MAHZOR (MAHAZOR). - Synagogal ritual for the annual festivals (literally "cycle," from hâzar "to return periodically," originally an astronomical term); in the Syrian Church mahâzôra is equivalent to Breviary. It is not excluded that the oldest m. was a calendar enriched with indications concerning the liturgy. As the texts were enriched through the work of the synagogal "pajjetanim" (poets), the calendar was omitted.

Unlike the siddûr ("order" of prayers), which contains only the fundamental prayers, the m. also contains the poetic parts (pijjûtim) of a later period. The oldest m. belong to the 6th century A.D. The best known and most appreciated is that of Simhâh of Samuel of Vitry (ca. 1100). The siddûr of R. H. Šelômôh Jishâqî was published in Berlin in 1911. The m. varies according to the rite (Spanish, German, Italian). A complete m. contains, besides the festival prayers and poems, the lessons from the Pentateuch (pârâfâth) and the prophetic readings haphtârâth, as well as the mêghillâth.

Bibliography

BIBL.: I. Elbogen, Der jüdische Gottesdienst in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung, 2nd ed., Frankfurt am Main 1924, pp. 6-8. Eugenio Zolli

@incollection{ec7_mahzor_mahazor, author = {Zolli, Eugenio}, title = {Mahzôr (Mahâzôr)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VII}, pages = {1851}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/mahzor-mahazor} }

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Mahzor (Mahazor)

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