Prayer for Dwelling in the Sukkah of the Leviyatan, as taught in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (ca. 13th c.)
Contributed on: 26 Sep 2023 by
❧This formula for recitation in the Sukkah at the conclusion of Sukkot (on the night of Shemini Atseret) is given in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (1215-1293) and found in two sources: Siman 148 of the Teshuvot of Shimshon bar Tsadoq (a/k/a the Tashbets), and Siman 71.50 of the Sefer Kol Bo. . . .
רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים לֹא עַל־צִדְקוֹתֵֽינוּ | Ribon ha-Olamim, not in the merit of our righteousness — a variation from the Seder Tefilot of Maimonides, MS Constantinople 1509
Contributed on: 10 Aug 2017 by
❧A variation of the prayer Ribon ha-Olamim from the section of prayers preceding Psukei d’Zimrah/Zermirot. . . .
The twelve hued rainbow above the Sea of Reeds during the miracle of its division into twelve channels of liberation
Contributed on: 28 Jun 2024 by
❧A medieval manuscript illustration of the aggadah that the Yam Suf was split in 12 discrete channels, one for each tribe, as reflected above by a 12-color rainbow . . .
אָמוֹן יוֹם זֶה | Amon Yom Zeh, an introduction to the Azharot of ibn Gabirol by David ben Elazar ibn Paquda (ca. 12th c.)
Contributed on: 26 May 2020 by
❧A poetic introduction to the Azharot of Solomon ibn Gabirol read in the afternoon of Shavuot by Sefaradim. . . .
בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי | Preise ihn, meine Seele! | Barkhi Nafshi, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi in abridged translation by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1835)
Contributed on: 13 Mar 2022 by
❧“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. . . .
יָהּ, אָנָה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ | Yah, Where shall I find you?, a piyyut by Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)
Contributed on: 06 Jun 2020 by
❧A piyyut that expresses the paradox of a divinity that is both “Beyond” and “Present.” . . .
אֱלִי, רְפָאֵנִי וְאֵרָפֵא | Eli Refa’eni v’Erafé, the personal physician’s prayer of Rabbi Dr. Yehudah haLevi (ca. early 12th c.)
Contributed on: 06 Jun 2020 by
❧The physician’s prayer of Rabbi Dr. Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi in the 12th century CE. . . .
מימיני מיכאל | “Mikhael is on my right,” an apotropaic invocation of angelic protection in the Bedtime Shema from the Maḥzor Vitry (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed on: 16 May 2020 by
❧An “angels on all sides” formula included with the Bedtime Shema service in the Maḥzor Vitry. . . .
עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק (מנהג הספרדים) | The invocation of Aqédat Yitsḥaq (the Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning (minhag haSefaradim)
Contributed on: 07 Dec 2024 by
❧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)
Contributed on: 07 Dec 2024 by
❧The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of Ashkenaz. . . .
ברכת המזון לחול ולשבת | Birkat haMazon for Weekdays and on Shabbat from the Cairo Genizah fragment Or.1080 15.4
Contributed on: 01 Feb 2021 by
❧A birkat haMazon found in the collection of Cairo Geniza fragments at the University of Cambridge library. . . .
כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם | k’Hayom HaZeh Birushalayim (This day in Jerusalem), a wedding prayer from the Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 9th c.)
Contributed on: 23 May 2020 by
❧A well-wishing prayer for couples on their wedding day found in the Seder Rav Amram Gaon. . . .
כשיוצא אדם בלילה | When a person goes out at night: an apotropaic invocation of angelic protection in the Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 9th c.)
Contributed on: 14 May 2020 by
❧An apotropaic prayer of protection for traveling at night containing an “angels on all sides” formula. . . .
גבריאל מימינהון | “Gavriel is on the right,” an apotropaic invocation of angelic protection in the amulet bowl SD12 (ca. mid-first millennium C.E.)
Contributed on: 12 May 2020 by
❧The text and translation of an amulet bowl discussed in “‘Gabriel is on their Right’: Angelic Protection in Jewish Magic and Babylonian Lore” by Dan Levene, Dalia Marx, and Siam Bharyo in Studia Mesopotamica (Band 1: 2014) pp.185-198. The apotropaic ward found in the amulet bowl, SD 12, contains an “angels on all sides” formula similar to that appearing in the Jewish liturgy of the bedtime shema. . . .
סֵפֶר יְצִירָה | Sefer Yetsirah, a derivation of A. Peter Hayman’s experimental “earliest recoverable text” — vocalized and translated by Aharon Varady
Contributed on: 14 Jun 2016 by
❧The text of the Sefer Yetsirah presented here follows the “experimental exercise” produced by A. Peter Hayman in his Sefer Yeṣira: Edition Translation and Text-Critical Commentary, “Appendix III: The Earliest Recoverable Text of Sefer Yesira” (Mohr Siebeck, 2004). For details on his construction and his review of the available recensions of Sefer Yetsirah, please refer to Hayman’s complete commentary. Numbers in parentheses indicate sections. I have added spaces between sections indicate traditional chapter breaks. Square brackets indicate some doubt as to whether the included wording was present in the earlier form of the text (p.124). . . .
ברכות לנרות חנוכה | the Blessings over Kindling the Light of Ḥanukkah
Contributed on: 28 Nov 2021 by
❧The blessings for kindling the Ḥanukkah lights in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם (שְׁלָמָא אֵילוֹכוּן) | Shalom Aleikhem (Shlama Elokhun), Aramaic translation by Yaacov Maoz
Contributed on: 01 Nov 2020 by
❧The popular piyyut for welcoming the Shabbat, in Hebrew with translations in Assyrian-Aramaic and English. . . .
בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן בִּקְצָרָה | Birkat HaMazon Biqtsarah :: Abbreviated Blessing after the Meal
Contributed on: 24 Feb 2019 by
❧The formula for the abbreviated Birkat Hamazon, in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי (מנהג הספרדים) | Nishmat Kol Ḥai, arranged by Aharon Varady
Contributed on: 14 Jan 2020 by
❧The text of the prayer Nishmat Kol Ḥai in Hebrew with English translation. . . .
בִּרְכַּת נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם | Blessing on preparing one’s hands for wakefulness and other holy activities (translation by Aharon Varady)
Contributed on: 01 Dec 2024 by
❧The blessing upon preparing one’s hands for attaining a state of ritual purity before a sacred activity. . . .
תפילה לחודש כסלו עד סוף חנוכה | Prayer for the month of Kislev through the end of Ḥanukkah (from Isaiah 60), by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman
Contributed on: 29 Nov 2017 by
❧Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman introduced the tradition of reading these verses from Isaiah during the month of Kislev through the end of Ḥanukkah in his Siddur Ha’Avodah Shebalev of Kehillat Kol HaNeshamah (R’ Levi Weiman-Kelman, R’ Ma’ayan Turner, and Shaul Vardi, 2007). The translation provided here was adapted from the one made by Shaul Vardi in Siddur Ha’Avodah Shebalev. –Aharon Varady. . . .
תהלים קל״ט | Psalms 139, a mizmor by David with verses attributed to Adam haRishon for the Winter Solstice
Contributed on: 21 Dec 2019 by
❧A well-known midrash explaining the universality of the Kalends festival beginning after the Winter Solstice attributes this psalm to Adam haRishon, the primordial Adam, as they describe being knitted together within the Earth in Psalms 139:13-16. In the Roman calendar, the calends or kalends (Latin: kalendae) is the first day of every month. Named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, and derived from ianua, “door,” January began with the first crescent moon after the winter solstice, marking the natural beginning of the year. Marcus Terentius Varro, in his Res Rusticae (37 BCE) divided the agricultural year into eight parts. In the final part beginning on the winter solstice, no hard work was to be done outdoors. . . .