[pl. Siddurim]; Jewish Prayer Book used on Shabbat and weekdays throughout the year. It contains the prayers created by the Jewish People over the ages beginning with the Avot (Avraham instituted “Shacharis,” the Morning Prayer, Yitzchak taught the idea of “Minchah,” the Afternoon Prayer, and Yaakov began the practice of reciting “Maariv,” the Evening Prayer).
The “Anshei K’nesset HaGedolah,” “Men of the Great Assembly,” formulated the main prayers, including the classic prayer, the “Shemoneh Esray,” the set of “eighteen” (the literal meaning of the Prayer’s name) blessings which the Jew uses to pray to G-d.