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

The following paragraph is said only when the entire Amidah is recited silently:

Hebrew

אַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ וְשִׁמְךָ קָדוֹשׁ,
וּקְדוֹשִׁים בְּכָל־יוֹם יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה, הָאֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ.

Israeli

atah kadosh veshimcha kadosh,
ukdoshim b'chol-yom yehalelucha selah.
baruch atah Adonai, ha-El hakadosh.

English

Holy are You and holy is Your name; holy ones praise You each day. Barukh atah Adonai, the Holy God.

On Shabbat Shuvah we substitute:

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה, הַמֶּלֶךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ.

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai, hamelech hakadosh.

English

Barukh atah Adonai, the Holy Sovereign.

All continue here:

Fourth B’rakhah: The Holiness of Shabbat

Hebrew

יִשְׂמַח מֹשֶׁה בְּמַתְּנַת חֶלְקוֹ,
כִּי עֶבֶד נֶאֱמָן קָרָאתָ לוֹ.
כְּלִיל תִּפְאֶרֶת בְּרֹאשׁוֹ נָתַתָּ,
בְּעָמְדוֹ לְפָנֶיךָ עַל הַר סִינָי.
וּשְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת אֲבָנִים הוֹרִיד בְּיָדוֹ,
וְכָתוּב בָּהֶם שְׁמִירַת שַׁבָּת,
וְכֵן כָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ:

Israeli

yismach Mosheh b'matnat chelko,
ki eved ne-eman karata lo.
k'lil tiferet b'rosho natata,
be-amedo lefanecha al har Sinai.
ushnei luchot avanim horid b'yado,
vechatuv bahem sh'mirat Shabat,
vechen katuv b'Toratecha:

English

Moses rejoiced in his portion, for You called him a faithful servant. You adorned his head with a brilliant crown when he stood before You on Mount Sinai. He carried down two tablets of stone, inscribed with the instruction to observe Shabbat.

Hebrew

וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת,
לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם בְּרִית עוֹלָם.
בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִיא לְעֹלָם,
כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ,
וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ.

Israeli

veshameru v'nei Yisra-el et-hashabat,
la-asot et-hashabat ledorotam b'rit olam.
beini uvein b'nei Yisra-el ot hi le-olam,
ki sheshet yamim asah Adonai et-hashamayim ve-et-ha-aretz,
uvayom hashvi-i shavat vayinafash.

English

And it is written in Your Torah: The people Israel shall observe Shabbat, to maintain it as an everlasting covenant throughout all generations. It is a sign between Me and the people Israel for all time, that in six days Adonai made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, ceased from work and rested.

Commentary

MOSES REJOICED יִשְׂמַח מֹשֶׁה. This passage is an addition to the Shabbat morning Amidah of unknown origin. These verses are a fragment of a larger alphabetical acrostic but only the yod through lamed lines survive. (The word sh’nei [“two”] was probably added later to the luḥot [“tablets”] line.) This prayer is not found among the fragments of liturgical remains of the Land of Israel in the Cairo Genizah. The geonim of Babylonia recommended that it be said, but its inclusion was contested by Rashi (1040–1105, northern France), among others. Nevertheless, it was adopted soon afterward by all rites. What caused Moses to be joyful? A midrash maintains that the very notion of Shabbat was first suggested by Moses: in Egypt, Moses argued that even slaves needed a day of rest in order to survive and Pharaoh granted them Shabbat (Exodus Rabbah 1:28). Moses was happy that his suggestion became incorporated in the Decalogue. Medieval commentators add another interpretation: that Moses was overjoyed to be God’s servant, appointed to communicate the law of Shabbat to Israel. Others say that the prayer celebrates the giving of the Torah, which Moses was happy to receive. According to a midrashic source, the Torah was given on Shabbat and the Torah is called God’s gift, matanah—the same word used in this prayer to describe Moses’ “portion” in the afterworld, where his share is assured (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 10b). Some remark, regarding the future tense, that the future alluded to is not the world that is coming, but each generation in which Shabbat is observed and this prayer is recited: Moses’ joy stems from the fact that the descendants of the Israelites of his own generation (whom he instructed) continue to observe what he taught.

A FAITHFUL SERVANT עֶבֶד נֶאֱמָן. Based on Numbers 12:7, where God tells Miriam and Aaron that Moses is totally trusted (ne·eman) in God’s house. In Deuteronomy 34:5 Moses is referred to as “God’s servant.” And so yet another explanation of Moses’ joy is that he was happy to be called a “faithful servant.”

CROWN כְּלִיל. When Moses descended from the mountain, his face shone with God’s light (Exodus 34:29).

THE PEOPLE ISRAEL SHALL OBSERVE וְשָׁמְרוּ. Exodus 31:16–17.

The Blessing of Shabbat During the week we build, we fashion objects, we aim for mastery, we fulfill responsibilities, and in all the busyness we easily lose sight of ourselves. On Shabbat we may uncover what is hidden to us in our busyness—going for a walk we see a bird’s nest; the flowers in our neighbor’s garden refresh and delight us; we notice a tree planted in another century; rain is experienced as a blessing. On Shabbat we enter this world of gentleness, of appreciation, of welcome. We join in community, not of people striving with or against one another, but of people finding each other. In giving up striving, we can move away from self-judgment, no longer bound by an accounting of failure or assertions of great success and power. We can simply “be,” enjoy, “be with.” On Shabbat our souls can remember how to be open. On weekdays we may be too distracted, too involved with our work and our responsibilities to see the holiness of everyday life. The gift of Shabbat is that all we experience, every meal, every meeting with another person, every joy can be seen as holy. —SHALOM NOAH BEREZOVSKY …