Nusach Ari


Nusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century.

History of the Siddur

The Ari and his immediate disciples did not themselves publish any prayer book, though they established a number of characteristic usages intended to be used as additions to the existing Sephardic rite. After Rabbi Isaac Luria's passing in 1572, there were various attempts, mostly by Sephardic rabbis and communities, to publish a prayer book containing the form of prayer that he used: an example is the Siddur of Rabbi Shalom Sharabi. Many of these remain in use in Sephardic communities: for more details, see Sephardic Judaism.
Prayer books containing some version of the Sephardic rite, as varied by the usages of the Ari, were also in use in some Kabbalistic circles in the Ashkenazic world in preference to the traditional Ashkenazic rite. In particular, they became popular among the early Hasidim. These prayer books were often found to be inconsistent with the AriZal's version, and served more as a teaching of the kavanot and proper ways to pray rather than as an actual prayer book.
Many of the other siddurim that are based on the AriZal's siddur are categorized under the title of Nusach Sefard, and are used by sects of Hasidic Judaism.
It is generally held—even by Luria, the AriZal, himself—that every Jew is bound to observe the mitzvot by following the customs appropriate to his or her family origin: see Minhag. Originally, Luria taught that twelve gates of prayer exist, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel, hence twelve nusachs for Jewish prayer emanated accordingly. In alteration of this concept, especially in 18th/19th-century Hassidism the claim emerged that a superior Nusach Sefard would reach a believed "thirteenth gate" in Heaven. Almost naturally Nusach Sefard, with its variant Nusach Ari, became predominant among the various sects of Hasidic Judaism. For this reason, a number of non-Hasidic rabbis disapprove of the adoption of these different rather recent 18th/19th-century devised customs by Ashkenazi Jews.

Siddurim Adapted from the ''AriZal's'' Siddur