UC Berkeley

This dissertation examines the intersections of lyric poetry and piyyut (medieval Hebrew liturgical poems) in two historical contexts where the genre of lyric and the notion of the "East" have been placed in a false dichotomy. The first half of the dissertation traces the evolution of the terms "lyric" and "piyyut" in the Middle East and Europe from the Hellenistic period to the nineteenth century, focusing on Hebrew, German, and English literature, scripture, and philosophy. The second half leaps forward to the contemporary work of two Israeli-Mizrahi poets of Moroccan descent, Erez Biton (b. 1942) and Shimon Adaf (b. 1972), exploring how these poets generate lyric poetics and piyyutic intertextuality and how they channel the conventions of these genres to communicate and challenge Mizrahi identity politics.The dissertation's central conclusion is mirrored in both halves, revealing how the term "lyric" has been defined by European actors as a medium of individual autonomy and how this definition has been used to argue that poets of non-European origins lack the capabilities and dispositions needed to create lyric consciousness in their work. This is evident in nineteenth century lyric theory in Germany and England, where "oriental" poetry (mainly in Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian) is often defined as too devotional or disposed to despotism; and in the State of Israel, where Mizrahi poetry is frequently segregated from the main corpus of Hebrew Literature as critics accuse it of being too prosaically committed to its thematic materials and sociological positioning within Israeli ethno-economic stratification. By returning to the discursive origins of the lyric genre and treating it as a malleable cognitive concept, the dissertation demonstrates the contingency of the notion of lyric as the medium of autonomous expression. This approach shows that lyric self-consciousness has always been accessible through means other than total autonomous individuation, especially intertextual poetic techniques that generate heteronomous self-expression. In this vein, the dissertation illustrates how classic piyyut offers polyphonic intertextual rhyming structures and how modern Mizrahi poets channel this staple of piyyut into constituting original lyric personhood structures. This methodological emphasis allows us to see piyyut is a variant model of lyric poetry and to analyze Mizrahi poetry by focusing on its lyric forms and not only its content. To substantiate these large claims, the dissertation makes several overarching arguments throughout its chapters: During medieval times (fourth to fourteenth centuries) in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean basin, poetic devices began to appear more frequently across various languages from both Semitic and Indo-European families. These devices (e.g., rhyme, acrostics, alliteration) contributed to making poetry “denser” or more “artificed.” This density was achieved using fewer words and shorter lines that carried more meaning through formal and intertextual techniques, allowing words to possess meanings far beyond their denotation. As these devices developed across different cultures, by the 14th century, the poetic corpora of European and Middle Eastern languages had become more similar than ever before. In Europe, these devices were incorporated into genres described contemporaneously or retrospectively as lyric forms (e.g., ode, ballad, sonnet). During Europe's Enlightenment and Romantic periods, a new focus on “oriental poetry,” specifically poetry in Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew, fostered a rich intellectual conversation about the lyric. Based on the notion of the lyric as the least mimetic classical genre, and with the influence of the long East-West development of dense verse, this dialogue allowed thinkers to first conceive of lyric poetry as a genre that mediates through self-expression the universal aesthetic apprehension of the world and particular cultural differences. This discourse marked Western lyric poetry as a literary medium of autonomous expression while deeming oriental poetry as inherently heteronomous. The history of this conversation, which intermingled lyric theory and Orientalism is often overlooked. Yet, it is crucial for understanding the twentieth and twenty-first century persistent assertions that lyric poetry is an inherently secular and autonomous genre. By retracing the origins of this idea, the dissertation identifies an alternative path that views religious, heteronomous poetry such as piyyut as capable of generating lyric self-consciousness through different means. Intertextual rhyme is the primary device for piyyutic lyric self-consciousness, combining midrashic exegesis with alliterative sound-play norms. This device creates an expansive, open interpretive field, inviting readers to engage with the poem by connecting similar-sounding phrases, in-text meanings, and the interplay of evoked texts that clarify or contradict one another. Poetry is thus made “lyrical” by enabling words and allusions to work together to produce novel, indeterminate meanings. In doing so, piyyut and piyyut-like poetry do not assume autonomy or primacy as prerequisites for lyric consciousness, as they inherently rely on other texts and speakers to generate meaning. In post-1948 Israel, hegemonic groups have used the concept of lyric to marginalize Mizrahi poetry, often treating it as a thematic supplement rather than a core component of Hebrew poetics. Recent approaches to Mizrahi literature do better by arguing for this poetry’s recognition as minor literature within Hebrew literature or as a manifestation of Israeli cultural hybridization. Without negating these perspectives, my dissertation emphasizes the importance of examining Mizrahi literature as poetry unto itself and not only by the labor it performs towards other aspects of Hebrew literature and culture. This can be achieved by reading Mizrahi poetry for its lyric forms, particularly the new formations of lyric personhood and the revitalization of piyyutic intertextuality. I exemplify this approach through the works of Erez Biton and Shimon Adaf. In Biton's poetry, I trace his engagement with piyyut from his early works in the 1960s and 1970s, highlighting his development of a lyric epistemology shaped by societal stratification and oppression. Biton’s poetic code, characterized by piyyutic intertextuality, multilingualism, and irony, reveals the contingency of supposedly objective language and exposes alternative configurations of meaning by emphasizing the gap between hegemonic language and the reality it fails to describe. I also situate Biton’s lyric practice within and against the poetics of the Israeli Statehood Generation, particularly Natan Zach, to demonstrate the intergenerational dynamics linking his work to the preceding major generation of poetry. By doing so, I establish Biton’s place in the dual lineages of piyyut and modern Hebrew poetry. Adaf’s writing, particularly in the poetry volume Aviva-No (2009) and the novel Frost (2010), demonstrates efforts to channel piyyutic writing conventions to transcend biographical readings and achieve a Mizrahi phenomenology not constrained by colloquial identity discourse. In a dual endeavor to find the alterity central to his idea of identity and to find how melancholic writing can sublimate absence into presence, Adaf uses piyyutic intertextuality to provide a complex understanding of identity committed to specific biographical events without being confined to the idea of a biography. In these writings, Adaf interrogates and pushes to its limit the recent trend of biographic poetry by offering a structure of lyric personhood that relates to life history in the same indeterminate way that tradition refers to scripture. By examining these works, the dissertation challenges traditional identity politics that emphasize fixed notions of sameness. Instead, it promotes a radical understanding of identity that embraces alterity and fluidity, offering a nuanced perspective on how self-expression can offer lyric forms that manifest collective identities and histories. My research highlights the significant yet often overlooked role of piyyut in modern Hebrew literature, arguing for its relevance and transformative potential in contemporary poetic expressions. Engaging with scholars like Chana Kronfeld, Gil Anidjar, Haviva Pedaya, and Lital Levy, this dissertation redefines the scope of "New Hebrew Literature," challenging the secularized assumptions that have historically governed the field. It advocates for a rethinking of this literary category, emphasizing the interconnectedness and mutual influence of diverse literary traditions, integrating secular literary origins and traditional liturgy. This approach fosters inclusivity and diversity, encouraging an open-ended exploration within Hebrew literature that honors its European and Middle Eastern roots, recognizing the rich tapestry of cultural and poetic exchanges that have shaped its evolution.