Theology and Poetry
Studies in the Medieval Piyyut
Jakob J. Petuchowski

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‘Petuchowski's Theology and Poetry is a unique contribution to Jewish thought and Jewish literature. It is the first—and to this day, the only—discussion of the religious message of the poetry composed for the synagogue by poets who were active during a period of more than a millennium. Petuchowski explores ten representative poems from this great body of literature through translations and explications that are sensitive both to the poems' theological and poetic values. These explications restore liturgical poetry to its rightful role as a repository of Jewish religious thought and experience and point the way to important future research. The book is essential reading for a fuller understanding of Jewish thought and worship.'
Ray Scheindlin

‘Perceptive, original and thought provoking, this slim volume presents a real contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Piyyut.'
Journal of Jewish Studies

In the Middle Ages, unconventional theological views were often expressed in poetic form. Jakob Petuchowski provides parallel texts of ten medieval theological poems in the standard liturgy that express unconventional and daring theological ideas, each with a commentary on the poem and its author, and a survey of Jewish thought on its particular theme.

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