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Friends,

I am looking for a pocket-sized complete siddur (one that has weekday, Shabbat, holiday and High Holy Day prayers), and I am having trouble finding one. Complete siddurim seem to be hard to find. Does anyone have any thoughts on such a siddur?

ETA: Fair enough :) I'm looking for something in Hebrew and English (my Hebrew davening abilities can best be described as "slight"), either nusach Ashkenaz or Ari. I really like the idea of having everything right there in one book that I can have with me at all times. This is at least in part because the siddur with which I really became observant in my prayer does not have a corresponding machzor, so I never knew exactly which machzor I should get if I want one.

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  • jwlynn, welcome to Mi Yodeya, and thanks for bringing your question here! Please edit in as much detail as you can about what you consider "good." What criteria would you use (and do you therefore want the community here to use) to evaluate suggestions and select one? – Isaac Moses♦ Sep 15 '14 at 16:06
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    What siddur did you become observant with? – Noach MiFrankfurt Sep 15 '14 at 19:40
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Artscroll's סידור יצחק יאיר is a good choice, as a good, complete siddur with a clear print. It is the standard siddur used in most shuls. You can buy them in practically any Jewish book store, or online (for example, here). There is a pocket-sized edition of the siddur.

(Note: this siddur is nusach Ashkenaz; the Artscroll nusach Sefard equivalent is the סידור תפילת שלמה)

These siddurim contain the prayers for weekday, Shabbos, chagim, fast days, as well as High Holy Day prayers.

There are also English translations of these siddurim (with a running commentary), see here for an example of the older translation, and here for the newer English siddur, with an updated commentary.

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  • Does that edition really contain High Holy Day prayers? – Isaac Moses♦ Sep 15 '14 at 16:16
  • I just checked the table of contents of the Hebrew one; not sure about the translation. – MTL Sep 15 '14 at 16:17
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    @IsaacMoses If I'm thinking of the right book, then it does. What it does not contain is the elaborate piyut-riddled repetitions of the Amida used by the the Chazzan in many congregations. In some congregations which do not have that practice, or when praying alone, this siddur should be sufficient. – Double AA♦ Sep 15 '14 at 17:10
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    To add to @DoubleAA's comment: the sidurim under discussion omit not only piyutim added to the amida but also those added after the amida of maariv (which most communities say in my very limited experience) and elsewhere in the RH and YK prayers. – msh210♦ Sep 15 '14 at 18:20
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    @IsaacMoses Looking at ToC now, it has shemoneh esrei for RH (page 320) and YK (335), but I am not sure if they have all the piyutim also....doesn't look like it. – MTL Sep 15 '14 at 19:41
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I have not seen any all-inclusive siddur that includes everything you need - i.e. - every possible prayer for every day of the year including all the complete service (piyuttim) said for all the Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur prayers.

If you have seen the "combo" Birnbaum Rosh Hashannah / Yom Kippur High Holiday machzor (no longer in print), it was hefty. As it is, Birnbaum's machzor made you flip pages back and forth, a lot esp. for Kol Nidre & Ne'ilah services.

An all inclusive siddur would be so huge and hefty that you'd probably need a forklift to put it on the shtender :-) You'd have to have a pocket the size of Og's hand.

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The Birnbaum siddur comes with tefillot for practically the whole year. As it is out of print, I am unsure about finding a pocket-sized copy, although I have one at home so I know they exist. The only things I can think of which would need a separate volume are:

  • Selichot (particularly for Yom Kippur)
  • L'David Mizmor for Maariv (Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur)
  • Poetry for the repetition of the Amidah
  • Shir haMa'alot mimamakim (for 10 days and Hoshannah Rabbah)
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