Amidah, Amidah

Observant Jews recite the Amidah at each prayer service of the daymorning, afternoon, and evening.

One opinion in the Talmud claims, with support from Biblical verses, that the concept for each of the three services was founded respectively by each of the three biblical patriarchs. Berakhot 26b The prescribed times for reciting the Amidah come from the times of the public tamid ("eternal") sacrifices that took place in the Temples in Jerusalem.

Similarly, Maariv's Amidah is not repeated by the hazzan (reader), but all other Amidot are repeated.

The Shulchan Aruch thus advises that one pray using a translation one can understand, though learning the meaning of the Hebrew liturgy is ideal. Orach Chayim 101 Also, according to Halakhah, the first blessing of the Amidah must be said with intention; if said by rote alone, the worshipper must go back and repeat it with intention. The Rema wrote that this is no longer necessary, because "modern" (he lived in the 16th century) attention spans are so short, one would not have intention the second time either. Orach Chayim 101 The second to last blessing of Hoda'ah also has high priority for kavanah.

There are also halakhot to prevent interrupting the Amidah of others; for example, it is forbidden to sit next to someone praying or to walk within four amot (cubits) of someone praying.

Mishnah Berurah 95 The Babylonian Talmud relates that the practice of stepping backward after the Amidah is a reminder of the practice in the Temple in Jerusalem, when those offering the daily sacrifices would walk backward from the altar after finishing. It is also compared to a student who respectfully backs away from his teacher.

The first three blessings as a section are known as the shevach ("praise"), and serve to inspire the worshipper and invoke God's mercy. The middle thirteen blessings compose the bakashah ("request"), with six personal requests, six communal requests, and a final request that God accept the prayers. The final three blessings, known as the hoda'ah ("gratitude"), thank God for the opportunity to serve Him. The shevach and hoda'ah are standard for every Amidah, with some changes on certain occasions.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Eternal, my rock and my redeemer. Talmud Berachot 17a Mainstream Ashkenazi Orthodox Judaism also adds the following prayer to the conclusion of every Amidah: May it be your will, O my God and God of my fathers, that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, and give us our portion in your Torah, and there we will worship you with reverence as in ancient days and former years. And may the Mincha offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to God, as in ancient days and former years.

The Mussaf service is technically a separate, free-standing service which could potentially be said any time between the shacharit (morning) and mincha (afternoon) services, but today is normally recited immediately after the regular morning service as part of single, but extended, worship session. The Mussaf Amidah begins with the same first three and concludes with the same last three blessings as the regular Amidah. However, in place of the 13 intermediate blessings of the daily service, special prayers are added for the holiday. In Orthodox Services, these prayers recount the special Mussaf sacrifice that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem on the occasion, and contains a plea for the building of a Third Temple and the restoration of sacrificial worship. The biblical passage referring to the Mussaf sacrifice of the day is included. The Priestly Blessing is said during the Reader's repetition of the Amidah. Outside of the land of Israel, the Mussaf Amidah of major Jewish holidays is the only time the Priestly Blessing is chanted by actual kohanim (priests).

These 3 blessings each end a section of the Amidah - which are "Malchuyot" (Kingship, and also includes the blessing for the holiness of the day as is in a normal Mussaf), "Zichronot" (Remembrance) and "Shofrot" (concerning the Shofar). Each section contains an introductory paragraph followed by selections of verses about the "topic". The verses are 3 from the Torah, 3 from the Ketuvim, 3 from the Nevi'im, and one more from the Torah. During the repetition of the Amidah, the Shofar is sounded (except on Shabbat) after the blessing that ends each section.

The paragraph thanks God for the ability to separate between the holy and mundane, paraphrasing the concepts found in the Havdalah ceremony. In fact, the Talmud teaches that if this paragraph is forgotten, the Amidah need not be repeated, because Havdalah will be said later over wine. Once Atah Chonantanu is said, work prohibited on the holy day becomes permitted because the separation from the holy day has been established.

At Shacharit, no changes are made in the silent Amidah, but the chazzan adds an additional blessing in his repition right after the blessing of Geulah , known by its first word Aneinu ("Answer us"). The blessing concludes with the signature "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who responds (some say: to His nation Israel ) in time of trouble." At Minchah, the chazzan adds Aneinu in his repetition again, as at Shacharit. In addition, during the silent Amidah, all fasting congregatants recite the text of Aneinu without its signature in the blessing of Tefillah . In addition, communities that say the shortened version of the Shalom blessing at Minchah and Maariv say the complete version at this Minchah. The chazzan also says the priestly blessing before Shalom as he would at Shacharit, unlike the usual weekday Minchah when the priestly blessing is not said.

He formulated a text of the Amidah which seems to be a fusion of the Ashkenazi and Sepharadi text in accordance with his understanding of Kabbalah. Following the establishment of the State of Israel and the reunification of Jerusalem, some Orthodox authorities proposed changes to the special Nachem ("Console...") prayer commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem added to the Amidah on Tisha B'av in light of these events.

More traditional Conservative congregations recite a prayer similar to the Mussaf prayer in Orthodox services, except they refer to Temple sacrifices only in the past tense and do not include a prayer for the restoration of the sacrifices. More liberal Conservative congregations omit references to the Temple sacrifices entirely. Reconstructionist and Reform congregations generally do not do the Mussaf Amidah at all, but if they do, they omit all references to Temple worship.

Source: Wikipedia > Amidah