Yehuda Halevi: Poetry and Pilgrimage follows the life story of the greatest Hebrew poet of medieval times from his first publication in Christian Toledo to his heroic journey toward Zion from Muslim Spain. The description is based, for the first time, on the entire collection of his poetry- the Diwan , which was edited and reedited between East and West at every important crossroad of his life. This in turn is done through comparison to autobiographical letters and contemporary correspondence discovered and collected over the past 50 years in the Cairo Geniza collections. Documentary material and Literary works, which were shun behind the iron wall in The Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, are woven for the first time into one, enabling us to examine closely the intricate relationship between old Jewish traditions and the ideological heritage associated with Halevi's innovative writings in prose and in poetry. Confronting Halevi's "Zion, will thou not ask"? opens the study which is mainly concerned with the story of Halevi's odyssey from Christian to Muslim Spain and eventually to Egypt, including the epic quest to the beloved yet fatal Zion. Professor Joseph Yahalom Studies and teaches Hebrew poetry at the Hebrew Literature Department of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Judah Halevi is the most prominent Hebrew poet of the Middle Ages. This book tells his life story, from the early publications of his poems in Toledo and until his tragic death, which occurred during his heroic journey to the Land of Israel. For the first time, the presentation of Halevi’s story is based on his entire oeuvre - his poem collections and dewans - written during different landmarks in the poet’s life in the east and west. In addition, this study compares and confronts his autographic letters with letters written by his contemporaries, unraveled upon the historic discovery of the Cairo Geniza.

This Festschrifft for Prof. Yona Fraenel includes 23 articles on various aspects of the literary study of Rabbinic literature. The studies relate to the poetics of genre and the relationship of literature to history, including cultural dialogues with Christianity and questions of transmission and composition of the various rabbinic genres.

This book contains articles written by Moshe Weinfeld about Early Jewish Liturgy and examines the development of Jewish prayer throughout time.

This book is a continuation of the previous book History of Poetry in Muslim Spain . It describes the history of Hebrew poetry in Spain from the 12th century up to the 15th century. Shirman and Fleisher, important researchers in the field, tell a story of poets and story tellers that continued the huge Andalusian literary tradition. The book describes very well known poets as well as tens of forgotten less known ones.

Professor Joseph Diamond's book on the ancient compositions for Yom Kippur is important and fascinating. Diamond has peaced together texts from seven different manuscripts, which were included in the Cairo Geniza project archive. Extensive and detailed interpretation were added.

Sacred songs of the Sephardic Jews are known for their eloquence, sublime lyrics and depth of emotion and thought. Rabbi Solomon ibn Gabirol is responsible for this to a large extent- he was one of the principal contributors to the style. This book seeks to clarify Ibn Gabirol's unique contribution to the Sepharadic piyutim and to piyutim in General. Both in the newly introduced content , and the original form principles, which instructed all the poets from then on. Special emphasis has been placed on the mutual affinity between content and form. The book is intended for researchers, students, enthusiasts and medieval poetry and Solomon ibn Gabirol fans.

The Geniza documents have shed new light on the special liturgical formulations of the Israelites' Amidah prayer on Shabbat, Rosh Hodeshת and holidays. This study discusses their Shabbat and holiday prayer customs and the order in which they used to read the Torah and Nevi'im books. These issues are examined through some three hundred manuscripts discovered at the Cairo Geniza. The findings lead to conclusions which determine the unique nature of the lost ancient customs in Eretz Israel. "An outstanding treatment of the Palestinian rite and of the Geniza evidence relating to it." - Stefan C. Reif

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.