The Amidah

t'filat ha-amidah

תפילת העמידה

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

תפילת העמידה לשחרית לשבת

The Shabbat Morning Amidah

A transliteration of the opening b’rakhot of the Amidah may be found on page 466. When a minyan is present, some communities repeat the Amidah after it is recited silently; others recite the first three blessings (including the Kedushah on page 161) aloud and the rest of the Amidah silently. The Amidah concludes on page 166.

Hebrew

אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח, וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ.

Israeli

Adonai s'fatai tiftach, ufi yagid tehilatecha.

English

Adonai, open my lips that my mouth may speak Your praise.

First B’rakhah: Our Ancestors

With Patriarchs:

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה,
אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם, אֱלֹהֵי
יִצְחָק, וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב, הָאֵל
הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא,
אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים
טוֹבִים, וְקוֹנֵה הַכֹּל, וְזוֹכֵר
חַסְדֵי אָבוֹת, וּמֵבִיא גוֹאֵל
לִבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ
בְּאַהֲבָה.

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai,
Eloheinu veilohei avoteinu,
Elohei Avraham, Elohei
Yitzchak, veilohei Ya-akov, ha-El
hagadol hagibor vehanora,
El Elyon, gomel chasadim
tovim, vekoneh hakol, vezocher
chasdei avot, umevi go-el
livnei v'neihem lema-an sh'mo
be-ahavah.

English

our God and God of our ancestors, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, great, mighty, awe-inspiring, transcendent God, who acts with kindness and love, and creates all, who remembers the loving deeds of our ancestors, and who will lovingly bring a redeemer to their children’s children for the sake of divine honor.

With Patriarchs and Matriarchs:

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה,
אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
[וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ], אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם,
אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק, וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב,
אֱלֹהֵי שָׂרָה, אֱלֹהֵי רִבְקָה,
אֱלֹהֵי רָחֵל, וֵאלֹהֵי לֵאָה,
הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא,
אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים
טוֹבִים, וְקוֹנֵה הַכֹּל, וְזוֹכֵר
חַסְדֵי אָבוֹת [וְאִמָּהוֹת],
וּמֵבִיא גוֹאֵל לִבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם
לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה.

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai,
Eloheinu veilohei avoteinu
[ve-imoteinu], Elohei Avraham,
Elohei Yitzchak, veilohei Ya-akov,
Elohei Sarah, Elohei Rivkah,
Elohei Rachel, veilohei le-ah,
ha-El hagadol hagibor vehanora,
El Elyon, gomel chasadim
tovim, vekoneh hakol, vezocher
chasdei avot [ve-imahot],
umevi go-el livnei v'neihem
lema-an sh'mo be-ahavah.

English

our God and God of our ancestors, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Rachel, and God of Leah, great, mighty, awe-inspiring, transcendent God, who acts with kindness and love, and creates all, who remembers the loving deeds of our ancestors, and who will lovingly bring a redeemer to their children’s children for the sake of divine honor.

On Shabbat Shuvah we add:

Hebrew

זָכְרֵנוּ לְחַיִּים, מֶלֶךְ חָפֵץ בַּחַיִּים,
וְכָתְבֵנוּ בְּסֵפֶר הַחַיִּים, לְמַעַנְךָ אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים.

Israeli

zochrenu lechayim, melech chafetz bachayim,
vechatvenu b'sefer hachayim, lema-ancha Elohim chayim.

English

Remember us for life, Sovereign who delights in life, and inscribe us in the Book of Life, for Your sake, God of life.

Commentary

AMIDAH. The Amidah, literally “the prayer said while standing,” is a moment of personal meditation and is also known as the “Silent Prayer.” It always contains three introductory b’rakhot and three concluding b’rakhot. On Shabbat and festivals, a middle b’rakhah focuses on the distinctive themes of the day. Before the Amidah begins we take three steps forward, approaching God’s presence. (If there is no room, we first take three steps backward.) …

ADONAI, OPEN MY LIPS אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח. Psalm 51:17, where prayer is exalted over sacrifice. Rabbi Yoḥanan (3rd century) recommended that this verse precede the Amidah (Talmud of the Land of Israel, Berakhot 4:4).

BENDING THE KNEES AND BOWING. Bowing is both a symbolic acknowledgment that our prayers are to God and also a sign of humility on our part. We stand up straight when we reach God’s name, however, for we speak to God face to face (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 12a). The Talmud records disagreement about how deeply one should bow: some say that one may fully bend over, some that one should feel one’s spine bending, and others that one should bow only one’s head (Berakhot 28b). The Talmud confined bowing to the beginning and end of this first b’rakhah, as well as to the beginning and end of the next-to-last b’rakhah, which thanks God for the gift of life (Berakhot 34a). The sign indicates the place to bow.

GOD OF ABRAHAM אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם. God uses this language when first addressing Moses, at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5–6). Its inclusion here at the beginning of the Amidah may remind us of the focus and attentiveness that we need to sense God’s presence.

REDEEMER גּוֹאֵל. Judaism’s messianic impulse reminds us that the world, as broken as it sometimes appears, is ultimately perfectible; God’s teachings, carried out by us, will help the world achieve such perfection. Some liberal prayerbooks use the word g’ullah, “redemption,” in place of “redeemer,” to de-emphasize the role of any single individual in facilitating the world’s healing.

REMEMBER US זָכְרֵנוּ. This brief prayer is the first of four additions to the Amidah during the Ten Days of Repentance. Each of the four phrases of this short addition ends with the word ḥayyim, “life.”

Prayer Rabbi Ami taught: One’s prayer is answered only if one takes one’s heart into one’s hands, as it is said, “Let us lift up our heart with our hands” (Lamentations 3:41). —BABYLONIAN TALMUD …

One should pray as a beggar knocking on a door and wish for a time of generosity. —based on ḤAYIM IBN ATTAR …

Prayer is for one’s soul what nourishment is for one’s body. The blessing of one’s prayer lasts until the time of the next prayer, just as the strength derived from one meal lasts until another.…During the time of prayer, one cleanses the soul of all that has passed over it and prepares it for the future. —YEHUDAH HALEVI …

Songs to God not only express joy; they express pain as well. There is no greater prayer than pouring out one’s heart over the distance one feels from God. —SHALOM NOAḤ BEREZOVSKY …