Siach Yitzchak: Bibliographic Information

Short title: שיח יצחק
Translation: The Meditation of Isaac

Long title: סדר תפילה עם ביאור שיח יצחק ומאמרים שונים בהלכה ואגדה
Translation: The order of prayer with the commentary of "The Meditation of Isaac" and a collection of essays on law and legend.

Author: Rabbi Simon J. Finkelstein (1859-1947)

Edited and introduction: Rabbi Louis Finkelstein (1895-1991).

Printed: Privately printed by the descendants of Simon J. Finkelstein, Jerusalem, 1968.

Language: Hebrew (except for a few prayers and quotations in Aramaic).

Contents:

  1. An introductory biographical essay of the author, by Louis Finkelstein (pages vii-xvi).
  2. The traditional Ashkenazic Jewish siddur, with a running commentary in footnotes by Simon J. Finkelstein (pages 1-256). This includes the complete liturgy for weekdays and Shabbat, including Song of Songs, Pirkei Avot, Rosh Hodesh, Purim and Hanukah, but not for Yom Tov, the High Holidays, the fast days or Selichot. It includes a few rather unusual items, such as the ceremony of הטבת חלום (turning a dream to good). The text of the siddur is pointed; the rest of the material in the book is unpointed. The first appearance of the שמע (pp. 53-57) includes the traditional cantilation marks.
  3. Seventy מאמרים by Simon J. Finkelstein (pages 257-323). These short essays (for want of a better word) vary greatly in length: the longest (#14) is ten pages long; the shortest (#42) is a two-sentence observation. The majority are explications of a dificulty in a particular Biblical or Rabbinic passage, which is quoted at the beginning, either printed in bold face, or introduced with a standard Rabbinic phrase such as איתא במתניתין ("It is found in the Mishnah"). However other essays are general observations, anecdotes, or stories .
Online version: This electronic version as PDF files of page images, was created by Ernest Davis, March 2013. When a natural section break occurs in the middle of the page, the page is included with both sections.

Copyright: As of the time of writing (March 2013), the copyright on this work has presumably not expired; however, it would be difficult to determine reliably who is the legal owner. Probably it is the joint property of Simon J. Finkelstein's many descendants. (Simon J. Finkelstein had eight children; several dozen grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; and, to my knowledge, at least one great-great-great-grandchild, almost certainly more than one.) In any case, it can be assumed that permission is granted to anyone to make any reasonable use of this, including reproduction, as long as proper credit is given.