PIYYUT

:''This article is about a type of Jewish religious music, Piyyut. For the main article on religious Jewish music, see 'Religious Jewish music'.
A 'piyyut' (plural 'piyyutim', Hebrew פיוט, 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"), sometimes attributed to 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'').

Contents
Well-known ''piyyutim''
See also
External links

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").
NameHebrewPoetic schemeRecited on
'Adir Hu' אַדִּיר הוּאAlphabetic acrostic Passover
'Adon Olam' אֲדוֹן עוֹלָםIambic tetrametre Daily
'An'im Z'mirot' Double alphabetic acrostic Shabbat and Festivals
'Akdamut' 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 Meir bar Yitzchak "Shatz" Shavuot'
'Barukh El Elyon' Acrostic spells "Baruch Chazak", or "Blessed be he, with strength", or possibly "Baruch" is the author's name Shabbat
'Berah Dodi'לכה דודיEvery stanza begins with the word "Berah"Passover
'D'ror Yikra' Acrostic spells "Dunash," the name of author Dunash ben Labrat.Shabbat
'Ein Keloheinu'אין כאלהינוFirst letters of first 3 stanzas spell "Amen"Shabbat and Festivals
'El Adon'Alphabetic acrosticShabbat and Festivals
'El Nora Alila'Refrain: ''"At this hour of Ne'ilah"''Ne'ilah (conclusion of Yom Kippur)
'Alei Tziyon'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 JerusalemTisha B'av
'Geshem'Alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with standard alternating lineSh'mini Atzeret
'Hakafot'Alphabetic acrosticSimchat Torah
'Hayom T'am'tzenu'Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends "Amen"Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
'Hoshanot'Alphabetic acrosticSukkot
'Ki Hinne Ka-Homer'Refrain: "Recall the Covenant, and do not turn towards the Evil Inclination"Yom Kippur
'Ki Lo Na'e'Alphabetic acrosticPassover
'L'kha Dodi'לְכָה דּוֹדִיAcrostic spells name of author, Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz.Shabbat evening
'Mah Y'didut'Acrostic spells ''Menucha'' ("rest"); refrainShabbat
'Ma'oz Tzur'מעוז צורAcrostic spells name of author, "Mordechai"Hanukkah
'M'nuha V'Simha'Acrostic spells name of author, "Moshe"Shabbat
'Mipi El'Alphabetic acrosticShabbat and Simchat Torah
'Shoshanat Ya'akov'Alphabetic acrosticPurim
'Tal'Reverse alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with "Tal"Passover
'Tzur Mishelo'First stanza is the refrainShabbat
'Yah Ribon'Acrostic spells "Yisrael"Shabbat
'Yedid Nefesh'ידיד נפשAcrostic spells TetragrammatonShabbat
'Yom Shabbaton'Acrostic spells "Yehudah"Shabbat
'Yom Ze L'Yisra'el' Acrostic spells "Yitzhak"Shabbat
'Yom Ze Mekhubad'Acrostic spells "Yisrael"Shabbat
'Yigdal'יִגְדַּלMetreDaily

See also



Hebrew poetry

Jewish services

External links



Piyut site - audio recordings of piyyutim, along with corresponding lyrics in Hebrew

Jewish Encyclopedia article on piyyutim

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