A piyyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, with specific rhymes and rhythms, designed to be sung or chanted during religious services and life cycle events. It expresses the full range of our emotions: praise, thanks, joy, despair, jealousy, anger, longing, and love. We will explore a few piyyutim for the month of Elul, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur. They serve as a salve, softening the hearts of those who pray, and infusing them with kavana- intention, with thankfulness, and with bakashot–requests for forgiveness and pardon. The Piyyutim unlock the gates of the heart.