A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, pijút and pijutím) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services or ceremonies. 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 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", written by Solomon ibn Gabirol in 11th century Spain. Its poetic form consists simply of rhyming iambic tetrameter, and it is so beloved it is often sung at the conclusion of many synagogue services, as part of the ritual nightly saying of the Shema, and during the morning ritual of putting on tefillin. Another well-beloved piyyut is Yigdal, 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".

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.

Name	Poetic scheme	Recited on
Adir Hu	Alphabetic acrostic	Passover>Passover
Adon Olam	Iambic tetrametre	Daily
An'im Zemirot	Double alphabetic acrostic	Shabbat and Festivals>Shabbat and Festivals
Akdamut	Torah and in good deeds. Amen, and may he be strong and have courage.">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."	Shavuot>Shavuot
Baruch El Elyon	Acrostic spells "Baruch Chazak", or "Blessed be he, with strength", or possibly "Baruch" is the author's name	Shabbat>Shabbat
Berach Dodi	Every stanza begins with the word "Berach"	Passover>Passover
D'ror Yikra	Dunash ben Labrat>Acrostic spells the name "Dunash", presumably the name of the author, Dunash ben Labrat	Shabbat>Shabbat
Ein K'Eloheinu	Amen">First letters of first 3 stanzas spell "Amen"	Shabbat and Festivals>Shabbat and Festivals
El Adon	Alphabetic acrostic	Shabbat and Festivals>Shabbat and Festivals
El Nora Alilah	Ne'ilah">Refrain: "At this hour of Ne'ilah"	Ne'ilah service at the conclusion of Yom Kippur>Ne'ilah service at the conclusion of Yom Kippur
Geshem	Alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with standard alternating line	Sh'mini Atzeret>Sh'mini Atzeret
Hakafot	Alphabetic acrostic	Simchat Torah>Simchat Torah
Hayom T'amtzinu	Amen">Alphabetic acrostic, each line ends "Amen"	Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur>Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Hoshanot	Alphabetic acrostic	Sukkot>Sukkot
Ki Hineh Ka-Chomer	Refrain: "Recall the Covenant, and do not turn towards the Evil Inclination"	Yom Kippur>Yom Kippur
Ki Lo Na'eh	Alphabetic acrostic	Passover>Passover
L'chah Dodi	Judah Ha-Levi>Acrostic spells name of author, Judah Ha-Levi	Shabbat evening>Shabbat evening
Mah Y'didut	Acrostic spells "Menucha" (rest); refrain	Shabbat>Shabbat
Menucha V'Simcha	Acrostic spells name of author, "Moshe"	Shabbat>Shabbat
Mipi El	Alphabetic acrostic	Shabbat and Simchat Torah>Shabbat and Simchat Torah
Shoshanat Ya'akov	Alphabetic acrostic	Purim>Purim
Tal	Reverse alphabetic acrostic; each stanza ends with "Tal"	Passover>Passover
Tzur Mishelo	First stanza is the refrain	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yah Ribon	Yisrael">Acrostic spells "Yisrael"	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yedid Nefesh	Tetragrammaton>Acrostic spells Tetragrammaton	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yom Shabbaton	Yehudah">Acrostic spells "Yehudah"	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yom Zeh L'Yisrael	Yitzhak">Acrostic spells "Yitzhak"	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yom Zeh Mekhubad	Yisrael">Acrostic spells "Yisrael"	Shabbat>Shabbat
Yigdal	Metre	Daily

See also

• Hebrew poetry
• Jewish services
• Judaism

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