Kosher Bookworm: A prayer-intensive experience

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Perhaps no other holiday season in the Jewish calendar is as prayer-intensive as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Each of these holidays has a unique prayer and liturgy to the themes and spiritual quests of each day. Inherent with each are the motifs of repentance and new beginnings.
Rabbi Chaim Friedlander zt''l, the famed mashgiach of the Ponovezh Yeshiva was a keen interpreter of the liturgy of the holiday season. His annual shiurim for many years focused upon the tefilot of the machzor, especially that of the various and diverse amidot.
Several years ago Feldheim Publishers, in cooperation with the Friedlander family, issued a bi-lingual edition of Rabbi Friedlander's shiurim of these tefilot entitled, "Rinas Chaim: Understanding the Tefilot of the Yamim Noraim."
Within this volume is a wealth of commentary reflecting Rabbi Friedlander's finest shiurim. These involve detailed interpretations of the entire musaf amidah service from the beginning berachot and the special insertions that are unique to the themes for this time of year, that penetrate to the very heart of the amidah.
A detailed forty-page interpretation of the Birkas Kedushas HaYom  is followed by an even more extensive, one hundred page plus, commentary of the heart of the Rosh Hashanah musaf service, keyed to the tri-partate of Malchuyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros.
Each section is given a very special treatment. To summarize it here would do injustice to its content. This has to be seen and read in the original to be appreciated.
In this writer's opinion, this work is one of the finest ever published on the machzor liturgy.
To better understand where Rabbi Friedlander was coming from consider this: Rabbi Friedlander was a student of the teachings of the great Rav Eliyahu Dessler and Rav Eliyahu Lopian, whose works he later edited; both eminent sages of blessed memory.
This work is the first of three to be issued in English, the other being on Divine providence [hashgachah], and the third on trust in G-d [bitachon].
The next work to be reviewed is Artscroll's "The Wisdom in the Hebrew Months" by Zvi Ryzman. From the outset I must caution you that this book is not an easy read and not meant for casual reading. The work's detailed  formulations involve not only an extensive use of rabbinic sources but also mystical and kabbalistic writings that deal with various aspects of the Jewish calendar.
This work is really two books in one. The first is titled, "The Months of the Tribes," linking each month of the year with the twelve tribes of Israel. The second section, "The Months and the Name of Hashem," is the kabbalistic part of the work.
At this time of year, this volume merits your attention for its special treatment of the months of Elul and Tishrei. Nowhere have I ever seen these months given so deep an analysis with the spiritual "tools" that Ryzman utilizes.
"Days of Awe, Days of Joy" is an extensive English compilation of Chabad Chasidic insights into the festivals of the month of Tishrei. Compiled by Rabbi Eli Friedman and translated by Binyamin Kaplan, this classic covers an extensive array of topics, lore and law, as reflected in the Chabad tradition. However, this book of over 350 pages makes for an excellent resource for reading and learning for every Jew, no matter what belief. If you see it, buy it. The joy and knowledge that you will gain from this will surely help enrich your appreciation of our faith, especially at this sacred time of year.
Finally, and on the lighter side, we have Joe Bobker's  humorous, yet learned volume, "From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through The Jewish Holidays" [Geffen Publishing]. This book is appropriate to this time of year inasmuch as the first one hundred pages deal with this season's observances.
As noted, this book views our calendar in a humorous vein.  Mr. Bobker says "all my books are written with one purpose only: to educate in a humorous manner in order to 'prove' that living a Torah life can, and should be, fun. There is too much seriousness in the Torah world. Life is meant to be enjoyed. In  fact, when it comes to Jewish festivals, joy and good cheer, are, according to the Talmud, 'mitzvas!'"
These words give you a clear picture as to what motivates Joe Bobker's work. When you read him carefully you will come to see that this is no crass work but is indeed a serious method of teaching the themes and experiences of our faith with a smile and a hearty laugh.
Given all  that  we  are  facing , as Jews and as Americans, a good laugh is in order.
May I conclude with a quote from my good friend Rabbi Eliyahu Safran who wrote the following in a recent essay, titled, "Designing Your Own Calendar."
"Let us approach the beginning of this new  year by resolving to author and design our own days and calendar. Let us not be enslaved to pre-designed schedules and preordained programs, timetables and resolutions. Let's not just tear off and discard precious and valuable time, never to be be retrieved.
"May the year 5770 calendar be designed with care, adorned with precision and love, accompanied with health, happiness and contentment — so that our individual and collective accomplishments are many, Shana Tova."
To which I can only add, Amen.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

By Alan Jay Gerber
Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769
No other holiday season in the Jewish calendar is as prayer-intensive as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Each of these holidays has a unique prayer and liturgy to the themes and spiritual quests of each day. Inherent with each are the motifs of repentance and new beginnings.
Rabbi Chaim Friedlander zt''l, the famed mashgiach of the Ponovezh Yeshiva was a keen interpreter of the liturgy of the holiday season. His annual shiurim for many years focused upon the tefilot of the machzor, especially that of the various and diverse amidot.
Several years ago Feldheim Publishers, in cooperation with the Friedlander family, issued a bi-lingual edition of Rabbi Friedlander's shiurim of these tefilot entitled, "Rinas Chaim: Understanding the Tefilot of the Yamim Noraim."
Within this volume is a wealth of commentary reflecting Rabbi Friedlander's finest shiurim. These involve detailed interpretations of the entire musaf amidah service from the beginning berachot and the special insertions that are unique to the themes for this time of year, that penetrate to the very heart of the amidah.
A detailed forty-page interpretation of the Birkas Kedushas HaYom  is followed by an even more extensive, one hundred page plus, commentary of the heart of the Rosh Hashanah musaf service, keyed to the tri-partate of Malchuyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros.
Each section is given a very special treatment. To summarize it here would do injustice to its content. This has to be seen and read in the original to be appreciated.
In this writer's opinion, this work is one of the finest ever published on the machzor liturgy.
To better understand where Rabbi Friedlander was coming from consider this: Rabbi Friedlander was a student of the teachings of the great Rav Eliyahu Dessler and Rav Eliyahu Lopian, whose works he later edited; both eminent sages of blessed memory.
This work is the first of three to be issued in English, the other being on Divine providence [hashgachah], and the third on trust in G-d [bitachon].
The next work to be reviewed is Artscroll's "The Wisdom in the Hebrew Months" by Zvi Ryzman. From the outset I must caution you that this book is not an easy read and not meant for casual reading. The work's detailed  formulations involve not only an extensive use of rabbinic sources but also mystical and kabbalistic writings that deal with various aspects of the Jewish calendar.
This work is really two books in one. The first is titled, "The Months of the Tribes," linking each month of the year with the twelve tribes of Israel. The second section, "The Months and the Name of Hashem," is the kabbalistic part of the work.
At this time of year, this volume merits your attention for its special treatment of the months of Elul and Tishrei. Nowhere have I ever seen these months given so deep an analysis with the spiritual "tools" that Ryzman utilizes.
"Days of Awe, Days of Joy" is an extensive English compilation of Chabad Chasidic insights into the festivals of the month of Tishrei. Compiled by Rabbi Eli Friedman and translated by Binyamin Kaplan, this classic covers an extensive array of topics, lore and law, as reflected in the Chabad tradition. However, this book of over 350 pages makes for an excellent resource for reading and learning for every Jew, no matter what belief. If you see it, buy it. The joy and knowledge that you will gain from this will surely help enrich your appreciation of our faith, especially at this sacred time of year.
Finally, and on the lighter side, we have Joe Bobker's  humorous, yet learned volume, "From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through The Jewish Holidays" [Geffen Publishing]. This book is appropriate to this time of year inasmuch as the first one hundred pages deal with this season's observances.
As noted, this book views our calendar in a humorous vein.  Mr. Bobker says "all my books are written with one purpose only: to educate in a humorous manner in order to 'prove' that living a Torah life can, and should be, fun. There is too much seriousness in the Torah world. Life is meant to be enjoyed. In  fact, when it comes to Jewish festivals, joy and good cheer, are, according to the Talmud, 'mitzvas!'"
These words give you a clear picture as to what motivates Joe Bobker's work. When you read him carefully you will come to see that this is no crass work but is indeed a serious method of teaching the themes and experiences of our faith with a smile and a hearty laugh.
Given all  that  we  are  facing , as Jews and as Americans, a good laugh is in order.
May I conclude with a quote from my good friend Rabbi Eliyahu Safran who wrote the following in a recent essay, titled, "Designing Your Own Calendar."
"Let us approach the beginning of this new  year by resolving to author and design our own days and calendar. Let us not be enslaved to pre-designed schedules and preordained programs, timetables and resolutions. Let's not just tear off and discard precious and valuable time, never to be be retrieved.
"May the year 5770 calendar be designed with care, adorned with precision and love, accompanied with health, happiness and contentment — so that our individual and collective accomplishments are many, Shana Tova."
To which I can only add, Amen.