Question: Did we have a siddur and a holiday machzor before Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press? Is it possible to give a historical perspective on our prayers as found in the siddur and the machzor?
Jerry Gross
Via E-Mail
Answer: This is a matter we have discussed before but it merits revisiting. First, to clear up any misconceptions, the siddur (and what we refer to as the machzor for Festival use) actually predates Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1440, in Germany, by five centuries. The only impact Gutenberg’s invention had was to make it available to the masses; before that, the siddur, as well as all other Judaic texts, were handwritten by scribes.
Before we discuss the siddur (lit. ‘the order’), it is imperative that we review the requirement of prayer itself.
In his Sefer HaMitzvot, Rambam (1135-1204) records this mitzvah as the fifth of the positive precepts, stating that G-d commanded us “to serve Him” (i.e., to worship Him). Rambam writes that this precept is mentioned twice in the Torah: “Va’avadtem et Hashem Elokeichem” – You shall worship the L-rd your G-d (Exodus 23:25), and “Et Hashem Elokecha tirah ve’oto ta’avod” – The L-rd your G-d you shall fear and Him you shall serve (Deuteronomy 6:13). Even though this command is inclusive of all other commands as noted in the fourth shoresh (root or basic concept) of the 14 shorashim that precede Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot, the cited verses also contain a separate precept: the command to pray.
So important is prayer that G-d Himself engages in prayer. In the Talmud (Berachot 7a), R. Yochanan in the name of R. Yose b. Zoma expounds this from the verse (Isaiah 56:7) “Vahaviotim el har kodshi ve’simachtem b’veit tefillati…” (I will bring them to My sacred mountain and I will rejoice with them in the house of My prayer), focusing on the word “tefillati” – My prayer – referring to G-d. His prayers, as the Gemara there explains, are on our behalf.
The Chafetz Chayyim lists the precept of prayer as the seventh in his Sefer HaMitzvot HaKatzar (The Concise Book of Mitzvot) since he limits the list to precepts that can be observed outside the Land of Israel when we are bereft of our Temple.
We find several references to prayer in the Torah. For example, Abraham prayed to G-d to heal Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, and G-d heeded his prayer (Genesis 20:17) – “Vayitpallel Avraham el Ha‑Elokim va’yirpa Elokim et Avimelech.” This prayer, however, is in the category of the prayer of a ben Noach, a Noahide, whose prayer focuses on specific requests.
According to tradition, the Patriarchs established the three daily prayers. Abraham established Tefillat Shacharit, the morning prayer; Isaac instituted Mincha, the afternoon prayer; and Jacob introduced Maariv, the evening prayer (see Berachot 26b and Bereishit Rabbah 68:11). These references, however, point to the time of day these prayers are said rather than to the formal text of the prayers themselves.
Seemingly at variance is the Midrash cited by Rashi on Genesis 12:1-2, “Vayomer Hashem el Avram ‘Lech lecha me’artzecha u’mimoladetecha u’mi’beit avicha el ha’aretz asher ar’echa; V’e’escha l’goy gadol v’avarchecha v’agadlah shimcha v’heyei beracha” – And the L-rd said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, from the land of your birth and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and I will aggrandize your name and you shall be a blessing. The Midrash states that “Ve’esecha l’goy gadol” (And I will make you into a great nation…) means that “With you, they will conclude ‘Magen Avraham’” (the Shield of Abraham). This seems to imply that Hashem had instructed Abram in how to conclude the first blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei. We might reconcile that this refers to a future promise to Abram.
To be continued.