legd zenil dcinr Daily Amidah f 339–344
The daily Amidah (literally ‘standing’), like the Shabbat and Festival versions, has three opening and three closing blessings. During the weekday there are thirteen intermediate blessings. Originally there were only twelve, making eighteen in all, hence another name for the Amidah , the ‘eighteen benedictions’, Shemone Esrei . At a certain stage a thirteenth blessing was introduced, totalling nineteen, but the original name was retained. There are variations in the wording of the traditional versions of this prayer and many were radically reworked within the various Reform traditions, including the 1977 edition of Forms of Prayer. The sequence of intermediate blessings can be understood in a number of ways. In one interpretation, the first three (blessings 4–6) reflect the spiritual needs of the individual (understanding, repentance and spiritual healing); the second three (7–9) our material needs (freedom, health, livelihood); the tenth, the ingathering of the exiles, is the bridge to the third group (11–13), expressing the spiritual needs of a restored nation (justice, punishment of the wicked, reward for the righteous); the final three (14–16) the material needs of the nation (rebuilding of Jerusalem, the coming of the messianic ruler, the acceptance of our prayers). In another version they reflect the programme of stages needed for the historic restoration of the people to the land, the arrival of the messiah coming only at the end after the basis of society has been created. The Amidah was created as a liturgical substitute for the daily sacrifices in the Temple and timed to be recited when they took place – in the morning and afternoon. (Since there was no evening sacrifice, the recital of the Amidah in the evening service is said quietly as a private act and, in traditional circles, unlike for the other two daily services, it is not repeated aloud by the Sh’liach Tsibbur , the service leader.) A central theme is therefore the return of the nation to its land and the restoration of sovereignty and the Temple worship with its sacrifices. Since prayer has become the normal expression of Jewish worship, without the intercession of priests and sacrifices, this latter desire has been modified by all Reform liturgies, which express more universal hopes.
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