The Prayer Book -- Week 7

Ladies and Gentlemen! The moment we have all been waiting for. Until now, we have spent a lot of time discussing what prayer is not. We have described the manner in which the Siddur leads us through a preparatory exercise which must be conceptually differentiated from "Prayer". We have discovered that the very terminology used in the classical Jewish texts sets off the 18 benedictions of the Amidah as something unique. Now, it is time for us to discuss exactly what "Prayer" is.

The fact of the matter is, we must have this discussion on any of a number of levels. First, we can discuss the Amidah purely from the vantage point of technique. "Jewish Prayer" is technique-wise different from all other types of prayer in the world of comparative religion. Our preparation, our religio-philosophical intent, the formulation of our liturgical texts, and their ritual value -- all are uniquely Jewish. Second, we can discuss the Amidah from the perspective of the emotions of the pray-er. By the time we stand to say the morning Amidah, we will have been involved in ritual activity for quite some time. What is our psychological state supposed to be now? Is it meditative, introspective, peaceful, desperate, contrite, religiously self-assured, etc.? Do we assume that the Catholic taking communion (and/or the Priest giving communion), the Yogi meditating, the revivalist dancing in the aisles in Harlem and the Orthodox Jew 60 blocks uptown in Washington Heights all have the same emotional experience at the critical moment in which they are "praying" according to their respective traditions? Thirdly, we can discuss the Amidah from the perspective of content. What are these blessings and how does their content differ from anything we may have done in our service until now?

Let us begin with content. Open your Siddur to the Amidah. This part of the service is also referred to as the "Shmonah Esreh" or "18 Benedictions". While you count them to make sure they are all there, let me tell you a joke:

Goldstein was an undistinguished Jew, good enough in some respects but not so good in others. When his time to leave this world came, he appeared before the Heavenly Court half a point shy of entry to Heaven. The gallery of angels hooted their disappointment until the Judge of All said: "OK! we can't let you into Heaven just yet, but for now you can take your choice of Jewish or Goyische Hell." Goldstein was not one to be put off. "Before selecting, I want to see my choices." Miraculously, he found himself by some poor fellow in non-Jewish purgatory. "Here", the simmering sinner said, "we get up at 9 - we have breakfast - we burn 'til noon - we eat - from 1 to 5 we burn - after dinner, our time is our own." Goldstein was soon transported to Jewish Hell. "Here", one miserable soul told him, "we get up at 9 - we have breakfast - we burn 'til noon - we eat - from 1 to 5 we burn - after dinner, our time is our own." Puzzled, Goldstein asked the angel accompanying him, "Aren't they both the same?" "Mr. Goldstein," the angel answered, "in Jewish Hell 9 is not 9, 12 is not 12, 1 is not 1 and 5 is not 5!!!"

Sound like the Borscht Belt? How many blessings did you find in the "18 Benedictions"? 19! In fact, nowhere in the Siddur is there an Amidah which consists of 18 blessings. In the daily service, there are 19. On the Sabbath, 7; Rosh Hashannah, 9. Unless we believe 18 is not 18, as the story goes, one blessing was added after the service had been canonized at 18. See if you can figure out which one it was. As for the reduced "Prayer" of Sabbath and Holidays, the explanation resides in the content.

These divisions are not arbitrary. They serve to hilight three different categories of prayer, vis. Praise, Petition and Thanks (see Rambam, Laws of Prayer 1:4). Let's examine the first blessings:

Avot: PRAISES God by referring to the forefathers, each of whom came to recognize God individually.

G'vurot: PRAISES the life-sustaining "powers" of God, specifically rain and resurrection of the dead.

Two considerations emerge within the context of our earlier discussions. First, we know that verses of PRAISE were an important antecedent to PRAYER. Here, we see that our petitions in which we ask God for personal and communal needs, even within the section of PRAYER (proper), are preceded by a section of "Prayers which Praise" (as opposed to "Verses of Praise"). Secondly, I am intrigued by the possibility of contrasting the earlier part of the service with these first three blessings. What really is the difference between formal "prayers which praise" and preparatory (pre-prayer) "verses of praise"? Why, after spending so much time praising God, do we once again have to do so before petitioning for our needs? If, as we see in the Gemorah, Berachot 34a

"Rav Yehuda says: A person should not ask for his needs, not in the first three blessings and not in the last three. In the first three, he should appear as a servant who praises his master; in the last three, he should appear as a servant who has already received his reward..."

The simplest explanation and the historically accurate one you already know. The innovation of the "Pious Ones of Old" was to augment the service by an hour of preparation before reciting the Amidah. This means that their innovation, the P'sukei D'Zimra, followed the compilation of the Amidah historically. Thus, the first three blessings, the "Prayers which Praise" were already in place by the time they instituted the verses. But what we must see here is that the unique contribution of P'sukei D'zimra to our service was psychological preparation. Here, the "prayers which praise" are ritually weighted. These are blessings, the most halakhicly significant units of prayer. If we fail to say them properly, we must go back! These three "prayers which praise" are absolutely requisite.

I know this is a fine point of distinction. But to me, the essence of Jewish prayer lies in the ritual or technical aspect. Rav Yehuda describes the psychology beautifully. When we initiate the recitation of the Amidah, we take three steps backward and then move forward. We bow as if before a human king. We begin by praising the King of the World, which is necessary before placing before Him our petitions. But all this could be achieved differently -- once we resort to the blessing format, we have brought to the experience a formalistic, technical definition which transcends psychology. We are involved in ancient ritual which is specifically defined and finely honed.

Blessed ...God of our forefathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob; the great, the mighty and awesome God, the supreme God, Who bestows beneficial kindnesses and creates everything, Who recalls the kindnesses of the Patriarchs and brings a Redeemer to their children's children, for His Name's sake with love. O King, Helper, Savior and Shield. Blessed ... Shield of Abraham.

The phrase "God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob" conveys a remarkable bit of educational psychology. Regarding each of the forefathers, "God of ..." is written separately. The commentators (see,e.g., Etz Yosef in Otzar Ha-Tefilot) point out that it would have been enough to write "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". The language of the prayer stresses that it is not enough for a person to believe in God simply as a custom inherited from his father. Each of the our forefathers came to know God in his own way. So too each of us, as we stand to pray do so in our own knowledge of God.

Let's, just for the sake of being contrary,consider a few passages from the Rambam:

"It is the most basic of principles and the pillar of wisdom to know that there is a First Reality ..."
(Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 1:1)

"..the true perfection of man ... (is) the possession of such notions which lead to true metaphysical opinions as regards God... the highest aim of man (is) the knowledge of God..."
(Guide to the Perplexed, III, ch.54)

Rambam, both in his philosophical treatise and in the opening salvo of his monumental legal treatise, the Mishneh Torah, stresses that knowledge of God is individual man's true perfection. This can be accomplished through study and rigorous contemplation, essentially a life-long process of philosophical examination. Interestingly, in Guide... I, ch. 54 Maimonides writes:

"Not only is he acceptable and welcome to God who fasts and prays, but everyone who knows Him."

It is apparent that the "knowledge" of God referred to here is not the same as that achieved through prayer and fasting. In other words, the "Avot" prayer alludes to the individual's quest to know God -- but it doesn't bestow that knowledge on the pray-er. There is a big difference between "knowing God" and mentioning it in your prayers! There is a big difference between dedicating one's life to study, and talking about study in one's prayers! Clearly: the tried-and-true method for attaining knowledge in the Jewish tradition is study (or for Maimonideans, philosophising).

Given all the above, the mention of or allusion to "knowledge of God" in one's prayers must serve a very specific purpose. I mean to suggest that within the context of our daily ritual, we mention that each of the forefathers achieved his own individual knowledge of God, the content of which is the specific list of attributes brought in the "Avot". In Jewish prayer, there is a very high value in structuring the right lists. Our tradition guides us in enumerating the correct attributes, the exact number of blessings -- in short, the technically correct manner in which authentic Jewish prayer is to be offered.

I would never want to suggest that the totality of prayer is technique. But by the same token, I would never want to give the impression the Rabbinic tradition lacks focus in how it would have us perform our ritual. A close reading of the Siddur unavoidably yields up the impression that structure conveys content.

For another example of this, read the "G'vurot" prayer which follows "Avot". We find here another list of praises which range from supporting life and providing rain to resurrecting the dead. Note: there is no explanation given of any single attribute. This is simply a list which culminates in a blessing that mentions the general attribute which includes all the others. Pure and simple, one of the preferred techniques of Jewish prayer involves reciting a clearly set out list.

It goes without saying that the mere mention of "supporting the fallen", to choose one element of the list in "G'vurot", means more to the learned than to the novitiate. For those steeped in the tradition, it is remniscent of the Biblical phrase, which serves to hilight that in Jewish prayer, the time to learn the meaning of the prayers is not when we stand to pray! We pray in short-hand, or better yet in images which derive their fullness from our individual "knowledge of God", to use the Rambam's construct.

Before we wrap up for this week, I'd like to suggest an exercise. Choose one or two paragraphs from the Amidah and break them up into what you think may be pre-existing Biblical phrases. Think up several different explanations for one of these phrases. If you have any way of finding the source, do it! Were your explanations close? What happens if you were thinking of the wrong explanation ("KaVaNah") when you said that prayer? What is that prayer worth? Let me know.

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Lesson 7 "The 18 Benedictions: 3 Major Types of Prayer"

Lesson 7
"The 18 Benedictions: 3 Major Types of Prayer"