In the broad sense, the term piyyut (pl. piyyutim; from the Greek poíēsis, formation, creation) encompasses the totality of Hebrew religious poetry from post-biblical times to the present. Originally, the performance of the piyyut took place alongside the obligatory prayers in the divine service (Liturgy); since the Middle Ages, it also became disseminated in secular contexts. Over the course of the centuries, an extensive corpus of piyyutim em…