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Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also translates and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic texts, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

https://igmjewishcreativeworks.com
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🆕 רִאשׁוֹן אַתָּה | Rishon Atah — yotsrot for Yom ha-Atsma’ut in a Cairo Geniza weekday yotsrot style by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

An original set of weekday yotsrot, in the style of those found in the Cairo Geniza (and compiled at Weekday Yotzrot, thanks to the work of Dr. Avi Shmidman), for Yom ha-Atsma’ut. The weekday yotsrot of the Cairo Geniza have a structure quite different from normative Ashkenazi festival yotsrot, and much closer to that of Ashkenazi maaravot. There are no yotser or ofan piyyutim — each blessing has a stanza of an extended, unified poem before its ḥatimah, and the only stanzas inserted into the guf ha-berakha are in the final blessing, surrounding the Mi Khamokha. They’re also generally much shorter and more user-friendly than the complex and intricate mysticism of Ashkenazi festival yotsrot. This cycle is written in an alphabetical acrostic, followed by the author tag “Yitzḥaq Harel son of Avraham the Kohen and Ya’el, be strong and courageous, amen.” Each stanza begins with a different word from Isaiah 47:4, and ends with a citation of a different relevant verse. . . .


לַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בְּשׁוּשָׁן | LaYhudim Asher biShushan — a shiv’ata cycle for musaf Shabbat Purim Meshulash, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Purim in walled cities (meaning, practically, in Jerusalem) occurs on the day after it does outside of them. This means that when Purim falls on a Friday, it falls on Shabbat in Jerusalem. This unique occurrence is called Purim Meshulash, “Threefold Purim,” because the practices for the day are divided into three. The megillah is read and gifts are given to the poor on Friday, the Torah reading is on Shabbat, and the festive meal and gifts to friends on Sunday. Since this practice of Shabbat Purim is unique to Jerusalem, and for much of Ashkenazi poetic history the Jewish community in Jerusalem was negligible, there are very few liturgical texts designed for Shabbat Purim Meshulash. This is, in the author’s opinion, a shame, because all the other special shabbatot surrounding it have a plethora of special piyyuṭim to insert into their cycles. This cycle of a shiv’ata (sevenfold piyyut) and an eloheikhem (Qedushah insertion) is meant to fill that void. . . .


הקפות קינה לשביעי באוקטובר | Haqafōt of Lamentation for the seventh of October, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This is an original qinah written in response to the attack of October 7. Since the attack occurred on Simḥat Torah, this text is designed to follow the structure of the haqafot recited on Simḥat Torah. But it’s meant to be read on Tisha b’Av, or at least on another fast day. . . .


מחזור קדושתאות ליום המתורגמן (ח׳ בטבת) | Qedushtaot Cycle for Yom Meturgeman (Translator’s Day) on 8 Tevet

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This is an original ḳedushtaot cycle for Yom Meturgeman, the eighth of Tevet, to be inserted into the ‘amidah. . . .


הכרזה לימי הודיה (פורים וחנוכה) | Hakhrazah li-Ymei ha-Hodayah — Announcement for Days of Miraculous Thanksgiving (Purim and Ḥanukkah)

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

An original announcement, or hakhraza, for days of thanksgiving (Purim and Ḥanukkah). Written in the style of other more well-known announcements, like the Sephardic announcement of fasts, or the Italian-rite announcement for Pesaḥ, and to be recited in the same location in the Torah service after the haftara. . . .


הוֹשַֽׁעְנָא ליום הבחירות | Hosha-na for Election Day, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A plea for the manifestation of righteous civic virtues on Election Day in the shadow of Hoshana Rabba. . . .


Yotsrot for Yom Simḥat Kohen/Yom Shem ha-El (11 Tishrei) in a Cairo Geniza weekday yotsrot style by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A new and original cycle of yotsrot in the style of the weekday yotsrot of the Cairo Geniza, for the day after Yom Kippur, referred to either as Yom Simḥat Kohen or Yom Shem ha-El depending on the custom. . . .


Schedule for the Reading of Psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Nusæḥ Temoni-Bælædi

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A schedule for the reading of Psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Nusæḥ Temoni-Bælædi. . . .


Schedule for the Reading of Psalms corresponding to Festival Days, according to the Western Ashkenazi Rite

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This is the schedule for the reading of Psalms corresponding to Festival Days, according to the Western Ashkenazi Rite as Recorded by Wolf Heidenheim and the Rödelheim Siddurim, to be recited after the psalm of the day, unless otherwise noted. . . .


Schedule for the Reading of Psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Nusaḥ Sefaradim Edot ha-Mizraḥ

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A schedule for the reading of Psalms corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Nusaḥ Edot ha-Mizraḥ. . . .


Schedule for the Reading of Historical Writings corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A schedule for the reading of the historical writings in the TaNaKh corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to the practice of Isaac Gantwerk Mayer . . .


אַהֲבָה תְּלַבְלֵב כְּמוֹ־פֶֽרַח | Ahava T’lavlev K’mo Peraḥ (Love blossoms like a flower) — a yotser for Tu b’Av by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A yotser for Tu b’Av, the first part of an intended cycle of yotsrot. A retelling of the list of reasons for Tu b’Av given in the Talmud, with repeated refrains from Psalm 45 for the alphabetical verses and the rest of the Tanakh for the name-acrostic choruses. Written in honor of my friend Eliran’s wedding. . . .


בְּרַח דּוֹדִי | A B’raḥ Dodi for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

The genre of B’raḥ Dodi piyyutim, a variety of geulah piyyut oriented around many Shir haShirim citations, is exclusively associated with Pesaḥ in Ashkenazi practice. Maḥzorim for Pesaḥ include B’raḥ Dodi piyyutim for the first two days and Shabbat Ḥol ha-Moed of Pesaḥ and nowhere else. So to reflect the themes of Pesaḥ Sheni, a B’raḥ Dodi piyyut is a great fit! . . .


בַּחֹדֶשׁ זִיו | Ba-Ḥodesh Ziv — a zulat for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A zulat for Pesaḥ Sheni. Each line begins with a word from Numbers 9:11 followed by a letter spelling out “Remember me for good, amen,” excepting the final five lines. The first of these concluding lines is the refrain from the ahavah for the same set, and the final four all begin with hei and transition into the berakhah. This zulat focuses largely on the Temple, where Pesaḥ Sheni offerings were held. . . .


יִשְׂרָאֵל אִם־לֹא בְּשִׂמְחָה | Yisrael Im Lo b-Simḥah — an ahavah for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

An ahavah for Pesaḥ Sheni. An acrostic spelling out “Yitsḥaq son of Avraham, the priest, ḥazaq,” with a refrain derived from Mishnah Pesaḥim 9:1. . . .


לֹֽא־יַשְׁאִ֤ירוּ | Lo Yash’iru — an ofan for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

An ofan for Pesaḥ Sheni in tripartite stanzas. Each stanza begins with a citation of Numbers 9:12-14, then an acrostic spelling out “the son of Avraham the priest, ḥazaq.” . . .


אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ הוֹצֵֽאתָ | Et Avotenu Hotseta — a yotser for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A yotser for Pesaḥ Sheni. Each stanza is written with a threefold acrostic — the first two lines in atbash, the third spelling “Yitsḥaq Har’el Ḥazaq,” and the fourth a verse from Numbers 9. . . .


עַל־הַנִּסִּים לְיוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת | Al haNissim for Yom ha-Atsma’ut, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This is an original Al haNissim paragraph for Yom ha-Atsma’ut, focusing on the actual reason for Zionism’s necessity — European antisemitism. As I put it when I wrote the first draft of this paragraph, “Zionism was necessary because of the Europeans. The original enemy of Israel’s independence was the European nations who wanted us assimilated or dead. Israel was not declared independent from the Arab world, it was declared independent from Britain, and I think we should remember that on Yom ha-Atsma’ut.” . . .


אַרְבָּעָה בָּנִים | The Four Children — an alternative take by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This variation on the discourse of the four children in the Haggadah was (barring minor edits) first composed for my family’s experimental small-scale seder in 2019, my second time ever leading a seder. I had come to the conclusion that for a text whose entire ikkar is for the children to learn, the Four Children narrative shows some shockingly bad pedagogy. So I decided to write a subversive take on it, where I applied its framework to some of the most serious problems facing the Jewish community today, and the mainline Jewish community’s failings in dealing with them. . . .


שָּׁבוּעַ שֶׁל אַחְוָה לְאֻמִּית | National Brotherhood Week (in Israel), an adaptation of Tom Lehrer’s song by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A satirical look at contemporary Israeli civil society in Hebrew and English, as adapted from Tom Lehrer’s sardonic “National Brotherhood Week” (1965). . . .