Israel ben Moses Najara was a prolific Jewish liturgical poet, preacher, Biblical commentator, kabbalist, and rabbi of Gaza.
A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple 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.
Ein Keloheinu is a well known Jewish hymn. Orthodox Jews pronounce it as Ein Kelokeinu when referring to it outside of prayer, in order to avoid taking the name of God in vain or otherwise violating the sanctity of reverence to the Almighty.
Yigdal is a Jewish hymn which in various rituals shares with Adon 'Olam the place of honor at the opening of the morning and the close of the evening service. It is based on the 13 principles of faith formulated by Maimonides. This was not the only metrical presentment of the Creeds, but it has outlived all others, whether in Hebrew or in the vernacular. A translation can be found in any bilingual siddur.
The baqashot are a collection of supplications, songs, and prayers that have been sung by the Sephardic Syrian, Moroccan, and Turkish Jewish communities for centuries each week on Shabbat mornings from the early hours of the morning until dawn. They are usually recited during the weeks of winter, from the Jewish festival of Sukkot through Purim, when the nights are much longer. The baqashot services can last for three to four hours. The Ades Synagogue in Jerusalem is the center of the Syrian practice today, and communities in Ashdod and Montreal are the center of the Moroccan practice.
UntannehTokef, Unthanneh Toqeph, Un'taneh Tokef, or Unsanneh Tokef is a piyyut that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some traditions of rabbinical Judaism for centuries. It introduces the Kedusha of Musaf for these days. It is chanted while the Torah ark is open and the congregants are standing. It is the "central poem of the High Holy Day [of the Day of Atonement]." The ArtScroll machzor calls it "one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Days of Awe."
Yedid Nefesh is the title of a piyyut and zemer. It is usually sung on Shabbat.
This article describes the principal types of religious Jewish music from the days of the Temple to modern times.
The Great Sabbath is the Sabbath immediately preceding the Passover on the night of the 14th of Nisan, named on account of the prophecy from Malachi, traditionally read on this day, which foretells the return of Elijah the prophet to announce the "great and terrible Day of the Lord" It is commemorated in the Christian calendar as Lazarus Saturday.
Yannai was an important payyetan who lived in the late fifth-early sixth century in the Galilee in Israel. Sometimes referred to as the "father of piyyut," his poetry marks the beginning of the Classical Period of piyyut that ranged from the fifth-eighth centuries. He was the first poet of piyyut to sign his name in an acrostic, to use end-rhyme, and to write for weekly services. According to Laura Lieber, the liturgical form most associated with Yannai is the qedushta, which embellishes the first 3 blessing of the Amidah.
Yotzer ohr, also known as Birkat yotzer or Birkat Yotzer Or, is the first of the two blessings recited before the Shema during Shacharit, the morning religious services of Judaism.
Elohekhem is a genre of piyyut, which arose among Jews in 12th-century Germany, to be inserted in the Qedusha of the Musaf prayer. Several dozen poems of this genre were written over the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Magen Avot is a genre of piyyut designed to be inserted into the blessing Berakha Aḥat Me‘en Sheva‘ in the Jewish liturgy for Friday evening, right before the words “Magen avot bidvaro”, from which the name of the genre is taken.
Authors of piyyut are known as paytanim. Piyyut is Jewish liturgical poetry, in Hebrew or occasionally Aramaic.
D'ror Yikra is a piyyut, of the kind known as zemer, traditionally sung during Sabbath meals, particularly the first meal on Friday evening.
Vehi Sheamda is a Jewish piyyut in the Haggadah of Passover Seder that mention's God's promise of ending the exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel.
Ya Ribon is an Aramaic piyyut by the 16th-century payytan Israel ben Moses Najara, first published in his 1586 work זמירות ישראל "Songs of Israel". Ashkenazi Jews traditionally sing it at table after the Friday night meal and Sephardi Jews sing it among the Baqashot. The piyyut, originally sung to an Arab melody, has been set to dozens of tunes, both ancient and modern. "The 21st century Shabbat table", says one modern writer, "is incomplete without the singing of the universal Yah Ribon."
Baruch El Elyon is a piyyut attributed to Baruch ben Samuel of Mainz. The poem is acrostically signed "BaRUCH HaZaQ". Among Ashkenazic communities, it is a traditional zemer for Shabbat lunch. Though one manuscript lists it at the end of the order for the Sabbath, Israel Isserlein (1390-1460) already sang it on Sabbath morning.
Ki Eshm'ra Shabbat is a popular Sabbath hymn, composed in the 12th century by Abraham ibn Ezra. Though historically a song for Sabbath eve, today it is usually sung at Sabbath lunch.
"Shene Zetim" is a piyyut by Rabbi Solomon Ibn Gabirol of the Me'orah type, intended to be recited as part of the blessing of Yotzer ha-me'orot. The piyyut is customary recited on the Sabbath of Chanukkah in both Western and Eastern Ashkenazic rites. Despite Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gabirol being a Sephardic poet, this piyyut has been preserved only in Ashkenazic communities.
