Isaac ben Judah
ISAAC BEN JUDAH
ISAAC BEN JUDAH (c. 1080), liturgical poet. While it is not known where Isaac flourished, his piyyutim have been included for the most part in the Maḥzor Romania; for that reason Zunz assumed that Isaac must have originally come from the Byzantine Empire. Isaac composed yoẓerot with the corresponding zulatot (hymns) for the four special *Sabbaths, for Shabbat *ha-Gadol, and for Shabbat *Bereshit. He may also have composed an ofan, as well as a seliḥah, for the Fast of *Esther. Content, structure, and stylistic peculiarities of Isaac's poetry indicate that he belonged to the old paytanic school.
bibliography:
Zunz, Lit Poesie, 91, 142–4, 248; Davidson, Oẓar, 4 (1933), 419. add. bibliography: E. Fleischer, Ha-Yoẓerot be-Hithavutam ve-Hitpatteḥutam (1984), 616, 624, 690.
[Jefim (Hayyim) Schirmann]