The Authorised Daily Prayer Book (formally The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, commonly known as Singer's Prayer Book or Singer's Siddur) was an English translation of the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...

'' created by

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

Simeon Singer Simeon Singer (1846–1906) was an English Rabbi, preacher, lecturer and public worker. He is best known for his English translation of the ''Authorised Daily Prayer Book'', informally known as the "Singer's Siddur". Biography Personal life and ...

. First published in 1890, it has gone through many editions, and is still used in many British Orthodox

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

s and homes. Singer's goal was "to unite accuracy and even literalness with due regard to English idiom, and to the simplicity of style and diction which befits the language of prayer". The ''siddur'' became popular not only due to the quality of its translation, and its relatively compact size, but also because the Montefiore family paid for its production, allowing it to be sold for one

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

. The Hebrew text was that of

Seligman Baer Seligman (Isaac) Baer (1825–1897) was a Masoretic scholar, and an editor of the Hebrew Bible and of the Jewish liturgy. He was born in Mosbach, the northern district of Biebrich, on 18 September 1825 and died at Biebrich-on-the-Rhine in Marc ...

's classic ''Avodat Yisrael'', to which Singer provided an "authorised" version of the liturgy capable of standardising and stabilising the synagogue service and helping to create an "established" Judaism in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, particularly for the

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, representing the central Orthodox movement in Judaism. With 62 congregations (including 7 affiliates and 1 associate, ), comprising 40,000 members, it is the largest ...

(the so-called "Minhag Anglia".) In 1915 the

Bloch Publishing Company Bloch Publishing Company is the oldest Jewish publishing company,Robert Singerman“Bloch & Company: Pioneer Jewish Publishing House in the West”, Jewish Book Annual, Vol. 52, pp. 110-30. and one of the oldest family businesses, in the United St ...

published an American version, ''The Standard Prayer Book'', which was widely used until the introduction of

Philip Birnbaum Philip Birnbaum (; March 30, 1904 – March 19, 1988) was an American religious author and translator. He is best known for his work ''Ha-Siddur ha-Shalem'', a translation and annotation of the Siddur first published in 1949. Biography Birnbaum ...

's ''Ha-Siddur Ha-Shalem'' in 1949. The ''siddur'' was expanded in 1917 under Chief Rabbi

Joseph Hertz Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...

; 1934 saw a "continuous" version, minimising the need for cross-reference, and which also incorporated additional material. The 1962 Second Edition, under Chief Rabbi

Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Austral ...

, was completely re-typeset; also the translation was amended where it had become unclear or archaic, and further additional material had been introduced. The Centenary Edition of 1990 saw an extensively revised translation by Rabbi Eli Cashdan, and also included a series of explanatory notes by Chief Rabbi Lord Jakobovits. In 2006, Chief Rabbi

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United ...

penned a new translation, with commentary, instructions, laws &

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th ...

s; this Fourth Edition formed the basis for the

Koren Sacks Siddur The Koren Siddur refers to a family of siddurim published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem beginning in 1981.http://www.korenpub.com/siddur/siddurcatalog.pdf Eliyahu Koren began work on a new prayerbook in the 1970s. Koren created Koren Book Type fo ...

published 2009.

References

{{reflist

External links

Authorised Daily Prayer Book
on the Open Sidder project.

- Gallery of title pages of all editions since 1890. Siddur versions