. I’ve included two translations of the poetic portions — one literal and one preserving the acrostic and rhyme scheme.

Rav Saadia Gaon lists three additions to the Seder Pesaḥ which he considers not necessary, but acceptable. This is the first, a poetic version of the Kiddush. Interestingly enough, it is still recited in many Yemenite communities, which are in general less likely to incorporate poetic sections to their liturgy. Here it is recorded and translated into English according to two nusḥaot — that recorded in the siddur of Rav Saadia (marked in blue), and that recorded in modern Yemenite texts (marked in red). In cases where only the spelling differs rather than the meaning, the editor generally went with Rav Saadia as the older variant.

Rav Saadia Gaon lists three additions to the Seder Pesaḥ which he considers not necessary, but acceptable. This is the third, a poetic insert of the blessing of redemption known as Ata Ga’alta. In the form of an alphabetical acrostic, this poem is still recited in many eastern communities including the Babylonians, Persians, and Yemenites, and was a feature of the the old Kaifeng rite. Here it is recorded and translated into English according to the nusaḥ of Saadia Gaon, with notes in several locations for additional phrases used in some customs.

A well-wishing prayer for couples on their wedding day found in the Seder Rav Amram Gaon.

The opening letter of Rav Amram to a community in Spain from his 9th century order of prayer (Seder Rav Amram Gaon).

An apotropaic prayer of protection for traveling at night containing an “angels on all sides” formula.

It is somewhat well known that in the Italian rite, there are alternative texts for the first and third blessings of the evening Shemaˁ liturgy on Shabbat, texts which were rejected by Ashkenazi practice out of fear the community could become confused and recite them on weekdays. But these Shabbat-specific blessings, derived from the old Erets Yisrael rite and preserved in the siddur of Rav Saˁadia Gaon (RaSaG), are not alone! All the blessings of the Shabbat evening Shemaˁ service — as well as all the blessings of the Saturday night Motsaei Shabbat Shemaˁ service! — have unique poetic forms in RaSaG’s siddur. This part, the Saturday night rite, is part two of a two-part series posting these liturgical texts found in the siddur of — and approved of by — the gaon.

It is somewhat well known that in the Italian rite, there are alternative texts for the first and third blessings of the evening Shemaˁ liturgy on Shabbat, texts which were rejected by Ashkenazi practice out of fear the community could become confused and recite them on weekdays. But these Shabbat-specific blessings, derived from the old Eretz Yisrael rite and preserved in the siddur of Rav Saˁadia Gaon, are not alone! All the blessings of the Shabbat evening Shemaˁ service — as well as all the blessings of the Saturday night Motzaei Shabbat Shemaˁ service! — have unique poetic forms in RaSaG’s siddur. This is part one of a two-part series posting these liturgical texts found in the siddur of — and approved of by — the gaon. For this part, the blessings for Friday night, locations where Italian rite’s modern versions of the first and third blessings differ from the version of RaSaG are marked.

“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.”

A ritual for changing a name of a sick person. This text is recorded in abridged form in Rabbeinu Yeruḥam’s 14th-century work “Sefer Toldot Adam v-Ḥava,” but is almost certainly substantially older than that considering he credits it to the Geonim. Rabbeinu Yeruḥam doesn’t include the text in its entirety, assuming familiarity with the “מְצָלְאִין אֲנַֽחְנָא” opening to prayers. This text is not, to my knowledge, commonly used in any modern rites, but I found a 15th-century Italian siddur here with a prayer that begins with the same formula in full.

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