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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources — for those crafting their own prayerbooks and sharing the content of their practice
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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources — for those crafting their own prayerbooks and sharing the content of their practice
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Acrostic signature —⟶ tag: Acrostic signature Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? A German translation of Maoz Tsur, by the early Reform rabbi Leopold Stein. This singable German translation was cited as an inspiration for Gustav Gottheil and Marcus Jastrow’s well-known English edition. In some communities in the German Empire, for instance the community of Beuthen (now Bytom, Poland), it was recited during the morning service on Ḥanukkah. It poetically translates the first five verses in their entirety, avoiding the controversial sixth verse (said by some to have been added post-facto, and rejected by the early Reform movement). Categories: Tags: 13th century C.E., 51st century A.M., Acrostic signature, German language, German Reform Movement, German-speaking Jewry, German vernacular prayer, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Spanish-Portuguese Contributor(s): A singable translation of Maoz Tsur by the great ḥakham Frederick de Sola Mendes, here transcribed from the Union Hymnal (CCAR 1914), hymn 190. The translation largely reflects the Hebrew, omitting two verses — the final (and according to some, last added) verse, and the fourth verse about Purim and Haman. Maoz Tsur as translated by Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen, with Hebrew adapted in the first stanza by Joseph Herman Hertz, chief rabbi of the British Empire. A singing translation of the popular piyyut (devotional poem), “Maoz Tzur,” by Reb Zalman for Ḥanukkah. Categories: Tags: 13th century C.E., 51st century A.M., Acrostic signature, High Middle Ages, Mainz, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, פיוטים piyyuṭim Contributor(s): This is a complete poetic rhyming translation of Maoz Tsur with all six of its stanzas including a seventh, final stanza written by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer specifically for Yom ha-Atsmau’ut. Categories: Tags: 13th century C.E., 21st century C.E., 51st century A.M., 58th century A.M., Acrostic signature, High Middle Ages, Mainz, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, פיוטים piyyuṭim, rhyming translation Contributor(s): A complete poetic translation (all six verses) of Maoz Tsur. As far as the editor knows this is the first translation of Maoz Tsur to both (a) cover all the verses relatively accurately and (b) preserve the strict ABAB-BBCCB rhyme scheme of the original. (Reb Zalman’s comes close but it goes ABAB-CCDDC instead). If it sounds violent, that’s because it *is* violent. Ḥanukkah is a holiday about actively fighting against assimilation and abuse. A lot of Maoz Tsur translations are censored, but it’s a powerful, loud, and even nationalist statement. Categories: Tags: 13th century C.E., 51st century A.M., Acrostic signature, High Middle Ages, Mainz, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, פיוטים piyyuṭim, rhyming translation Contributor(s): Azharot are a genre of piyyut today associated almost exclusively with the grand lists of mitsvot recited on Shavuot, but this is not strictly accurate. An azharah is any poetic listing of mitsvot, and often would be recited on the Shabbat before a holiday as a reminder of the halakhot of the upcoming day. In Western Ashkenazi practice, for instance, an extensive azharah by Joseph Bonfils is recited for Shabbat haGadol before Pesaḥ. Presented here is an azharah and pizmon for the Shabbat before Rosh haShanah, by the 13th century Toledan payṭan Pinḥas ben Yosef ha-Levi. This text was published in the old Salonika Catalonian rite at the beginning of this maḥzor. Much of the translation is based on the work of Prof. Yaakov Shmuel Spiegel, published in Hebrew in 1985. Categories: Tags: 13th century C.E., 51st century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Alphabetic Acrostic, אזהרות azharot, Nusaḥ Catalunya, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פזמונים pizmonim, שופר shofar, shofar blowing Contributor(s): This is “El Mi Migoalei,” a rahuṭah piyyut for Yom Kippur by Avraham ben Shmuel, as indicated by the acrostic signature (likely the same person as Avraham Abulafia.) Our transcription of the text follows that found in National Library of Russia, Ms. EVR II A 913. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This rəshut, or introductory piyyuṭ, is recited in the Italian rite before Nishmat Kol Ḥai on (the first day) of Rosh haShanah. It was written by the fourteenth-century payṭan R. Yoav ben Yeḥiel of Rome. Also included is a rhyming acrostic translation. Categories: Tags: 14th century C.E., 52nd century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Italian Jewry, Nusaḥ Italḳi, phonetic acrostic translation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, רשויות reshuyot, rhyming translation, Roman minhag Contributor(s): A rhymed translation of Tsur Mishelo, a paralitugical Birkat haMazon. The paralitugical Birkat haMazon Tsur Mishelo, in Hebrew with an English translation. A pizmon (a seliḥah with a refrain, to be recited aloud) recited in the Sephardic rite for the seventeenth of Tammuz, Elohei Yeshuatenu, like most seliḥot for that day, features stanzas for each of the five tragedies that occurred on the day. But what’s unique about it is the legend of its author. This piyyuṭ is signed with the name Andreas, the signature of the legendary Jewish Pope Andreas, whose popular story can be found throughout the Jewish world. A piyyuṭ sung by the Jews of Algiers on Shavu’ot and Simḥat Torah (and by some Moroccans for baqashot on Parashat Toldot). Yayin Tov Ratov is a love song from the perspective of God that uses a lot of language from Song of Songs. Wine and song, in this case, are both metaphors for the Torah. Of unknown origin, the acrostic spells out the name יצחק, although I can confirm that it wasn’t me who wrote it. Categories: Tags: Acrostic signature, Algiers, בקשות Baqashot, love, Maghrebi Jewry, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פרשת תולדת parashat Toldot, Wine Contributor(s): This pizmon, signed with the name Moshe but of otherwise unclear attribution, is recited in the Sephardic communities of Rhodes and Istanbul (and nowadays in Seattle) before the open ark on Shabbat Shirah and the seventh day of Pesaḥ. The main Hebrew text of the first and last two stanzas are as found in the Seattle Sephardic community’s 2002 Siddur Zehut Yosef (as well as the Gözlem Kitap press in Istanbul’s 2011 Şaloş Regalim), with footnotes marking differences in the Shirei Yisrael B’Erets HaḲedem (published in Istanbul in 1921) and the Yeshiva University Library diwan of Baruch Moshe Moreno, written by hand in the monastery neighborhood of Tiberias in 1867 (YU MS. 1126). In between are three additional non-rhyming stanzas found in substantially different form in the other two sources but not recited in modern Sephardic communities. Categories: Tags: Acrostic signature, phonetic alphabetic acrostic translation, Eastern Sefaradim, Nusaḥ Sefaradi, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פזמונים pizmonim, שבת שירה shabbat shirah, שירת הים Shirat haYam, Turkish translation Contributor(s): This pizmon, signed with the name Moshe but of otherwise unclear attribution, is recited in the Sephardic communities of Rhodes and Istanbul (and nowadays in Seattle) before the open ark on Shabbat Shirah and the seventh day of Pesaḥ. The main Hebrew text of the first and last two stanzas are as found in the Seattle Sephardic community’s 2002 Siddur Zehut Yosef (as well as the Gözlem Kitap press in Istanbul’s 2011 Şaloş Regalim), with footnotes marking differences in the Shirei Yisrael B’Erets HaḲedem (published in Istanbul in 1921) and the Yeshiva University Library diwan of Baruch Moshe Moreno, written by hand in the monastery neighborhood of Tiberias in 1867 (YU MS. 1126). In between are three additional non-rhyming stanzas found in substantially different form in the other two sources but not recited in modern Sephardic communities. By a 16th century paytan named Yitsḥaq, this is a Purim parody of the Havdalah (and Yom Kippur) piyyuṭ “HaMavdil,” found in Israel Davidson’s classic work Parody in Jewish Literature (1907), pp. 36-37. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): “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.” A (kosher-for-Passover) prayer for redemption from exile. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This translation by Rabbi David Aaron de Sola of “Yah Ribon” by Rabbi Yisrael Najara was first published in his Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1857). Categories: Tags: 16th century C.E., 54th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Aramaic, פיוטים piyyuṭim, rhyming translation, יה רבון Yah Ribon, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): The piyyut, yah Ribon Olam, in Hebrew with a rhyming English translation. Categories: Tags: 16th century C.E., 54th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Aramaic, פיוטים piyyuṭim, rhyming translation, יה רבון Yah Ribon, זמירות zemirot Contributor(s): | ||
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