Machzor )Prayer Book for The High Holy Days(
According to the Ashkenaz tradition, 1415
Must Know
The High Holiday prayer book is a collection of yearly prayers practiced on religious events and celebrations and is known as mahzor or ‘cycle’ in english. The book contains the cycle of prayers for two of the holiest days of the Jewish year – Rosh Hashana (new year) and Yom Kippur (a day of atonement) which are considered the High Holidays.
The religious prayers, or piyyutim, are printed according to their poetic, spoken form. In a like manner, in the synagogue, they are read out loud according to a special melody. In Ashkenazi versions of the High Holiday prayers, the reading of the Torah is important and is done in a specific melodic rhythm. High Holiday prayers represent some of the oldest musical elements and melodies that can be found in Jewish traditions.
The prayer of the High Holidays is one of the deepest of the piyyutim within the Jewish year. The prayers in this book often reflect major Jewish themes such as introspection, repentance, forgiveness and judgment. The Ashkenazi version of these prayers reflect the Ashkenazi Jews from western Europe.
More Info
Like most books written in the medieval ages, this particular prayer book is hand-written as well as illuminated with images of Jews engaging in prayer. In the very few hebrew illuminated prayer books that were made during the time, the illustrations often feature human figures with animals heads. This is speculated to be the likely result of the influence of the Hasidic Ashkenaz who interpreted the prohibition of the second Jewish commandment (against drawing imagery) in a more rigid fashion.
