By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

This Machzor’s highly erudite introduction, translation and commentary were written by England’s former chief Rabbi, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. It contains 1465 pages and is beautifully typeset. It is also packed with fascinating commentary and information.
Not every sefer or approach, of course, is for everyone, and like the great European Roshei Yeshiva said of Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch’s style – it was the correct methodology in which to approach German Yiddishkeit – but not the Torah-only approach of Poland, Lita, and Russia’s Pale of Settlement. The general tendency of the contemporary yeshiva world is to approach Tefilah with the Torah-only method. Employing literary works created by secular authors or Tolstoy himself to shed light on passages in our siddur or in TaNach is something that can make many a ben-Torah justifiably uncomfortable.
In the world of the Yeshiva and in that of chassidus, Sukkos and its davening is a manifestation of “HeviAni HaMelech Chadarav – The King has brought me into His inner room (Shir HaShirim 1:4)” – a place where Shakespeare, and his literary characters do not quite belong.
But for others, the approach can very well be the spark that opens up depth of meaning in both Torah and Tefilah. In particular, for those who live in the secular world – Rabbi Sack’s messages, thoughts and unique insights culled from a multiplicity of sources both holy and l’havdil secular can be a veritable life vest.
In his masterful introduction, Rabbi Sacks takes the reader along a journey. We are transported to the Sukkos celebration in the Beis HaMikdash itself. Somehow, it is contemporary – circling within its confines with the arba minim, the leviim singing Hallel, the description of the simchas Bais Ha’sho’aivah. They say a picture is worth a thousand words – here we see the reverse. With his mighty pen, Rabbi Sacks captures the scene vividly so that we can better visualize it – indeed, relive it.
Rabbi Sacks then takes us back to the very first inauguration of the Beis HaMikdash and then the second. Once again, Rabbi Sacks captures a remarkable turning point – Ezra HaSofer’s gentle reintroduction of our beautiful Torah heritage to a lost generation. In his words, “What Ezra and Nechemiah understood and would be proved true many times in the following centuries, was that the real battle faced by Israel was less military than spiritual. Jews might lose everything else, but if they kept their identity, they would outlive the mightiest of empires.”
Rabbi Sacks then treats us to a brief overview of the tapestry of Jewish history with Sukkos and its powerful themes woven into the needlepoint.
On the way, we encounter Tolstoy, Paul Johnson, Neils Bohr, Kant, Kierkegaard and many more in Rabbi Sack’s explanations. There are many fascinating thoughts and ideas. As an introduction to Simchas Torah, we learn about how MP Samuel Pepsyn, on Oct 14, 1663, walked into a Sefardic synagogue shortly after Oliver Cromwell let the Jews back into England and thought that the Simchas Torah celebration was typical of how Jews prayed throughout the year.
There are also changes in translation that are interesting. In the rebono shel olam, for example, when the Torah is taken out – the name inserted is not ploni ben plonis amasecha – one’s mother’s name. Rather, it is one’s father’s name. This is unlike most other machzorim this author has seen. The version is found in those special tefilos for those who have neglected the Mitzvah of Tefillin and are accepting upon themselves a fast– but the version of well over a dozen old machzorim that this author has checked references the petitioner’s mother.
Rabbi Sacks’ translation of Melech ozer umoshiah umagain is also different. Rather than having these last three words modify Melech he places a comma, (or rather a half-stop) in between each word. The meaning is thus rendered, King. Helper. Savior. Shield. It is interesting and innovative. It is not a translation I have seen before.
All in all, it is a remarkable machzor. For the yeshivaleit, it can be perused but as mentioned earlier the broad use of other sources that are mined would be off-putting. Others would be rather inspired.
The reviewer can be reached at [email protected].