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A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA and [pijutím) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Mishnaic times. Most piyyutim are in Hebrew or 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 piyyutim are familiar to regular attendees of synagogue services. For example, the best-known piyyut may be Adon Olam ("Master of the World"), written by Solomon ibn Gabirol in 11th century Spain. Its poetic form consists simply of rhyming iambic tetrameter, and it is so beloved that it is often sung at the conclusion of many synagogue services, after the ritual nightly saying of the Shema, and during the morning ritual of putting on tefillin. Another well-beloved piyyut is Yigdal ("May God be Hallowed"), which is based upon the Thirteen Principles of Faith developed by Maimonides.
The author of a piyyut is known as a paytan (plural paytanim). The word literally means "one who composes a piyyut".
Well-known piyyutim
What follows is a chart of some of the best-known and most-beloved piyyutim. 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 piyyutim 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").
| Name | Poetic scheme | Recited on |
|---|---|---|
| Adir Hu אַדִּיר הוּ | Alphabetic acrostic | Passover |
| Adon Olam אָדוֹן עוֹלָם | Iambic tetrametre | Daily |
| An'im Zemirot | Double alphabetic acrostic | Shabbat and Festivals |
| Akdamut | Double alphabetic acrostic, then spells out "Meir, son of Rabbi Isaac, may he grow in Torah and in good deeds. Amen, and may he be strong and have courage." The author is Rav Meir bar Yitzchak "Shatz" of Worms; for further information on the author, see Grossman, Hachmei Ashkenaz Harishonim, pp 292-296. | Shavuot |
| Baruch El Elyon | Acrostic spells "Baruch Chazak", or "Blessed be he, with strength", or possibly "Baruch" is the author's name | Shabbat |
| Berach Dodi | Every stanza begins with the word "Berach" | Passover |
| D'ror Yikra | Acrostic spells the name "Dunash", presumably the name of the author, Dunash ben Labrat | Shabbat |
| Ein K'Eloheinu | First letters of first 3 stanzas spell "Amen" | Shabbat and Festivals |
| El Adon | Alphabetic acrostic | Shabbat and Festivals |
| El Nora Alilah | Refrain: "At this hour of Ne'ilah" | Ne'ilah service at the conclusion of Yom Kippur |
| Eli Tzion | Iambic tetrameter; alphabetic acrostic; each stanza beings 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'amtzinu | Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends "Amen" | Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur |
| Hoshanot | Alphabetic acrostic | Sukkot |
| Ki Hineh Ka-Chomer | Refrain: "Recall the Covenant, and do not turn towards the Evil Inclination" | Yom Kippur |
| Ki Lo Na'eh | Alphabetic acrostic | Passover |
| L'chah Dodi לְכָה דּוֹדִי | Acrostic spells name of author, Shlomo Ha-Levi | Shabbat evening |
| Mah Y'didut | Acrostic spells Menucha ("rest"); refrain | Shabbat |
| Maoz Tzur | Acrostic - first letter of each stanza spells name of author, "Mordechai" | Hanukkah |
| Menucha V'Simcha | Acrostic spells name of author, "Moshe" | Shabbat |
| Mipi El | Alphabetic acrostic | Shabbat and Simchat Torah |
| Shoshanat Ya'akov | Alphabetic acrostic | Purim |
| Tal | Reverse alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with "Tal" | Passover |
| Tzur Mishelo | First stanza is the refrain | Shabbat |
| Yah Ribon | Acrostic spells "Yisrael" | Shabbat |
| Yedid Nefesh | Acrostic spells Tetragrammaton | Shabbat |
| Yom Shabbaton | Acrostic spells "Yehudah" | Shabbat |
| Yom Zeh L'Yisrael | Acrostic spells "Yitzhak" | Shabbat |
| Yom Zeh Mekhubad | Acrostic spells "Yisrael" | Shabbat |
| Yigdal יִגְדַּל | Metre | Daily |
See also
External links
- Piyut site - audio recordings of piyyutim, along with corresponding lyrics in Hebrew
"Piyyut"