An anonymous piyyuṭ, inserted into Nishmat Kol Ḥai, which, in the old Worms rite (as well as, according to some commentators, the Mainz rite), was recited on Shabbat Bereshit and day 1 of Shavuot. It describes God being clad in the ten midrashic divine garments at creation, the giving of the Torah, and the defeat of enemies.

This is the ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit (most commonly recited in Minhag Polin), by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Seligman Baer’s German translation and a new rhyming acrostic translation in English.

This is the ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit by Shlomo haBavli, with English rhyming acrostic translation and a new rhyming acrostic translation in English. Less commonly recited in Minhag Polin, It is found in Sefer haMinhagim of R. Isaac Tyrnau.

This is the ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit (Minhag Ashkenaz), by Rabbi Binyamin bar Zeraḥ, with Seligman Baer’s German translation and a new rhyming acrostic translation in English. Minhag Polin recites it on the third Shabbat after Pesach, and some communities both in the west and east recite it on the additional festival day of Pesaḥ when it falls on a weekday.

This is the zulat piyyuṭ for Shabbat Bereshit (Minhag Ashkenaz and Polin), by Shlomo ben Yehuda ha-Bavli, with Seligman Baer’s German translation and a new phonetic acrostic translation in English.

This is a Hebrew adaptation of the poems traditionally recited by the Beta Israel community for the festival of Sigd, altered and adapted to fit the traditional qedushta form of poetic Amidah additions. The texts of the first few prayers were rewritten substantially and combined with relevant verses so as to fit in the strict form of the magen, mehaye, meshalesh, and El Na. After this, the qiqlar is slightly edited to fit a couplet rhyme scheme, while the silluq (the freest of the genres of qedusha piyyut) is almost entirely preserved — the only change being several verses whose placement is postponed so as to better lead into the qedusha as a silluq should. Regarding translations, the silluq largely uses my original translation with slight alterations (replacing the clunky use of ‘God’ as a pronoun with a gender-neutral THEIR, translating the Agaw passages into Latin rather than English to preserve general comprehensibility while clarifying that this is a different language), while the rest of the poems are different enough for their translation to largely be from scratch. These would be recited with the Ark open for all the piyyutim, as one would on the Yamim Noraim, ideally using melodies from the Sigd liturgy.

Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon on Tu b’Av.

Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon on Tisha b’Av, Tu b’Av, and Shabbat Naḥamu.

This is a Ḥanukkah piyyut by R. Salomon Berdugo (1854–1906), illustrious payṭan and the chief rabbi of Meknes, Morocco. According to the Kehillot Sharot organization’s notes, found here, “This piyyut speaks of the miracles that occured for the Hasmoneans, both in war against the Greeks and in purification of the Temple. It is customarily sung in Maqam Hijaz.”

A piyyut of the 18th century by R. David Ḥassin, one of the greatest composers of Morocco. In this piyyut, dedicated to the city of Tiberias and recounting its praises, we tour Tiberias and the graves of the tannaim and amoraim there, and come to the place of Maimonides’ burial according to tradition. From the dead, the composer moves on to tell the prose of the living – R. Ḥayyim Abulˁafia, who renewed Jewish settlement in Tiberias to where he had moved with his students in the year 5500 [1740], doing much to revitalize the Jewish settlement and build the city, for which R. David Ḥassin praises and blesses him at the conclusion of the poem. This poem was very beloved and merited widespread circulation, and is found in poetry books of many different Mizraḥi communities. This poem has also merited a number of imitations and adaptations, testifying to its great popularity. The most well-known imitation is a poem by the Israeli diaspora-emissary R. Eliyahu Ḥazzan, who arrived at Morocco, came across this song, and composed an imitation, also called “As Every Day I Hope” — except R. Eliyahu Ḥazzan’s song is dedicated to Jerusalem and tours around it.

A pizmon for Shabbat Zakhor and Purim, found in many Livorno siddurim (seen as the standard form for most Sephardic communities) as far back as the 18th century and possibly earlier. It is signed with the name Avraham, as well as the names Moshe and Aharon, but the author is otherwise unknown. Seder Mishmeret haKodesh (1847) inserts it as an introduction to the Mi Khamokha piyyut of Yehuda haLevi, recited on Shabbat Zakhor. The bouncy, joyous tune used for this piyyut, of Italian origin, is also used for Purim songs in multiple languages, such as Fate Onore al Bel Purim, Con Gran Placer Señores, and Haman Mamzer el Malo.

Yah Hatsel Yonah is a traditional piyyut for Ḥanukkah, of unknown origin (although it spells out the name Yehuda as an acrostic). Beloved in Iraqi Jewish circles, it discusses the hope that Israel, likened to a dove, will be able to celebrate Ḥanukkah during a time of true redemption. Included is a relatively literal (but de-gendered) translation, as well as a poetic singable one.

Yevanim Tsur B-Af — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Qaddish (after the Amidah) in the Shaḥarit of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria.

Yedidekha El Yelidei Ish Tam — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Qaddish (after the Torah Reading) of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria.

Ashir BiZmirim — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Qaddish (after Yishtabaḥ) in the Shaḥarit of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria. It may be sung to the melody of Yaḥid Arba, or the melody of Ya’atzor Me-’Ami.”

Todot Nitnah — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Yishtabaḥ in the Shaḥarit of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria. It may be sung to the melody of ‘Et Dodim Kala, or the melody of Shiv’a Sh’ḥaqim.”

Yom Yom Eftaḥ Pi — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Nishmat (of Shaḥarit) of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria.

Yevanim ‘Amdu Qamu — a piyyuṭ intended to be sung before Yishtabaḥ in the Shaḥarit of Shabbat Ḥanukkah — was written by the great Moroccan paytan Yaaqov ibn Tsur (1673–1753) of Fez. It was first put to print in the Sefer ‘Et l-Kol Ḥefetz, printed by ibn Tsur’s descendants in 1893 in Alexandria. It may be sung to the melody of Ḥai Ani Goel Avi Aleikhem.”

These are two supplemental stanzas for Maoz Tsur with regard to the present exile, written by Shmuel ben David Moshe Halevi of Mezhyrich (ca. 1625-1681, author of the Naḥalat Shiv’ah), as compiled in the Kitzur Shnei Luḥot haBrit, a controversial yet influential work by Yeḥiel Michel Segal Epstein Ashkenazi published in 1683.

This seliḥah, “Moshel ba-Elyonim Atah Yadata,” was written by Rabbi Mosheh ben Yeshayah Menaḥem Bachrach during an epidemic. It is included in the Seliḥot of Posen, Krakow, Prague, Worms, and Alsace. The text here was transcribed from the Siddur Kol Bo, vol. 3 (1923), p. 33.