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 ''
siddur'' 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.
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 worshi ...
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".]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 o ...
.[ The Hebrew text was that of Seligman Baer'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 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 so-called "Minhag Anglia".) In 1915 the Bloch Publishing Company published an American version, ''The Standard Prayer Book'', which was widely used until the introduction of Philip Birnbaum's ''Ha-Siddur Ha-Shalem'' in 1949.
The ''siddur'' was expanded in 1917 under Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz; 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, was completely re-typeset; also the translation was amended where it had become unclear or archaic
Archaic is a period of time preceding a designated classical period, or something from an older period of time that is also not found or used currently:
*List of archaeological periods
**Archaic Sumerian language, spoken between 31st - 26th cent ...
, 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 penned a new translation, with commentary, instructions, laws & rubrics; this Fourth Edition formed the basis for the Koren Sacks Siddur 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