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May 15, 2021

Poetry, Pedagogy, and Prayer: An Introduction to the Azharot

Yitz Landes

Yitz Landes

 
Yitz Landes is a PhD Candidate in Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity at Princeton University and a Lecturer in Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He received his BA in Talmud and Religion and his MA in Talmud from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on Jewish liturgy and on the history of Rabbinic Judaism. His first book, Studies in the Development of Birkat ha-Avodah, was published in 2018.

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The holiday of Shavuot features many unique prayers, the majority of which touch upon themes relating to the giving of the Torah. In this class, we will take a close look at the history and development of the Azharot, a specific form of Piyyut (Hebrew Liturgical poetry) recited on the festival that enumerates the 613 commandments. We will begin with a brief historical introduction to Piyyut and its role in Jewish prayer before looking at the overall features and content of the special Shavuot liturgy. We will then turn to the Azharot piyyutim themselves, focusing especially on their poetic and didactic elements.

- 05/13/2021