Piyyut

A poet for all seasons

by Amir Ashur

Towards the Solution of the Shabuoth Piyyutim Censorship

by Ophir Münz-Manor

Tarbitz – A Quarterly for Jewish Studies 70 (2001), pp. 637-644 (Hebrew)

This article examines an interesting phenomenon in the Ashkenazi liturgical rite for SHavo'ot. The phenomenon had... more This article examines an interesting phenomenon in the Ashkenazi liturgical rite for SHavo'ot. The phenomenon had drawn the attention of scholars because of its unique nature: censorship of sections of piyyutim that criticize the Patriarchs for their sins. According to scholars, the reason for this censorship was the discomfort that the medieval Ashkenazi communities felt with such criticism. But a close examination of the Ashkenazi rite manuscripts, in addition to some other cultural considerations, makes it clear that the suggested explanation is not at all valid. The article argues that the censorship is connected to the Jewish-Christian debate in the 13th-Century Franco-German region. As part of this debate, Christians had claimed that the Jewish Patriarchs were sinful. This fact, along with a Christian translation of one of the piyyutim into Latin, drove the Jewish communities to censor this piyyut to prevent it being used to support the Christian argument.

All About Sarah: Questions of Gender in Yannai's Poems on Sarah's (and Abraham's) Barrenness

by Ophir Münz-Manor

Prooftexts – A Journal of Jewish Literary History 26 (3), (2006), pp. 344-374.

This article offers a reading of two Hebrew liturgical poems by Yannai, a sixth century C.E. poet, from the... more This article offers a reading of two Hebrew liturgical poems by Yannai, a sixth century C.E. poet, from the perspective of contemporary gender and literary studies. The poems vividly and elaborately retell the story of Sarah's (and Abraham's) barrenness and their wish to have a child. The unique nature of these compositions lies in their delicate treatment of gender roles as well as in their surprising portrayal of Sarah as an active and self-conscious agent. Yannai draws on rich exegetical tradition (biblical, patristic and rabbinic) regarding Sarah's infertility but offers his own insights and contributions. The article also comments on the relevance of Christian hymnography to the study of Jewish poetry in Late Antiquity and on feminist readings of poetic texts from this formative period.

'As the Apple Among Fruits, so the Priest When He Emerges': Poetic Similies in Pre-Classical Poems of the 'How Lovely' Genre

by Ophir Münz-Manor

Ginzei Qedem - Genizah Research Annual 5 (2009), pp. 165-188 (Hebrew)

Liturgical Poetry in the Late Antique Near East: A Comparative Approach

by Ophir Münz-Manor

Journal of Ancient Judaism 1:3 (2010), pp. 336-361
An English version of the Hebrew article from Pe'amim

The article presents a contemporary view of the study of piyyut, demonstrating that Jewish po- etry of late antiquity... more The article presents a contemporary view of the study of piyyut, demonstrating that Jewish po- etry of late antiquity (in Hebrew and Aramaic) was closely related to Christian liturgical poetry (both Syriac and Greek) and Samaritan liturgy. These relations were expressed primarily by common poetic and prosodic characteristics, derived on the one hand from ancient Semitic poetry (mainly biblical poetry), and on the other from innovations of the period. The significant connections of content between the different genres of poetry reveal the importance of com- parative study. Thus the poetry composed in late antiquity provides additional evidence for the lively cultural dialogue that took place at that time.

Carnivalesque Ambivalence and the Christian Other in Jewish Poems from Byzantine Palestine

by Ophir Münz-Manor

in R. Bonfil, O. Irshai, G. Stroumsa and R. Talgam (eds.), Jews in Byzantium: Dialectics of Minority and Majority Cultures (Leiden: Brill 2012), 831-845

Figurative Language in Early Piyyut

by Ophir Münz-Manor

in W. van Bekkum and N. Katsumata (eds.), Giving a Diamond: Essays in Honor of Joseph Yahalom on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday (Leiden: Brill 2011), 51-68

Figurative Language in Pre-Classical Piyyut: Between Biblical Models and Poetic Innovations

by Ophir Münz-Manor

Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature 24 (2011): 1-22 (Hebrew)

The article is devoted to an investigation of the figurative language in pre-classical Piyyut (ca. fourth-fifth... more The article is devoted to an investigation of the figurative language in pre-classical Piyyut (ca. fourth-fifth centuries Ce) in the light of its extensive use of biblical imagery. Generally speaking, the role of metaphors and similes in liturgical poetry is marginal, especially in comparison with the biblical corpus. yet, one can find numerous examples of the poets’ innovative use of biblical figurative language which is constantly expanded and developed in the piyyutim. The poets use several techniques in incorporating biblical imagery into their poems. sometimes they simply take a biblical metaphor or simile and insert it in order to create a metaphorical periphrasis (in Hebrew, kinuy), a popular poetic device of the period. in most cases, however, the payytan will combine two or more biblical verses into one figurative phrase. this technique frequently results in figurative developments that are both creative and impressive. Finally, the article examines some examples where the poets draw on figurative language from rabbinic literature and some rare cases where the figurative language in the piyyut is not based on an earlier text and hence can be regarded as an ‘original’ creation of the payytan.