מעמדם הליטורגי של פיוטי חטאנו על פי קטעי הגניזה הקהירית

Ḥatanu poems - poems containing the refrain ‘we have sinned, our Maker; forgive us, our Creator' - have long been considered a subgenre of seliḥot. However, a study of the Cairo Genizah fragments containing ḥatanu poems - over 400 in number - reveals an entirely different picture. Here the ḥatanu poems consistently fill a liturgical role distinct from that of seliḥot. For instance, on the weekday fast days, the seliḥot were recited in the sixth benediction of the ʿ Amidah prayer, while the ḥatanu poems were recited as part of taḥanun. In this article I elucidate the specific liturgical role filled by the ḥatanu poems, consider the implications regarding their origin, and, overall, argue that ḥatanu poems should not be categorized as a subgenre of seliḥot poems, but rather as a distinct genre.