The Koren Sacks Siddur: A Hebrew / English Prayerbook, Compact Size - Ashkenaz

by Jonathan Sacks (Contributor)

The Koren Sacks Siddur is an inspiring Hebrew/English Jewish prayerbook. The siddur marks the culmination of years of rabbinic scholarship, exemplifies the tradition of textual accuracy and innovative graphic design of the renowned Koren Publishers Jerusalem publishing house, and offers an illuminating translation, introduction, and commentary by one of the world's leading Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Modern orthodox halakhic guides to daily, Shabbat, and holiday prayers supplement the traditional text. Prayers for the State of Israel, its soldiers, and national holidays, and for the American government and its military reinforce the siddur's contemporary relevance. Compact size, Ashkenaz, with dark slate Skivertex softcover binding. Fits neatly into tallit and tefillin bags. Ideal for students and travelers.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Judaica, Religion, Reference, Prayer

1244 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2009

About the author

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Henry Sacks was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name was Yaakov Zvi.

Serving as the chief rabbi in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2013, Sacks gained fame both in the secular world and in Jewish circles. He was a sought-after voice on issues of war and peace, religious fundamentalism, ethics, and the relationship between science and religion, among other topics. Sacks wrote more than 20 books.

Rabbi Sacks died November 2020 after a short bout with cancer. He was 72.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have gone through using a number of different siddurs in my time, but I suspect this will now remain my go-to for years to come. While I have long used the Artscroll siddur, I switched to Koren for three main reasons. First, I've grown uncomfortable with the perspective of "Rabbi Artscroll," which I see as sometimes revisionist and overly right wing in its translations and commentary. Second, which is tied to the first, the Koren is much less problematic vis a vis the role of women. Third, I find the Koren Hebrew font just plain gorgeous and much easier to read than the fonts used by other siddurs.

There are some exciting things coming out of Koren, a blessing to those want to cling to Jewish tradition without participating in haredism.

[Benjamin Sevitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this many times, though admittedly not all the way through. I tend to reread the same bits over and over again.

[Aurora Lovegood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I miss in this Siddur to make it perfect is: more ribbon placeholders and Hebrew transliteration for those not fully competent with Hebrew alphabet

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still use transliterated Siddurs for my personal davening, but the Koren Sacks Siddur is an excellent translation with Rabbi Sacks' modern Orthodox sensibilities in mind. The commentary and translation are extremely Enlightening and enrich my prayers. Koren's excellent layout and very clear font set really help for trying to improve my Hebrew. Sacks' commentary is very helpful.

[Daniel Viragh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The font, the paper, the typesetting... the sensitive translation, the fact that women have a presence in this text, the simple dedicated kindness that went into this siddur... these are the things which make this very much an accessible prayerbook.

[Nechamah Goldfarb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use it every day. I have many siddurim, but this is the best in so many ways.

[Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wanted to say a couple things about this siddur.

First off, I think it's probably the best siddur on the market for an English speaker. I particularly like how the English translations are modern, even though the words don't flow as well for me, since I'm more used to the Art Scroll Wasserman siddur. This is the best siddur for those of us that strongly identify with the zionist movement, as there are actually prayers for certain aspects of being in Israel, as well as (and most importantly for me) prayers for the state of Israel and the IDF, which are strangely absent from Art Scroll. You'd think that any modern siddur would include these.

Moving on, the Hebrew font Koren uses in their books is by far, in my opinion, the most beautiful Hebrew font in existence. It's the same font in their personal Tanakh. It's clear, and easy to read. They even go the extra mile and designate when a vowel marker is meant to be pronounced slightly different than you'd expect, which is an amazing addition for people who might not have fluency in Hebrew.

The only negative aspects of this siddur (which aren't really that negative) are as follows: There's noticeably less instruction on and commentary on the prayers. So, if you're new to actually practicing Judaism, you might not find as much supplementary information as you would in the Art Scroll Wasserman edition. Don't get me wrong, there is still enough instruction even if this is your first siddur, it's just less detailed.

I also wish that certain sections, even though they're short were independently listed in the table of contents. I don't do the full Shacharit in the morning, so I find myself frantically searching for Aleinu and Ashrei. Fortunately, there are two ribbon markers to make this easier.

In all, this is probably the siddur I personally will stick with, and I highly recommend it for a Jew of any level of observance, especially if you care about Judaism AND Israel.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reviewing a number of siddurim, trying to find one that works best for me. This one is in the top three, possibly the top two. I've got a lot of great things to say about it: the specialized font is both beautiful and easy to follow, the translations are understandable, and the footnotes lead the davener to want to study (what could be a better compliment?!). Downfalls are the expected: lack of inclusivity and little transliteration. The weak points in no way take away from the strong. This one is highly recommended. Amazing author, and his knowledge and love of the liturgy/tradition really show through in the writing.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sacks' Siddur is one of the best arranged and has one of the cleanest translations I have seen to date. But while one cannot say that they actually "read" a siddur, especially cover to cover, the introduction written by Sacks is one of the best introductions to Jewish prayer that I have ever read. Sacks brings extensive knowledge, not only of Judaism, but also of a vast array of disciplines, together with great eloquence, in all of his writing. This is a must have on any Jewish bookshelf.

[Gie Vleugels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear font, color of paper is gentle to the eyes (not too white!), nicely organised.
Downside: little more than just text and translation of prayers. The Artscroll Wasserman edition adds plenty of useful comments.