אָדָם בְּקוּם עָלֵֽינוּ | Adam B’qum ‘Alenu, a seliḥah for Taanit Esther by Menaḥem ben Makhir (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed by: Menaḥem ben Makhir, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
An alphabetic acrostic seliḥah piyyut for Taanit Esther in Hebrew with English translation . . .
Maaravot for the first night of Shavuot, by Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils
Contributed by: Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
The maaravot-cycle of piyyutim for the first night of Shavuot, by Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils. In normative maaravot fashion, it is one extended cycle with an overarching structure (the first words of each of the Ten Commandments) throughout the whole of the kriat shema, with additional piyyutim incorporated into the first blessing after the shema. . . .
אֶזְכְּרָה מָצוֹק | Ezkerah Matsōk (“I remember the distress”), a seliḥah for the Fast of Tevet attributed to Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (11th c.)
Contributed by: David Asher (translation), Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils, Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
“Ezkera Matsok” (I remember the distress) is a seliḥah in alphabetic acrostic recited on the Fast of Tevet in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ minhag Polin. . . .
יוֹם הַבִּכּוּרִים | Yom ha-Bikkurim, the bikkur piyyut for the first day of Shavˁuot in the Old French and Romaniote Rites
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
A “bikkur” piyyut traditionally added at the end of Hashkivenu for Shavˁuot in the Old French (and Maḥzor Vitry) and Romaniote rites. From the acrostic we know the author was named Yosef ben Yaˁakov. Other than that we know very little about this poem’s origin and age, although its structure fits with the early Ashkenazi piyyut oeuvre. . . .
קרובות לראש שנה לאילנות | Ḳerovot for Tu biShvat, by Yehudah ben R’ Hillel haLevi (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed by: Yehudah ben Hillel haLevi, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
Ḳerovot for Tu biShvat, a celebration of Divine verdancy, which namedrops a stunning array of flora from throughout the land of Israel. . . .
אִזֵל מֹשֶׁה | Izel Mosheh (Arise, Moses) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This piyyut, Izel Moshe (Arise, Moses), the fifth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the second verse of the song proper, as an elaboration on God’s strength. The English translation preserves the Hebrew acrostic of the original. . . .
אֱלָהָא תַּקִּיפָא רַבָּא וְגִבָּרָא | Elaha Taqifa (Mighty God) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Yequtiel ben Yosef
Contributed by: Yequtiel ben Yosef, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This piyyut, Elaha Taqifa (Mighty God), the third in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the concluding verse of the second aliyah (third on Shabbat). The translation preserves the alphabetical acrostic, as well as the authorial tag — Jequtiel son of Joseph. . . .
אֱלָהָא עָלַם | Elaha Alam (Ageless God) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed by: Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This piyyut, Elaha Alam (Ageless God), the fourth in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the Song of the Sea proper as an introduction to the targum of the text. . . .
אֲבוּנָן דְּבִשְׁמַיָּא וּבָרְיַן | Abunan D’biShmaya (Our Parent in Heaven) — a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed by: Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This piyyut, Abunan D’biShmaya (Our Parent in Heaven), the second in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the fifth verse of the first aliyah (or second verse of the second aliyah on Shabbat). . . .
אִילּוּ פּוּמֵּי נִימֵי | Ilu Pume Nima (If Our Mouths Were Thread) — an introductory a piyyut for the Seder Meturgeman of the 7th Day of Pesaḥ by Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans (ca. 11th c.)
Contributed by: Meir ben Isaac Nehorai of Orléans, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This piyyut, Ilu Pume Nima (If Our Mouths Were Thread), the first in a series of Aramaic piyyutim from the seventh day of Pesaḥ, is meant to be recited after the first verse of the first aliyah, as an introduction or ‘reshut’ to the seder meturgeman as a whole. . . .
קרובות לתענית אסתר | Ḳerovot for Taanit Esther by Yosef ibn Abitur (ca. 10th c.) with other seliḥot arranged by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed by: Yosef ibn Abitur, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
The poetic genre known as qerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar haḲalir’s Purim “Ḳrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, many of which were discovered in the Cairo Geniza. This set of ḳerovot, composed by the prolific Spanish paytan Yosef ibn Abitur, is meant to be included within the Shaḥarit amidah for Ta’anit Esther, the fast day before Purim. Consequently, it only goes up to the sixth blessing (the blessing for forgiveness) and concludes by leading directly into Seliḥot, which (before R. Yosef Karo’s standardization of the liturgy, and even now among some Western Ashkenazim) were inserted into the aforementioned blessing. In order to demonstrate this structure on a large scale, the editor here has compiled a full Shaḥarit repetition, nusaḥ Ashkenaz, incorporating the qerovot of Yosef ibn Abitur as well as the three seliḥot piyyutim of the Ashkenazi rite. . . .
קרובות למוסף שבת שקלים | Ḳerovot for Musaf Shabbat Sheqalim
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
The traditional Ashkenazi qerovot added to the Musaf repetition for Shabbat Sheqalim, alongside a new gender-neutral translation . . .
אַתָּה הָאֵל עוֹשֵׂה פְלָאוֹת | Atah ha-El Oseh Fela’ot, a seliḥah for Taanit Esther by Shimon bar Isaac (ca. 10th c.)
Contributed by: Shimon bar Isaac, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
An alphabetic acrostic seliḥah piyyut for Taanit Esther in Hebrew with English translation . . .
אָתִֽיתִי לְחַנְּנָךְ | Atiti l-Ḥan’nakh, the magen piyyut for the second day of Rosh haShanah by Shimon bar Isaac (ca. 10th c.)
Contributed by: Shimon bar Isaac, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
A magen piyyut (recited as part of the first blessing of Shaḥarit) for the second day of Rosh haShanah by Rabbi Shimon bar Isaac “the Great” of Mainz. Here translated preserving the acrostic, slightly edited from its form as part of a day 2 service maḥzor designed by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . .
כׇּל־שִׁׄנְאַנֵּי שַֽׁחַק | Kol Shin’anei Shaḥaq — a rahit piyyut for the second day of Rosh haShanah by Shimon bar Isaac (ca. 10th c.)
Contributed by: Shimon bar Isaac, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
A rahit (a chain piyyut before the silluq) for the second day of Rosh haShanah, by R’ Shimon bar Isaac “the Great” of Mainz. Here translated preserving the acrostic, slightly edited from its form as part of a day 2 service maḥzor designed by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . .
קִילוּס לְפּוּרִים לִלְמְגִלָּה | Qillus l’Purim lil’Megillah — an enconium for Purim, for Megillat Esther
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
A Byzantine-era Aramaic piyyut for Purim, perhaps written as an introduction to the Megillah reading. It tells the narrative of the Jewish people from Abraham to the final redemption, focusing on the foes who sought to destroy us and their inevitable failure to do so. Uniquely among early-medieval poems, this one actively mentions the Romans (read: Christians) and Saracens (read: Muslims) and prays for their downfall in non-coded language. This translation loosely preserves the couplet rhyme scheme, as well as the alphabetical acrostic — perhaps with a phonetic punning reference to the name “Shlomo” at the end. . . .
אֵלִימֶֽלֶךְ גְּלָה | Elimelekh G’la — a Byzantine-Era Piyyuṭ Retelling the Book of Ruth
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
“Elimelekh G’la” is a Byzantine-era Western Aramaic poetic retelling of the Book of Ruth. It was probably originally used as part of the liturgy for Shavuot, perhaps as a poetic addition to the recitation of a Targumic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. (The verses from Ruth and Psalms appended to the coda of the piyyuṭ would suggest such a Sitz im Leben.) But in any case, it has a great acrostic structure and rhyme scheme, and ought to be preserved! Here is included a vocalized text, largely based on the unvocalized text compiled in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (ed. Yahalom and Sakaloff, 1999) where it’s the tenth poem recorded. ‘ve added a rhyming poetic translation that preserves the Hebrew acrostic. Credit to Laura Suzanne Lieber’s literal translations of these poems (in Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity: Translations and Commentaries, 2018), which have served as a very helpful resource for the project. . . .
ברכת המזון ליום הכפורים | Poetic Birkat haMazon for the break-fast meal after Yom Kippur, as found in British Library MS Or. 9772 D
Contributed by: Avi Shmidman, Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
A poetic Birkat haMazon text for the breakfast after Yom Kippur found in British Library MS Or. 9772 D. All the opening words of the alphabetical acrostic are from Psalms 111. . . .
ברכת המזון לחנוכה | Poetic Birkat haMazon for Ḥanukkah, reconstructed from multiple Cairo Geniza manuscripts by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This is a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Ḥanukkah witnessed in multiple Cairo Geniza manuscripts, including Cambridge, CUL: T-S H4.13; T-S H6.37; T-S 8H10.14; T-S NS 328.56; T-S NS 328.61; T-S AS 101.293; New York, JTS: ENA 2885.7; Oxford: MS heb. e.71/27 – MS heb. e.71/32; St. Peterburg: Yevr. III B 135. . . .
ברכת המזון לפורים | Poetic Birkat haMazon for Purim, according to the Cairo Geniza fragment T-S H6.37 vocalized and translated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
This is a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Purim witnessed in the Cairo Geniza fragment T-S H6.37 (page 1, recto and verso). . . .