What is Siddur and its meaning in Judaism - מה הוא סידור ומשמעותו ביהדות

What is Siddur and its meaning in Judaism - מה הוא סידור ומשמעותו ביהדות

When we touch on Judaism then we slowly realize that a lot of things are right for Seder. It means an order such as Seder Pesach - פסח Seder Rosh Chodesh - ראש חודש. One of the most important liturgical compilations in Judaism is the Siddur or Sidur - סידור (from the Hebrew root סדר - Seder meaning order). It contains a time-based order of daily prayers often accompanied by commentaries and instructions, and the Sabbath liturgy for the whole year. We do not know if there was any Suddur in the time of Sages but understand that the origin of modern Sidur stems from their narratives for example meet our full prayers in the Tractate Berachot (Blessings) of Babylonian - Bavli בבלי and Jerusalem - ירושלמי Talmud. The siddur is used at formal synagogue services by observant Jews who are required to recite prayers three times daily: early morning, or morning light (Shaharit), afternoon (Minhah), and evening nightfall (‘Arvit or Ma’ariv). The order of prayers known to us today was formally fixed over many centuries. 

By the 8th century CE, two major Jewish liturgical rites had developed: the Erets Yisra’el or Palestinian rite which flourished until the 12th century CE, becoming known to the scholarly world only in the 19th century CE, and the Babylonian rite, a product of the famed Jewish academies in Babylonia that thrived between the 4th and 11th centuries CE.

Some of the earliest Jewish liturgies were compiled in Sura, Babylonia by Rav Amram Gaon and Rav Saadia Gaon, in 850 and 950 CE respectively. From these two major ancient usages, various localized rites emerged in Jewish communities living in Ashkenaz (Franco-German lands), the Byzantine Empire, Italy, Sepharad (Iberian Peninsula), Provence, Yemen, and other areas. The Italian usage belongs to the Palestinian group who kept a unique set and order of prayers, cantillation style, melodies, and original liturgical songs. This distinctive rite is known as Kahal Kadosh Roma (of the sacred community of Rome) or Bene Roma (of the sons of Rome), emphasizing the importance of Rome.

This Italian rite siddur dated 1469 CE, was copied and illustrated by the famed scribe/artist Joel ben Simeon Feibush, for patrons Menahem ben Samuel and his daughter Maraviglia. It features three types of script: Ashkenazi vocalized (with vowels) square, Italian non-vocalized semi-cursive, and Sephardi vocalized square scripts. The manuscript contains decorations, including drawings of animals and dragons, numerous embellished initial words and initial-word panels, as well as marginal illustrations, some depicting figures wearing contemporary costumes and headgear.

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