This is a booklet of piyyutim (liturgical poems) printed in Jerusalem in 1964. The booklet is a reproduction of a handwritten manuscript. The booklet states that the piyyutim were from the Jewish community of Izmir, Turkey and were traditionally recited before and after reading the Zohar. The page here shows two piyyutim: “Bar Yochai,” recited before reading the Zohar, and “El Mistater,” recited after. The booklet also contains the Kaddish which is customarily recited after communal learning.
The piyyut “Bar Yochai” was written by Rabbi Shimon Lavi, an important Torah scholar in Tripoli in the fifteenth century. “Bar Yochai” is a well-known piyyut with many Kabbalistic interpretations. It is sung by many Sephardi communities around the Friday night table. The piyyut “El Mistater” was written by Rabbi Avraham Maimon, a student of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and a sixteenth-century Kabbalist from Safed. This piyyut is also very well-known among the Jews of Aleppo and Hasidim who often sing it at seudah shlishit, the traditional third meal on Shabbat.
The booklet was published by the Izmir community in Israel to use when studying the Zohar together. The Zohar – the foundational work of Kabbalistic tradition – has a special place of importance among Sephardi Jews and is often studied and included in prayers. There are those who read the Zohar every day, especially on Shabbat and holidays. It is also customary to recite passages of the Zohar on occasions such as a shiva (the seven-day mourning period) or a brit milah (circumcision).
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Jews of Izmir – Izmir, the ancient city of Smyrna, is located in western Turkey, on the shores of the Aegean Sea. Jews have lived in Izmir since the second or third century CE. Larger numbers of Jews began to arrive in Izmir at the end of the sixteenth century when Izmir became an important Ottoman seaport. Many of the new residents of Izmir were descendants of Jews who had left Spain in 1492 and made their way east to the Ottoman Empire. The seventeenth century was a period of growth for the Jews of Izmir, and they began to establish new institutions such as synagogues and a chief rabbinate. In 1626, Shabbetai Zvi, later known as the false messiah, was born in Izmir. Many Jews in Izmir, including one chief rabbi, believed in Shabbetai Zvi, and during 1665, when Shabbetai Zvi resided in Izmir, the city became swept up in messianic enthusiasm. His conversion to Islam around 1666 shook the community, and the ensuing divisions took many years to resolve. Many Jews were involved in the commercial life of Izmir, which flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This period, however, was marked by natural disasters such as earthquakes and fires which destroyed synagogues and other buildings. New synagogues were later built, and the community began to recover. The twentieth century saw the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Greco-Turkish War, and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, all of which made life more difficult for the Jewish community. As large numbers of Jewish community left Izmir, Jewish institutions began to close. Currently there are fewer than 2000 Jews living in Izmir.
Piyyut – A piyyut is a liturgical poem that is usually sung during religious services or at a Shabbat or holiday meal. Piyyutim were written as early as Temple times, usually in Hebrew or Aramaic. They often follow a poetic form such as an alphabetical acrostic or a specific rhythm. These forms also helped those praying to memorize the words, as they often did not have prayer books. Piyyutim were added to the prayer services to make the services more enjoyable, and many were sung responsively between the congregation and the hazzan (cantor).
Zohar – The Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Torah, is considered the most important text of Kabbalah. The book is traditionally attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who is said to have written the Zohar during the 13 years in which he was hiding from the Romans in a cave with his son. The Zohar discusses theological issues such as the nature of God, creation, and the existence of good and evil.
