Siddur
Encyclopedia
A siddur is a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 prayer book
Prayer book
A 'prayer book' is a book outlining the 'liturgy' of religious services.In this sense, it may carry the following specific names in various religions:*Breviary or Missal, in Roman Catholicism*Agenda , in Lutheranism...

, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed. A separate article, Jewish prayer, discusses the prayers that appear in the siddur, and when they are said.

History of the siddur

The earliest parts of Jewish prayer book are the Shema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...

("Hear O Israel") (Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...

 6:4 et seq), and the Priestly Blessing
Priestly Blessing
The Priestly Blessing, , also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, , or Dukhanen , is a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim during certain Jewish services...

 (Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....

 6:24-26), which are in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

. A set of eighteen (currently nineteen) blessings called the Shemoneh Esreh or the Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

(Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

, "standing [prayer]"), is traditionally ascribed to the Great Assembly
Great Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...

 in the time of Ezra
Ezra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...

, at the end of the Biblical period.

The name Shemoneh Esreh, literally "eighteen", is an historical anachronism, since it now contains nineteen blessings. It was only near the end of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

 period that the eighteen prayers of the weekday Amidah became standardized. Even at that time their precise wording and order was not yet fixed, and varied from locale to locale. Many modern scholars believe that parts of the Amidah came from the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....

l work Ben Sira
Ben Sira
Jesus ben Sirach , commonly known simply as ben Sirach or Sirach and also rendered "Jesus son of Sirach" or "Jesus Siracides", was the author of the deuterocanonical Wisdom of Sirach and possibly the rabbinical Alphabet of Sirach...

.

According to the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

, soon after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...

 a formal version of the Amidah was adopted at a rabbinical council in Yavne
Yavne
Yavne is a city in the Central District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a population of 33,000.-History:...

, under the leadership of Rabban Gamaliel II
Gamaliel II
Rabban Gamaliel II was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as Nasi after the fall of the second temple, which occurred in 70 CE. Gamliel was appointed nasi approximately 10 years later. Gamaliel II was the son of Shimon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalem's foremost men in the war against the...

 and his colleagues. However, the precise wording was still left open. The order, general ideas, opening and closing lines were fixed. Most of the wording was left to the individual reader. It was not until several centuries later that the prayers began to be formally fixed. By the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 the texts of the prayers were nearly fixed, and in the form in which they are still used today.

The siddur was printed by Soncino
Soncino family (printers)
The Soncino family is an Italian Sephardi Jewish family of printers, deriving its name from the town of Soncino in the duchy of Milan. It traces its descent through a Moses of Fürth, who is mentioned in 1455, back to a certain Moses of Speyer, of the middle of the fourteenth century. The first of...

 in Italy as early as 1486, though a siddur was first mass-distributed only in 1865 . The siddur began appearing in the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 as early as 1538. The first - unauthorized - English translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

, by Gamaliel ben Pedahzur (a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

), appeared in London in 1738; a different translation was released in the United States in 1837.

Creating the siddur

Readings from the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 (five books of Moses) and the Nevi'im
Nevi'im
Nevi'im is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. It falls between the Torah and Ketuvim .Nevi'im is traditionally divided into two parts:...

 ("Prophets") form part of the prayer services. To this framework various Jewish sages added, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns.

The earliest existing codification of the prayerbook was drawn up by Rav Amram Gaon
Amram Gaon
Amram Gaon was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical.He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue...

 of Sura, Babylon, about 850 CE. Half a century later Rav Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...

, also of Sura, composed a siddur, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

. These were the basis of Simcha ben Samuel's Machzor Vitry (11th century France), which was based on the ideas of his teacher, Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...

. Another formulation of the prayers was that appended by Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

 to the laws of prayer in his Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...

: this forms the basis of the Yemenite liturgy, and has had some influence on other rites. From this point forward all Jewish prayerbooks had the same basic order and contents.

Two authoritative versions of the Ashkenazi siddur were those of Shabbetai Sofer in the 16th century and Seligman Baer in the 19th century; siddurim have also been published reflecting the views of Jacob Emden
Jacob Emden
Jacob Emden also known as Ya'avetz, , was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement...

 and the Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...

.

Different Jewish rites

There are differences among, amongst others, the Sephardic (including Spanish and Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...

), Teimani
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...

 (Yemenite),
Chasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

, Ashkenazic
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 (German-Polish), Bené Roma or Italkim and Romaniote
Romaniotes
The Romaniotes or Romaniots are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and neighboring areas with large Greek populations for more than 2,000 years. Their languages were Yevanic, a Greek dialect, and Greek. They derived their name from the old name for the people...

 (Greek, once extending to Turkey and perhaps the southern Italian peninsula) liturgies: see further discussion in the articles on Nusach
Nusach
Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.-Meaning of term:Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in...

and Minhag
Minhag
Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...

. Most of these are slight differences in the wording of the prayers; for instance, Oriental Sephardic and some Hasidic prayer books state "חננו מאתך חכמה בינה ודעת", "Graciously bestow upon us from You wisdom (ḥochmah
Chokhmah (Kabbalah)
Chokhmah in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the uppermost of the Sephirot of the right line . It is derived from the Hebrew word chokhmah which means "wisdom". It is to the bottom right of Keter, and with Binah across it. Under it are the sephirot of Chesed and Netzach...

), understanding (binah
Binah (Kabbalah)
Binah, , in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the second intellectual Sephirah on the tree of life. It sits on the level below Keter , across from Chokmah and directly above Gevurah...

) and knowledge (daat)", in allusion to the Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 sefirot of those names, while the Nusach Ashkenaz, as well as Western Sephardic and other Hasidic versions retain the older wording "חננו מאתך דעה בינה והשכל", "Graciously bestow upon us from You knowledge, understanding, and reason". In some cases, however, the order of the preparation for the Amidah is drastically different, reflecting the different halakhic and kabbalistic formulae that the various scholars relied on in assembling their siddurim, as well as the minhagim, or customs, or their locales.

Some forms of the Sephardi rite are considered to be very overtly kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

, depending on how far they reflect the ritual of Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...

. This is partly because the Tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...

 frequently appears with varying vowel points beneath the letters (unpronounced, but to be meditated upon) and different Names of God appear in small print within the final hei (ה) of the Tetragrammaton. In some editions, there is a Psalm in the preparations for the Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

 that is printed in the outline of a menorah, and the worshipper meditates on this shape as he recites the psalm.

The Ashkenazi rite is more common than the Sephardi rite in America, and it appears that most American congregations follow the order presented in the Nusach Ashkenaz Siddur printed by Mesorah Publications. While Nusach Ashkenaz does contain some kabbalistic elements, such as acrostics and allusions to the sefirot ("To You, God, is the greatness [gedullah], and the might [gevurah], and the glory [tiferet], longevity [netzach],..." etc.), these are not easily seen unless the reader is already initiated. It is notable that although many other traditions avoid using the poem "Anim Zemiroth" on the Sabbath, for fear that its holiness would be less appreciated due to the frequency of the Sabbath, the poem is usually sung by Ashkenazi congregations before concluding the Sabbath Musaf service with the daily psalm. The ark is opened for the duration of the song.

Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari
Nusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century, and, more particularly, the version of it used by Chabad Hasidim....

 refers to the order of the prayers set by Rabbi Isaac Luria, often called "Ari HaKadosh", or "The Holy Lion", and it is generally used by Hasidim. Although the Ari himself was born Ashkenazi, he borrowed many elements from Sephardi and other traditions, since he felt that they followed Kabbalah and Halacha more faithfully. The Nusach HaAri Siddur from Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch notes that he did not publish his siddur, but orally transmitted it to his students with interpretations and certain meditations matched with it. In 1803, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi compiled an authoritative siddur from the sixty siddurim that he checked for compliance with Hebrew grammar, Jewish law, and Kabbalah. Those that use Nusach HaAri claim that it is an all-encompassing nusach that is valid for any Jew, no matter what his ancestral tribe or identity, a view attributed to the Maggid of Mezeritch.

The Mahzor
Mahzor
The mahzor is the prayer book used by Jews on the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized mahzorim on the three "pilgrimage festivals" of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot...

 of each rite is distinguished by hymns (piyyut
Piyyut
A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times...

im
) composed by authors (payyetanim) of the district. The most important writers are Yoseh ben Yoseh, probably in the 6th century, chiefly known for his compositions for Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...

; Eleazer Qalir, the founder of the payyetanic style, perhaps in the 7th century; Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...

; and the Spanish school, consisting of Joseph ibn Abitur
Joseph ibn Abitur
Joseph ibn Abitur was a Spanish rabbi of around the 9th century. He was a student of Moses ben Hanoch.Abitur was from a very prestigious Spanish family from the city of Mérida. His great great grandfather was a communal and Rabbinic leader. Besides being a great Torah scholar, Abitur was also a...

 (died in 970), ibn Gabirol, Isaac Gayyath, Moses ibn Ezra
Moses ibn Ezra
Rabbi Moses ben Jacob ibn Ezra, known as ha-Sallah was a Jewish, Spanish philosopher, linguist, and poet. He was born at Granada about 1055 – 1060, and died after 1138. Ezra is Jewish by religion but is also considered a great influence in the Arabic world in regards to his works...

, Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....

 and Judah ha-Levi, Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides
Nahmanides
Nahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by his acronym Ramban, , was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.-Name:"Nahmanides" is a Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Naḥman"...

) and Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...

. In the case of Nusach HaAri, however, many of these High Holiday piyyutim are absent, since they were created or added to the liturgy after Rabbi Isaac Luria composed and finalized his siddur.

Complete versus weekday siddurim

Some siddurim have only prayers for weekdays; others have prayers for weekdays and Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 (Jewish Sabbath). Many have prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, and the three Biblical festivals, Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...

 (the feast of Tabernacles), Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....

 (the feast of weeks) and Pesach (Passover). The latter are referred to as a Siddur Shalem ("complete siddur").

Variations and additions on holidays

There are many additional liturgical variations and additions to the siddur for the Yamim Noraim (The "Days of Awe"; High Holy Days, i.e. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur). As such, a special siddur has developed for just this period, known as a mahzor
Mahzor
The mahzor is the prayer book used by Jews on the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized mahzorim on the three "pilgrimage festivals" of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot...

(also: machzor). The mahzor contains not only the basic liturgy, but also many piyutim, Hebrew liturgical poems. Sometimes the term mahzor is also used for the prayer books for the three pilgrim festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.

Ashkenazi Orthodox

  • Siddur Ha-Shalem (a.k.a. the Birnbaum Siddur) Ed. Philip Birnbaum
    Philip Birnbaum
    Philip Birnbaum was an author and translator, best known for his translation and annotation of the siddur , first published in 1949.-Biography:...

    . The Hebrew Publishing Company. ISBN 0-88482-054-8 (Hebrew-English)
  • The Metsudah Siddur: A New Linear Prayer Book Ziontalis. (Hebrew-English)
  • The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the British Commonwealth, translation by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
    Jonathan Sacks
    Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Kt is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi...

     (the new version of "Singer
    Simeon Singer
    Simeon Singer was a Jewish preacher, lecturer and public worker.He was born in London, and after a short stay at a Hungarian school, became a student at Jews' College, of which he was subsequently for a time the principal....

    's Prayer Book") (Hebrew-English)
  • The Artscroll
    ArtScroll
    ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...

     Siddur
    , Mesorah Publications (In a number of versions including an interlinear translation and fairly popular today.) (Hebrew, Hebrew-English, Hebrew-Russian, Hebrew-Spanish, Hebrew-French) The " great innovation" of the Artscroll was that it was the first siddur " made it possible for even a neophyte ba’al teshuvah (returnee to the faith) to function gracefully in the act of prayer, bowing at the correct junctures, standing, sitting and stepping back" at the correct place in the service. "
  • Siddur Rinat Yisrael
    Rinat Yisrael
    Rinat Yisrael is a siddur written in Hebrew only, popular among many Modern Orthodox Jews in Israel, and used by some in the Diaspora as well. It was first published in 1970 by the Moreshet Publishing Company, and edited by Dr...

    , Hotsa'at Moreshet, Bnei Brak, Israel. (In a number of versions, popular in Israel.) (Hebrew)
  • Siddur Siach Yitzchak (Hebrew)
  • Siddur Tefilas Kol Peh (Hebrew)
  • Siddur Tefilas Sh'ai, Feldheim Publishers : Israel/NewYork (Hebrew)
  • Siddur HaGra (reflecting views of the Vilna Gaon
    Vilna Gaon
    Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...

    )
  • Siddur Aliyos Eliyahu (Popular among followers of the Vilna Gaon who live in Israel and abroad) (Hebrew)
  • Siddur Kol Bo (Hebrew)
  • Koren Sacks Siddur
    Koren Siddur
    The Koren Siddur refers to a family of siddurim published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem beginning in 1981.Eliyahu Koren began work on a new prayerbook in the 1970s. Koren created Koren Book Type for the project, and an innovative design for which the siddur would become famous...

    (Hebrew-English), Koren Publishers Jerusalem
    Koren Publishers Jerusalem
    Koren Publishers Jerusalem is an Israeli publisher of Jewish religious texts. It was established in 1961 by Eliyahu Koren, with the aim of publishing the first Hebrew Bible designed, edited, printed, and bound by Jews in nearly 500 years...

    : based on latest Singer's prayer book, above (described as the first siddur to "pose a fresh challenge to the ArtScroll dominance.")

Spanish and Portuguese Jews

(Characterised by relative absence of Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 elements:)

  • Book of Prayer: According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews David de Sola Pool
    David de Sola Pool
    David de Sola Pool was an American rabbi and writer.-Early life and education:He was born in London, England, and later received his rabbinic ordination from the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary, located in Berlin, Germany.-Career:In 1907, de Sola Pool was invited to become the minister of...

    , New York: Union of Sephardic Congregations, 1979
  • Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, London. Volume One: Daily and occasional prayers. Oxford (Oxford Univ. Press, Vivian Ridler
    Vivian Ridler
    Vivian Ridler, CBE , was an English printer, typographer and scholar, born in Cardiff. He was Printer to the University of Oxford at Oxford University Press from 1958 until his retirement in 1978...

    ), 5725 - 1965.

Greek, Turkish and Balkan Sephardim

(Usually characterised by presence of Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 elements:)
  • Siddur Zehut Yosef (Daily and Shabbat) According to the Rhodes and Turkish Traditions, Hazzan Isaac Azose, Seattle, Washington: Sephardic Traditions Foundation, 2002

North African Jews

(Usually characterised by presence of Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 elements:)
  • Siddur Od Abinu Ḥai ed. Levi Nahum: Jerusalem (Hebrew only, Livorno text, Libyan tradition)
  • Mahzor Od Abinu Ḥai ed. Levi Nahum (5 vols.): Jerusalem (Hebrew only, Livorno text, Libyan tradition)
  • Siddur Vezaraḥ Hashemesh, ed. Messas
    Chalom Messas
    Shalom Messas, , was the Chief Rabbi of Morocco from 1961 until 1978, when he made aliyah to become the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, in which position he served until his death...

    : Jerusalem (Hebrew only, Meknes tradition)
  • Siddur Ish Matzliaḥ, ed. Mazuz, Machon ha-Rav Matzliah: B'nei Brak (Hebrew only, Djerba tradition)
  • Siddur Farḥi (Hebrew with Arabic translation, Egypt)
  • Siddur Tefillat ha-Ḥodesh, ed. David Levi, Erez : Jerusalem (Hebrew only, Livorno text, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian traditions)http://www.orvishua.org.il/heb/books/dif.php
  • Siddur Patah Eliyahou, ed. Joseph Charbit, Colbo: Paris (Hebrew and French, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian traditions)http://www.librairie-du-progres.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1458&cat=La+Pri%E8re+Juive
  • Mahzor Zechor le-Avraham, Yarid ha-Sefarim : Jerusalem (Based on the original Zechor le-Abraham: Livorno 1926, Hebrew only, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian traditions, days of awe only)
  • Siddur Darchei Avot (Moroccan)
  • Siddur Oro shel Olam

Middle Eastern Mizrachim (Sephardim)

(Usually characterised by presence of Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 elements:)

Syrian
Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today's Syria from ancient times Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern...

  • The Aram Soba Siddur: According to the Sephardic Custom of Aleppo Syria Rabbi Moshe Antebi, Jerusalem: Aram Soba Foundation, 1993
  • Siddur Abodat Haleb / Prayers from the Heart Rabbi Moshe Antebi, Lakewood, New Jersey: Israel Book Shop, 2002
  • Kol Yaacob: Sephardic Heritage Foundation, New York, 1990.
  • Bet Yosef ve-Ohel Abraham: Jerusalem, Manṣur (Hebrew only, based on Baghdadi text)
  • Orḥot Ḥayim, ed. Yedid: Jerusalem 1995 (Hebrew only)
  • Siddur Kol Mordechai, ed. Faham bros: Jerusalem 1984 (minhah and arbit only)
  • Abir Yaakob, ed. Haber: Sephardic Press (Hebrew and English, Shabbat only)
  • Orot Sephardic Siddur, Eliezer Toledano: Lakewood, New Jersey, Orot Inc. (Hebrew and English: Baghdadi text, Syrian variants shown in square brackets)
  • Maḥzor Shelom Yerushalayim, ed. Albeg: New York, Sephardic Heritage Foundation 1982

Israeli, following Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...

  • Ohr V’Derech Sephardic Siddur
  • Siddur Yeḥavveh Daat
  • Siddur Avodat Ha-shem
  • Siddur Ḥazon Ovadia
  • Siddur L'maan Shmo

Edot Hamizrach (Iraqi)
  • Tefillat Yesharim: Jerusalem, Manṣur (Hebrew only)
  • Siddur Od Yosef Ḥai
  • Kol Eliyahu, ed. Mordechai Eliyahu
    Mordechai Eliyahu
    Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ) was a prominent rabbi, posek and spiritual leader. He served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993.-Biography:...

  • Siddur Rinat Yisrael
    Rinat Yisrael
    Rinat Yisrael is a siddur written in Hebrew only, popular among many Modern Orthodox Jews in Israel, and used by some in the Diaspora as well. It was first published in 1970 by the Moreshet Publishing Company, and edited by Dr...

    - (Edot Hamizrach edition), Hotsa'at Moreshet, Bnei Brak, Israel. (Hebrew)

Baladi

  • Siddur Tiklal: Tzalach Yihiyeh Ben Yehuda, 1800
  • Siddur Tiklal: Torath Avoth http://www.chayas.com/temanbooks.htm
  • Siddur Siaḥ Yerushalayim: Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ
    Yosef Qafih
    Yosef Qafih , widely known as Rabbi Kapach , was one of the foremost leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community, first in Yemen and later in Israel. He was the grandson of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, also a prominent Yemenite leader and grandson of the founder of the Dor Deah movement in Yemen...

    /Kapach
    http://www.chayas.com/temanbooks.htm
  • Tiklal Ha-Mefoar (MAHARITS) Nusahh Baladi, Meyusad Al Pi Ha-Tiklal Im Etz Hayim Ha-Shalem Arukh Ke-Minhag Yahaduth Teiman: Bene Berak : Or Neriyah ben Mosheh Ozeri, [2001 or 2002] http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/daym/he_nt200408hebrew.htm

Shami

  • Siddur Tefillat HaḤodesh - Beit Yaakov, Nusaḥ Sepharadim, Teiman, and Edoth Mizraḥ
  • Siddur Kavanot HaRashash, Shalom Sharabi
    Shalom Sharabi
    Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a...

    , Publisher: Yeshivat HaChaim Ve'Hashalom

Chassidic Siddurim

  • Siddur Tehillat HaShem
    Tehillat HaShem
    Tehillat HaShem is the name of a prayer-book used for Jewish services in synagogues and privately amongst Hasidic Jews, specifically in the Chabad-Lubavitch community...

    (the version currently used by Chabad-Lubavitch
    Chabad-Lubavitch
    Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...

    )
  • Siddur Torah Or (the Alter Rebbe's original edition)
  • Nusach Sefard
    Nusach Sefard
    Nusach Sefard is the name for various forms of the Jewish siddur, designed to reconcile Ashkenazi customs with the kabbalistic customs of the Ari. To this end it has incorporated the wording of Nusach Edot Mizrach, the prayer book of Sefardi Jews, into certain prayers...

    Siddurs

Conservative Judaism

  • Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book Ed. Morris Silverman
    Morris Silverman
    Morris Silverman was an eminent Conservative rabbi as well as a writer.Silverman was born in Newburgh, New York on November 19, 1894...

     with Robert Gordis
    Robert Gordis
    Robert Gordis was a leading Conservative rabbi. He founded the first Conservative Jewish day school, served as President of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Synagogue Council of America, and was a professor at Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1940 to 1992.He wrote one of the first...

    , 1946. USCJ and RA
  • Weekday Prayer Book Ed. Morris Silverman
    Morris Silverman
    Morris Silverman was an eminent Conservative rabbi as well as a writer.Silverman was born in Newburgh, New York on November 19, 1894...

    , 1956. USCJ
  • Weekday Prayer Book Ed. Gershon Hadas with Jules Harlow, 1961, RA.
  • Siddur Sim Shalom
    Siddur Sim Shalom
    Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....

     Ed. Jules Harlow
    Jules Harlow
    Jules Harlow is a rabbi and liturgist; son of Henry and Lena Lipman Harlow. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa.In 1952 at Morningside College in Sioux City he earned a B.A., and from there went to New York City to study in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; here he became ordained as a rabbi...

    . 1985, 980 pages, RA and USCJ.
  • Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals Ed. Lawrence Cahan, 1998, 816 pages. RA and USCJ.
  • Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays Ed. Avram Israel Reisner, 2003, 576 pages. RA and USCJ.
  • Siddur Va'ani Tefilati Ed. Simchah Roth, 1998, 744 pages. Israeli Masorti Movement and Rabbinical Assembly of Israel. Hebrew.
  • Va'ani Tefilati: Siddur Yisre'eli Ed. Ze'ev Kenan, 2009, 375 pages. Israeli Masorti Movement and Rabbinical Assembly of Israel. Hebrew.
  • Siddur Lev Yisrael
    Siddur Lev Yisrael
    Siddur Lev Yisrael is a siddur written by Cheryl Magen and published by the Ktav Publishing House. The siddur was developed in part, as an initiative of Camp Ramah...

     Ed. Cheryl Magen, 1998, 432 pages. Camp Ramah
    Camp Ramah
    Camp Ramah is a network of Jewish summer camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and Israel. Ramah camps serve kosher food and are Shabbat-observant.-History:...

    . Hebrew.

Progressive and Reform Judaism

  • Ha-Avodah Shebalev, The prayer book of The Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, Ed. The Council of Israel Progressive Rabbis (MARAM), 1982
  • The Companion to Ha-Avodah Shebalev published by Congregation Har-El Jerusalem in 1992 to help English-speaking immigrants and visitors; Hebrew pages from the original Ha-Avodah Shebalev, English translations from Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayer Book
    Gates of Prayer
    Gates of Prayer, the New Union Prayer Book is a Reform Jewish siddur that was announced in October 1975 as a replacement for the 80-year-old Union Prayer Book , incorporating more Hebrew content and was updated to be more accessible to modern worshipers...

    with additional translations by Adina Ben-Chorin.
  • Seder ha-Tefillot: Forms of Prayer: Movement for Reform Judaism, London 2008, ISBN 0947884130; ISBN 978-0947884130 Official prayer book of the Reform movement in Britain
  • Liberal Jewish Prayer Book: Vol. 1 (Services for Weekdays, Sabbaths, Etc.), 1926, 1937; Vol. 2 (Services for The Day of Memorial {Rosh Hashanah} and The Day of Atonement), 1923, 1937; Vol. 3 (Services for Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles), 1926; all published by the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, U.K.
  • Service of the Heart: Weekday Sabbath and Festival Services and Prayers for Home and Synagogue, Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, London, 1967
  • Gate of Repentance: Services for the High Holidays, Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, London, 1973
  • Siddur Lev Chadash, Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, UK, 1995.
  • Machzor Ruach Chadashah, Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, London, 2003.
  • Olat Tamid: Book of Prayers for Jewish Congregations

All of the following published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....

:
  • Union Prayer Book
    Union Prayer Book
    The Union Prayer Book was a siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States.-History:...

    , vol. 1 (Sabbath, Festivals, and Weekdays)
    , 1895, 1918, 1940; vol. 2 (High Holidays), 1894, 1922, 1945
  • Gates of Prayer
    Gates of Prayer
    Gates of Prayer, the New Union Prayer Book is a Reform Jewish siddur that was announced in October 1975 as a replacement for the 80-year-old Union Prayer Book , incorporating more Hebrew content and was updated to be more accessible to modern worshipers...

    : The New Union Prayer Book
    , 1975
  • Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayer Book, 1978, 1996
  • Gates of Prayer for Shabbat and Weekdays: A Gender Sensitive Prayerbook, 1994
  • Mishkan T'filah
    Mishkan T'filah
    Mishkan T'filah—A Reform Siddur is a prayer book prepared for Reform Jewish congregations in the United States by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and released to the general public in 2007...

    [Tabernacle of Prayer]: A Reform Siddur, 2007
  • Mishkan T'filah for Gatherings: A Reform Siddur, 2009
  • Mishkan T'filah for Travelers: A Reform Siddur, 2009

Reconstructionist Judaism

  • Prayer Books edited by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan and others:
    • Sabbath Prayer Book, Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1945
    • High Holiday Prayer Book (Vol. 1, Prayers for Rosh Hashanah; Vol. 2, Prayers for Yom Kippur), Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1948
    • Supplementary Prayers and Readings for the High Holidays, Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1960
    • Festival Prayer Book, Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1958
    • Daily Prayer Book, Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1963
  • Hadesh Yameinu (Renew our days): a book of Jewish prayer and meditation, edited and translated by Rabbi Ronald Aigen. Montreal (Cong. Dorshei Emet), 1996.
  • Kol Haneshamah Prayerbook series, ed. David Teutsch:
    • Erev Shabbat: Shabbat Eve, Reconstructionist Press, 1989
    • Shirim Uvrahot: Songs, Blessings and Rituals for the Home, Reconstructionist Press, 1991
    • Shabbat Vehagim: The Sabbath and Festivals, Reconstructionist Press; 3rd edition (August 1, 1998)
    • Limot Hol: Daily Prayer Book, Reconstructionist Press; Reprint edition (September 1, 1998)
    • Kol Haneshamah: Prayers for a House of Mourning, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (October 10, 2001)
    • Kol Haneshamah: Mahzor Leyamim Nora'Im, Fordham University Press; Bilingual edition (May 1, 2000)

See also

  • The Transliterated Siddur
    The Transliterated Siddur
    The Transliterated Siddur refers to Siddur Ba-Eir Hei-Teiv—The Transliterated Siddur, a Jewish prayerbook first published on the internet in 1997, and the first to transliterate the entire service...

  • Jewish services
    Jewish services
    Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....

  • Nusach
    Nusach
    Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.-Meaning of term:Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in...

  • Amidah
    Amidah
    The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

  • List of Jewish prayers and blessings
  • Amram Gaon
    Amram Gaon
    Amram Gaon was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical.He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue...

  • Eleazar Kalir
    Eleazar Kalir
    Eleazar ben Kalir was one of Judaism's earliest and most prolific of the paytanim, liturgical poets. Many of his hymns have found their way into festive prayers of the Ashkenazi Jews synagogal rite....

  • Siddur of Saadia Gaon
    Siddur of Saadia Gaon
    The Siddur of Saadia Gaon is the earliest surviving attempt to transcribe the weekly ritual of Jewish prayers for week-days, Sabbaths, and festivals . The text also contains liturgical poetry by Saadia, as well as Arabic language commentary...

  • Torah database
    Torah database
    A Torah database is an electronic collection of classic Jewish texts in electronic form, the kinds of texts which especially in Israel are often called "The Traditional Jewish Bookshelf" ; the texts are in their original languages...

    s (for electronic Hebrew texts of the siddur with vowels)
  • Sephardic law and customs
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