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The discussion regarding the role of women in Orthodox synagogues would not gain momentum until much later, but the publication of special siddurim for women dates back to the early twentieth century. One of the first such siddurim was produced by the Evelina de Rothschild school in Jerusalem in 1910, primarily for female students. Like many educational siddurim of the time, it had limited content and design.
In 1945, the Eshkol press in Jerusalem released a more comprehensive siddur for women called the Korban Minchah, which included prayers for all year round and a detailed collection of halachas concerning women’s obligations in Judaism. Based on the Shirah Chadashah siddur with Hebrew commentary by Rabbi Chaim David Rosenstein, the siddur also featured the Amirah Lebeit Yaakov halachic collection, covering various aspects of Jewish law related to women.
The Amirah Lebeit Yaakov was written by Rabbi Yitzhak Dov Bamberger, the Rabbi of Wurzburg, Germany, in 1858. Its reprinting in Hebrew in 1945 was supported by religious Zionist rabbis, emphasizing the importance of adhering to Jewish laws and traditions.
Accompanied by a complete Sefer Tehillim, the siddur was well-received by some religious communities but had limited editions due to its weight and possibly the preference for visually appealing siddurim. Despite being a popular gift for brides in the 1960s and 1970s, it gradually became less common as other siddurim gained popularity.
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This article was originally published on JFeed.com.