Amidah

The Eighteen Benedictions (also Eighteen Benedictions ) (Hebrew שמנה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei, German " eighteen " ), often Amida ( עמידה of עמד, German "standing" ) or tefillah ( תפילה, German " prayer " ), called is the main prayer in Jewish worship.

Designation

Shemoneh Esrei is widespread in the Ashkenazi tradition name, which goes back to the number of requests in the version of Eretz Israel for the weekdays. Since the prayer in the usual today, originally Babylonian version, however, is one of 19 petitions, the common especially in Sephardic Judaism name Amida has prevailed. This refers to the fact that prayer is always said standing up. In the Talmud, prayer is simply referred to as tefillah, " prayer ", as it is the prayer par excellence.

Content and structure

The Amidah consists of an initial part with three Brachot ( blessings )

• Avot "patriarchal "
• Gewurot " power enough, " and
• Kedushas ha - Shem " sanctification of God"

A main part which refers to specific concerns of the day. On weekdays, it consists of 13 petitions for a Jewish life on the Sabbath from a request for a good day of rest, on feast days according to the respective party. In Mussafgebet on the Sabbath and feast days it contains the victim provisions in Mussafgebet on Rosh Hashanah three sections of God's kingdom, God's remembrance and the shofar.

The final turn consists of three Brachot

• Avodah " Temple worship "
• Hoda'a "Thanks " and
• Birkat Shalom " Priestly Blessing and Peace Please ".

The first and last three blessings are always the same.

Origin

The oldest evidence for the text of the Amida dates from the 9th century ( Seder Amram Gaon Raw ). Even the Mishnah (c. 200) but mentioned the themes of Brachot. But the subjects of the petitions were defined religious law, its wording was free. The fixation began in the 9th century, in the prayer books of various Jewish denominations, the Amida today is not the same.

Adding a supplementary Please

After a now obsolete scientific theory, which is primarily attributable to the liturgist Ismar Elbogen ( history of Jewish worship, Berlin 1913) and is based on a legend in the Talmud tractate Berachot that a " 18- Benedictions " explained to the fact consists of 19 requests, as follows: After the destruction of the Temple Vespasian allowed the Jews the establishment of an academy at Yavne. In the academy, the School of Rabbinic scholar Hillel was decisive. So the twelfth request was given by the following:

Meanwhile, however, it has been found and found in the Cairo Geniza ancient manuscripts containing the text of the Amida that the textual evidence of the Palestinian tradition included 18 requests, but those of the Babylonian 19 After the Babylonian conception may have only one request for a content. In the 14 request of Amida however, it was originally to rebuild Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. This request is divided in the Babylonian versions: 14 Please soliciting the restoration of Jerusalem, Please 15 the coming of the shoot of David, the Messiah. Enforced has the Babylonian version, which was 19 petitions in the weekday prayer.