Dr. Philip Birnbaum was an American religious author and translator, best known for his translation and annotation of the siddur, first published in 1949.
Biography
Birnbaum was born in Kielce, Poland and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He attended Howard College and received his Ph.D. from Dropsie College. He served for several years as the principal of a Jewish day school in Wilmington, Delaware, and directed Jewish schools in Birmingham, Alabama, and Camden, New Jersey. He was a regular columnist and book reviewer for the Hebrew-language weekly, Hadoar. He also served on the board of directors of the Histadrut Ivrit b'America, an American association for the promotion of Hebrew language and culture. His works include translations of the Siddur, the Machzor, the Torah with Haftorot, and the Passover Haggadah. These translations sought to express reverence without appearing archaic. His Siddur and Machzor were pioneering in that the Hebrew text is of uniform typeface, "unlike the helter-skelter boldface paragraphing... found in Old World siddurim". His siddur also contains the rarely published Megillat Antiochus. Until the recent advent of the Artscroll translations, "the Birnbaum" Siddur and Machzor were widely used in Orthodox synagogues, selling over 300,000 copies. These works presented "an accessible American English translation" and were pioneering in addressing American Jews' "perceived deficiencies in personal and communal prayer". Birnbaum is also well known for his works of popular Judaism: his excerpted translation of MaimonidesMishne Torah, was one of the first into English; his "Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts" and "A Treasury of Judaism" were widely referenced. He also produced a "readable" summary and translation of the Tanakh. On his death, one writer described him as "the most obscure best-selling author". It is noteworthy that an immigrant at age 19 should achieve such status as a translator into English.
Pedagogical innovation
Birnbaum's siddur's introduction said: "Children, trained in reading the large type in the siddur, gradually develop a prejudice against whatever appears in the smaller print." Someone who described his background with "Every shul in the neighborhood was Orthodox" and was interviewed after serving as "deputy undersecretary.. in the Pentagon"said about a trip abroad "I explored the base.. and was very surprised to find Birnbaum siddurim in one corner."
Influence and beyond
's Culturedepartment describes the Birnbaum as "One of the most useful versions of the prayerbook." A Concordance listing of the Birnbaum vs. the "Expanded version of Siddur Eit Ratzon" shows more than Oscar Wilde's "Imitation is the sincerest form of..."
Editing rejected
has rejected Birnbaum's reasoning for his change of a single letter in the Yigdal prayer, which appears to display either Birnbaum's unfamiliarity or disagreement with Perek Shirah.
