Piyyut

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A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA: [pijút] 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). The word literally means "one who composes a piyyut".

[edit] 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 הוּא	Alphabetic acrostic	Passover
Adon Olam אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם	Iambic tetrametre	Daily
An'im Z'mirot	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
Barukh El Elyon	Acrostic spells "Baruch Chazak", or "Blessed be he, with strength", or possibly "Baruch" is the author's name	Shabbat
Berah Dodi	Every stanza begins with the word "Berah"	Passover
D'ror Yikra	Acrostic spells the name "Dunash", presumably the name of the author, Dunash ben Labrat	Shabbat
Ein Keloheinu	First letters of first 3 stanzas spell "Amen"	Shabbat and Festivals
El Adon	Alphabetic acrostic	Shabbat and Festivals
El Nora Alila	Refrain: "At this hour of Ne'ilah"	Ne'ilah service at the 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 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	Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends "Amen"	Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Hoshanot	Alphabetic acrostic	Sukkot
Ki Hinne Ka-Homer	Refrain: "Recall the Covenant, and do not turn towards the Evil Inclination"	Yom Kippur
Ki Lo Na'e	Alphabetic acrostic	Passover
L'kha Dodi לְכָה דּוֹדִי	Acrostic spells name of author, Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz.	Shabbat evening
Mah Y'didut	Acrostic spells Menucha ("rest"); refrain	Shabbat
Ma'oz Tzur	Acrostic - first letter of each stanza spells name of author, "Mordechai"	Hanukkah
M'nuha V'Simha	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 Ze L'Yisra'el	Acrostic spells "Yitzhak"	Shabbat
Yom Ze Mekhubad	Acrostic spells "Yisrael"	Shabbat
Yigdal יִגְדַּל	Metre	Daily