Chapter 24 - Liturgy and Piyut

Summary

While the Byzantine Jewish communities retained Palestinian characteristics, the other European rites were more reminiscent of Babylonia and Spain, and that of Provence reflected its position at the crossroads of Italy, Spain and France. The Ashkenazi rite ultimately became the strongest of the European traditions and was much affected by the German Jewish mystics of the twelfth century. Some authorities applied the rules of biblical Hebrew to the liturgy and others demonstrated a more liberal approach to the participation of women. Grander liturgical volumes appeared in the Ashkenazi communities but rarely matched the beauty of those of the Spanish world. The printing presses of Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Poland at first produced the majority of Jewish prayer-books. Innovative prayers concerning the dead were a feature of Ashkenazi liturgy.