The heart of Jewish worship is a prayer
referred to as the Amidah or standing prayer.
In fact reciting the Amidah
was synonymous with prayer itself to the
ancient rabbis and is sometimes referred
to in the Talmud simply as Tefillah
the Amidah is the main course of Jewish
prayer everything else is an appetizer or a side dish
The Amidah is a chain of short blessings
that are recited together while standing
quietly at every occasion of formal
Jewish worship although the Amidah is a
prayer recited silently while standing
in place were citing the Amidah is
hardly a stationary experience and many
worshipers develop unique ways to move
their bodies while reciting the words of
the Amidah some rush through the words
at only a few minutes while others stand
and quiet dialogue with God oblivious to
the clock steadily marking the passage of time
The Talmudic rabbis provided
guidance for the basic structure of the Amidah
The first three blessings should
be occasions for praise of God the final
three blessings comprise our expressions
of gratitude as we take a leave of God's
presence and the blessings in the middle
are a chance to make specific requests
the blessings in-between the first three
and the final three blessings change
according to the season
during the week day 13 specific requests comprise the
bulk of the Amidah these requests focus
on practical needs of health and the
ability to make wise choices
as well as
more lofty yearnings for redemption and
a world transformed by justice
On Shabbat and holidays when we pause to rest
those 13 requests are replaced by
one blessing that focuses on the sacred
nature of the day
Historically the
prayer leader prayed out loud on behalf
of the community
today individuals have
a chance to personalize their silent
Amidah while joining the congregation in
the communal Amidah
although there are many different
versions of the Amidah in use among
contemporary Jewish communities they all
share this overall structure and they
share most words in common too.
Once printed in a prayer book, the words of the Amidah
cannot change but it is
appropriate to add one's own personal
words of prayer at the end of the Amidah
or even in the middle of the Amidah when
our own personalized prayers correspond
to a theme of one of the standardized blessings,
Each Amidah is a unique
opportunity to disconnect from the world
around us and its distractions and to
use the words of the Amidah to remind us
what is truly important.
Each Amidah is a
unique opportunity to cultivate a relationship with God
Each Amidah is
unique opportunity to serve God with our hearts
