Siddur Hiddur Tefillah
A prayer book to beautify our prayers
FAQs
The following questions have come in since I launched this page.What Nusach do you use?
I daven nusach Ashkenaz, with some German traditions. I do not plan a nusach Ari or nusach Sfarad edition; remember, this is the siddur that I made for my own use.
Do you include complete Yom Tov davening?
Yes, including the full text of Hoshanot, B'rach Dodi, Tal, Geshem, etc. The only days where I figured the effort outweighed the usefulness were Musaf for Rosh ha-Shannah and all of Yom Kippur, when I use a standard machzor anyway. (The basic Amidah of Rosh ha-Shannah is included, but not Musaf and not the piyyutim.)
Do you have Tefilah Lishlom Medinat Yisrael?
Absolutely. I also have the haftarah and liturgical instructions for Yom ha-Atzma'ut, and liturgy for Yom Yerushalayim. I include an Al ha-Nissim for Yom ha-Atzma'ut, which I discussed on my blog.
How about the prayer for the American government?
Absolutely. I also have the prayer for the safety and success of the American armed forces that is recited at many Orthodox congregations, including where I daven.
Are there Imahot in the Amidah?
No; that's not my tradition. The text hews pretty closely to a "standard" Orthodox siddur. (There are a couple of places where my practice is slightly different, although those are always marked.) However, since there is only one instance of the Amidah, you could paste over that one paragraph in your copy if you wished.
Is it suitable for the calendar in Eretz Yisrael?
That had not been a criterion when I first worked on the siddur's organization and liturgical instructions, but I've made the necessary adjustments.
Is there a translation/transliteration?
No, sorry. I didn't need them, and that would be a massive amount of additional work. weight, and copyright clearance issues.
What font did you use?
Keren 12pt, with Hadar for the larger text. In almost all cases the text does not get smaller than 12pt. (Don't you get frustrated when the once-a-year stuff, when you really need it to be readable, is in type that's too small to read? I know I do!) I did make small tweaks to the font to streamline the reader's ability to correctly pronounce the text.
Is there an accompanying CD or MP3 website?
I was surprised by how many of you asked this! No, I haven't planned on that. There are lots of existing sites that offer recordings of the nusach hatefillah, and it's not clear to me that creating my own would add value to the world.