The Amidah

amidah

עמידה

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Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

AN ALTERNATIVE

Fourth B’rakhah: Celebrating the Shabbat

THE VISION OF REDEMPTION

Hebrew

תִּכַּנְתָּ שַׁבָּת, רוֹמַמְתָּ קְדֻשָּׁתָהּ, צִוִּיתָ פְּקוּדֶיהָ,
עֵדֶן סְגֻלָּתָהּ נָתַתָּ. מְעַנְּגֶיהָ לְעוֹלָם כָּבוֹד יִנְחָלוּ,
טוֹעֲמֶיהָ חַיִּים זָכוּ, וְגַם הָאוֹהֲבִים דְּבָרֶיהָ גְּדֻלָּה בָחָרוּ.
אָז מִסִּינַי נִטַּע צִיץ פְּדוּת לָנוּ וּלְעוֹלָמֶךָ.

Israeli

tikanta Shabat, romamta k'dushatah, tzivita p'kudeha,
Eden s'gulatah natata. me-anegeha le-olam kavod yinchalu,
to-ameha chayim zachu, vegam ha-ohavim d'vareha g'dulah vacharu.
az misinai nita tzitz p'dut lanu ule-olamecha.

English

You ordained Shabbat, raised high its holiness, set forth its observance, granted it as Your cherished delight. Those who delight in Shabbat inherit everlasting glory; those who taste Shabbat truly deserve life; those who cherish its teaching elect to share in its greatness. For the shoot of redemption was rooted at Sinai for us and for the world.

Hebrew

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, יְהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
[וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ], שֶׁתּוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְאַרְצֵנוּ וְתִטָּעֵנוּ בִּגְבוּלֵנוּ,
בִּתְמִימוּת וּבְשָׁלוֹם בְּרִנָּה וּבְקוֹל שִׂמְחָה,
מְלֵאִים אַחֲוָה וְאַהֲבָה.
נֵלֵךְ יַחַד בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ
וְנִחְיֶה כֻּלָּנוּ בְּצֶדֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּט,
בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים,
וְכֵן כָּתוּב עַל יַד נְבִיאָךְ:
לֹא יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא יַשְׁחִיתוּ בְּכָל־הַר קָדְשִׁי,
כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת־יְהוה, כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים.
וְהָיָה לָךְ יְהוה לְאוֹר עוֹלָם וֵאלֹהַיִךְ לְתִפְאַרְתֵּךְ.

Israeli

yehi ratzon milefanecha, Adonai Eloheinu veilohei avoteinu
[ve-imoteinu], shetolichenu le-artzenu vetita-enu bigvulenu,
bitmimut uvshalom b'rinah uvkol simchah,
mele-im achavah ve-ahavah.
nelech yachad be-or panecha
venichyeh kulanu b'tzedek uvmishpat,
b'chesed uvrachamim,
vechen katuv al yad nevi-ach:
lo yareu velo yashchitu b'chol-har kodshi,
ki male-ah ha-aretz de-ah et-adonai, kamayim layam mechasim.
vehayah lach Adonai le-or olam veilohayich letifartech.

English

Let it please You, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, that we be brought to our land, and rooted inside our borders, in completeness and in peace, singing with joyful voices of gladness, full of love and friendship. Let us walk as one in the light of Your countenance, every one of us leading lives of righteousness and justice, love and compassion, as Isaiah Your prophet declared: “On My holy mountain, evil or destruction shall not be, for knowledge of God shall fill the world, as the waters fill the sea.” “So shall Adonai be for us a light everlasting, and your God shall be your glory.”

Commentary

ALTERNATE BLESSING. Both the Rabbinical Assembly’s Siddur Sim Shalom and the Israeli Masorti Siddur Va’ani Tefillati have offered revisions of this b’rakhah emphasizing elements of universal redemption rather than the restoration of Temple offerings. The accompanying prayers written by Simcha Roth and Ze’ev Kainan, under the direction of the editors of this volume, follow in that tradition. This alternate rendering emphasizes Shabbat as a taste of redemption, and it sees the return to the land as an opportunity to fulfill the prophetic vision of redemption, in which the world will be characterized by peace and justice.

YOU ESTABLISHED SHABBAT תִּכַּנְתָּ שַׁבָּת. A reverse alphabetical acrostic celebrating Shabbat, which concludes with four of the five Hebrew letters that are written differently when they occur at the end of a word.

TRULY MERIT LIFE חַיִּים זָכוּ. The fullness of life is only experienced when we develop our spiritual capacities. It is on Shabbat that we come to understand what this fullness might contain, for on Shabbat we stand back to ponder, study, and pray; our community gathers; we meet with friends and family; and we feel rested and sated.

MAY IT BE YOUR WILL יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ. Musaf is recited at the height of the day, when we experience ourselves as fully encompassed by Shabbat. Classically this was a time that stirred messianic yearnings, for the peacefulness of this moment evoked dreams of a more permanent peace. Based on prophetic visions of the future, this alternate b’rakhah expresses our own yearnings for a time when justice and compassion will reign, when the people Israel will be reconciled with one another and with the world, and when peace will be established—a lasting peace that is not merely a cessation of war and armed conflict, but a peace that brings joy to every inhabitant of the world and reflects the light of God shining on earth. According to Rav (3rd century, Babylonia), one should include in the Musaf Amidah some thought that was not expressed earlier in the Arvit or Shaḥarit Amidah (Talmud of the Land of Israel, Berakhot 4:6).

SINGING JOYFULLY WITH VOICES OF GLADNESS בְּרִנָּה וּבְקוֹל שִׂמְחָה. The prophets announce that the return to Zion will be accompanied with song and shouts of joy. The language here resonates with Isaiah 51:3, “gladness and joy shall abide there . . . and the sound of music.”

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE בִּצְדָקָה וּבְמִשְׁפָּט. From Hosea 2:21. Hosea further declares (6:6): “For it is kindly love that I desire, not sacrifice; the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

THERE SHALL NOT BE EVIL לֹא יָרֵעוּ. From Isaiah 11:9.

THUS SHALL ADONAI וְהָיָה לָךְ יְהוה. From Isaiah 60:19.

The Gift of Shabbat A Hasidic teaching: On Shabbat, the hidden light of the world is revealed.

A Shabbat Meditation בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת קֹדֶשׁ זֶה, אַתָּה, אֱלֹהַי, צִלִּי, צֵל חוֹבֵק אֶת כֻּלִּי גּוּפִי שָׁט בְּמַעֲבֵה רוּחֲךָ וִיהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁאֶקְבֹּץ רוּחֲךָ בְּקִרְבִּי לְמַעַן תִּהְיֶה לִי מַצְפֵּן וּתְכוֹנֵן לִי דַּרְכִּי כִּי תַגַּעְנָה רַגְלַי עוֹד עֲלֵי אֲדָמוֹת וַהֲלֹא אֵלֵךְ— On this day of rest, the holy Shabbat, You are my shadow, a shadow completely enveloping me. My body moves within Your spirit. May it be Your will that I gather Your spirit within me so that You be my compass pointing my way, as my feet again touch ground and I move on— —EDWARD FELD …