Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the Provençal Jewish philosopher R. Levi ben Avraham wrote a unique treatise – an in-depth Hebrew encyclopedia of the sciences and of Judaism entitled Livyat Ḥen . R. Levi was known already in his lifetime as a leading exponent of the philosophical-allegorical interpretation of the Torah and of rabbinic midrash. In the Jewish part of his encyclopedia he deals with a myriad of topics, including Jewish ethics, prophecy, the reasons for the commandments, the stories of Moses and the patriarchs, the principles of faith, the Work of Creation, the Work of the Chariot, and the interpretation of rabbinic midrash and aggadah. Prior to Livyat Ḥen R. Levi wrote an encyclopedic poem of over 1000 stanzas in rhymed meter entitled Batei ha-Nephesh-ve-ha-Laḥashim . This poem is devoted to the same topics in science and Judaism that are later discussed in great detail in his treatise.

This book presents Piyyutim (liturgical poetry) written by one of the most important poets in the land of Israel, Rabbi Pinhas Hacohen birabi Yaacov, who lived in the area of Tiberias in the 8th century. The Piyyutim are taken from manuscripts of the Cairo Genizah, and are published for the first time. R' Pinhas seals the classic period of early Paytanim (authors of liturgical poetry) in the land of Israel. His work preserves the variety of genres typical for classic Piyyutim, yet shows early signs of developments characteristic to late Eastern liturgical poetry. R' Pinhas' Piyyutim reveal a great poet with impressive compositional durability. In some of them he reaches unique climaxes, especially through dramatic developments in the Piyut. The Piyyutim presented in the book are accompanied by textual variants and detailed commentary. Comprehensive introductions to the poems discuss the poet and his works, their designations and references, patterns, their literary language, content, literary sources, as well as early customs that can be learned from them. The discussion brings up Hebrew words that have not been written before. Many long-forgotten Midrashim are exposed and authentic Halakhic customs from the Land of Israel are revealed, such as the calculation of the Hebrew calendar and early fasting traditions. First and foremost, this collection of Rabbi Pinhas' Piyyutim brings back one of the greatest poets of Israel to Hebrew literature and allows the readers to enjoy his rich poetry again. Edited and commented by Shulamit Elizur

Moreh Hamoreh (The Guide’s Guide) , by Shem-Tob ibn Falaquera, is one of the earliest commentaries on Maimonides’s Guide of the Perplexed . Falaquera’s knowledge of Arabic literature was broad, and he commented extensively on the well-known translation of the Guide by R. Samuel ibn Tibon. Given this knowledge, Falaquera was also acquainted with the philosophical sources behind Maimonides’ work, and referred to these in his own commentary. This critical edition of Falaquera’s work is based on all extant manuscripts known to us today; and it will be of value to all who wish to understand this important commentary and recover Maimonides’s sources. This edition presents the text of the Guide’s Guide , including varia lectionis and a commentary on Falaquera’s sources. These sources, which are largely also the sources of Maimonides, are discussed in great detail in the introduction to this edition.

This book represents a first attempt to assemble liturgical poems in a scientific edition according to their genre rather than according to authorship. All the Shiv‛atot cycles (liturgical poems for shabbat Amidah prayer) composed according to the order of the weekly Torah portion have been collected from the Genizah manuscripts. The book presents three main cycles, representing three stages in the history of liturgical poems: The remnants of an ancient Shiv‛atot cycle (composed around the sixth century) which was dedicated to the reading order of the Eretz-Israel triennial cycle, and two Shiv‛atot cycles for the annual cycle’s tractates – one of which was probably composed around the ninth or tenth century and remains loyal to the classical traditions of the genre, and the second, probably composed at the end of the tenth century or the beginning of the eleventh, which reflects a stage in which the later poets abandoned the ancient patterns or restricted them. Alongside these cycles, sections of other Shiv‛atot cycles whose remnants were found in the Genizah are included. The poems are printed in their entirety, with variant manuscripts readings and detailed notes. The book opens with an introduction that describes each cycle in detail and examines the development of the genre over the generations.

The Book of Elegance of the Hebrew Language is Saadia Gaon's (892-942) Judeo-Arabic work on Hebrew linguistics. It is the first Hebrew grammar book, describing for the first time the Hebrew language, its letters, the vowels and the shewa, the dageshs, the influence of the gutturals, the inflections etc. The edition comprises of two volumes: the first is the introduction describing the work and its date, its structure and relationship to other works, with an analysis of the linguistic theory and the various grammatical issues as well as a comprehensive vocabulary of terminology, a complete survey of the chapters, a description of the manuscripts and method of editing and finally an extensive bibliography. The second volumes holds the original Arabic text with a Hebrew translation by the editor, and apparatus of various readings and numerous commenting notes and indices.

Along with the official Aramaic translation of the Prophets, known as "Targum Yonatan", other Aramaic translations were circulating in the Jewish communities. These translations, most of which are found in manuscripts, are referred to in the modern research as "Translation Supplements" (Toseftot Targum), some of which have Midrashic extensions. The source of the translation additions is vague: they may be part of a complete Palestinian translation of the prophets, and they may be translations of the Haftoroh chapters only. The book contains a collection of one hundred and fifty texts, with a varied dialectical nature collected from over a hundred manuscripts and first editions.