Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Seligman Baer, Shlomoh ben Yehudah ha-Bavli
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.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Seligman Baer, Shlomo ibn Gabirol
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.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Shlomoh ben Yehudah ha-Bavli
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.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Seligman Baer, Binyamin bar Zeraḥ
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.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Seligman Baer, Shlomoh ben Yehudah ha-Bavli
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.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac ben Moses of Vienna
This is the first piyyuṭ in a yotsrot cycle for the Shabbat before Rosh haShanah, according to Minhag Polin (as traditionally practiced in the Ashkenazi communities of northeastern Germany and Poland), all written by a Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Moshe haLevi according to the authorial acrostic. Zunz identifies the author as Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Mainz, who died in the Gzerot Tatno of 1096. Fraenkel disputes this and suggests Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (a/k/a the Or Zarua), of the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz, who died in around 1270. The yotser is an exultant heikhalot-tinged description of the midrash of seven heavens befitting the Shabbat before creation. Also included is the German text of Isaac Seligman Baer’s Avodat Yisrael translation, in modernized spelling.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac ben Moses of Vienna
This is the second piyyuṭ in a yotsrot cycle for the Shabbat before Rosh haShanah, according to Minhag Polin (as traditionally practiced in the Ashkenazi communities of northeastern Germany and Poland), all written by a Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Moshe haLevi according to the authorial acrostic. Zunz identifies the author as Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Mainz, who died in the Gzerot Tatno of 1096. Fraenkel disputes this and suggests Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (a/k/a the Or Zarua), of the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz, who died in around 1270. The ofan is an invocation to the listener to repent, calling upon specific angels by name. Also included is the German text of Isaac Seligman Baer’s Avodat Yisrael translation, in modernized spelling.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac ben Moses of Vienna
This is the third piyyuṭ in a yotsrot cycle for the Shabbat before Rosh haShanah, according to Minhag Polin (as traditionally practiced in the Ashkenazi communities of northeastern Germany and Poland), all written by a Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Moshe haLevi according to the authorial acrostic. Zunz identifies the author as Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Mainz, who died in the Gzerot Tatno of 1096. Fraenkel disputes this and suggests Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (a/k/a the Or Zarua), of the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz, who died in around 1270. This zulat piyyuṭ, citing Psalms 119 repeatedly, begs for divine justice, invoking martyrs’ memories (and perhaps endorsing Fraenkel’s suggestion that its authorship must postdate the Gzerot Tatno!).
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Shmuel bar Avraham haLevi
An ahava piyyut for Shabbat Vayera, recited in the old Nusaḥ Polin (Eastern Ashkenazi) rite, written (according to Davidson) by R. Shmuel bar Avraham haLevi. Shmuel bar Avraham haLevi (1165-1216, according to Graetz) was a poet and scholar of the ibn Ḥasdai family of Barcelona, and the father of the noted Maimonidean translator Avraham bar Shmuel ibn Ḥasdai. This piyyuṭ takes God’s fateful instruction to Abraham — “Take, please, your son, your only one, whom you love,” and, in a shocking bit of poetic ḥutzpah, reframes it a request that God takes back Israel!
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Menaḥem ben Makhir
The yotser for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir. Each line ends with a verse from either Hosea or Joel, the two books from which Ashkenazim read as the haftara on Shabbat Shuva. Also included is a German translation by Isaac Seligman Baer.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Menaḥem ben Makhir
The ofan piyyuṭ for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir. A half-acrostic, each stanza begins with a word from parashat Ha’azinu, usually read on Shabbat Shuva, and ends with a verse that includes the word “holy” or “sanctify” in it.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Menaḥem ben Makhir
The zulat piyyuṭ for Shabbat Shuva, minhag Polin, by the great payṭan Menaḥem ben Rabbi Makhir.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils
A zulat (piyyut inserted into the blessing after the Shema) used in the Minhag Polin (Eastern Ashkenaz) rite for Shabbat hGadol, by R. Joseph Bonfils. This poem is a narrative of a debate between Pharaoh and the sons of Amram on whether the people Israel are engaged to God or not.
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Binyamin bar Zeraḥ
An ofan (a piyyut inserted into the Qedusha d’Yotser) recited in the eastern Ashkenazi Minhag Polin rite for Shabbat haGadol. Signed “Benjamin,” Davidson ascribes it to the great paytan R. Binyamin bar Zeraḥ, possibly as part of the same poetic cycle as Itti MiLvanon (his yotser for the same day).
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Yosef ibn Abitur
The Minhag Polin (Eastern Ashkenazi) yotser (piyyut inserted into the beginning of the first blessing of the Shema service) for Shabbat haGadol, by the Sefaradi sage and paytan Joseph ibn Abitur. Translated with preserved acrostic and rhyme scheme. This piyyut juxtaposes the seven days of creation with the miracles of the Exodus as well as the promised future salvation in a three-by-three structure.

