Contributed by: Isaac A. Kahenzade
This is an original Hebrew tehillah/piyyuṭ that I composed in January 2025 for my local Nash Didan (Persian-Azerbaijani-Assyrian-Jewish) community. The composition weaves together classic liturgical motifs, echoing the themes of Psalms 1, Ashrei, and Aleinu, while remaining a distinct, contemporary composition. It may be recited during Pesuqei d’Zimra, as a supplementary reading near the conclusion of a service, or however best its cadence speaks to the heart of the worshipper—be it chanted in the polyphonic chorus of a congregation or whispered in solitary devotion. The piyyut also functions as a Maskilic shibutz “domestication” of the Gathic Avestan manthras—an endeavor inspired by Rav Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s reclamation of universal sacred sparks, clothing ancient wisdom in the living vestments of the Holy Tongue.

