ABSTRACT
This collection of shba¥oth offers a glimpse into the world of religious song in the Babylonian Jewish tradition. The texts of many of these songs have been sung for hundreds of years, and the melodies have been known for many generations. The 25 poetic texts shown here, primarily in Hebrew, but also in Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic, are part of some 350 shba¥oth texts printed in publications such as Man£our of which about 100 are known and performed today.1 Perhaps their greatest fascination and strength lies in the social dimension, that of singing the songs in the company of family and friends, often around a dining table, in between or after courses of Sabbath and festive meals, and at life cycle celebrations.
