Customer Reviews

Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rabbi Reuven Hammer offers extensive and edifying commentary on the religious themes, historical background, and literary context on the traditional Ashkenazic prayerbook. The commentary appears in the margins around the previously-published Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat & Festivals, retaining the earlier work's pagination, making this volume both familiar and usable in public worship. Dr. Hammer addresses exegetical and homiletic issues raised by the text. He comments on words, phrases, themes and structure, and adds pointers on generally accepted practice. A concise and informative introduction, commentary on Pirkei Avot, and a glossary are a bonus. This is a "must have" for the student of classical traditional Judaism and a great aid to the worshiper in the contemporary synagogue.
The typeface of the prayerbook is small, with the commentary somewhat larger; the volume is large but managable. It is attractive and suitable as a gift.

I feel like EZ Reader on Sesame Street so much to read and so little time to read it all. Rabbi Hammer has again done a real service to Conservative Judaism by explaining the prayer book in a way that is interesting, informative and very clearly written. My only regret is that I bought the paper back copy and it is small and hard to read. Get the full size copy friends.

We love "Or Hadash" and use it regularly both at synagogue and at home. However when we ordered this paperback edition as a gift, the hardcover was not available. Upon receiving the edition, we recognized that the print is so small that this can hardly service as a useful tool in understanding the service--except perhaps by the youngest eyes. We've returned it and will look for a full size hardcover edition instead.

In my view Or Hadash is Siddur Sim Shalom as it should have been from the beginning with synagogue choreography instructions and an abundance of high quality explanations and commentaries. It is the egalitarian-Conservative answer to the Art Scroll Siddur.

I have learned with Rabbi Hammer and respect him immensely. THis is a well thought out commentary, but even he complained about some of the lay outs, the mis-translations of the Hebrew (which are not his) and the lack of "dance steps." Typical of the conservative movement, it is rather (too?) intellectual and the emotional appeal comes not from the text itself or even the commentary but from the poetry and extra-textural additions made by Rabbi Hammer.

I feel it an excellent companion of sorts to Art Scroll. THey are two different animals, to be certain, but they both are trying to bring the worshipper to a higher level though through drastically differing means.

Ideally, this should be the Conservative answer to the Artscroll prayerbooks. And it tries to be. The commentary is detailed and insightful, drawing from the vast spectrum of Jewish thought and literature. Lots of different points of view. A fantastic job in this respect.

I was looking for a siddur for my own use (reflecting Conservative interpretations), similar to the Artscroll. But "Or Hadash" is not very practical for this purpose. It reprints exactly the Sim Shalom prayer book, but in VERY small print. The commentary overtakes the actual prayers it surrounds on the page, and it looks and reads more like a textbook than a usable siddur. Contrary to the previous reviewer's comments, there are no "synagogue choreography instructions" beyond what was in Sim Shalom originally. Unfortunately, here the Artscroll wins out.

I hope to see a true Conservative version of the Artscroll siddur some day soon.

Or Hadash adds a great deal of meaning and background to my Shabbos worship. It is nice to deviate from the normal liturgy to find out the why and how we do certain things. The smaller size means I can easily bring it back and forth from shul to home.

This book is very useful to understand the origin of parts of the Shabbat service. The book is the same size as the Siddur without the commentary and the pages have the same number which is very useful to follow the service. Each page of the normal Siddur is shrunk and the sides are used for the commentary. This can be a problem for some people because the print in very small. It does not include any additional transliterations.