Amidah

Prayer

The Amidah — ”standing prayer” in English — is a central part of each of the three daily Jewish prayer services. It is also called Shemoneh Esrei, which means “18,” a reference to the fact that the prayer originally consisted of 18 blessings, though the rabbis later added an additional one. The Amidah can be broken down into three parts: praise, national and personal requests, and thanksgiving.

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Flexibility in Daily Prayer

MISHNAH

Though the standing prayer is considered a key fixture of daily prayers, rabbinic stages thousands of years ago debated whether one should recite it or an alternative prayer. The Mishnah, the first codification of Jewish law from the early third-century, presents differing rabbinic opinions on the required daily prayer.

The mishna cites a dispute with regard to the obligation to recite the Amida prayer, also known as Shemoneh Esreh, the prayer of eighteen blessings, or simply as tefilla, prayer. Rabban Gamliel says: Each and every day a person recites the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Yehoshua says: A short prayer is sufficient, and one only recites an abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Akiva says an intermediate opinion: If he is fluent in his prayer, he recites the prayer of eighteen blessings, and if not…

Mishnah Berakhot 4:3

Personal Requests in Structured Prayer

TALMUD

The standing prayer has a specific structure. The talmudic tractate Berakhot explains that personal requests should be made in the middle blessings of the Amidah, likening the stages of the prayer to a servant's interaction with their master.

Rav Yehuda said: There is an additional distinction between the various sections of the Amida prayer: One must never request his own needs in the first three or in the last three blessings; rather, he should do so in the middle blessings. As Rabbi Ḥanina said: During the first three blessings, he is like a servant who arranges praise before his master; during the middle blessings, he is like a servant who requests a reward from his master…

Berakhot 34a:10

A Prayer for All

HALAKHAH

The standing prayer was established to ensure that all Jews, regardless of their linguistic abilities, could participate in prayer. The Mishneh Torah, Rambam's famed 12th-century code of Jewish law, explains how Ezra and his court created a standardized prayer to address the challenges faced by Jews in exile who struggled with Hebrew fluency.

When Israel was exiled in the time of the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, they became interspersed in Persia and Greece and other nations. Children were born to them in these foreign countries and those children's language was confused.
The speech of each and every one was a concoction of many tongues. No one was able to express himself coherently in any one language, but rather in a mixture [of languages], as [Nehemiah 13:24] states: "And their children spoke half in Ashdodit and did not know how to speak the Jewish language…

Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 1:4

The Intensity of Rabbi Akiva's Prayer

TOSEFTA

Rabbi Akiva's personal prayer was marked by intense physical devotion. The Tosefta, an ancient collection of rabbinic laws and teachings, examines the prayer practices of Rabbi Akiva, emphasizing the difference in his speed and physical devotion when praying alone versus with a congregation.

Rebbi Yehudah said, “When Rebbi Akiva would pray [Shmoneh Esreh] together with the congregation he would finish faster than everyone else. When he would pray by himself a person would leave him on one side [of the room] and when he would come back he would find him on a different side [of the room], because of all of the bending of the knees and bowing that he would do.”

Tosefta Berakhot 3:7

The Mystical Connection Between the Lulav and Prayer

KABBALAH

The lulav, one of four species shaken on the holiday of Sukkot, is mystically connected to the standing prayer. The Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism, explores the this connection, highlighting how both have roots in the vertebrae of the human spine.

And this lulav [palm branch] is the righteous one. For it is similar to the spinal cord, which has eighteen rings corresponding to the eighteen wavings of the lulav. And those correspond to the eighteen blessings of prayer, corresponding to the eighteen mentions [of God] of Give to the Lord, O sons of powers (Psalms 29:1), corresponding to the eighteen mentions in the recitation of Shema. So he waves it in the six directions, the total of six, three wavings to each side, is eighteen.

Zohar, Pinchas 121:821

The 18 Blessings

COMMENTARY

The 18 blessings of the daily standing prayer are textually linked to the 18 mentions of God's name in Psalm 29. Rashi, the renowned 11th-century biblical commentator, references a midrash that draws a connection between the prayer and the psalm.

the glory due His name This is the blessing of the sanctity of the Name [the third blessing of the Amidah]. In this psalm, there are eighteen mentions of God’s name, and corresponding to them, they instituted eighteen blessings.

Rashi on Psalms 29:2:1

Countering Heresy in Prayer

HALAKHAH

The addition of the 19th blessing to the daily standing prayer served to counteract the influence of heretics. Rambam, in his Mishneh Torah, explains the context and necessity for this addition during the time of Rabban Gamliel.

In the days of Rabban Gamliel, the numbers of heretics among the Jews increased. They would oppress the Jews and entice them to turn away from God.
Since he saw this as the greatest need of the people, he and his court established one blessing that contains a request to God to destroy the heretics. He inserted it into the Shemoneh Esreh so that it would be arranged in the mouths of all. Consequently, there are nineteen blessings in the Shemoneh Esreh.

Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 2:1

The Spiritual Ascent of Prayer

CHASIDUT

Chasidic teaching emphasize the transformative power of prayer when approached with proper intention and spiritual focus. The Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of Chaisidut, offers a structured approach to the standing prayer that involves a gradual spiritual ascent and deep concentration.

I heard from my Master (the Baal Shem Tov) that the morning prayers should reflect what is written: “I wake up the dawn, and the dawn does not wake me up.” That is, a person should make an effort to gradually ascend until he reaches the words “Blessed is He who speaks.” This section corresponds to the world of Asiyah, which exists below, in the place of the “impure shells.” He should then concentrate more, until “May He be blessed,” which is the world of Yetzirah, where there are not as many “shells.” And from “May He be blessed,” until the Amidah, he should concentrate even more…

Ba'al Shem Tov, Noach 95:1

The Mystical Structure of the Standing Prayer

JEWISH THOUGHT

The standing prayer is not just a prayer but a spiritual conduit for divine influence. In his 18th-century work, Derekh Hashem, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal) explores the influences represented by the first three blessings and their connection to the patriarchs and King David.

Regarding the eighteen blessings: And behold, you should know that the types of supreme influence - under which all types of flow and their details are included - are three. And they are indicated in the three [first] letters of [His] name, blessed be He; and their binding together for the perfection of all creation is indicated by the last [letter in His name,] hay. And corresponding to them are the three descriptions [in the first blessing], "the Great, the Powerful and the Awesome…

Derekh Hashem, Part Four, On the Daily Order of Prayer 11

Guidelines for Personal Prayers

HALAKHAH

Knowing how to personalize one's prayers can deepen the spiritual experience. Rabbi Joseph Karo’s 16th-century legal code, the Shulchan Arukh, provides specific guidelines on when and how to insert personal prayers within the blessings of the daily standing prayer.

The Laws of the One Who Wants To Add [Personal Prayers] In The Blessings. Containing 4 S'ifim:
If one wanted to add in any of the middle blessings, something similar the blessing, one may add. How so? If one had a sick person, one asks for mercy for [that person] in the blessing of "Refa'einu" ["Heal us"]. If one needs a livelihood, one may ask for it in the "Blessing of the Years". And in [the blessing] of "Shomeya Tefilla" ["Who hears prayers"], one may ask for any of one's needs, for it includes all the requests…

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 119:1

Rejoicing in the Third Blessing

MUSAR

The third blessing in the standing prayer focuses on God's sanctity. Rabbi Alexander Ziskind of Grodno, in his 18th-century work, explains how the recitation of this blessing should be a moment of immense joy, stemming from the recognition of God's holiness and the holy status of Israel.

The third blessing is You are holy and Your name is holy. With this blessing, a person should rejoice with great tremendous joy about the great holiness of our Maker and our Creator, may His name be blessed and exalted. And the holy ones [in the blessing] are the Jewish people, who are called holy ones, as Abudarham explains. But it is appropriate to also have the supernal angles in mind [when saying this term]. Blessed are You Lord, the holy God: He should rejoice with tremendous joy, as mentioned above…

Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah, The Fifth Gate 3:10

Personal Gratitude in Prayer

COMMENTARY

Gratitude is a deeply personal act that cannot be delegated to others. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his 21st-century work, discusses why when the congregational leader recites a blessing of thanks, individuals recite separate blessings of thanks.

Gratitude also lies behind a fascinating feature of the Amida. When the leader of prayer repeats the Amida aloud, we are silent other than for the responses of Kedusha, and saying Amen after each blessing, with one exception. When the leader says the words Modim anaḥnu lakh, “We give thanks to You,” the congregation says a parallel passage known as Modim DeRabbanan. For every other blessing of the Amida, it is sufficient to assent to the words of the leader by saying Amen. The one exception is Modim, “We give thanks…

Judaism's Life Changing Ideas; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Tzav; Giving Thanks 13

The Unique Blessing of Abraham

COMMENTARY

In the standing prayer, the phrase 'God of Abraham' highlights the promise to Abraham that he would become a great nation. The Siftei Chakhamim, a supercommentary on Rashi’s Torah commentary, delves into the significance of this phrase.

This is when we say: “God of Avraham.” The verse implies this explanation, since only about a multitude is it said, “God of.” For instance, it says, “God of Israel” (33:20), “God of the Hebrews” (Shemos 3:18) and “the gods of the peoples” (Devarim 6:14). The Torah never says “God of” about an individual. Accordingly, Hashem told Avraham: “I will make you into a great nation” — you will be as a great nation, since they will say about you “God of Avraham.” And since “I will bless you” connotes additional blessing, it means that also Avraham’s son will be so blessed…

Siftei Chakhamim, Genesis 12:2:4

The Structure of the Standing Prayer

HALAKHAH

Understanding the standing prayer's structure can deepen one's spiritual experience. Rabbi David Abudarham’s 14th-century work explains the logical and scriptural basis for the order of the blessings in the standing prayer.

And why did they see fit to place the blessing of the ingathering of the exiles after the blessing of the years? As it is written: “And you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they will soon be coming” (Ez. 36:8), And once the exiles have been gathered, judgment will be meted out to the wicked, as it is stated: “And I will turn my hand against you and purge away your dross as with lye” (Isaiah 1:25), and immediately after it is written: “And I will restore your judges as at first and those who take…

Abudarham, Weekday Prayers, Amidah 71

Bowing in Prayer

MIDRASH

Bowing is incorporated into the recitation of the standing prayer. This 16th-century text provides guidance on the appropriate moments to bow.

Our Rabbis taught: "These are the blessings [of the Eighteen Benedictions] during the recital of which a man should bow; the blessing of the Ancestors (the first one, or Aboth), at its beginning and its end; the blessing of Acknowledgment, (one before the last, or Modim), at its beginning and at its end; if one desire to bow at the end and the beginning of each and every blessing, he is to be taught not to do so."

Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Berakhot 5:15

Silent Prayer, Synagogue of Amsterdam, "The Amidah", Edouard Brandon 1897, Gift of Brigadier General Morris C. Troper in memory of his wife Ethel G. Troper and his son Murray H. Troper, The Jewish Museum, New York.

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