Editing Machzor (section)

{{Short description|Prayer book used by Jews on holidays}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
{{See also|Siddur and mahzor}}
[[File:Amsterdam Mahzor, 058V.jpg|thumb|''[[Amsterdam Machzor]]'', written in [[Cologne]] c. 1250, is one of the earliest illuminated manuscripts of [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi origin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=THE AMSTERDAM MAHZOR |url=https://amsterdammahzor.org/ |website=THE AMSTERDAM MAHZOR |language=en}}</ref> [[Joods Historisch Museum]]]]
[[File:Festival prayer book (Mahzor).jpg|thumb|Mahzor written on [[parchment]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in an [[Italy|Italian]] [[Ktav Ashuri|square script]] and dated to the 14th or 15th century. [[Chester Beatty Library]]]]
The '''''machzor''''' ({{langx|he|[[:wikt: מחזור|מחזור]]}}, plural '''''machzorim''''', {{IPA|he|maχˈzoʁ|pron}} and {{IPA|he|maχzoˈʁim|}}, respectively) is the [[prayer book]] which is used by [[Jews]] on the [[High Holy Days]] of [[Rosh Hashanah]] and [[Yom Kippur]]. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festivals of [[Passover]], [[Shavuot]], and [[Sukkot]]. The ''machzor'' is a specialized form of the ''[[siddur]]'', which is generally intended for use in weekday and [[Shabbat]] services.

The word ''machzor'' means "cycle"; the [[Semitic root|root]] [[:wikt:חזר|ח־ז־ר]] means "to return". The term ''machzor'' originally referred to a book containing prayers for the entire year, including weekdays and [[Shabbat]] as well as holidays. Later (first in [[Ashkenazi]] communities) a distinction developed between the ''[[siddur]]'', which included weekday and Shabbat prayers, and the ''machzor'', which included festival prayers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hebrewbooks.org/21241|title=HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: מבוא למחזור בני רומא -- לוצטו, שמואל דוד בן חזקיה, 1800-1865|website=hebrewbooks.org}}.</ref>  Nevertheless, the original type of Machzor containing all of the prayers for the year continued to be used (even if less common) at least into the 20th century.<ref>See Machzor Kol Bo, Vilna 1923, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20400 Volume 1], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20253 Volume 2], [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20298 Volume 3] and [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/20350 Volume 4].</ref>