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English-transliterated prayerbook
makes it easier to join in
Days of Awe services.

SUSAN TAWIL

Special to the Jewish News

I

f you can read the words Kol
Nidray, you can pray like a pro
this High Holiday season —
even if you don't know Hebrew.
The ultimate quick fix for the Days of
Awe is at your local Hebrew bookstore
in the form of Machzorim (High
Holiday prayerbooks) with English
transliteration.
In ArtScroll's new Seif Edition
Machzor Zichron Avraham (Mesorah
Publications Ltd., $29.99 each; intro-
ductory price $25.49 until Dec. 31),
the complete text of the Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur service is
transliterated (rendering the Hebrew
words into English) in linear format.
Each phrase is adjacent to the tradi-
tional Hebrew text, accompanied by a
line-by-line contemporary English
translation (no "Thees" or "Thous"!).
"Stage directions" (when to stand,
sit, bow, etc.) are included, and there
are sections of commentary to inform
and inspire. More than 1,000 pages,
the Yom Kippur Machzor includes an
essay about the Kaddish prayer ("...one
of the most important and misunder-
stood prayers in our liturgy"), a discus-
sion of the Neila (concluding) service,
and an appendix with selected laws
and customs of the holiday.
The Machzor transliteration follows
the traditional Ashkenazic pronunci-
ation. In cooperation with the
Orthodox Union, the transliteration
was modeled after the OU's National
Conference of Synagogue Youth
bentcher (Grace After Meals booklet),
first published in the 1970s.
According to ArtScroll General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman, the
transliteration was appended to the
Hebrew text using a computerized
program recently developed in Israel.

Party Invitations

Rabbi Jacobovitz

The easy-to-follow linear format,
and gold-accented navy binding
(leather bound editions are available),
are typical of the quality of sefarim
(Jewish books) published by ArtScroll.

Big Sellers
Since its debut 25 years ago, the
Brooklyn-based ArtScroll/Mesorah
Publications has grown to become a
major worldwide publisher of English-
language Judaica. The 1975 inaugural
edition of Megillat Esther (the Book of
Esther) set the tone for a prolific num-
ber of subsequent publications.
Characterized by a specially devel-
oped, sharp-looking Hebrew font,
accompanied by a clear English trans-
lation, collected commentaries and
introductory essays ("Overviews"),
ArtScroll books became instantly pop-
ular with the contemporary English-
speaking Jewish readership.
The Megillat Esther has sold
100,000 copies. Subsequent ArtScroll
projects have included Siddurim
(prayerbooks), which have sold
800,000 copies, the Stone Edition
Chumash (Torah) and Tanach (Torah,
Prophets and Writings), and the
Schottenstein Edition of the
Babylonian Talmud (with English
translation and commentary), with
1-million copies sold.
The publication of the transliterat-
ed Machzorim follows ArtScroll's well-
received editions of both the Daily
and Shabbat transliterated Siddurim
introduced two years ago. A set of
these Siddurim is used by Aish
HaTorah Detroit. Although Rabbi
Tzvi Hochstadt finds them "very nice
for people who want to follow," he
sees the transliteration as a "stopgap"
method.
For the High Holidays, Aish
HaTorah uses Machzorim with a good
translation and commentary. "We do

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Southfield, MI 48034
248-356-2454

Rabbi Shapero

a lot of our service in
English and explain," Rabbi
Hochstadt said. He said the main issue
isn't so much knowing how to read
Hebrew as it is understanding the
meanings of the prayers. "The goal of
prayer," he said, "is to know whom
you're talking to and what you're ask-
ing for."
At Ohr Somayach Detroit, Rabbi
David Shapero thinks the transliterat-
ed ArtScroll Machzor "will get people
involved who want to participate and
not be passive." However, he suggests
that people "give themselves the gift of
knowing how to read Hebrew" by
joining Ohr Somayach's "Hebrew by
Chanukah" classes.
Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz of Oak
Park's Machon L'Torah/The Jewish
Learning Network of Michigan, said
the new Machzorim will allow con-
gregants to "feel comfortable with
the service without feeling embar-
rassed." He sees the transliteration as
a wonderful aid for those who may
know some Hebrew but still have dif-
ficulty pronouncing all the words
properly — "until they can switch to
full Hebrew."

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