A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme, such as an acrostic following the order of the Hebrew alphabet or spelling out the name of the author.
Many piyyuṭim are familiar to regular attendees of synagogue services. For example, the best-known piyyuṭ may be Adon Olam "Lord of the World." Its poetic form consists of a repeated rhythmic pattern of short-long-long-long (the so-called hazaj meter). It is so beloved that it is often sung after many synagogue services after the ritual nightly recitation of the Shema and during the morning ritual of putting on tefillin. Another beloved piyyuṭ is Yigdal "May God be Hallowed," which is based upon the thirteen principles of faith set forth by Maimonides.
Scholars of piyyuṭ today include Shulamit Elizur and Joseph Yahalom, both of whom formerly taught at Hebrew University and are now retired.
The author of a piyyuṭ is known as a pay(e)ṭān (); the plural is pay(e)ṭanim ().
History The Eretz Yisrael school The earliest piyyuṭim date from classical antiquity but date as late as the Middle Ages: from the Talmudic () and Geonic periods (). They were "overwhelmingly from the Land of Israel or its neighbor Syria, because only there was the Hebrew language sufficiently cultivated that it could be managed with stylistic correctness, and only there could it be made to speak so expressively."Goldschmidt, D, "Machzor for Rosh Hashana" p.xxxi. Leo Baeck Institute, 1970 The earliest Jewish prayer manuscripts, which were found in the Cairo Geniza, often consist of piyyuṭim, as these were the parts of the liturgy that required to be written down: the wording of the basic prayers was generally known by heart, and there was supposed to be a prohibition of writing them down. It is not always clear from the manuscripts whether these piyyuṭim, which often elaborated the themes of the basic prayers, were intended to supplement or replace them or, indeed, whether they originated before the basic prayers had become fixed. The piyyuṭim, in particular those of Eleazar birabbi Qallir, were often in very cryptic and allusive language, with copious reference to midrash.
Initially, the word piyyuṭ designated every type of sacred poetry, but as usage developed, the term came to designate only poems of hymn character around the fourth or fifth centuries CE. The piyyuṭim were usually composed by a talented rabbinic poet, and depending on the piyyuṭ’s reception by the community determined whether it would pass the test of time. Looking at the composers of the piyyuṭim, one can see which family names were part of the Middle Eastern community and which hakhamim were prominent and well established. The composers of various piyyuṭim usually used acrostic forms to hint their identity in the piyyuṭ itself. Since siddurim were limited then, many piyyuṭim had repeating stanzas that the congregation would respond to, followed by the hazzan’s recitations.
The additions of piyyuṭim to the services were primarily used to embellish them and make them more enjoyable to the congregation. As to the origin of the piyyuṭ's implementation, there is a theory that this had to do with restrictions on Jewish prayer. Al-Samawal al-Maghribi, a Jewish convert to Islam in the twelfth century, wrote that the Persians prohibited Jews from holding prayer services. "When the Jews saw that the Persians persisted in obstructing their prayer, they invented invocations into which they admixed passages from their prayers (the piyyuṭ) … and set numerous tunes to them". They would assemble to read and chant the piyyuṭim at prayer time. The difference between that and prayer is that the prayer is without melody and is read only by the person conducting the service. In the recitation of the piyyuṭ, the cantor is assisted by the congregation in chanting melodies. "When the Persians rebuked them for this, the Jews sometimes asserted that they were singing, and sometimes [mourning over their situations]." When the Muslims took over and allowed Jews dhimmi status, prayer became permissible for the Jews. The piyyuṭ had become a commendable tradition for holidays and other joyous occasions.
The use of piyyuṭ was always considered a Jewish specialty in Palestine: the Babylonian geonim made every effort to discourage it and restore what they regarded as the statutory wording of the prayers, holding that "any [hazzan] who uses piyyuṭ thereby gives evidence that he is no scholar". It is not always clear whether their main objection was to any use of piyyuṭim at all or only to their intruding into the heart of the statutory prayers.
For these reasons, scholars classifying the liturgies of later periods usually hold that the more a given liturgy uses piyyuṭim, the more likely it is to reflect Land of Israel influence as opposed to Babylonian (Lower Mesopotamian) influence. Sephardic liturgical framers took Geonic strictures seriously. For this reason, the early Jewish piyyuṭim, such as those of Yannai and Eleazar birabbi Qallir, do not survive in the Sephardic rite. However, they do in the Ashkenazi and Italian rites.
Middle Ages and early modernity In the later Middle Ages, however, Andalusi Jewish poets such as Judah Halevi, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Abraham ibn Ezra and Moses ibn Ezra composed quantities of religious poetry, in correct Biblical Hebrew and strict Arabic metres. Many of these poems have been incorporated into the Sephardic rites, and to a lesser extent, the others, and may be regarded as a second generation of piyyuṭ.
Lurianic Kabbalah, which originated in the early modern Kabbalistic circle of Isaac Luria and his followers, used an adapted Sephardic liturgy but disapproved of Andalusi piyyuṭim, regarding them as spiritually inauthentic. They invoked the Geonic strictures to eliminate them from the service or move away from its core. Their disapproval did not extend to piyyuṭim of the early Jewish liturgical tradition of the Land of Israel, which they regarded as an authentic part of the Talmudic-rabbinic tradition. Luria himself went to Ashkenazi communities to recite piyyuṭim from the Eretz Yisrael school. Lurianists and their successors also wrote piyyuṭim of their own, such as Ya Ribon by Israel ben Moses Najara, the grandchild of an Andalusi emigrant.
No Sephardic community reinstituted the Eretz Yisrael piyyuṭim under the influence of the Sephardic-rite Kabbalists. Some Andalusi piyyuṭim survive in the Western Sephardic rite but were eliminated or moved in Sephardic Syrian and in rites from the Muslim world. Syrian Jews preserve some of them for extra-liturgical use as pizmonim.
Well-known piyyuṭim A chart of some of the best-known and most beloved piyyuṭim follows. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it tries to provide a flavor of the variety of poetic schemes and occasions for which these poems were written. Many of the piyyuṭim marked as being recited on Shabbat are songs traditionally sung as part of the home ritual observance of Shabbat and also known as zemirot ("Songs/Melodies").
NameHebrewAn Invitation to PiyutEnglish namePoetic schemeRecited on Adir Bimlukha Strong In His Reign Alphabetic acrostic Passover Adir Hu Mighty is He Alphabetic acrostic Passover Adir VeNa'or Mighty and Glorious Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends with מִי אֵ-ל כָּמוֹךָ Yom Kippur Adon Haselichot Lord of Forgiveness Alphabetic acrostic Every day during the month of Elul and during the Ten Days of Repentance Adon Olam Lord of the World Hazaj metre (based on short-long-long-long foot) Daily Akdamut Introduction Double alphabetic acrostic, then spells out "Meir, son of Rabbi Yitzchak, may he grow in Torah and in good deeds. Amen, and may he be strong and have courage." The author was Rabbi Shavuot Anim Zemirot/Shir haKavod I Shall Sing Sweet Songs Double alphabetic acrostic Shabbat and Festivals Barukh El Elyon Blessed Be God Most High Acrostic spells "Baruch Chazak", or "Blessed be he, with strength", written by Baruch ben Samuel ShabbatBerah Dodi Every stanza begins with the word "Berah" Passover Devai Haser Acrostic spells "Dunash," the name of author Dunash ben Labrat. Weddings and Sheva Brachot D'ror Yikra Freedom Acrostic spells "Dunash," the name of author Dunash ben Labrat. Shabbat Ein Keloheinu First letters of first 3 stanzas spell "Amen" Shabbat and Festivals (Daily in the Sephardic tradition) El Adon Alphabetic acrostic Shabbat and Festivals as part of first blessing before the Shema Eliyahu HaNavi Alphabetic acrostic Motza'ei Shabbat and Passover El Nora Alila Refrain: "At this hour of Ne'ilah". Acrostic spells Moshe chazak, referring to Moses ibn Ezra Ne'ilah (conclusion of Yom Kippur) Eli Tziyon Hazaj metre; alphabetic acrostic; each stanza begins with the word alei; each line ends with the suffix -eiha (meaning "her" or "of hers", referring to Jerusalem) Tisha B'av Geshem Alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with standard alternating line Sh'mini Atzeret Hakafot Alphabetic acrostic Simchat Torah Hayom T'am'tzenu also called Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends "Amen" Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Hoshanot Alphabetic acrostic Sukkot Ki Hineh Kachomer Refrain: "Recall the Covenant, and do not turn towards the Evil Inclination"Yom Kippur Ki Lo Na'eh Alphabetic acrostic Passover Kol Meqadesh Shevi'i Shabbat Lekha Dodi Acrostic spells name of author, Solomon Alkabetz. Shabbat evening Mah Y'didut Acrostic spells Menucha ("rest"); refrain Shabbat Ma'oz Tzur Acrostic spells name of author, "Mordechai" Hanukkah Mipi El Alphabetic acrostic Shabbat and Simchat Torah Menucha veSimcha Acrostic spells name of author, "Moshe", likely Moses ben Kalonymus Shabbat Ohila la-El Unrhymed; each line begins with aleph High Holy Days Shir El Nelam Alphabetic acrostic spells name of author, Shmuel. Purim Only recited by Polish Jews. Shoshanat Ya'akov Alphabetic acrostic Purim Tal Reverse alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with "Tal" Passover Tzur Mishelo First stanza is the refrain Shabbat Unetanneh Tokef Silluq of Mussaf for these days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (in the Eastern Ashkenazic and Italian rites). In some Italian communities, also on Hoshana Rabbah. In the Western Ashkenazic rite, Rosh Hashanah only. Ya Ribon Acrostic spells "Israel", the author's (Israel ben Moses Najara) first name Shabbat Yedid Nefesh Beloved of My Soul Acrostic spells Tetragrammaton Shabbat Yigdal Metre Daily Yom Shabbaton Acrostic spells "Yehudah", written by Yehudah Halevi Shabbat Yom Ze L'Yisra'el Acrostic spells "Yitzhak", written by Yitzhak Salmah Hazan, although commonly misattributed to Rabbi Isaac Luria Shabbat Yom Ze Mekhubad Acrostic spells "Israel" Shabbat
Genres Piyyutim have been written in many different genres and subgenres. Most of these are defined by the function that the given poem fulfills in the context of Jewish prayer service; but a few are defined by other criteria, such as content.
Yotzer sequence—a series of poems, which adorn the blessings surrounding the morning recitation of the Shema. Note that the Shema itself is always kept in its statutory form, and not adorned with poetry, because it is made up of passages taken straight from the Bible. 1. Guf yotzer (or just yotzer)—the first poem of the sequence, coming at the very beginning of the blessing Yotzer ohr. In a sequence written for a weekday, this is a very short poem, of one stanza, and leads straight to the conclusion of the blessing; parts 1a, 2, 3, and 4 are skipped.Ezra Fleischer, The Yozer: Its Emergence and Development (Hebrew), Magnes Press: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1984. Pp. 336-350. In a sequence written for a Sabbath or festival, this poem can be anywhere from about 12 lines to several hundred lines.Fleischer, The Yozer, pp. 199-230.