- Amidah - The Standing Prayer
- Shemoneh Esreh - 18 Benedictions
- Kevah - Fixed Prayer
- Kavannah - Intentional Prayer
(23) A long time after that, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God. (24) God heard their moaning, and God remembered the covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
We learned in the mishna that Rabbi Eliezer says: One whose prayer is fixed, his prayer is not supplication. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of fixed in this context? Rabbi Ya’akov bar Idi said that Rabbi Oshaya said: It means anyone for whom his prayer is like a burden upon him, from which he seeks to be quickly unburdened. The Rabbis say: This refers to anyone who does not recite prayer in the language of supplication, but as a standardized recitation without emotion. Rabba and Rav Yosef both said: It refers to anyone unable to introduce a novel element, i.e., something personal reflecting his personal needs, to his prayer, and only recites the standard formula.
§ The baraita cited previously taught that the halakha against reciting a text out of order applies to the Amida prayer as well. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? As it is taught in a baraita: Shimon HaPakuli arranged the eighteen blessings of the Amida prayer before Rabban Gamliel in their fixed order in Yavne, which indicates that there is a specific order to these blessings that must not be changed. Rabbi Yoḥanan said, and some say that it was taught in a baraita: A hundred and twenty Elders, i.e., the Men of the Great Assembly, and among them several prophets, established the eighteen blessings of the Amida in their fixed order, which also shows that the order of these blessings may not be changed.
(ב) וצריך אתה לדעת כי מימות משה רבינו עד אנשי כנסת הגדולה היתה התפלה בישראל בלתי מסודרת בתיקון שוה לכלנו, שהיה כל א' וא' עושה מליצה ומתפלל לעצמו כפי ידיעתו וחכמתו וצחות לשונו, עד שבאו אנשי כנסת הגדולה ותקנו תפלה זו של שמונה עשרה כדי שתהיה תפלה מסודרת שוה לכל ישראל...
...and you should know that from the days of Moses our teacher until the Men of the Great Assembly, prayer in Israel was not arranged in a definite order for everyone alike. Each individual prayed for himself according to her/his knowledge, wisdom, and clarity of expression, until the Men of the Great Assembly established the prayer of the 18 (blessings) in order that liturgy would be set for all of Israel alike...
There is a specific difficulty with Jewish prayer. There are laws: fixed texts. On the other hand, prayer is worship of the heart, the outpouring of the soul, a matter of devotion. Thus, Jewish prayer is guided by two opposite principles: order and outburst, regularity and sponteneity, uniformity and individuality, law and freedom.
These principles are the two poles about which Jewish prayer revolves. Since each of the two moves in the opposite direction, equilibrium can be maintained only if both are of equal force. However, the pole of regularity usually proves to be stronger than the pole of spontaneity, and as a result, there is a perpetual danger of prayer becoming a mere habit, a mechanical performance, an exercise in repetitiousness.
"Keva and kavannah are not, and have not ever been, mutually exclusive. Finding the time, accessing the words of prayer can be difficult; and left to our own devices we might forget to even try. So, as we recite the shema and amidah, (or any other prayer), our liturgy prompts us, reminding us of our history - from where we have come and to where we are going. The liturgy of the siddur assembles our collective destinies and aspirations, and provides space for expanded emotional and spiritual vocabulary, enabling each of us to pave our own paths. As Abraham Joshua Heschel taught us: "Prayer is a perspective from which to behold, from which to respond to, the challenges we face. Man in prayer does not seek to impose his will on God; he seeks to impose God's will and mercy upon himself.... To pray is to open a door, where both God and the soul may enter." This type of prayer is indeed prayer of the heart, prayer that expresses our deepest yearnings and concerns; it is prayer that is heartfelt and transformative. And, it is full of kavannah."
The Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei) evolved over centuries in response to historical events that shaped Jewish prayer and communal identity. Below is an overview of the key historical periods that influenced its formation.
1. Biblical and Temple Period (Before 500 BCE)
- In biblical times, prayer was largely spontaneous, with individuals such as Abraham, Moses, and Hannah offering personal supplications.
- Public worship was centered around the Temple in Jerusalem, where the main form of divine service was the daily sacrifices (Korbanot) rather than structured prayer.
- Some scholars suggest that early prayers may have been recited alongside the sacrifices, forming the basis for the later Amidah.
2. The Men of the Great Assembly (5th-4th Century BCE)
- After the Babylonian exile (586 BCE) and the destruction of the First Temple, Jewish leaders sought to reestablish religious life in Judea.
- Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah), a group of 120 sages, are traditionally credited with standardizing many prayers, including the Amidah’s early version.
- This was necessary because:
- Jews were dispersed across different lands, speaking different languages.
- Many no longer knew Hebrew well enough to compose their own prayers.
- A unified text ensured consistency in worship.
It was stated: Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: The three Prayers were instituted by the three Patriarchs, Avrham, Itzchak and Yaakov. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that the prayers were instituted based on the daily offerings sacrificed in the Holy Temple, and the prayers parallel the offerings – Shacharit (Morning), Mincha (Afternoon) and Arvit (Night).
Who is talking? Both R. Yosi bar Hanina and R. Yehoshua ben Levi were alive in the 3rd century of the common era. They lived in the Land of Israel, where they taught.
~ “Prayers” is the term used for what we today call “Amidah”, standing prayer. Why?
~ What are the two founding stories about the three daily services presented in the Talmud? Why does it matter?
(כז) וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֥ם אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּבֹּ֑קֶר אֶ֨ל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥מַד שָׁ֖ם אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃
(27) Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood (Amad) before יהוה,
(סג) וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה לִפְנ֣וֹת עָ֑רֶב וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּ֥ה גְמַלִּ֖ים בָּאִֽים׃
(63) And Isaac went out walking*walking Meaning of Heb. lasuaḥ uncertain; others “to meditate.” in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching.
(יא) וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃
(11) He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
(18) Evening, morning, and noon,
I complain and moan,
and God hears my voice.
(1) יהוה spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Command the Israelite people and say to them: Be punctilious in presenting to Me at stated times the offerings of food due Me,*the offerings of food due Me Lit. “My offering, My food.” as offerings by fire of pleasing odor to Me. (3) Say to them: These are the offerings by fire that you are to present to יהוה: As a regular burnt offering every day, two yearling lambs without blemish. (4) You shall offer one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. (5) And as a meal offering, there shall be a tenth of an ephah of choice flour with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil mixed in— (6) the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai*the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai See Exod. 29.38–41. —an offering by fire of pleasing odor to יהוה. (7) The libation with it shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb, to be poured in the sacred precinct as an offering of fermented drink*fermented drink I.e., wine. to יהוה.
my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.
(3) Take words with you
And return to GOD.
Say:
“Forgive all guilt
And accept what is good;
Instead of bulls we will pay
[The offering of] our lips.