View source for Machzor

{{Short description|Prayer book used by Jews on holidays}}
{{See also|Siddur and mahzor}}
[[File:Amsterdam Mahzor, 058V.jpg|thumb|''[[Amsterdam Machzor]]'', written in [[Cologne]] c. 1250, is one of the earliest illuminated manuscripts of [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi origin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=THE AMSTERDAM MAHZOR |url=https://amsterdammahzor.org/ |website=THE AMSTERDAM MAHZOR |language=en}}</ref> [[Joods Historisch Museum]]]]
[[File:Festival prayer book (Mahzor).jpg|thumb|Mahzor written on [[parchment]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in an [[Italy|Italian]] [[Ktav Ashuri|square script]] and dated to the 14th or 15th century. [[Chester Beatty Library]]]]
The '''''machzor''''' ({{langx|he|[[:wikt: מחזור|מחזור]]}}, plural '''''machzorim''''', {{IPA|he|maχˈzoʁ|pron}} and {{IPA|he|maχzoˈʁim|}}, respectively) is the [[prayer book]] which is used by [[Jews]] on the [[High Holy Days]] of [[Rosh Hashanah]] and [[Yom Kippur]]. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festivals of [[Passover]], [[Shavuot]], and [[Sukkot]]. The ''machzor'' is a specialized form of the ''[[siddur]]'', which is generally intended for use in weekday and [[Shabbat]] services.

The word ''machzor'' means "cycle"; the [[Semitic root|root]] [[:wikt:חזר|ח־ז־ר]] means "to return". The term ''machzor'' originally referred to a book containing prayers for the entire year, including weekdays and [[Shabbat]] as well as holidays. Later (first in [[Ashkenazi]] communities) a distinction developed between the ''[[siddur]]'', which included weekday and Shabbat prayers, and the ''machzor'', which included festival prayers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hebrewbooks.org/21241|title=HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: מבוא למחזור בני רומא -- לוצטו, שמואל דוד בן חזקיה, 1800-1865|website=hebrewbooks.org}}.</ref>  Nevertheless, the original type of Machzor containing all of the prayers for the year continued to be used (even if less common) at least into the 20th century.<ref>See Machzor Kol Bo, Vilna 1923, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20400 Volume 1], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20253 Volume 2], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20298 Volume 3] and [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20350 Volume 4].</ref>

==Origins and peculiarities==
Some of the earliest formal [[Siddur|Jewish prayerbooks]] date from the tenth century; they contain a set order of daily prayers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PRAYER-BOOKS - JewishEncyclopedia.com |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12332-prayer-books |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> However, due to the many liturgical differences between the ordinary, day-to-day services and holiday services, the need for a specialized variation of the ''siddur'' was recognized by some of the earliest [[rabbi|rabbinic authorities]], and consequently, the first ''machzorim'' were written incorporating these liturgical variations and additions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is a "Machzor"? - The High Holiday Prayerbook |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4114669/jewish/What-Is-a-Machzor.htm |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}</ref>

The ''machzor'' contains not only the basic liturgy, but also many ''[[piyyut]]im'', which are liturgical poems specific to the holiday for which the ''machzor'' is intended.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahzor {{!}} High Holidays, Prayerbook, Liturgy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mahzor |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Many of the prayers in the ''machzor'', including those said daily or weekly on the Sabbath, have special melodies sung only on the holidays.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mahzor, or High Holiday Prayer Book |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/In_the_Community/Services/Prayers.shtml |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref> Most ''machzorim'' contain only text and no musical notation; the melodies, some of which are ancient, have been passed down orally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Music and Jewish Prayer |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/Prayer_Music_and_Liturgy/Music_and_Prayer.shtml |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Popular versions==
[[File:02 04 Band 1 52r.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Leipzig Mahzor]]'', 1310]]
[[File:02 08 Band 1 72v.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Leipzig Mahzor]]'']]{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2025}}
* ''Koren Sacks Machzor Series'' – A growing body of Hebrew-English holiday prayer books that fuses the translation and commentary of Chief Rabbi [[Jonathan Sacks]] with the unique design and layout of [[Koren Publishers Jerusalem]]. The liturgy includes a modern English translation and features prayers for the State of Israel, Israel's Defense Forces, Welfare of the Government and the Safety of the American Military Forces.  The Koren Sacks Rosh Hashanah ''machzor'' was released in 2011 and was named a 2011 [[National Jewish Book Award]] finalist by The [[Jewish Book Council]].<ref>[http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/2011-national-jewish-book-award-winners/ The Jewish Book Council] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115122906/http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/2011-national-jewish-book-award-winners |date=2013-01-15 }}. JewishBookCouncil.org. Retrieved on 2013-21-03.</ref>  The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur ''machzor'' was released in 2012 and the Koren Sacks Pesah ''machzor'' was released in March 2013. [[The Jewish Press]] calls the introduction to the Koren Sacks Pesah ''machzor'' "a thematic and theological entree to the very essence of Passover."<ref>[http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/when-an-introductory-essay-becomes-an-intellectual-tour-de-force/2013/03/20/ The Jewish Press. TheJewishPress.com. Retrieved on 2013-21-03.]</ref> The vast majority of the piyyutim are contained in an appendix in the back of the volume and are not translated.
* ''ArtScroll Machzor'' – Very popular ''machzor'' published by [[ArtScroll]] and used both in the Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jewish community. The text has English translations, commentary, scriptural sources, and choreography (when to sit, stand, bow, etc.)  Many versions are available. It contains all of the piyyutim of [[Minhag Polin]] (except for Selichot of Shacharit, Musaf and Mincha on Yom Kippur), but some of the piyyutim have been moved to an appendix in the back and do not contain translation.
* ''Machzor HaShalem: High Holiday Prayerbook'' – Edited by [[Philip Birnbaum]]. This book only went out of print around 2000, after having been used for more than 50 years, well before Koren, Artscroll, and Harlow.  Many congregations still pray according to their existing stock of it, particularly in the Modern Orthodox Jewish community, and for a time in some [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative/Masorti]] synagogues.  The text has English translations, commentary, scriptural sources.  It eliminates the vast majority of the [[piyyutim]] for the 3 Festivals, and omits some of the piyyutim for the high holidays.
* Rödelheim machzorim - Edited by [[Wolf Heidenheim]], these machzorim first came out in the early 19th century. They were printed hundreds of times, and they are still used in many [[Yekkish]] communities.  There are versions of the machzor according to the Western Ashkenazic rite, as well as according to [[Minhag Polin]]; the former was also published with an English translation.
* [[Goldschmidt-Fraenkel Machzor]] - This is an "academic" machzor. It includes piyyutim found only in manuscripts, reconstructs  customs of Ashkenazic and French communities in the Middle Ages, and contains critical notes and commentaries on all of the piyyutim.  The series currently contains 5 volumes for the five major Festivals<ref>[https://www.hebrewbooks.org/21790 Rosh Hashanah], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/22323 Yom Kippur], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/21140 Sukkot] are available on Hebrewbooks.  [https://tablet.otzar.org/pages/?&restore=1&t=1648737449986 Pesach] and [https://tablet.otzar.org/pages/?&restore=1&t=1648737487509 Shavuot] are available on [[Otzar Ha-chochmah]] by subscription only.</ref>  Additional volumes for the piyyutim of special Shabbatot in preparation by the Goldschimdt/Fraenkel family.
* ''Machzor: High Holiday Prayerbook'' – Edited by Conservative Rabbi [[Morris Silverman]], this book became the de facto Conservative Jewish ''machzor'' for 30 years.  The text has explanatory notes, meditations, and supplementary readings. It is still in use in some congregations today. Published by the Prayer Book Press.
* ''Machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur'' – Edited by [[Jules Harlow]], the official ''machzor'' of [[Conservative Judaism]] from the early 1970s until 2009. 816 pages.  This text has much less commentary and instruction than other ''machzorim'' published in the 20th century.  The editors focused on the translation, feeling in most places it would be sufficient.  It has somewhat fewer poems than other traditional and Conservative ''machzorim''.  The translations are more poetic and less literal. In 2009 the [[Rabbinical Assembly]] and the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]] announced a new successor volume, ''Machzor Lev Shalem'', intended to replace this edition.
* ''Machzor Lev Shalem'' – The new official ''machzor'' of the Conservative movement. This prayerbook presents a complete liturgy, restoring many traditional prayers that had not been included in the Silverman or Harlow editions, yet also offers options to use the creative liturgical developments presenting the theology and gender equality of non-Orthodox Judaism.  It contains a variety of commentaries from classical and modern-day rabbis, gender-sensitive translations, and choreography instructions (when to sit, stand, bow, etc.). It offers more literal translations of the prayers than previous non-Orthodox ''machzorim''.  English [[transliteration]]s are offered for all prayers and lines recited aloud by the congregation.  The page layout surrounds prayers with a variety of English commentaries and readings, as one finds in classical rabbinic commentaries.  This book was designed to be used by Conservative, non-denominational and Traditional-Egalitarian synagogues and chavurot, and by leaving out certain texts and choosing the options to be included, it also can be used in Orthodox or Reform congregations.
* ''Machzor Hadash'' – A ''machzor'' edited by two Conservative rabbis, Sidney Greenberg and Jonathan D. Levine, using gender-neutral translations; it is used by Conservative, non-denominational and Traditional-Egalitarian synagogues and chavurot.
* ''Kol Haneshama: Prayerbook for the Days of Awe'', published by the Reconstructionist Press. This is the official ''machzor'' of the Reconstructionist movement.
* ''Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook'' – The official prayerbook of the [[Reform Judaism|Reform movement]] in Judaism from 1978 to 2015. While significantly smaller and less complete than any of the above books, this prayerbook features a wider range of excerpts and selections from the traditional ''machzor'' than any other Reform work in the 20th century.  It features a rich variety of English commentaries, readings and transliterations. The original version was published in 1978, and a gender-neutral edition was published in 1996. Published by the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]].
* ''Days of Awe'' - the High Holy Days prayer book of the UK [[Movement for Reform Judaism]].  Its eighth edition was published in 1985 and the first edition in 1840.
* ''Machzor Ruach Chadashah'' – Published by the [[Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues]] (UK) in 2003.
* ''Mishkan HaNefesh'' – This Reform Jewish [[High Holy Days]] prayer book was released in 2015; it is intended as a companion to ''[[Mishkan T'filah]]''.<ref name="jweekly1">{{cite news|url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/74278/gates-of-repentance-replacement-advances-reform-trends/ |title='Gates of Repentance' replacement advances Reform trends &#124; j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California |newspaper=J |publisher=Jweekly.com |date=2015-03-26 |access-date=2015-04-14}}</ref> ''Mishkan HaNefesh'' can be translated as "sanctuary of the soul."<ref name="jweekly1" /> It includes a version of the High Holy Days prayer [[Avinu Malkeinu]] that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother."<ref name="jweekly1" /> Other notable changes are replacing a line from the Reform movement's earlier prayerbook, ''Gates of Repentance'', that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom with the line "rejoicing with couples under the chuppah [wedding canopy]", and adding a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the Torah, offering ''mibeit'', Hebrew for “from the house of,” in addition to the traditional “son of” or “daughter of.”<ref name="jweekly1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ccarpress.org/content.asp?tid=349|title = Mishkan Hanefesh|website=www.ccarpress.org}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Jewish holidays]]
*[[Jewish prayer]]
*''[[Mahzor of Worms]]'', a thirteenth-century illuminated Machzor
*[[Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry#Machzor Vitry|Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry#''Machzor Vitry'']]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commonscatinline}}
*  [https://web.archive.org/web/20131227103958/http://store.kehotonline.com/index.php?parentid=10380&deptid=6184 Chabad Hebrew-English Machzorim]
*  [http://italian-machazor.com/eng1.htm The Complete Italian Rite Machazor] (3 vols.)
*  [http://www.morasha.it/sbr/index.html Italian Rite Siddur and Maḥzorim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117082701/http://www.morasha.it/sbr/index.html |date=2016-11-17 }}
*  [https://www.angelopiattelli.com/prayer-books- A set of Italian machzorim in PDF form]
*  [http://www.judaica-guide.com/machzor/ Machzor in the Judaica Guide]
*  [https://web.archive.org/web/20091003024801/http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/machzor.html Machzor Lev Shalem - New Conservative Jewish Machzor]
*  [http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id280760329 Machsor mecholl haschana] digital version of a richly illustrated Manuscript of around 1290 at the Saxon State and University Library, Dresden

{{Jewish life}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jewish prayer books| Machzor]]
[[Category:Machzorim| ]]
[[Category:Rosh Hashanah]]
[[Category:Yom Kippur]]
[[Category:Passover]]
[[Category:Sukkot]]
[[Category:Shavuot]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sifrei Kodesh]]