A series of ten short couplets describing the ten plagues afflicting the Egyptians in Egypt, written in Judeo-Italian and first published in the famous 1609 Venice Haggadah of Isaac Gershon. The Italian used in the Venice Haggadah lacks a lot of the most divergent aspects of the Judeo-Italian languages, sticking to a more mainline Tuscan grammatical norm, but there are enough obsolete, poetic, or dialectal forms that several footnotes have been included to explain them. Also included is an original English-language rhyming translation! . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish before Barkhu that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qadish Shalem of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Qaddish of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Arvit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .

A common practice among Sephardim both eastern and western is to read the aftará for the morning of the fast of Aḇ with a verse-by-verse midrashic translation. Western Sephardim use an Early Modern Spanish text, while Eastern Sephardim use a Judezmo (or Judeo-Spanish proper) text. Attached is a transcript of a Western Sephardic verse-by-verse targum of the aftará for the Shabbat before 9 Aḇ, based on the text found in Isaac Leeser’s Siddur Siftei Tsadiqim, volume 6: Seder haTefilot laTaaniyot (1838), pp. 174-184. Each verse is included in Hebrew, as well as the original Spanish text, and a slightly modernized Spanish text underneath to clarify archaic forms or words that have fallen out of use. Also included are from-scratch English translations. . . .

The Seder ha-Tamid, a Provençal (Nusaḥ Comtat Venaissin) siddur published in Avignon in 1766, has liturgical additions for an amazing five different local festivals — one for Avignon, and two each for Carpentras and Cavaillon. I’m working on transcribing all of these, but to start, here’s an Al haNissim for the twenty-eighth of Shvat in Avignon. Written in rhymed prose, this text tells the story of a gentile who fell headfirst down a deep well near the synagogue, but successfully managed to flip himself over and wedged his feet in the walls. Even more miraculously, afterwards he declared that it was his own fault he fell in the pit! The Jews of the Comtat, an area under direct papal control at the time, were well aware of the tenuousness of their position, and were the man a talebearer then they could have faced a pogrom or exile. . . .

In the 18th century, the common practice among Western Sephardim was to read some or all of the aftarót recited in the three weeks before the fast of Aḇ with a verse-by-verse “Ladino” (in this case meaning standard Early Modern Spanish, not Judezmo) translation. According to Joseph Jesurun Pinto (ḥazzan of Shearith Israel in New York from 1759 to 1766), it was customary in Amsterdam for only the final of the three aftarót, the aftará of Shabbat Ḥazon, to be recited with this Spanish targum, while in London it was customary for all three to be recited. This practice fell out of common usage in the past few centuries, although the Western Sephardic community of Bayonne preserved it up until the Shoah. But to this day a unique cantillation system is used in most Western Sephardic communities for the three aftarót before the fast. Attached is a transcript of a Spanish verse-by-verse targum of the aftará for the Shabbat before 9 Aḇ, based on one found in a publication from Amsterdam in 1766. Each verse is included in Hebrew, as well as the original Spanish text, and a slightly modernized Spanish text underneath to clarify archaic forms or words that have fallen out of use. . . .

In Yemenite practice, directly after the four questions are recited the youngest literate person at the table reads a brief Judeo-Arabic passage, here transcribed per the Yemenite transliteration system (wherein gimel dagesh = j and qof = g) and translated into Arabic and Hebrew. Instructional notes say this passage is “for the benefit of women and toddlers,” the two main classes of people who would have not had access to Hebrew education at the time. . . .

The Seder ha-Tamid, a Provençal (Nusaḥ Comtat Venaissin) siddur published in Avignon in 1766, has liturgical additions for an amazing five different local festivals — one for Avignon, and two each for Carpentras and Cavaillon. Here’s a series of piyyutim for the ninth of Nisan in Carpentras. On 9 Nisan 5442 (17 April 1682), the gentile murderer of a Jew from Carpentras was drowned according to law. A mob began to form to attack the Jews for deigning to not be murdered. The rector of the comtat, Michele Antonio Vibò, decided to send guards to protect the Jews from the mob. This decision was celebrated by the Jews with multiple piyyuṭim and a full recitation of Hallel. Uniquely for the minor Purims analyzed in the Seder ha-Tamid so far, we know the author of one of these piyyutim, a sage and payṭan by the name of R. Mordecai Astruc! . . .

A series of fourteen short couplets describing the fourteen traditional stages of the Haggadah, written in Judeo-Italian and first published in the famous 1609 Venice Haggadah of Isaac Gershon. The Italian used in the Venice Haggadah lacks a lot of the most divergent aspects of the Judeo-Italian languages, sticking to a more mainline Tuscan grammatical norm, but there are enough obsolete, poetic, or dialectal forms that several footnotes have been included to explain them. Also included is an original English-language rhyming translation! . . .

The Megillat Saragossa (also known as the Megillat Syracusa) in Hebrew and English, named after the tale of rescue and reversal of fortune in the cultural memory of some Sepharadi communities, to be read on the 17th of Shəvat. . . .

Presenting the full, somewhat short text of the Megillah of Sebastiano, telling the story of a great miracle that occurred to the Jewish community of Morocco on 1 Elul 5338, or August 4 1578 CE. On that day, King Sebastian of Portugal attempted to conquer Alcácer Quibir in North Africa — and inevitably to force the inquisition on the Jews of Morocco. But he was turned back at the last moment, protecting Moroccan independence for several more centuries. This scroll is traditionally recited in Jewish communities in the Maghreb to celebrate the repulsion of the Portuguese. . . .

After the recitation of Shir haShirim — which, in some circles, is recited every Friday night — the kabbalists instituted a yehi ratzon, a petition to be recited in the merit of what was just read. In many communities, this petition is recited using the same melodies as the recitation of the scroll itself. As an extension of this custom, here I’ve added cantillation marks to the yehi ratzon after Shir haShirim. Included also is a recitation of the text following said cantillation marks. . . .

According to Joseph Judah Chorny’s On the Caucasian Jews, this acrostic piyyuṭ was customarily used as an epithalion before a wedding. He writes, “Before morning light, the bride is led to the groom’s house accompanied by many women and men, all carrying lit wax candles in their hands, and singing this song along the way.” Variants of this piyyut are found throughout the greater Sephardic world, generally in an abbreviated and slightly altered form. In Syria it is sung during the haqafot for Simḥat Torah, while in Livorno Sephardic practice (and subsequently in most Eastern Sephardic maḥzorim) it is a Shavu’ot piyyut. . . .

“Bore ‘Ad Anah” is a ḳinah recited in a number of Sephardic communities on Tishah b’Av (or in some cases on Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat preceding Tishah b’Av), particularly in the Spanish-Portuguese and North African traditions. The author is unknown, but his name is likely Binyamin based on the acrostic made up of the first letters of the verses. In the kinah, the Children of Israel are compared to a wandering dove caught in a trap by predators, crying out its father, God. The ḳinah was likely written as a poignant response to the Spanish Inquisition, appropriate to Tishah b’Av since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain occurred on the 9th of Av in the year 1492. The version presented here was likely censored, as many manuscripts have the fifth verse presented in the following manner directly calling out their Catholic oppressors,” יועצים עליה עצות היא אנושה זרים העובדים אלילים שלושה אם ובן ורוח כי אין להם בושה גדול ממכאובי.” “They counsel against her and she languishes, the strangers who worship three idols, father, son and spirit, for they have no shame and great is my suffering.” . . .

Behold, a full text of the Megillah of Fustat, telling a story of a great miracle that happened in 1524 CE (5284 AM). . . .