The Michael Jacobs Memorial Authorised Daily Prayer Book Collection
Details of each edition/impression are given after the introduction below
The Singer's Siddur, known for its translator, Reverend Simeon Singer (1846-1906), was first published in 1890. The cost of publication was sponsored by the Montefiore family, which meant that it was sold for one shilling (equivalent to approximately £4.70 in 2017), a price far lower that it otherwise would have been, thereby enabling more people to buy a copy. The Siddur incorporated prayers for the whole year, including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, hence its name in Hebrew, the Seder Tefilat Kol Ha'Shanah.
The Hebrew text was based on that of the Abodath Israel prayer book published in Rodelheim in 1868 by Seligman Baer - click here for a copy of this prayer book on the Hebrewbooks.org site.
The Siddur was expanded in 1920 under the auspices of Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz (who later wrote a commentary on the Siddur) with the addition of a Prayer on Recovery from Sickness, and the Home Service Prior to the Funeral. In 1935, the so-called continuous edition first made an appearance. This reduced the need for turning back for repeated passages such as Aleinu or Kaddish.
After 27 editions, a New Edition was issued in 1962 under the auspices of Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie. The Hebrew was re-typeset, and the translation was updated to be less archaic.
1990 saw the release of the Centenary Edition under the auspices of Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits. The translation was completely revised by Rabbi Eli Cashdan.
The 4th Edition was released in 2006, in the centenary year of Reverend Singer's passing. The edition, produced under the auspices of Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, featured a new translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks, and thoroughly revised rubrics. In a possible break with tradition, this edition was taller than previous editions.
I started collecting Singer's Siddurim in around 2002, and for a long time had an almost-complete set with only the 2nd impression missing. In 2013, a friend of mine, Michael Jacobs, passed away in Edgware, London. One of the evenings of the Shiva was held at a Chabad House, and my friend's father showed me a 2nd impression Singer's that he'd found on the shelf. I commented that it was the last one I needed to complete the set, so he asked the Rabbi there if I could have it. The Rabbi told me that he'd obtained it in a house clearance and it had been sitting on the shelf for months, not being used. He said that I could have it, and that is why I have decided to name my collection in memory of my friend.
I would like to acknowledge the information, observations and suggestions that I have received from the following people (in alphabetical order): Dr Ari Brodsky, Nachum Lamm, Professor David Latchman, Rabbi Daniel Roselaar, and Professor Michael Weiss.
Feel free to drop me an email by clicking here.
1890 - First Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
Number of copies: 3,000.
My copy is missing the English title page.
For whatever reason, perhaps to keep costs down by keeping the number of pages to a minimum while maximising content (but that's just supposition on my part), some prayers were not printed in full, and required the worshipper to cross-reference to other pages in the Siddur - page 94 has a particulary fine example of this:
Note that the rubrics for the Afternoon Service for Fridays omit Aleinu. There is an old German minhag to say Aleinu just once at the end when two services are held with one following on immediately from the first (Mishnah Berurah 132 note 7).
The Prayer for the Royal Family has a longer text than the shorter version introduced in 1935:
Outside Israel, the phrase "v'tein tal u'matar livracha" is inserted in the ninth blessing of the Amidah instead of "v'tein beracha" from the 60th day after the start of the Halachic autumn (which is not not quite the same as the autumn equinox) until Pesach. For various calendrical reasons (click here for a full explanation), this 60th day moves forward in the calendar one day every century, so the rubric in the 19th Century editions of the Singer's Siddur gives dates of 3rd December and 4th December (in the year before a civil leap year) for when to start making this change:
1890 - Pre-Second Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
This is some sort of rebound copy of the first edition that was used to prepare the second edition. It would have been produced for review by the editors, etc, to check the layout, spacing, etc, and for any typesetting errors, textual errors, etc. It's in two volumes because a blank page was inserted between every other page to provide space to write corrections. This effectively doubles the page count, and it would probably have been too unwieldy to bind that many pages in a single volume.
Both volumes say that they were bound by E. Riley and Son.
Here's the title page:
Neither volume in this set opens up flat, so it's difficult to scan or photograph a sample page, but here's one that I was able to photograph without risking damage to the binding, etc:
And here's a sample of an English page with corrections:
I don't know how many of these preparatory editions would have been produced, or how many have survived to this day.
1891 - Second Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
Number of copies: 5,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
For some reason, the rubric for "v'tein tal u'matar livracha" was simplified to show a start date of 4th December, with no distinction being made for the year before a civil leap year:
This imprecise rubric persisted unti 1962.
1892 - Third Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
Number of copies: 10,000.
My copy of this editon is missing the Hebrew title page.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1895 - Fourth Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
Number of copies: 10,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1898 - Fifth Edition
Publisher: Wertheimer, Lea And Co.
Number of copies: 10,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
The copy that I have has an inscription from Reverend Singer himself:
I suppose it's reasonable to assume that the inscription was meant for the bar-mitzvah boy whose name is on the inside front cover:
1900 - Sixth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 20,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
The date when one starts saying "v'tein tal u'matar livracha" has moved forward one day with the century change, but the imprecise rubric was not updated:
As stated above in the section for the 2nd edition (1891), this imprecise rubric persisted until 1962.
1904 - Seventh Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 25,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King Edward
Our gracious Queen Alexandra
George, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1908 - Eighth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 25,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King Edward
Our gracious Queen Alexandria
George, Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
King Edward VII died in 1910, whereupon George V ascended the throne. The next edition of the Singer's Siddur wasn't issued until two years later, but a second copy of the 1908 edition that I have shows that it was reprinted with an updated Prayer:
Our Sovereign Lord, King Geoge
Our gracious Queen Mary
Aleaxandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1912 - Ninth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 25,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Alexandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
A full scan of this edition is available on the Open Siddur Project site - click here to view it (digital imaging and document preparation by Aharon N. Varady).
This edition was also released in a version called the Annotated Edition:
It was called the Annotated Edition because it has a 271-page appendix of explanatory notes by Israel Abrahams. This edition of the 1912 Siddur must be a reprint, as the date of the title page at the 'English end' is 1914:
1915 - First American Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode / Hebrew Publishing Company
Being an American edition, the Prayer for the Royal Family was modified to be a prayer for the President and Vice-President:
Another copy of the 1915 American Edition that I have doesn't say on the title page that it's the First American Edition, but the phrase "American Edition" to indicate that it is an American Edition is off-centre, the word "First" having been omitted:
This copy, however, still has the Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Alexandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1916 - Tenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 10,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Alexandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
I have 2 copies of this edition, one of which has a Prayer of Intercession for the end of the Great War (World War I) at the end:
This Prayer was, I believe, also issued as a stand-alone pamphlet. Click here to see scans of this Prayer.
1920 - Eleventh Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 10,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Alexandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
This edition came in a slipcase:
with a copy of A Companion to the Authorised Daily Prayer Book:
This is a revised edition of the commentary featured in the appendix to the 1912 Annotated Edition, and was printed in 1922.
1920 - American Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode / Hebrew Pubishing Company
This is another American edition. The phrase "American Edition" on the title page is still off-centre, and, like the First American Edition of 1915, the Prayer for the Government lists the President and the Vice-President.
1924 - Twelfth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 10,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Alexandra, the Queen-Mother
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1925 - Thirteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 20,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1929 - Fourteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 27,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
1935 - Fifteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 50,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Mary
Edward, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
As well as introducing a shorter form of the Prayer for the Royal Family, this is the first Continuous Edition, which printed prayers in full and eliminated the cross-referencing that existed in previous editions. However, in order to keep the page numbers the same, sub-page numbering was used - for example, in earlier editions, the Afternoon Service for Weekdays was on page 94 and consisted of a list of page numbers where the various parts of the service could be found elsewhere in the Siddur. In order to have the Evening Service for Weekdays still appear on page 95, the Afternoon Service started on page 94, continued on page 94a, 94b, 94c, etc, and ended on page 94o.
The King George in the Prayer for the Royal Family in this edition is George V, who died on 20 January 1936. His son, Prince Edward, ascended the throne as Edward VIII, and then abdicated on 11 December 1936. The next edition of the Siddur, however, wasn't published until 1939, so does this mean that there isn't an edition with Edward VIII in the Prayer for the Royal Family? Actually there sort-of is, as a second copy of the 1935 edition that I have has labels affixed to the Prayer for the Royal Family to show Edward VIII:
When Edward VIII abdicated, his brother ascended the throne as George VI, and the whole label thing had to be repeated, as a pair of unaffixed labels that I have shows:
1939 - Sixteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 30,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
and all the Royal Family
1943 - Seventeenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 12,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
and all the Royal Family
1944 - Eighteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 15,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
and all the Royal Family
1946 - Nineteenth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 20,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
and all the Royal Family
1949 - Twentieth Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 20,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
The Duke of Edinburgh
and all the Royal Family
1950 - 21st Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 30,000.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King George
Our gracious Queen Elizabeth
Mary the Queen Mother
The Princess Elizabeth
The Duke of Edinburgh
and all the Royal Family
The next edition of the Singer's Siddur was published in 1953, the year after Elizabeth II ascended the throne. The copy of the 1949 edition that I have has an insert for the entire Prayer for the Royal Family (not just labels):
1953 - 22nd Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 20,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Queen Mary
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
Although Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, her coronation took place in 1953. The copy of the 1953 edition of the Siddur that I have has a special cover to mark the Coronation:
1954 - 23rd Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 30,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side still hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
1954 - 24th Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 30,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side still hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
1957 - 25th Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 30,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side still hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
1960 - 26th Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 15,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side still hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
1961 - 27th Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Number of copies: 10,000.
Note that the edition number on the Hebrew side still hasn't been updated, and says that this is the 21st edition.
This is the last edition to be titled the Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire. Subsequent editions used the phrase the British Commonwealth of Nations (instead of the British Empire), or simply the Commonwealth.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Duke of Cornwall
and all the Royal Family
1962 - New Edition
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
First edition to include a Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, and the last edition to use sub-page numbering.
The rubric for "v'tein tal u'matar livracha" has been updated to include the different date for the year before a civil leap year:
Although the title page describes this as a New Edition, the copyright page describes it as the 2nd, Revised Edition. Further impressions of this edition were produced in 1964, 1968, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1984 and 1988. A pocket-sized edtion was also produced.
1962 - New Edition (American Edition)
Publisher: Eyre and Spottiswoode / Bloch Publishing Company
The Prayer for the Royal Family has been re-titled as the Prayer For The Government, and lists the "President and the Vice-President, and all the Officers of this Country".
1990 - Centenary Edition
Publisher: No publisher's name is apparent, which is odd, to say the least.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
The Prince and Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
The Amidot for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were not included in this edition as, in the words of the preface, it was felt that these are services for which a Machzor would be used, and it would allow for the inclusion of additional material without increasing the Siddur's bulk. However, without all the Amidot required for the whole year, is the Siddur's Hebrew name still applicable?
Although the title page describes this as the Centenary Edition, the copyright page describes it as the 3rd, Revised Edition. A pocket-sized edition was also produced.
1992 - Centenary Edition, (Enlarged)
Publisher: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
The Prince and Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
Enlarged under the authority of Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and also produced in a pocket-sized edition.
1998 - Centenary Edition, (Enlarged and Revised)
Publisher: Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Limited
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
Enlarged and revised under the authority of Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
2006 - Fourth Edition
Publisher: Collins, a division of Harper Collins Publishers
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Charles, Prince of Wales
and all the Royal Family
New translation and commentary by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
This edition was also released in pocket, Reader's and Presentation editions.
Altough there has been another century change in the Singer's Siddur's printing history, the date on which one starts saying "v'tein tal u'matar livracha" did not move forward a day, as this only happens if the century year is not a leap year. The rubric in the evening prayer was, however, updated to show the different dates for a civil leap year:
Further impressions were printed in 2007 (twice), 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
2022
Upon the passing of Queen Elizbaeth II on 8th September 2022, an updated Prayer for the Royal Family showing King Charles III was issued:
Another update was also issued to include the Duchy of Cornwall:
However, on the same day that these updates were issued, Prince William was invested as the Prince of Wales, a title which precedes all others, so the Prayer had to be updated yet again. The Prayer was also updated to show the Queen Consort Camilla's formal title:
2023 - United Synagogue 150th Edition / First Koren Edition
Publisher: Koren Publishers, Jerusalem.
To mark the United Synagogue's 150th anniversary, a new edition was published in 2022 (although it did not become available for purchase until 2023). The copyright page describes it as both the first Koren Edition and the US 150th Anniversary Edition.
Prayer for the Royal Family:
Our Sovereign Lord, King Charles
Our gracious Queen Consort Camilla
The Prince and Princess of Wales
and all the Royal Family
A footnote states that in Scotland, after "the Prince and Princess of Wales", one should say, "the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay", which is the title mandated for use by the heir apparent when in Scotland.
This edition has a new introduction by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, and a guide to the Jewish year and prayer incorporating the customs of the United Synagogue written by Dayan Ivan Binstock.
This edition was released in pocket, standard and large sizes, with all formats being available in either hardback or leather.