Baqqashot refer to liturgical poems sung on the Sabbath before Shaharit, the earliest daily prayer service (Jewish Music Research Centre, n.d.). These poems are typically sung between the Jewish holidays Sukkot and Passover. Common themes in baqqashot include highlighting the holiness of the Sabbath, the time the poems are sung, and a Kabalistic (Jewish mysticism) view on G-d. According to Jewish Music Research Centre (n.d.), the origins of baqqashot are unclear, however many assume it originated among Kabbalist groups in Safed, Israel, in the 16th century. Prominent areas of baqqashot development include Syrian, Palestinian, and Moroccan communities, however immigration and assimilation struggles of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews back to Israel, in the 20th century, led to the decline of meaningful traditions like Baqqashot. Fortunately, as of the 1960s, there has been a strong effort to revive such traditions, resulting in them being a more common practice in Sephardic synagogues across Israel.
- Jewish Music Research Centre. (n.d.). Baqqashah (Pl. Baqqashot). Jewish Music Research Centre. https://jewish-music.huji.ac.il/en/content/baqqashah-pl-baqqashot