Rebbetzin Malkie Herson had a problem. Each Yom Kippur, large numbers of Jews joined the services at her Chabad House, Chabad of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, for Yizkor, with many arriving just in time for the Torah reading. They were unfamiliar with the services, and she wished there was a way to help them feel at home, but with services in full swing, there was no time to offer guidance.
She tried a plethora of booklets, printouts, and synagogue companions, but nothing fit. Bouncing from the machzor to a printout and back again wasn’t helping anyone. One booklet might familiarize congregants with the service, but you’d need another to understand its meaning or gain deeper insight.
So Mrs. Herson approached JLI with an idea: create a supplementary Yom Kippur machzor that does it all. They responded with the Mid-Service Machzor.
The Mid-Service Machzor is the only thing a congregant needs, from the moment the Aron Kodesh opens for the Torah reading until Yizkor wraps up. Its stylish design packs in the Hebrew liturgy alongside translation, transliteration, helpful background information, insightful elucidation, and empowering meditations.
Created in collaboration with Kehos, the Mid-Service Machzor gives once-a-year attendees all the background and Chassidus-infused inspiration they need to feel comfortable and uplifted for this part of the service. It says everything shluchim wish they could say, and it shares all the background information congregants wish someone could tell them.
Rabbi Simcha Backman shared the Mid-Service Machzor with his community at Chabad of Glendale, California, last Yom Kippur. “It was a game-changer,” he said. “Everyone loved it.”
Rabbi Shlame Landa, of Chabad of Fairfield, Connecticut, says it was “well-received by both new congregants and seasoned veterans. We used it again for Yizkor on Shemini Atzeres.”
The author, Rabbi Menashe Wolf, and editor, Rabbi Mordechai Dinerman, went to great lengths to ensure that the Mid-Service Machzor fits the needs of Chabad Houses to a tee. Now available in hardcover, the Mid-Service Machzor is a must-have investment for every English-speaking Chabad House.
To learn more or order, visit: www.myjli.com/catalog/product/yom-kippur-mid-service-machzor
