Prayer books containing some version of the Sephardic rite, as varied by the usages of the Ari, were 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 (meditations) and proper ways to pray rather than as an actual prayer book.
