Part 2: The People Behind the Piyyutim / פיוטים

Mondays, 7:15- 8:45 PM
1/22, 1/29, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26
In-person, private residence address shared upon registration

If torah is the tree, midrash & piyyutim are the leaves that fill the branches. As the leaves bloom and create beauty, piyyutim expand the text, unveiling what the torah might not say explicitly.

In this class, we will look at the lives of the paytanim – the scholars, rabbis and poets – who wrote the piyyutim we’ve been singing on shabbat. By exploring each paytan's world and the current events that affected them, we’ll learn how it shaped their theology & philosophy, and how that is, in turn, expressed in their piyyutim.

Each class will focus on one paytan, diving into what their day-to-day life was like and how they navigated their religious world with the secular one. The first 3 sessions will focus on the paytanim who were foundational to establishing the Sephardic piyyut tradition and continued to build on each other's work in the Golden Era of 11th Century Spain. The next half will focus on Sephardic paytanim post-expulsion of the jews from Spain, and how they furthered the tradition in communities around the Mediterranean and beyond.

This is the second of a 3 part series, where Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy will walk you through the story, people, and maqam/music of the piyyutim we’ve been singing at shabbat and will be included in our brand new Kitchen siddur, coming in Spring 2024.

Each series builds on the prior, we recommend signing up for all three parts, but it is not required. To register for Part 3: The Music Behind the Piyyutim, and learn more, click here.

Cost & Membership Requirements

Members
All adult education programs are included in Kitchen membership
Non-members
$180 per series