יוֹם שַׁבָּתוֹן | Yom Shabbaton, a Shabbat song by Yehudah haLevi (interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧An interpretive translation of Yehudah haLevi’s shabbat song, “Yom Shabbaton.” . . .
עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק (מנהג הספרדים) | The invocation of Aqédat Yitsḥaq (the Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning (minhag haSefaradim)
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❧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. . . .
עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק (אשכנז) | The invocation of Aqédat Yitsḥaq (the Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning (nusaḥ Ashkenaz)
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❧The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of Ashkenaz. . . .
📖 שִׁמּוּשׁ תְּהִלִּים | Shimush Tehillim (the Theurgical Use of Psalms), attributed to Hai ben Sherira Gaon
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❧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. . . .
אבלה נפשי | Avlah Nafshi (My soul mourns), a seliḥah for Tsom Gedalyah attributed to Rav Saadia Gaon (10th c.)
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❧A seliḥah for the Fast of Gedalyah, attributed to Rav Saadia Gaon. . . .
הַיּוֹם תְּאַמְּצֵנוּ | haYom T’amtseinu, a piyyut for the end of musaf on Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur
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❧The full text of the alphabetic mesostic piyyut, Hayom, according to the Italian nusaḥ. . . .
אַחֵֽינוּ | Aḥeinu (Our siblings)
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❧“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.). . . .
תפלת אחר הקמת המצבה, מנהג ק״ק פרעסבורג יצ״ו | Prayer after the Unveiling of a Tombstone, according to the custom of the Jewish community of Pressburg
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❧A prayer for unveiling a tombstone, according to the custom of the Jews of Pressburg. . . .
סליחות לצום גדליה | Seliḥot for Tsom Gedalyah, translated by David Asher
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❧The order of seliḥot for the day after Rosh haShanah, which is Tsom Gedalyah – the fast of Gedalyah. . . .
רָנּוּ שָׁמַֽיִם | Ronnu shamayim, a piyyut celebrating the Decalogue by Elyaqim
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❧This piyyut is signed “Elyaqim Ḥazaq.” Alas, we do not know who this Elyaqim was or even whether he was a rabbinic or Karaite Jew. The piyyut has been preserved for us in the Karaite cycle (Vilna printing press, 1852, Vol. IV, p. 135.) and there are several other piyyutim signed with his name. . . .
אֲדוֹן הַסְּלִיחוֹת | Adon haSeliḥot (Lord of Forgiveness), a pizmon for Seliḥot and Yom Kippur
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❧A pizmon in the nusaḥ hasepharadim recited at Seliḥot during the monh of Elul and Yom Kippur. . . .
אֲדוֹן הַסְּלִיחוֹת | Adon haSeliḥot, a pizmon for Seliḥot and Yom Kippur with an alphabetic acrostic translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1937)
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❧An alphabetic acrostic pizmon for seliḥot and Yom Kippur with an alphabetic acrostic English translation. . . .
כִּי בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז | Ki b’Shivah Asar b’Tamuz, a seliḥah for the 17th of Tamuz
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❧A penitential piyyut for the fast of the 17th of Tammuz. . . .
מִימִינִי מִיכָאֵל | “Mikhael is on my right,” the angelic invocation for divine protection from the Ḳriyat Shema al haMitah
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❧The “angels on all sides” formula included with the Bedtime Shema service in many contemporary siddurim. . . .
מה אלו | “Who are these?” — the Origin of the Angels of Healing: Sanoi, Sansanoi, and Semanglof, as told in the Alphabet of ben Sira (ca. late first millennium)
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❧The origin story of Lilith as told in the Alphabet of ben Sira. . . .
אוֹמֶץ גְּבוּרוֹתֶיךָ | Omets G’vuratekha, a piyyut by Eleazar ben Qalir for the second night of Pesaḥ in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel (1644)
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❧The piyyut, Omets G’vurotekha by Elazar ha-Qalir, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel. . . .
אֵל אָדוֹן (אשכנז) | El Adōn, a piyyut attributed to the Yordei Merkavah (interpretive translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)
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❧The piyyut, El Adon, in Hebrew with an interpretive “praying translation” by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalom, z”l. . . .
יְיָ בּוֹקֶר אֶעֱרוֹךְ לְךָ | Hashem Boqer E’erokh Lakh (Hear my voice at dawn), a reshut by an unknown paytan (trans. Rabbi David Aaron de Sola, 1857)
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❧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). . . .
אֲשֶׁר הֵנִיא | Asher Heni, a piyyut recited after the reading of Megillat Esther and its concluding blessing
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❧An alphabetical acrostic piyyut celebrating the victory of Esther and Mordekhai over the forces of Haman. . . .
דַּיֵּנוּ | Daiyenu, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel (1644)
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❧The piyyut, Dayenu, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel. . . .
אַדִּיר הוּא | Adir Hu, the acrostic piyyut in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel (1644)
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❧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). . . .
הספר ששמשו בו הכשדים | Theurgy of the Kasdim, an astral-magic treatise on the seven angels of the week
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❧A work of Jewish astrology and magic containing recipes specific to the angelic rulers of each day of the week. . . .
רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים אַתָּה צִוִּיתָֽנוּ לְהַקְרִיב | Ribon ha-Olamim atah tsivitanu l’haqriv — let the offering of our lips substitute for animal sacrifice
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❧This is the Ribon ha-Olamim prayer contained within the concluding readings of the Qarbanot section as an introductory preface to the Morning prayers. In most siddurim in which the Karbanot are included, this prayer appears immediately after Ana b’Khoaḥ and before the rules of Midrash Halakhah taught by Rebbi Yishmael. . . .
Υγρομαντεια | The Hygromancy of Solomon (ca. 5th c. CE)
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❧A guide to the activities one might engage upon in every hour of the week corresponding with their ruling planet, numinous and cthonic power. . . .
אָז רוֹב נִסִּים | Az Rov Nissim, a piyyut by Yanai for the first night of Pesaḥ in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel (1644)
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❧The piyyut, Omets G’vurotekha by Elazar ha-Qalir, in its Latin translation by Johann Stephan Rittangel. . . .
Reconstruction of a Greek text of the Shabbat Amidah preserved in the Constitutiones Apostolorum (circa 380 CE), by Dr. David Fiensy
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❧This is a reconstruction of a sabbath liturgy for the Tefillah of the Amidah, at least in some variant of its public recitation, in Greek and preserved in an early Christian work, the Constitutiones Apostolorum (Apostolic Constitutions), a Christian work compiled around 380 CE in Syria. Several prayers derived from Jewish sources appear in the Apostolic Constitutions and they can be found grouped together and labeled “Greek” or “Hellenistic Syanagogal Works” in collections of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Because explicitly Christian references appeared to be added onto a pre-existing text with familiar Jewish or “Old Testament” themes and references, scholars in the late 19th century were already suggesting that as many as 16 of the prayers in the Apostolic Constitutions books 7 and 8 were derived from Jewish prayers. A more modern appraisal was made by Dr. Fiensy and published in Prayers Alleged to Be Jewish (Scholars Press 1985). Based on a careful analysis of the prayers, he concludes that the only prayers which can be identified as Jewish with certainty are those found in sections 33-38 of book 7. . . .
היסטוריולה של סממית וסידרוס | Historiola of Smamit and Sideros, a reconstruction based on Amulet 15 & Amulet Bowl 12a
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❧A very old tale told for the protection of pregnant women and their infant children as found in amulets from late Antiquity. . . .
אסו ית ארסינואי | Two healing prayers for Arsinoë’s recovery (Amulets 80.AM.55.1 & 80.AM.55.2, J. Paul Getty Museum)
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❧Healing prayers written on a pair of amulets for the recovery of a woman named Arsinoë . . .
קדיש שלם | Ḳaddish Shalem — Chinese translation by Richard Collis (2022)
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❧This Chinese translation of an Ashkenazi nusaḥ for the “Qaddish Shalem,” the full-ḳaddish is found on page 27 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). . . .
קדיש שלם | Ḳaddish Shalem, translated by Rabbi Dr. Jakob Petuchowski (1966)
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❧The Aramaic text of the Ḳaddish Shalem, with an English translation by Dr. Jakob Petuckowski. . . .
חצי קדיש | Ḥatsi Ḳaddish — Chinese translation by Richard Collis (2022)
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❧This Chinese translation of an Ashkenazi nusaḥ for the “Ḥatsi Qaddish,” the half-ḳaddish is found on page 4 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). . . .
ברייתא דרבי ישמעאל | The Baraita of Rebbi Yishma’el: thirteen principles of halakhic exegesis (translated by Rabbi Ben-Zion Bokser)
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❧The thirteen exegetical rules by which halakhot from the Torah may be derived, according to Rebbi Yishmael, included with the preliminary prayers before the Psukei d’Zimrah/Zemirot of Shaḥarit. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק א׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter One, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 1 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ב׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Two, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 2 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ג׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Three, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 3 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ד׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Four, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 4 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ה׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Five, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 5 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ו׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Six, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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❧Chapter 6 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 מַעֲשֶׂה חֲנֻכָּה ב׳ | Ma’aseh Ḥanukkah “bet” in Ladino, a retelling of Megillat Antiokhus with details from II Maccabees by Rabbi Isaac Magriso (1764)
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❧This is a largely uncorrected transcription of Rabbi Isaac Magriso’s telling of Megillat Antiokhus in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) from the Me’am Loez: Bamidbar Parshat BeHe’alotekha (Constantinople, 1764). The paragraph breaks are a rough estimation based on my comparison with the English translation of Dr. Tzvi Faier (1934-2009) appearing in The Torah Anthology: Me’am Loez, Book Thirteen – In the Desert (Moznaim 1982). I welcome all Ladino speakers and readers to help correct this transcription and to provide a complete English translation for non-Ladino readers. . . .
💬 מַעֲשֶׂה חֲנֻכָּה א׳ | Ma’aseh Ḥanukkah “alef,” a tale of the people’s resistance to the Seleucid Greek occupation
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❧This digital edition of Midrash Ma’aseh Ḥanukkah was transcribed from the print edition published in Otzar Hamidrashim (I. D. Eisenstein, New York: Eisenstein Press, 5675/1915, p.189-190). With much gratitude to Anat Hochberg, this is the first translation of this midrash into English. . . .
🗐 מִדְרָשִׁים עַל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וּתְקוּפַת הֶחֹרֶף | Midrashim on the Origin of the Winter Solstice and Kalends Festivals by Primaeval Adam
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❧A sourcesheet shared by Dr. Devora Steinmetz to accompany a shiur on the Winter Solstice in Jewish thought. . . .
💬 מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megillat Antiokhus in Aramaic, critical text by Menaḥem Tsvi Kaddari with English translation by John C. Reeves
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❧The critical text of Megillat Antiokhus in its original Aramaic, prepared by Menaḥem Tsvi Kaddari and translated into English by John C. Reeves. . . .
💬 מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megillat Antiokhus for Ḥanukkah in Aramaic, translated in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English
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❧The Megillat Antiochus was composed in Palestinian Aramaic sometime between the 2nd and 5th century CE, likely in the 2nd Century when the memory of the Bar Kochba revolt still simmered.. The scroll appears in a number of variations. The Aramaic text below follows the critical edition prepared by Menaḥem Tzvi Kaddari, and preserves his verse numbering. The English translation by Rabbi Joseph Adler (1936) follows the Hebrew translation in the middle column, the source of which is a medieval manuscript reprinted by Tzvi Filipowsky in 1851. Adler and Kaddari’s verse ordering loosely follows one another indicating variations in manuscripts. Where Aramaic is missing from Kaddari’s text, the Aramaic version from Adler’s work is included in parentheses. Adler also included a Yiddish translation which we hope will be fully transcribed (along with vocalized Hebrew text, a Hungarian translation, and perhaps even a Marathi translation from South India) for Ḥanukkah 5775 , G!d willing. . . .
💬 מגילת אנטיוכס עם טעמי מקרא | Megillat Antiokhus, with a novel cantillation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation by Tsvi Filipowski, 1851)
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❧Perhaps Megillat Antiokhus could be read a la Esther on Purim (the holiday with the most similarities), going to Eicha trope in the upsetting parts. A few notes: on the final mention of Bagris the Wicked I included a karnei-farah in the manner of the karnei-farah in Esther. I also included a merkha kefulah in the concluding section, which (according to David Weisberg’s “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-Eight Books”) represents aggadic midrash material. It also serves as a connection to the Chanukah haftarah, which is famously the only one that has a merkha kefulah. –Isaac Mayer . . .
הרקיע השביעי | The Seventh Heavenly Dome, a description and hymn of divine praise from Sefer ha-Razim
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❧A hymn of praise found in the description of the 7th dome of heaven in Sefer ha-Razim . . .
עלי לשבח | Alai l’Shabe’aḥ (It is incumbent upon me), a prayer of praise from the Ma’aseh Merkavah
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❧An earlier form of the prayer known as Aleinu, as found in the esoteric Jewish literature of the first millennium CE. . . .
עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ (מנהג הספרדים) | Aleinu, translated by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1937)
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❧The prayer, Aleinu, as read by Sepharadim, with an English translation by Rabbi David de Sola Pool. . . .
Ritual for Judging Bad Dreams for Good
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❧If one has had a terribly disturbing and potentially auspicious dream, this ritual recorded in the Talmud Bavli (Berakhot 55b) provides a remedy in the form of a means by which the dream itself is judged positively by a small court of one’s peers. . . .
Ὑμνεῖν με δεῖ τὸν θεόν | “I Must Praise God,” excerpted from the Discourses of Epictetus by Rabbi Morrison David Bial
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❧A short discourse on the necessity for prayer by the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus. . . .
💬 The Story of Gedalyah, as told by Titus Flavius Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews
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❧The story of Gedaliah as recorded by Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities. . . .