A Weekday Siddur, but for Whom? A Review of Lev Shalem for Weekdays
The Rabbinical Assembly has finally come out with the weekday edition of Siddur Lev Shalem. Following the Machzor in 2010, and the Shabbat/Festival Siddur in 2016, this means that the Lev Shalem series now constitutes a complete set. Many of the features noted are true of the other Lev Shalem volumes, as the weekday volume does not deviate substantially from the existing volumes of the series.
Layout
As with the other volumes of Lev Shalem, the layout has the text on the right side of the page and the translation on the left, with notes and commentary on the margins and bottom. The commentary and English readings sometimes take up significant space, but because the text uses extensive linebreaks to indicate phrasing, there is abundant whitespace.
Despite extensive notes and commentary, the text often doesn’t fill the page. For example, Mizmor LeTodah (Psalm 100) is a complete page, and despite featuring extensive commentary, nearly half the page is empty.
While the weight and amount of page-flipping make it somewhat frustrating to use, that frustration is lessened when the siddur is roughly 15% lighter than the other volumes.
One design feature I quite liked is the text justification for weekday Torah readings. The text is justified using “stretched” forms of certain letters, a printing practice common in older printed texts (and used in sifrei torah). It’s a nice callout to both older printing conventions and scribal practices, one which I find quite aesthetically pleasing.
Liturgical Content
The actual liturgical content is patterned similarly to the other editions of Lev Shalem. Imahot in the Amidah are presented as one option alongside the traditional text, the word “imoteinu” is in brackets following references to “avoteinu” for our ancestors.
References to the sacrifices are treated similarly to the Shabbat volume. While the machzor restores the phrase “fire-offerings of Israel” in the “retzei” berakha, this is absent in both siddur volumes. One oddity is that following the Beraita of R’ Yishmael in the morning service, the siddur offers both the concluding prayer from older Conservative siddurim, as well as the original text, which prays for the restoration of the Temple. Presumably this was “kosher” because it only references the rebuilding of the Temple (which Conservative siddurim tend to retain) but not sacrifices. However, contextually the original text makes sense because it follows the Korbanot, when the sacrificial service is recounted. In Conservative siddurim this is omitted, so the prayer for the rebuilding of the temple seems random and out of context.
As with the other volumes, there are some choices that are somewhat perplexing. The order of Birchot HaShachar matches the Chassidic Nusach Sefard, by putting she’asa li kol tzorki after hameikhin mitz’adei gaver, without any explanation for why this choice is made. There are suggested lines to sing at the end of weekday services, and a greeting for the time of day is inserted as well. It is difficult to understand what spiritual or liturgical need is satisfied by putting “tzohorayim tovim” at the end of mincha (especially since the vast majority of Conservative shuls with weekday mincha will be following it immediately with maariv).
Oddest is the inclusion of a lengthy Yiddish poem (by Jacob Glatstein) extending over multiple pages for Yom HaShoah. It is unlikely that many attendees at Conservative synagogues are able to read this text, or that it would be read in Yiddish at a Yom HaShoah event. Yom HaShoah (and Yom Haatzmaut) programs are often standalone programs that are before/after a weekday minyan, and much of the text seems more appropriate for an event-specific handout. It is hard to imagine any plausible use case for this text.
Some of these additions are welcome suggestions. Putting Birkot HaTorah after Birkot HaShachar (like some Ashkenazic rites) means these berakhot will be recited in shul, and people are more likely to actually say them. Psalm 134 before maariv is a bit of liturgy that is found widely in the Jewish world, and is a nice introduction to provide a bit more of an introduction before Barekhu.
Alternative texts are provided for texts which are ideologically thorny for Conservative Jews, such as Yomtov Musaf. As in the Lev Shalem they are an awkward fit in the liturgical content of Musaf. While a payytanic description of springtime is related to Pesach, it has very little connection to its liturgical context. Some shorter texts are in the left margin. While the readings instead of barekhu and kaddish in the absence of a minyan are nice additions, the drastically shortened version of Emet VeYatziv seems like it would create a jarring transition from the Shema to Amidah.
Transliteration is provided for things which are sometimes sung aloud, generally following the English translation of a text. This makes it somewhat awkward to switch between Hebrew text, transliteration, and translation. Perhaps the whitespace often present to the left of the Hebrew and right of the English would’ve been a better location for this.
One change from the red weekday Sim Shalom is the omission of Shabbat mincha. The inclusion in the red volume was perplexing to some, since Shabbat mincha is obviously not a weekday service. But many Conservative synagogues that have Shabbat mincha get a crowd similar in size to their weekday minyan, and often the service is in the same physical space as weekday minyanim. The inclusion showed showed sensitivity to the way siddurim are used in synagogue life, and I was disappointed to see it absent from this volume.
The weekday Torah readings are translated, which likely an appreciated addition. The red weekday Sim Shalom does not, nor do most siddurim with Torah readings. Since most Conservative congregations have mixed levels of Hebrew comprehension, having this translated is important to allow understanding of the Torah reading. As with the weekday Sim Shalom there is an introduction to the parsha (now in the right margin), explaining the context, since many parshiyot do not begin at a break in the narrative. Curiously, the left margin is blank for all the Torah reading pages, but there is no commentary present. The readings for Chanukka have each day’s reading printed separately, rather than printing the whole passage once and furnishing instructions about which part to read. These two decisions make the Torah readings take up nearly 90 pages—nearly a quarter of the book.
Instructions
Like the other volumes of Lev Shalem, the siddur has English instructions in-line, in addition to more detailed commentary about the content and structure of the liturgy on the right side of the page. This splitting occasionally obscures useful instructions. For the recitation of Psalm 20 (lamenatzeach) after the second Ashrei in Shacharit, the in-line instructions simply say that the Psalm is omitted on “festive days” without specifying what they are. A user would need to read the detailed paragraph on the right and below, which is fairly lengthy, to see what days count as “festive”. Similarly the instructions on Baruch Sheamar explain how to truncate pesukei dezimra when one is short on time, but it is buried at the end of the paragraph and hedged with a “some say”, and there is no page number reference sending the user to the halakha guide in the back where there are more detailed (but still not entirely clear) instructions. Presumably a person who is short on time might not be able to figure out the instructions quickly enough.
A somewhat puzzling feature is a surplus of “some say”s. Often the siddur suggests alternative texts prefaced with a “some say”, but these alternative texts do not seem to be in common use (or were not before the siddur was published). Similarly multiple texts are often noted with Hebrew letters, without the instructions clarifying whether the texts are different sections where one may say some or all of the paragraphs, time permitting, or alternatives where only one should be recited. This is particularly confusing for long Tachanun. While the intention for each specific instance can generally be determined from the commentary, it is not made obvious to the user, especially those who are not already familiar with the liturgy.
One new feature of this siddur is the halakha guide in the back. While not a new concept, Hebrew-English siddurim generally did not have them in the pre-Artscroll era (with the exception of the siddur published in London in 1864 by Rabbi Mendes). This is a useful feature that has been adopted by Orthodox siddurim in the last 50 years, and will no doubt be appreciated by users.
This guide does leave something to be desired in its clarity. For example, in discussing the time for maariv, the guide says that the proper time for maariv is after dark, but due to the difficulty for communities in doing this, “permission was given for communities to organize evening prayer much earlier”, without specifying how much earlier. Presumably the intent here was to leave the door open for Rabbis to determine whether to do maariv after sunset, or after Plag HaMincha, or some other time, but anyone reading such a text will be prompted to ask “how much earlier”. Also absent is the note that evening Shema must be repeated if Arvit is said before dark.
The guide’s citations have an unusual preference for citing the Tosefta. This could be a nod to one of the finest contributions of JTS to the world of traditional Jewish text learning, Lieberman’s Tosefta edition and his commentary Tosefta Kifshuta, or it could simply reflect a preference for citing the earliest textual source. Either way, the choice to cite an untranslated and largely inaccessible work makes it hard to use these citations to learn more unless you are already at an advanced stage of Jewish learning. Citing Klein’s “A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice” or a halakhic code that has been translated would have pointed readers to source providing fuller discussion and more thorough citations than a siddur appendix can provide.
Physical Size
The Weekday Lev Shalem is the same physical size as the other volumes in the series, measuring about 9.5” tall by 6.75” wide. This makes it nearly the same size as the single volume full size Sim Shalom. At this size it is presumably intended for shul use, rather than being carried around in a tallis bag or backpack. It is lighter than the standard size one-volume Sim Shalom, and lighter than the other volumes of Lev Shalem.
The color is a light-ish blue, which is quite striking visually. The use of bright siddur covers seems to be a uniquely Conservative decision—major Orthodox and Reform siddurim still generally use dark blues, dark red, or black.
The reduced weight compared to other Lev Shalems makes a significant difference in comfort. While I found the other volumes of Lev Shalem are awkward to hold for a significant length of time without something to rest it on, the weekday volume was comfortable for me to hold. Besides being lighter than the other volumes in the Lev Shalem series, it is also lighter than the current generation single-volume shul-use Orthodox siddurim.
The size does have a cost. The retail price of this siddur is $55, like other volumes of Lev Shalem (though it is currently on sale on the RA website for $33). This means that, even assuming individuals will choose to not buy the machzor for personal use, a person who wants siddurim for home use will need to pay at least $100 (even with the sale price, once shipping is considered). While this makes sense given the size and likely small printing volume (particularly for the weekday edition, where shuls are likely to not need many copies), it also makes the siddur a significant expenditure. At this price, it is difficult to imagine a broad swath of Conservative Jews having this on the shelf.
Conclusion
The overall impression one gets is that the weekday volume is a worthy successor to the first two volumes in the series. The commentary is well written, and the book physically looks and feels like a nice siddur. The lighter weight as compared to the other volumes makes it more comfortable to hold.
But in the overall bookshelf of Conservative siddurim, the series as a whole seems to leave something a bit wanting. The three Lev Shalem volumes are quite costly. A large version of the Sim Shalom 2-volume set, Or Chadash, was published before Lev Shalem, but was not the “standard issue”, presumably because of the compromises caused by the larger size (and cost). Now with the Lev Shalem series, shuls who want to update have a larger and more expensive medium as the only option.
Conservative Judaism has not issued a single-volume general purpose siddur since the original Sim Shalom in 1985. Forty years on, the liturgical needs of Conservative shuls have changed substantially. Conservative liturgy has changed in substantial ways since then (most notably the increased inclusion of women in texts), and the instructions in the original Sim Shalom are severely lacking. A one-volume general purpose siddur (ideally in two sizes, like Sim Shalom) is probably a more acute need for most Conservative Jews and synagogues. Conservative Jews who need a reasonably priced, compact all-in-one siddur are either using a text that’s 40 years old, or Orthodox (likely needing to annotate it either way). There’s no siddur a Conservative Jew can bring with them on vacation. There’s no Conservative siddur where a couple dozen can be put in a suitcase and brought on a USY trip or to a Shabbaton or to a Shiva house.
A parallel can be drawn to Conservative service length. Conservative services on Shabbat morning usually take at least 2 ½ hours, even if the liturgy is significantly truncated (triennial cycle, heicha kedusha, etc), while Orthodox synagogues do a larger liturgy in less time. These Conservative synagogues add elements to the service which individually take up a small amount of time (ashrei aloud responsively, multiple divrei torah, extensive announcements, singing, etc), but all these elements make for a very long service when combined.
Similarly one can imagine a siddur committee having a wishlist that includes features such as laying out Hebrew text with line breaks to show phrasing, avoiding page breaks in the middle of paragraphs, extensive commentary, plenty of readings for thought and meditation, a halakha guide, additional liturgical content users might find meaningful, etc. The siddur simply selected all of these, using splitting into two volumes to keep it from being an unmanageable size.
The Lev Shalem for weekdays is a nicely executed volume, which provides an inquisitive reader with a broad set of sources and texts to learn more about the liturgy. Weekday Torah readings are now translated, and the commentary and halakha guide give readers helpful information about the structure and content of the liturgy. The volume is aesthetically pleasing, and congregants’ hands will appreciate the lighter weight compared to the Shabbat/Festival volume. But seeing the overall series in the context of the bookshelf of Conservative siddurim, it does not seem this meets all the needs of Conservative mitpalelim. Rather than economize space this siddur uses every opportunity to spread out, limiting its usefulness and increasing the purchase cost. It seems that an economical siddur that uses space more judiciously in one volume would be at a price point that is easier to swallow, and perhaps in a size that could more easily be brought to a shabbaton or on a USY trip. Looking at the siddurim in use in the Conservative world, these needs seem more acute than the need to have an expansive shul-use weekday siddur. People who need an economical siddur to daven outside a shul will continue to need to buy the outdated and largely commentary-less Sim Shalom or an Orthodox siddur. While in nearly all specific features the Lev Shalem for Weekdays represents an improvement over its predecessors, the overall result still leaves significant needs unmet.
