For generations, machzorim have existed for the Yomim Tovim — carefully structured volumes that integrate the fixed prayers of the day with the unique piyutim (liturgical additions) of each festival. On Yom Tov, the worshipper opens a single book and is guided seamlessly through the service, without interruption or confusion.
Yet for communities whose custom is to recite piyutim on special Shabbosos, no such integrated volume existed.
Instead, the worshipper was forced to juggle two separate books: a siddur for the core tefillah, and a sefer piyutim for the liturgical insertions woven throughout the service. This arrangement is unintutive even for the seasoned worshiper, who must constantly shift between texts, keep track of place, and anticipate what comes next. For the uninitiated — visitors, younger worshippers, or those newly encountering the minhag — the experience can be bewildering, fragmented, and alienating.
As a result, many worshippers quietly opted not to recite the piyutim at all. The discontinuity was confusing for guests, and too often left them feeling lost rather than welcomed. The very richness of the tradition thus became its greatest obstacle, and it became clear that the piyutim needed to be presented in a way that invited participation.
Machzor Shivchei Yeshurun was conceived to address this gap. Its guiding principle is simple: Shabbos deserves the same liturgical coherence that we instinctively expect on Yom Tov.
Rather than treating piyutim as external additions, the Machzor integrates them directly into the flow of the service. Each prayer appears in its proper place, each piyut where it is actually recited, allowing the worshipper to daven naturally and continuously.
The first beginnings of the Machzor Shivchei Yeshurun date back to the fall of 2014, when Rabbi Dovid Roth, together with a small group of collaborators, began producing piyutim booklets for K'hal Adath Jeshurun — intended for guests and regulars alike — in advance of each of the special Shabbosos throughout the year.
These booklets went beyond merely inserting the piyutim into the appropriate sections of the service. Each piyut was preceded by a brief introductory note in English, designed to acquaint the worshipper with its theme and context. In addition, the piyutim were printed in their full poetic structure, facilitating deeper engagement and appreciation even in the absence of a full translation.
Once a complete year’s cycle of booklets had been produced, Chaim Gordimer suggested that the project be expanded into a full-fledged machzor that could be used for the entire Shabbos service, and offered to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the undertaking. What followed were many months of intensive work and countless late nights, transforming a collection of individual booklets into a unified, coherent, and tastefully formatted volume.
The completed concept was presented to a cadre of enthusiastic sponsors, who generously provided the support needed to print a full, beautifully produced machzor. The Machzor Shivchei Yeshurun was released just in time for Parshas Shekolim 5776/2016 and the entire printing was sold out in just several months.
Following the rapid sell-out of the first printing, there was sustained and widespread demand for a reissue. Nearly a decade later, we are pleased to present a second printing of the Machzor Shivchei Yeshurun. While this edition incorporates careful corrections, refinements, and modest improvements in presentation, it remains, in substance and structure, the same work — faithful to the original text, layout, and liturgical vision on which the Machzor was first conceived.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the sponsors and volunteer editors whose dedication and generosity made this new edition possible, and whose efforts were guided by the same underlying goal that shaped the original publication: to allow the worshipper to navigate tefillah with clarity, continuity, and ease, and to experience the piyutim as an integrated and natural part of the service.