The Hebrew Liturgical Poetry of Byzantine Palestine: Recent Research and New Perspectives

Over the past few decades there has been a striking growth of interest in the study of Hebrew (and Aramaic) liturgical poetry, or pjyut, in Byzantine Palestine. Scholars have published a substantial number of texts and studies and have started to produce several translations. The issues and observations presented here reflect the main current research themes and perspectives, thereby disclosing a "state of the art" in the study of ancient piyyut. This fascinating topic is attracting an increasing amount of fresh attention from scholars and students whose positive contributions question some of the traditional ways of describing and defining the phenomenon of synagogue poetry. Applying ideas of cultural, historical, and literary comparison, previous approaches are reconsidered and new means of viewing piyyutic and paytanic concepts and values are suggested. Jewish hymnography of Late Antiquity will continue to be an insightful and enriching source for the understanding of Jewish society at the time.