Shelter Rock Jewish Center

Q: How long did it take you to create Siddur Tzur Yisrael?

A: I began working in earnest on the project almost three years ago. And it’s been my almost constant companion ever since.

Q: Why is the Siddur published in two volumes?

A: We decided early on that there was simply too much material to fit into one book and a cardinal principle was that we wanted to publish books that could fit easily into the existing pews in most synagogues.

Q: Are all the translations your own work?

A: All the translations of all the prayer texts are my own, as are a fair number of the rabbinic and medieval texts that appear in the book. Others are the work of colleagues and others, and are so noted in the table of contents.

Q: What is your favorite part of the Siddur?

A: I think that would have to be either my translation of Kohelet or of the Song of Songs.

Q: What makes them that special?

A: It’s the genre itself as much as the content, I think. I attempted to create a translation in the style of the more elaborate ancient targumum, that would incorporate all the background information you need into the translation to create a fully intelligible final product.

Q: Are you planning to market Siddur Tzur Yisrael outside your own community?

A: That’s the plan!

Q: How many people worked with you on the project, including everybody?

A: Well, including all the proofreaders, the members of the steering committee, the professionals at G&H Soho in Hoboken and at El Ot Typography in Tel Aviv, plus the people in our office and colleagues across the world who read parts of the book and commented upon it, I would say that the total of individuals who played a role in the production of the book was about 100.

Q: Why is the name of God printed in Hebrew letters even in the pages of English translation?

A: I wasn’t happy with any of the conventional renderings of the four-letter name, so I decided to recreate the approach I took in my translation of the Psalms and use the Hebrew name in the English translation. That way, English-language readers can have the same experience that Hebrew readers do when they see the name by substituting one or another of the traditional alternatives as a way of nodding to its ineffable holiness. At least that’s the idea.

Q: What is the most innovative translation in the Siddur, do you think?

A: I think the translation of Eichah (Lamentations) would be the most innovative. My idea to present the text as a dialogue between the prophet/poet and the personified Jerusalem, here presented as a grieving widow, began as a theory, but ended up as something I believe profoundly to be the simplest way to understand the text.

Q: How does the text of Siddur Tzur Yisrael differ from the text of other prayer books?

A: There are subtle differences worth noting. For one thing, I’ve restored many references to the Temple and the Temple cult that were abandoned by most prayer book editors within our movement over the last fifty years or so. For another, I’ve tried to present a text that nods to the reality of women scholars and rabbis in our midst. For example, in the paragraphs that follow the weekday morning Torah reading that refer to "the scholars of Israel, their wives, sons and daughters," I’ve altered the text slightly to refer instead to "the scholars of Israel and their families."

Q: This must have been a huge amount of work to prepare. Did you enjoy doing it?

A: Every minute!

Q: Are you planning more book projects like Siddur Tzur Yisrael in the future?