Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I'm In Love

...with an Orthodox siddur!

I used to be frustrated by siddurrim / prayer books of the supposedly "more religious" persuasions of Judaism.  Not just because of the overwhelming volume of extra texts, anti-feminist words, anti-non-Jewish phrases, and so forth, but just the self-feeling of superiority of the siddurim. I wish I had a way to explain this in more coherent English.

Then I picked up the Koren Sacks Siddur.

Yes, it has all the extra texts, anti-feminist words, anti-non-Jewish phrases, and so on, but it also provides great explanations as to their origins.  Based on the text of the famous Koren Siddur, it features translations and commentary of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of a British union of Judaism, whose brilliance is never grandiloquent.  Naturally, as a British man, he has an amazing sense of the English language that I, as an American, should emulate.  Other than that, his comments provide great explanations and details, sometimes insight into the minds of Jewish sages of yore, and all in amazing presentation.  I haven't felt more excited by a book of prayers in a long time.  Just wait until I give my spiel about the Mishkan T'fillah, the new Reform prayerbook. 

Enough nerdiness.

"I'm in Love" comes from The Rothchilds.

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