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| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
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| Mishnah: | Brachot ch. 4–5 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Brachot ch. 4–5 |
| Mishneh Torah: | Tefillah ch. 4–5 |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Orach Chaim 89–127 |
The Amidah (Hebrew: תפילת העמידה, Tefilat HaAmidah, 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the Shemoneh Esreh (שמנה עשרה 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the Amidah at each of three daily prayer services in a typical weekday: morning (Shacharit), afternoon (Mincha), and evening (Ma'ariv). On Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Jewish festivals, a fourth Amidah (Mussaf) is recited after the morning Torah reading, and once per year, a fifth Amidah (Ne'ilah) is recited, around sunset, on Yom Kippur. Due to the importance of the Amidah, in rabbinic literature, it is simply called "hatefila" (התפילה, "the prayer").[1] According to legend, the prayer was composed by the rabbis of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (c. 515–332 BCE).[2][3] Accordingly, in Judaism, to recite the Amidah is a mitzvah de-rabbanan,[2][3] i. e., a commandment of rabbinic origin.[4]
Although the name Shemoneh Esreh ("eighteen") refers to the original number of component blessings in the prayer, the typical weekday Amidah actually consists of nineteen blessings.
Among other prayers, the Amidah can be found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. The prayer is recited standing with feet firmly together, and preferably while facing Jerusalem. In Orthodox public worship, the Amidah is usually first prayed quietly by the congregation, and is then repeated aloud by the chazzan (reader); it is not repeated in the Maariv prayer. The repetition's original purpose was to give illiterate members of the congregation a chance to participate in the collective prayer by answering "Amen". Conservative and Reform congregations sometimes abbreviate the public recitation of the Amidah according to their customs. When the Amidah is modified for specific prayers or occasions, the first three blessings and the last three remain constant, framing the Amidah used in each service, while the middle thirteen blessings are replaced by blessings (usually just one) specific to the occasion.
- ^ "The Shmoneh-Esrai Benedictions of the Silent Prayer". Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ a b Abramowitz, Jack (9 December 2015). "Shemoneh Esrei #1 – Avos (Fathers)". Orthodox Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ a b Adler, Cyrus; Hirsch, Emil G. "SHEMONEH 'ESREH". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Promising Justice: Derrida with Jewish Jurisprudence A Hirvonen - Law and Critique, 2001 - Springer "...commandments (mitzvot) that come directly from the Torah (de'oraita) and are biblical, are a superior authority to those rabbinic ones which do not come from it (de'rabbanan)."