By Simon Rocker
The Chief Rabbi's new Rosh Hashanah machzor hit the shops this week.
Edited by Dayan Ivan Binstock of the London Beth Din and published by Jerusalem-based Koren, the machzor features a new translation, commentary and introductory essay by Lord Sacks.
It is the first in a planned series of prayer books by the Chief Rabbi covering the major festivals, superseding the now out-of-print Routledge editions which were once the standard for United Synagogue-style congregations. It is unusual in that the English appears on the right-hand page rather than the left as in most prayer books.
The edition is sponsored by Alan and Edward Lee and family in memory of their parents Arnold and Helen Lee.
Arnold Lee, who died earlier this year, was a former chairman of Jews' College, where Lord Sacks was principal. "My father was also the chief warden of the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, who invited Jonathan Sacks to be its rabbi before he became Chief Rabbi," Edward Lee explained.