Mahzor

The "mahzor" (alternately "machzor", plural "mahzorim", Hebrew מחזור, pronounced|maxˈzor and IPA| [maxzoˈrim] ) is the prayer book used by Jews on the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized "mahzorim" on the three "pilgrimage festivals" of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The prayer book is a specialized form of the "siddur", the prayerbook used by Jews the world over.

The word "mahzor" means "cycle" (the root Ħ-Z-R means "to return"). It is applied to the festival prayer book because the festivals recur annually.

Origins and peculiarities of the "mahzor"

Some of the earliest formal Jewish prayerbooks date from the 10th century; they contain a set order of daily prayers. 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 rabbinic authorities, and consequently, the first "mahzorim" were written incorporating these liturgical variations and additions.

The "mahzor" contains not only the basic liturgy, but also many "piyyutim", which are liturgical poems specific to the holiday for which the "mahzor" is intended. Many of the prayers in the "machzor", including those said daily or weekly on the Sabbath, have special melodies sung only on the holidays. Most "mahzorim" contain only text and no musical notation; the melodies, some of which are ancient, have been passed down orally.

ee also

*Jewish services
*Jewish holiday
*Mahzor Vitry
*Siddur
*Piyyut
*ArtScroll (publishers of a series of Orthodox "mahzorim" and other works)

External links

* [http://www.judaica-guide.com/machzor/ Mahzor in the Judaica Guide]