Rabbi Eleazar be-Rabbi Qilar Liturgical Poems

The illustrious payyetan who signs his name Eleazar be-rabbi Qillir (ha-Qilliri) in the acrostics of his poems has been known over the course of many generations. His compositions have been incorporated into the Ashkenazic mahzor and are recited to this day. The Cairo Genizah has surprised us with a cycle of yotzerot (piyyutim for the benedictions of the Shema) for the weekly Sabbath lections in whose acrostics the payyetan has signed a similar name: Eleazar be-rabbi Qilar [קילר]. In the book, these yotzerot have been gathered together and edited on the basis of the manuscripts in a scientific edition that includes variant readings, a commentary, and an extensive introduction containing a discussion of their various aspects. An analysis of these piyyutim makes it clear that their author is not Eleazar be-rabbi Qillir. Eleazar be-rabbi Qilar, the author of the yotzerot, postdates the Qilliri by several hundred years, and the style of the yotzerot is entirely different from that of the ancient Qillirian piyyutim. The book contains detailed explanations of this style, which characterizes a central layer of the period of Late Eastern piyyut. In addition, inter-textual connections between Eleazar be-rabbi Qilar and other payyetanim are discussed. It is shown that he took over entire stanzas from R. Yosef be-rabbi Nisan (a Classical, post-Qillirian payyeatan) and incorporated them in his own piyyutim. On the other hand, R. Shemuel Ha-Shelishi, an important payyetan who was active at the end of the tenth century, took the piyyutim of Eleazar be-rabbi Qilar as a model when he came to compose of his own cycle of yotzerot for the weekly Sabbath lections.