FROM THE FOREWORD TO THE PRELIMINARY VOLUME

Blest is God our Lord (rather than the inverse:—‘‘Lord our God”) who caused the Siddur to grow!…

There is no Commentary accompanying this translation, for it is hoped that serious-minded readers will search therefor both in the terms of the renderings and in the copious references. Where there are Seforim on the bookshelves at home or in the local Beth Ha-medrash, studying of the reference books will be encouraged.

In this volume, the reader will come across new renderings of the stock phrases of the Siddur; for instance, blest is used instead of blessed, because, like the original Hebrew, it is a past participle, also, because blest is both meaningful and euphonic. And, for accuracy’s sake: God is our Lord, rather than the other way round.

This edition of the Jewish Prayer Book is designed to exhibit the variety of sources which were utilized in the construction of the Order of Service. Even the variations of print avoid monotony, in line with the variety of sources (Bible, Mishnah, Kabbalah, Talmud etc.) and show the difference in status attached to the different paragraphs that find their place in the Jewish liturgy.

And in the rubric to the right of the translation, in miniscule, there are, usually line by line, but, where unavoidable, overflowing into the subsequent line, references to sources, expository or collateral (often, with a ° above the relevant word) referring the knowledgeable student (as distinct from the uninquiring user) to origins, parallels or later codifyings—let him study and ascertain the purpose of each reference. For in them there isa measure of Comment, while much elucidation is implied in the terms selected for the translation.

Archaisms have been avoided, such as the –eth suffix, as distinct from the –th ending of a short verb, e.g. doth, hath, goeth. These are still current. But –eth, as a separate syllable at the end of a verb, has largely been dropped in modern usage. Occasionally, the plural or ambiguous meanings of the original are deliberately reproduced through similarly elastic English terms. Sometimes, the Hebrew has been transcribed rather than translated. The transcriptions (e.g. Torah, Shimon) approximate to the European Jewish usage which has been adopted for synagogue use in English-speaking lands.

The abbreviations used in the References are alphabetically listed at the end of the text.

This first instalment of the STANDARD SIDDUR—PRAYER BOOK is published in connection with a historic event—the Fortieth Anniversary of the Jewish Secondary Schools Movement of Britain. The two are related, not only through my person, but also ideologically—they both aim to make Orthodox Judaism at home in English-speaking lands. Grateful thanks are due to all those who have sponsored and/or assisted this project. A number of colleagues have helped with valuable suggestions which have been adopted. In particular, the Rev. Dr. Isaac Levy, O.B.E., Rev. Stuart Plaskow, Rabbi Abraham Rosenfeld, Rabbi Chaim Wilschanski and Mr. F. Greenwood, LL.B. kindly read the translation and the references in draft form. The leaders of the two main Adath Yisroel Synagogues, at their head: Mr. Julius Lobenstein and Mr. Moshe Schwarz, as well as numerous friends, especially the family of the late Frederick Frohwein, have helped in covering the cost of this production. To all of them I say yeyasher—may this good deed bring in its wake many others.

May this volume of the Siddur serve to renew the ages-old association between the Almighty and the far-flung nation of them that have been communicating with Him, thereby, for over 3,000 years.

Solomon Shonfeld
London, 1st December, 5730-1969.

AFTERWORD TO THE TRANSLATED SIDDUR

Our object herein has not been to provide a book of Divine worship for English-speaking members of the Jewish faith. That privilege belongs to the authentic Siddur, alone. Jewish Jews will continue to utter their prayers through the original Hebraic terminology. Herein, an attempt has been made to help the praying Jew to understand those classic phrases and sentences which the authentic Siddur sets out. There is in the originals both meaning, as well as feeling.

This Afterword is in addition to the Foreword provided to the Preliminary Siddur volume entitled “Sayings of the Fathers’, which was published four years earlier than this complete text. That Foreword is reproduced below. All its points, explanations and acknowledgments apply to the whole translation and referencing of the Siddur.

Additional acknowledgments are due to Rabbi Asher Cohn of the Hampstead Adath Yisroel, and to my good friend, Arthur L. Dollond, LL.B. They have been a source of inspiration and exactitude in the completion of this work. Mr. Henry Draisey, of Lowe and Brydone (Printers) Ltd., has kindly given much help and advice. This Afterword attempts to supply some more general explanatory notes on a few key expressions of the Siddur and translation.

1. The Divine Name proper is rendered simply: God. Only in the specially solemn Sheymoth Declaration, we trans: late fully: “God-Lord-Eternal” and a similar approach to elucidation occurs in the Thirteen Attributes (p. 117B). El, which means: mighty, for both the Deity and human beings, is rendered to suit the meaning and context, in one of numerous ways. Elohim, derived from the same root, is an enlargement or multiplication of El. In this Siddur, mighty, lord, judge(s), god-like, Lord, Almighty, or God will be found as alternative renderings. Yah, the half-name of God, lends itself to various forms of translation: God, the Deity, the Divine, or a simple transliteration (Yah). As to the vocative אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו heretofore usually rendered: Our God and God of our fathers, this translator has often preferred a variation of these words. Thus, O Lord of us and Lord of our ancestors, makes it clearer that God is a Lord over us, not our own peculiar possession, not a tribal God, but the universal God above us, whom we, particularly, acknowledge as Master.

2. Practically all Benedictions are complicated by a sudden change from the introductory second person, addressed as the Deity, to the descriptive third person in the mid-verses. Earlier translators have tried to resolve this difficulty by using the second person throughout every Benediction, even those with longish centre-pieces. This is contrary to the original. Our solution herein is to translate ‘‘He Who” as a rendering for the heh or asher which introduce the jump to the third person in the second clause and onwards. Thereby, both the Hebrew and the English declare: thou art he who causes this and t’other—the cause of that moment’s Adoration.

The first word of every Benediction—Blest for Baruch, has been referred to in the 1969 Foreword. Here, one further point deserves mention. There is a second Hebrew term for Blessed: mevorach. It occurs in Psalm 113, (the first paragraph of Hallel), in the introductory Borechu response and its accompanying silent prayer, in the Kaddish and in quotations from the Book of Daniel (p. 132). One is not entitled to equate those two different terms. Thus, Blest (baruch), says that God is blest whether or not human beings bless him— He is the blessing. Blessed, on the other hand, is a verb. Human beings have always expresed blessings of Him.

3. MAY IT BE WILLED, is a stock phrase of the Siddur, first found in the Mishnah (Avoth 5,²⁰). Like yehi or in Genesis 1,³, yehi roẓon talks of an emergence out of the divine will-power. God wills and so it comes about. This appeal is thus in line with a fundamental concept of prayer. Man, when he wishes intensely, creates a supporting will in the world of spirit. This willing of the spiritual world is not a mere exercise of man, reacting solely upon and for himself. It has some effect in and reaction from the world of spirit.

4. Ẓedek means, right, in the Courts of law or morals, in the realms of man or higher beings. There is no justification for the oft practised error of introducing “‘righteousness”’ as a rendering of this basic word. When the latter meaning is intended, the wider, collective noun, Ẓedakah, is used in the Hebrew. Even there, righteousness is open to criticism. Firstly, because it has come to smack of self-righteous pride. Secondly, because the Hebrew word is popularly known as meaning charitable giving. This intended meaning must also be included in the rendering. Hence the rendering for Ẓedakah herein is: fair-dealing. Lastly, there is a personal noun formed from this basic word—Ẓaddik. It may mean any person with Faith, or a particularly religious person, someone who is merely right-kind, or a saintly personality. The choice of the correct word for translation in each instance is thus left to the translator, who must naturally be guided by contextual and the other considerations which are properly to be taken into account.

5. Neẓaḥ and its verb, basically, mean: triumph, final victory. In its more spiritual sense, it speaks of long-lasting courses towards a grand finale. “Final” would be wrong— that refers to the end, whereas “finale” refers to a last chapter, which precedes the last curtain—sometimes by quite a long time and much action. Neẓaḥ, repeated, with a plural at the end, is a form of eternity.

6. Yashar—straight, is often used together with “‘heart’’. Straight-hearted is not a felicitous name for honourable man. Straightforward is perhaps a more apt adjective for the kind of human qualities which are so frequently admired in Jewish religious writings. “Straightforward at heart” is better English and better ethics than “straight-hearted”.

Meysharim, a pluralistic form, is used to describe the Deity’s rightness. As it implies a whole sphere and multiplied rectitude, “‘fairness’’ may be an apt rendering.

The above sample expositions on six of our basic terms herein, may serve not only themselves, but also to give an indication of the lines along which this whole translation has been thought out and how meticulously it requires to be read. Small differences between words and phrases have been used in order to convey special meanings. As demonstrated in the Section of Notes concerning the English Usages, Punctuation too, even commas, play their meaning-making role: Thy People, Israel is chauvinistic—thy People Israel, is humble religiousness. They belong to God, as do many others.

It is because of such considerations that book reviewers— even the learned ones, are asked to digest this translation for one complete cycle of twelve months, before they set out to analyze its strengths and weaknesses. Obviously, there must be a number of both, but the wrong reasons should not be encouraged, even if they serve the right conclusions.

It is hoped that this Siddur translation of the 58th century, will be studied and used for at least as long as its popular predecessor of the previous century, Singer’s Prayer Book.

Solomon Schonfeld
22nd May, 5733—1973.