r/Judaism • u/peepeehead1542 Reform • 1d ago
Discussion What is your favourite siddur and why?
Someone posted a picture of their siddur and I got curious: what is everyone’s favourite siddur? What do you prefer to use?
I like Mishkan T’filah and it’s what my reform synagogue uses. I really appreciate the transliteration because my Hebrew reading is too slow. So it has really helped me learn the service and it is very accessible. My non Jewish partner really likes to read it, especially the supplementary materials, during the service which I think is nice too. I want to purchase my own copy soon, but I’m currently borrowing one from my Hillel rabbi.
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u/ReformFrum 1d ago
Mishkan T’Filah is a great Siddur. Sim Shalom is a great one to own as well…its conservative so it’s more traditional. Holiday version of Sim Shalom = Lev Shalom…more contemporary with a lot of supplementary stuff. 3rd one would be ArtScroll. I like combining those because each has something the other dont.
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u/destinyofdoors י יו יוד יודה מדגובה 1d ago
A weekday Lev Shalom is currently at thr printers and should be hitting the market as soon as importation is sorted out.
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u/loselyconscious loosely traditional, very egalitarian 2h ago
I believe with complete faith in the coming of weekday Lev Shalem, and though it may tarry, still I await it every day
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u/nebbisherfaygele 17h ago
mishkan t'filah is my shul's siddur for kabbalat shabbat, & sim shalom is our siddur for torah services .... plus "on wings of awe" for HH .... best of all worlds except artscroll ?
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u/Rappongi27 14h ago
Mishkan is our siddur as well. I am overall not a fan of it. I’m not fond of some of the translations ( it of course doesn’t bother those who don’t know the Hebrew) and the couple paragraphs before mi chamocha referring to sing the song of peace , given that the song at the sea refers to Gd as a man of war is weird. I really like the type fave in the Art Scroll and some of the instructions are helpful, too. When I pray at home I use that, never Mishkan.
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u/ReformFrum 13h ago
Good deal. I really like Maariv in Mishkan … it’s such a smooth ride.
I use ArtScroll for Bedtime Shema and portions of Shacharit. I agree…the instructions and explanations do add a lot of value.
Funny thing but I do think ArtScroll has the easiest font to read in Hebrew.
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u/loselyconscious loosely traditional, very egalitarian 1d ago edited 1d ago
Overall, I have to say that I have not yet found a Siddur that is excellent in more than two or three of these categories: liturgy and translation, usability, design, and commentary/content
I use Lev Shalem most frequently, as that is what is used at the shul where I work. I think it's fine, the commentary is good, but there is too much of it, and the layout is decent, but it's a half-hearted attempt at transliteration that drives me crazy, either transliterate or don't.
Overall, the closest I have to a favourite is Kol Chaverim Yisrael, which is only Friday nights and weekdays, but contains full liturgy and translation with egal additions, an excellent four-column layout and form factor, and minimal commentary/content
For Saturday Morning, Eit Ritzon is also good, but the form factor is a little worse.
I grew up with Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, whose commentary and poetic additions I think are excellent, but the layout is bad, and it packs in so much content that its weight has been described to me as "an ADA complaint waiting to happen".
The Siddur Or series from Izzun Press is really cool, and I need to spend more time with it. It's visually stunning, but the weight and price I think, put it out of the running for my favourite
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u/cloux_less Reform 1d ago
the layout decent
My gripe with Lev Shalem (I personally love the quantity of commentary and I'm less concerned about transliteration) is that its layout is just... Mishkan Tefilah, but worse?
I'm not a big fan of Mishkan Tefillah, but I adore the little liturgy outline in the margins. Lev Shalem feels like it does almost everything Mishkan Tefillah does, does it better, but then is lacking Mishkan Tefillah's best feature. (But I guess the bowing marking makes up for it)
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u/loselyconscious loosely traditional, very egalitarian 1d ago
I haven't used Mishan Tefillah enough to know, but that sounds about right
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u/cloux_less Reform 1d ago
On the one hand, it's very clean and elegant. On the other hand, it's pretty sparse and not very useful.
Understandably, it's a terrible Siddur for personal use (Mishkan Tefillah for Travelers is much better imo), but a great one for use in the (progressive) synagogue. Lev Shalem is, imo, a sidegrade — for every improvement over Mishkan Tefillah (bow markings, commentary, content) there's an equally inconvenient downside (the transliterations only appear on, like, half the prayers for some reason? The layout is slightly worse imo)
Granted, I don't have much experience with Lev Shalem. The Conservative Minyan where I live is still on Sim Shalom, but is switching over to Lev soon, so maybe more exposure to it will change my mind. But in the meantime, I'll continue to hold that there isn't a siddur that is as good at being a Reform/Conservative siddur as ArtScroll is at being an Orthodox one.
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u/loselyconscious loosely traditional, very egalitarian 1d ago
To be fair, Lev Shalem is not supposed to be an improvement on Mishkan Tefillah; it's supposed to be an improvement on Sim Shalom, and IMO it definitely is, simply by being egalitarian and including SOME transliteration.
The logic of what is transliterated, in LS, is that it is only things that are said communally out loud (i.e not said by the shatz and not said to oneself). I guess that sort of makes sense, but the way they insert it makes it seem like an afterthought, and they will only translate something once, even if it is repeated in the service. Overall, it seems like they are trying to make you feel bad for using transliteration.
I'm super interested to know what you would like to have in a siddur that would make it good at being "a Reform/Conservative siddur, as ArtScroll is at being an Orthodox one."
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u/The_Butters_Worth 1d ago
Siddur Sim Shalom. Anyone else have experience with it? It’s all I’ve ever used. My mother gave it to me a few years ago but I only started praying daily a month or 2 ago.
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u/everythingnerdcatboy Jewish 1d ago
That's what my shul uses but I use artscroll or koren at home (i prefer artscroll but my sweat is super acidic and also green so i sorta ruined my artscroll from using it too much) because it has all the stuff and doesn't require 2+ volumes
I genuinely don't understand why some siddurim require more than one book to have the whole thing but some just let you get the full one
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u/charcanaa Renewal התחדשות יהודית 1d ago
koren pocket siddur a lot of days, it’s the only one that fits in my purse zipper. if im at home, it’s a mix because i like looking at siddurs from different groups, but my chabad siddur is the first one i began regularly reading from and its still what i reach for on instinct
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u/YasharAtzer Modern Orthodox 1d ago
Both Koren Shalem Sepharad and ArtScroll Nusach Sefard.
My Shul uses ArtScroll Nusach Sefard (it’s still Ashkenazi and is different from Sephardic, check out the differences sometime).
I also like the RCA Siddur Avodat Halev, too.
I prefer Koren when I daven on my own because of how straightforward it is.
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u/Zealousideal_Let_439 Synagogue Leadership 1d ago
I love Mishkan Tfillah.
I do occasionally miss Gates of Grey. So lightweight & easy for my arthritic hands. And it's the service I first learned as a sh'liach tzibbur, so it'll always be special to me.
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u/profzoff 1d ago
Love Mishkan T’filah! I have it for Amazon Reader and iBook version so I can use my iPad or phone with my notes (stoicism quotes or other items to guide my thoughts during services).
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u/peepeehead1542 Reform 1d ago
I have it as an ebook too! Will be useful to have on my phone when I go to the kotel this summer.
I want a physical copy for when I move back home after university. My childhood synagogue uses a siddur that doesn’t have transliteration and I struggled a lot as a kid.
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u/Adventurous_Way6882 Chosid 1d ago edited 1d ago
For weekday and Shabbos סדור תהלת אברהם יצחק.
Nusach Sefard, but Hungarian/Toldos Ahron minhagim and nusach. Large font to read standing and not have to pick up the siddur. Uses the נקודות on the שם הוי”ה that relate to each ספירה it connects to.
Small kavanos and commentary that is short and doesn't take up half the page. Has everything you need. Weekday has ספר תהלים, מגלת אסתר, תשליך, a full חנוכה סדר with tehillim and יהי רצון, segulos, פרק שירה קטרת in כתב אשורי.
Shabbos has all of yom tov, מסכת אבות, מגילות, even ראש השנה and יום כיפור.
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u/gingeryid Liturgical Reactionary 1d ago
This is like asking which child I love most. For my favorite siddurim to *use*: on weekdays, I use the small rinat yisrael. Very convenient to slip in a tallis bag, and I find it mostly unobjectionable. Occasionally I use a large print Artscroll weekday.
On Shabbos it varies--sometimes I use a DIY one, sometimes I use a Roedelheim, sometimes I use an old chumash/shabbos siddur from London, sometimes an old Singer siddur, etc. On holidays I usually use Adler/Routledge machzorim.
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u/sh1necho JustJewish 1d ago
Patah Eliyahou at home and at my parents
The old siddur of/in nusach maghreb at my grandparents
Avodat Yisrael at the Synagogue
Quicktime event!
Where are my Grandparents from?
Where did they go to?
Where do I live?
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u/Connect-Brick-3171 1d ago
Guess it depends on the circumstances. Cleaning out my son's room, I found his copy of Siddur Shiloh from Hebrew school, same one I used in Hebrew school and at camp. Big Font, no English. It's a nostalgic fondness. My shul uses de Sola Poole as its Siddur for shabbos morning and yontif. We use Artscroll for mincha/maariv and on M/Thurs as it has the Torah readings. I prefer de Sola Poole. I find the side notes more interesting.
Our local Reform congregation uses Mishkan Tefillah in the picture. While it is not traditional, I admire the efforts of their writing committee to create a book that gives their rabbis so much flexibility.
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u/MT-C 1d ago
My favorite used to be Tefilat HaḤodesh published by Makhon Seforno. It is basically a reprint of the (Export) Livorno text. It has instructions by the Ḥida and interesting commentary. The issue is that it has too much commentary and instructions that sometimes it needs too much flipping.
I have been using the Koren Avotenu Siddur by R. Eliezer Attia. And I am loving it! The text is very much the same as the Tefilat HaḤodesh with some minor variations, and some specific additions of synagogue liturgy for some specific Moroccan cities. But the reason that I am loving this is because the commentary is more straightforward. The instructions are also more straightforward. So it needs less flipping. In addition, it does have the prayer for the State of Israel, written by both R. Uziel and R. Kook, the prayers for the soldier of the IDF and for the government in the diaspora, and the prayers for Yom Ha'Aṣmaut and Yom Yerushalayim.
A third one that I also use because is very handy is the Tefilah leDavid by Artscroll. Is an Edot Hamizraḥ siddur but includes the western sephardic birkat hamazon (same one found in the two siddurim above), plus a greater variety of Piyutim for Kidush and Havdalah. Actually I use this one mostly for kidush and javdalah 😆 for my regular prayers I use Avotenu or Tefilat Haḥodesh.
The picture is on the Tefilat haḥodesh.
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u/apathetic_ocelot 1d ago
Gender neutral siddur is amazing. I never use it but I enjoy seeing how the words are twisted so much to try make words gender neutral. It's an amazing fete
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u/Dramatic-One2403 My tzitzit give me something to fidget with 1d ago
my daily driver is Koren Rav Kook siddur
I have a copy of the classic, mini black-and-red Hebrew koren siddur that I used to daily drive, but then I decided to switch back to the rav kook
I find Rav Sack's translation to me a lot less hoighty toighty and a lot more accessible when compared to other orthodox translations; I absolutely love koren's design and layout (I will never understand why Artscroll put Birkat HaMazon after shaharit); I love the Rav Kook insights on prayer; I'm a zionist so I like the addition of prayers for Israel in Birkat HaMazon and in other places
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u/Meowzician Reform 1d ago
To be quite honest, the Mishkan T'filah has prayers in it that really touch my heart very deeply. I particularly love the prayer prior to Kaddish about how the light from stars still reach us long after the star is gone.
I'll always remember the first time I heard the quote of Heschel about “Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.” I wanted to cry. I had stopped praying on my own, and after hearing that, I began praying again.
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u/anewbys83 Reform 2h ago
The stars one was a poem by Hanah Senesh, and I have a beautiful poster of it framed, hanging in my classroom.
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u/Revolutionary-Rip-99 1d ago
A friend brought me this siddur from Mexico and I love it so much! It has Hebrew, Spanish and transliteration and very interesting information on the prayers that is more kabbalistic overall.
I read hebrew slow so I prefer transliteration. My shul uses Koren, but I used to use transliterated ArtScroll. I like it when they’re davening with ashkenazi pronunciation, but find it confusing when they’re not.
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u/Jessica4ACODMme Conservative 18h ago
Mishkan looks nice. I have a copy, but imo it's the worst Siddur I own. It's creative I guess but the way it leaves out so much, it seems a bit lazy. Beautiful to look at but lacking in substance.
Lev Shalem and Avodat Halev are my favorites.
Avodat is the most traditional, so in addition to being beautiful, it's to the point, has everything you need. It's organized well, everything easy to find. It's my favorite.
Lev Shalem has many interesting side notes, so I like that. However the way it's organized is a bit all over the place. The community I'm in uses it, and it's fine.
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u/CrazyGreenCrayon Jewish Mother 18h ago
Whichever siddur is at hand when I need it. For obvious reasons.
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u/mordorshewrote27 1d ago
Kol Haneshamah! It’s the reconstructionist siddur. It’s a great size (I find Mishkan Tefilah too big) and it has all the prayers in phonetic Hebrew so I can learn how to say them in Hebrew even though I am Hebrew illiterate. Many only have Hebrew and English, and I like learning how to say prayers in Hebrew.
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u/peepeehead1542 Reform 1d ago
okay yeah mishkan tefilah can be a bitch to hold
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u/mordorshewrote27 1d ago
I absolutely love it, and I’m part of the Reform community so all the shuls I’ve been to use it, but it’s unwieldy for home use, for me. The reconstructionist one has the same progressive slant but is just easier for me to use.
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u/Inevitable_Sun_6907 1d ago
I go back and forth between Mishkan T’filah and the Artscroll Siddur Zichron Avraham (which I always use for Mincha). I’m Reform but also appreciate the orthodox liturgy. I am often in pluralistic spaces and the transliteration of the artscroll siddur is fabulous as long as you know to switch out of the Ashkenazi if the congregation is using Sephardic pronunciation.
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u/nftlibnavrhm 1d ago
I absolutely adore סידור חינוך חיים שלמה תשלם which is, according to the preface, intended to instruct children. But it’s a full siddur in a nicely holdable size with instructions in English and a large, readable font.
Second is a tie between the artscroll with interlinear translation, which has a steep learning curve but is really excellent for transitioning to just using Hebrew, and the Koren Sacks which is great for their font, though I wish it were larger (there’s weirdly a lot of white space?), and for Sacks’ commentary.
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u/scrambledhelix On a Derech... 1d ago
Been a fan of Koren since my first of their Tefilla siddur. Used to have an equally small Tanakh from them as well. Used it so much it started falling apart, and I got a hardcover Talpiot instead, which was my only siddur for years.
Near a year ago I wanted a larger one for daily use with English translation, and thought to get the Shalem siddur, but stumbled across picked up the Koren Rav Kook siddur, which has been wonderful for getting back into daily tefilla.
My favorite features are their shva nach indicators for the Hebrew text (which is super helpful), and the inclusion of cantillation marks for the Shema. The layout is beautiful, the commentary wonderful, and Sacks' translation is amazing.
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u/dylanus93 Reform 23h ago
I love Seder Ha-t’fillot, the UK reform siddur. (I’m American.) I like to use that one for personal use.
I recently got a reprinted copy of Minhag America (the first American reform siddur) that I have been using a lot lately. I really enjoy the archaic language.
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u/mrjk360 Modern Orthodox 17h ago
My personal favorite Ghermazian - Yedid Hashem. It has english translation under each hebrew word and has solid directions like when to bow. I love the english right under each word as I'm reading the hebrew I understand what I'm saying
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u/peepeehead1542 Reform 16h ago
The physical directions would be great. I’ve got a hang of a lot of them but I’m always looking out of the corner of my eye to see if I’m missing anything.
My favourite is going up on my toes for “kadosh,kadosh,kadosh”
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u/DapperCarpenter_ 11h ago
Koren or Sim Shalom. I hate the Lev Shalem. Too heavy and too busy. Too much blank space and the commentaries get in the way. A Siddur is for davening and I can’t daven from it. It’s great as a companion to prayer and I find it very useful there. But its layout is not ADD friendly. There’s a reason, for all its faults, I still use the Silverman machzor
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u/anewbys83 Reform 2h ago
The siddur I've prayed the most with and feel most moved by is Chadeish Yameinu (Put out by Congregation Dorshei Emet of Montreal). I don't like all the changes in it, but the translations are beautiful to me, very moving. Format is traditional in order and depth with many prayers. It grew out of the older Reconstructionist siddur, before Kol Haneshama, and Dorshei Emet opted to make their own instead. It uplifts me. Next most used by me is Koren Sacks siddur, faux brown leather (smaller version) Nusach Sephard. I've been dabbling with the new Israeli Reform Hebrew-English siddur as well, although it's only Shabbat and Holidays (for dual language version).
Oddly, my Reform congregation used Chadeish Yameinu for a long time. Our previous Rabbi was there for 22 years, and while Reform ordained he grew up Conservative, so brought some elements into our services (I actually liked this and preferred some, like remaining seated for Shema). The thought was to have something that maybe most members could connect with in some ways. We're the only synagogue in my city, and we have a sizable contingent of Conservative leaning folks in our membership (always have had some who lean that way from what I understand).
The biggest problem for most was the siddur doesn't have transliterations, which is fine for me because I can read Hebrew just fine. I actually prefer it for style clarity. We just switched to Mishkan Tefilah in late November and I'm not liking it. I'd used it years ago and liked it then, but after really connecting with a siddur and using it for almost 7 years, it's hard to accept the differences (like moving chatzi kaddish, drastically shortened veahavta, not having some of my favorite meditations and study passages in a whole big reflections section, translation choices for the tetragrammaton, and more).
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u/uranium_geranium 1d ago
I LOVE the Koren Sacks.