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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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פיוטים piyyuṭim —⟶ tag: פיוטים piyyuṭim Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? A new and original cycle of yotsrot in the style of the weekday yotsrot of the Cairo Geniza, for the day after Yom Kippur, referred to either as Yom Simḥat Kohen or Yom Shem ha-El depending on the custom. Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Alphabetic Acrostic, פיוטים piyyuṭim, יוצרות yotsrot Contributor(s): This is an original ḳedushtaot cycle for Yom Meturgeman, the eighth of Tevet, to be inserted into the ‘amidah. Categories: Tags: acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, עמידה amidah, אתבש atbash, קרובות ḳerovot, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Public Amidah, קדושתאות ḳedushtaot Contributor(s): This is an original qinah written in response to the attack of October 7. Since the attack occurred on Simḥat Torah, this text is designed to follow the structure of the haqafot recited on Simḥat Torah. But it’s meant to be read on Tisha b’Av, or at least on another fast day. Purim in walled cities (meaning, practically, in Jerusalem) occurs on the day after it does outside of them. This means that when Purim falls on a Friday, it falls on Shabbat in Jerusalem. This unique occurrence is called Purim Meshulash, “Threefold Purim,” because the practices for the day are divided into three. The megillah is read and gifts are given to the poor on Friday, the Torah reading is on Shabbat, and the festive meal and gifts to friends on Sunday. Since this practice of Shabbat Purim is unique to Jerusalem, and for much of Ashkenazi poetic history the Jewish community in Jerusalem was negligible, there are very few liturgical texts designed for Shabbat Purim Meshulash. This is, in the author’s opinion, a shame, because all the other special shabbatot surrounding it have a plethora of special piyyuṭim to insert into their cycles. This cycle of a shiv’ata (sevenfold piyyut) and an eloheikhem (Qedushah insertion) is meant to fill that void. Categories: Tags: acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, קרובות ḳerovot, פיוטי אלהיכם piyyuṭei eloheikhem, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Public Amidah, שבעתא shiv'ata, Shushan Purim Contributor(s): An original set of weekday yotsrot, in the style of those found in the Cairo Geniza (and compiled at Weekday Yotzrot, thanks to the work of Dr. Avi Shmidman), for Yom ha-Atsma’ut. The weekday yotsrot of the Cairo Geniza have a structure quite different from normative Ashkenazi festival yotsrot, and much closer to that of Ashkenazi maaravot. There are no yotser or ofan piyyutim — each blessing has a stanza of an extended, unified poem before its ḥatimah, and the only stanzas inserted into the guf ha-berakha are in the final blessing, surrounding the Mi Khamokha. They’re also generally much shorter and more user-friendly than the complex and intricate mysticism of Ashkenazi festival yotsrot. This cycle is written in an alphabetical acrostic, followed by the author tag “Yitzḥaq Harel son of Avraham the Kohen and Ya’el, be strong and courageous, amen.” Each stanza begins with a different word from Isaiah 47:4, and ends with a citation of a different relevant verse. Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Alphabetic Acrostic, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, פיוטים piyyuṭim, יוצרות yotsrot Contributor(s): 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. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): A qinah for 7 October and the hostages, to be recited as part of the Tishah b’Av liturgy. Categories: Tags: 2023-2025 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Alphabetic Acrostic, פיוטים piyyuṭim, קינות Ḳinōt Contributor(s): An ofan — a liturgical prayer to be inserted into the Shaḥarit qedusha d-yotzer — for the first of Elul, the new year for animals. Not as of yet part of a cycle but who knows, maybe a few other parts will be written in days to come! An original Aramaic-language “meturgeman piyyut” for Simḥat Torah and the reading of v-Zot haBerakha. I’m working on creating a seder meturgeman liturgy, akin to those for day 7 of Pesaḥ and for Shavuot, to be recited on Simḥat Torah. Mostly incorporating older Aramaic poems, I’ve also decided to write some originals myself. This is one of them, in praise of Moshe, to be recited after Deut. 34:10. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This is a piyyuṭ which was originally commissioned (by Maeera Shreiber who largely translated it into English) and written as an introductory piyyuṭ for the ‘arvit service for a gathering of HUC faculty. It draws on the image of Jacob (who is credited in the Talmud with instituting the ‘arvit prayer) and the angels he met at the place that he rested; and many other images from the tradition (as is made clear in the footnotes). This year it is being chanted in my community (Shtibl in Los Angeles) before the ne’ilah service. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): A pizmon for calling up a (male) Jew-by-choice for his first aliyah to the Torah after completing his conversion process. (Pizmonim for female and non-binary Jews-by-choice forthcoming!) To be recited before the blessing, led by the gabbai with the community responding with the refrain. Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acrostic, Aliyah, Alphabetic Acrostic, conversion, גרות gerut, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פזמונים pizmonim Contributor(s): This is a seliḥah in piyut form. The first line borrows from the famous seliḥah במוצאי מנוחה. The seliḥah is driven by the question: How can we ask for forgiveness as the death and destruction in Gaza continues? Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): An original Aramaic-language “meturgeman piyyut” for Simḥat Torah and the reading of Bereshit. I’m working on creating a seder meturgeman liturgy, akin to those for day 7 of Pesaḥ and for Shavuot, to be recited on Simḥat Torah. Mostly incorporating older Aramaic poems, I’ve also decided to write some originals myself. This is one of them, a reverse acrostic woven into the recitation of Genesis 1. Categories: Tags: acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, Aramaic, hymns of creation, פיוטים piyyuṭim, פרשת בראשית parashat Bereshit, תרגום targum Contributor(s): A new introductory piyyut-meturgeman serving as a reshut for the targum of the haftarah. This genre used to be very popular, especially among the old French paytanim, but nowadays the only one still recited is Yetsiv Pitgam, said in some communities on the second day of Shavuot — although the targum is no longer. I think that’s a shame, so I wrote a new one. I’m probably one of the first people to write one of these since the expulsion of 1394. So of course, it’s meta as all get-out, being a reshut not just for the targum of the haftarah but for the custom of reading the targum of the haftarah with a reshut at all. Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acrostic, Acrostic signature, Aramaic, הפטרות haftarot, פיוטים piyyuṭim, רשויות reshuyot, תרגום targum Contributor(s): While Gevurot Geshem is recited on Shmini Atseret, Baqashat Geshem as an addition to the birkat ha-shanim is recited later — from the seventh of Marḥeshvan in Israel, from sixty days after the Julian-calendar autumn equinox in the diaspora. This passage is added starting in the evening, but since there is no repetition at night there is no special custom for announcing its insertion. I think that’s a shame, so I wrote a series of ma’aravot (piyyuṭim to be inserted into the ma’ariv service) to be recited on the day where we begin to request rain. While the time for beginning to mention God’s power to bring rain in our prayers has a dramatic introductory piyyut (see my work here for a version with Immahot), the time when we begin actually asking for said rain is unadorned by any poetry, and is simply a change in one phrase in our liturgy. Therefore, inspired by a Facebook post by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (who since wrote his own version here), I wrote the following piyyut over the course of 5785, to be added to the Maariv service on the evening when one begins praying for rain in their location. Each stanza of the piyyut is intended to be added before the ḥatimah of each of the four blessings surrounding the Maariv Shema. I have signed my name to the acrostic, and provided a translation that highlights said acrostic and structure. May we have a year of abundance and goodness. “Geula for Shaagat HaAri” by Benny Powers was first published to the author’s website on 11 March 2026. A full qedushta cycle, in the Qallirian style, for the Shabbat between Yom haShoah and Yom ha-Atsma’ut, referred to in the recently published Israeli Reform siddur Tefilat haAdam as “Shabbat Tequmah” (the sabbath of renewal). Partially based on the structure of the qedushta for Shabbat haGadol, the culmination of this qedushta is an azhara, a poetic retelling of the entire Megilat ha-Atsma’ut. Categories: Tags: acrostic, Acrostic signature, Alphabetic Acrostic, עמידה amidah, אזהרות azharot, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, קרובות ḳerovot, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, פיוטים piyyuṭim, Public Amidah, religious Zionist prayers, shabbat tequmah Contributor(s): A shiv’ata is a sevenfold blessing inserted into the Musaf service on Shabbat. This shiv’ata was written for use at a bar mitsvah. Each stanza begins with an example of thirteen as used in our tradition, followed by an alphabetical acrostic. This piyyuṭ is for a bar mitsvah, where a boy turns thirteen. A shiv’ata is a sevenfold blessing inserted into the Musaf service on Shabbat. This original shiv’ata is for a bat mitsvah following the traditional count, where a girl turns twelve. Each stanza begins with an example of twelve as used in our tradition, followed by an alphabetical acrostic. | ||
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