(from a Greek word meaning "poet"; pl. piyyutim). Liturgical poem; in a broader sense, the totality of Hebrew religious verse composed from the first centuries CE to the Enlightenment (Haskalah) period.
At first, the piyyutim were intended to replace the obligatory prayers and thereby to add variety to the service, primarily on the Sabbaths and festivals. Later, when the content and form of the prayers were formalized, piyyutim were composed and added to the fixed prayer text.
Most of the piyyutim were meant for the main festivals, but in the course of time piyyutim were also composed for regular and special Sabbaths, for fast days, and even for ordinary weekdays. Piyyutim were also written for family events, such as weddings, circumcisions, and days of mourning. In Erets Israel, they were composed when the fixed prayer texts began to be established.
Ancient versions of the text of piyyutim can be found in the Talmud. Certain piyyutim were included in the early prayer services and can be identified by their special style and meter. These piyyutim do not rhyme.
The development of the piyyut is divided into three major periods:
a) The pre-classical period, the era of the anonymous piyyut, which ended in about the sixth century, and is marked by a verse with meter but without rhyme. These ancient piyyutim are simple in form. Their language is clear and they are generally arranged in an acrostic alphabetical form, without any indication of the paytan (i.e., the author of the piyyut). The only paytan of this period whose name is known is Yose ben Yose.
b) The classic period in the sixth to eighth centuries, where the rhyme assumes importance. In this period, most of the activity was in Erets Israel and the authors were known both by name and by their works. They included Yannai, who wrote kerovot (see below) for all the weekly Pentateuch readings (based on the Triennial Cycle); Eleazar ha-Kallir, many of whose poems are in the Ashkenazi festival liturgy; Ḥaduta ben Abraham; and Simeon ben Megas. During this era, the classic forms of the piyyut were given their standard form.
c) The third period, the late era of the Oriental paytanim, most of whom lived outside Erets Israel, was very fruitful.
In the European countries, there were two major schools, one Central European and the other Spanish. The first was centered in southern Italy in the ninth century. Some of the first poets there were Silano, Shephatiah, and his son Amittai. Very few of their piyyutim have survived. The poetic activity then moved to central and northern Italy, where paytanim headed by Solomon ben Judah the Babylonian were active, and from there it moved in the tenth century to Greece, Germany, and France.
There was a great creative flowering in Germany in the 10th-11th century. The influence of the Erets Israel school is very apparent in all these works, throughout this entire period. At the same time new forms were developed.
Italy and Provence were eventually influenced by the Spanish school, which first began to flourish in the mid-tenth century. It was there that Hebrew religious verse reached its zenith, with the great poets, including Joseph Ibn Abitur, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Isaac Ibn Ghayyat, Moses Ibn Ezra, and Judah Halevi.
In Spain, various original and bold forms were developed that had not been known by the Oriental paytanim. The Spanish school is the most clearly defined of all the schools of piyyut. Even after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the writing of Spanish-type piyyut did not come to an end, but was renewed in those countries to which the refugees migrated: Turkey, Greece, Erets Israel, etc.
The piyyutim may be divided, in accordance with their liturgical object, into a number of types, which differ both in the way they were created and in their development. The most ancient and most important are the kerovot (see Kerovah), a set of piyyutim added to the Amidah prayer, and the Yotserot, a collection of piyyutim added to the blessings before and after the Shema of the Morning Service. Parallel to the morning yotzer are the Ma'Aravot, added to the blessings before and after the Shema of the Evening Service.
Other examples of piyyutim include the teki'ata said in the Additional Service on Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Azharot on Shavu'Ot, the Seliḥot (penitential prayers) on Fast Days, the Kinot (elegies) on Tishah Be-Av, and the Hoshanot on Sukkot. There are also Sephardi piyyutim included in the Nishmat Kol ḥai section of the Sabbath and festival prayers, known as nishmatot; and piyyutim to be said before the standard piyyutim, known as reshuyyot.
The style and vocabulary of the piyyutim evolved over the centuries. Those of the ancient anonymous piyyut were very similar to the standard prayers. The vocabulary is biblical with certain talmudic elements and the style is clear and simple. From Yannai on, Jewish religious verse became more obscure and less respectful of pure forms, and the paytanim invented their own vocabulary. These new words and style, which were not in conformity with the classic Hebrew grammar, were later vehemently criticized in Spain. The paytanim of the school of Kallir used a complex system of terms and incorporated much talmudic and midrashic material as well as resorting to various veiled allusions, all of which led to multiple interpretations. Religious verse in Spain based itself on a clear biblical framework, in reaction to these exaggerations. Solomon Ibn Gabirol played a large role in this process of change. This new style influenced the poets of North Africa, Yemen, Erets Israel, Babylonia, and Provence. The East European piyyut, however, remained faithful in general terms to the Kallir model in language and style.
Already in early times there had been harsh criticism of the piyyut, particularly from members of the great Academies in Babylonia. In spite of this, the piyyut was given an honored place in the prayers, even in Babylonia. The cantor chose which piyyutim he wished to use, and a very large number were created.
As time went by, certain piyyutim became an integral part of the prayers, and each community decided which piyyutim to insert.
