The Piyut Festival, now in its seventh year, will take place at Beit Avi Chai in the center of Jerusalem, September 2 - October 2, 2014.

A piyut (plural: piyutim) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyutim have been written since Temple times, mostly in Hebrew or Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme.

The Piyutim Festival has a rich program of performances and discussions with multiple performances taking place daily. The performances take a look at piyutim from many different musical angers including a concert called "I Have But One Prayer" when Israeli soul singers render alternative personal prayers; a tribute to the "Ethnic Neighborhood Piyutim" which showcases the sounds and songs that emerged from Israel's young periphery in the 1970s and 80s; and a concert devoted to piyutim from various hassidic courts. In addition there will be a Sufi-Persian-Jewish performance by Eyal Sa'id Mani and the Mekhilta Ensemble and the Firkat al-Nur (The Flame) Orchestra will play tribute to Jewish musicians from Arab countries in a concert called "The Day Will Yet Come".

On September 30, the eclectic Klezmer-style band Ramzeilech that integrates distortion and electronic music with clarinet and mawal (a genre of Arabic vocal music) will launch their new album Tsuzamen ("together", in Yiddish),

In addition  on October 2, at 21:00, there will be a free concert in Safra Square outside City Hall performed by the Ashkelon Andalusian Orchestra and the Knesiyat Hasechel rock band together with piyut specialists (called payytanim) Lior Almaliah and Rabbi David Menahem, in a performance of cross-border piyut and prayer on the day preceding Yom Kippur Eve. 

In addition to the multiple concerts held every day, there will be discussions and workshops on the premises of Beit Avi Chai.