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

קַדִּישׁ שָׁלֵם

Kaddish Shalem

Leader:

Hebrew

יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא, בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ,
וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל־בֵּית
יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

yitgadal veyitkadash sh'meh raba, be-alma di v'ra chiruteh,
veyamlich malchuteh b'chayeichon uvyomeichon uvechayei d'chol-beit
Yisra-el, ba-agala uvizman kariv, ve-imru Amen.

English

May God’s great name be exalted and hallowed throughout the created world, as is God’s wish. May God’s sovereignty soon be established, in your lifetime and in your days, and in the days of all the house of Israel. And we say: Amen.

Congregation and Leader:

Hebrew

יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא.

Israeli

yehei sh'meh raba mevarach le-alam ule-almei almaya.

English

May God’s great name be acknowledged forever and ever!

Leader:

on Shabbat Shuvah we add:

on Shabbat Shuvah we substitute:

Hebrew

יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא
וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְּקֻדְשָׁא, בְּרִיךְ הוּא,
לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל [לְעֵלָּא לְעֵלָּא מִכָּל]
בִּרְכָתָא וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחָמָתָא דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא,
וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

yitbarach veyishtabach veyitpa-ar veyitromam veyitnasei
veyithadar veyitaleh veyithalal sh'meh d'kudsha, b'rich hu,
le-ela min kol [le-ela le-ela mikol]
birchata veshirata tushbechata venechamata da-amiran be-alma,
ve-imru Amen.

English

May the name of the Holy One be acknowledged and celebrated, lauded and worshipped, exalted and honored, extolled and acclaimed—though God, who is blessed, b’rikh hu, is truly far beyond all acknowledgment and praise, or any expressions of gratitude or consolation ever spoken in the world. And we say: Amen.

Hebrew

תִּתְקַבַּל צְלוֹתְהוֹן וּבָעוּתְהוֹן דְּכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל קֳדָם אֲבוּהוֹן
דִּי בִשְׁמַיָּא וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

titkabal tz'lotehon uvautehon d'chol-yisra-el kodam avuhon
di vishmaya ve-imru Amen.

English

May the prayers and pleas of all Israel be accepted by their creator in heaven. And we say: Amen.

Hebrew

יְהֵא שְׁלָמָא רַבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא, וְחַיִּים עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל,
וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

yehei sh'lama raba min sh'maya, vechayim aleinu ve-al kol-yisra-el,
ve-imru Amen.

English

May heaven bestow on us, and on all Israel, life and abundant and lasting peace. And we say: Amen.

Hebrew

עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם
עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל [וְעַל כָּל־יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל],
וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

oseh shalom bimromav hu ya-aseh shalom
aleinu ve-al kol-yisra-el [ve-al kol-yoshvei tevel],
ve-imru Amen.

English

May the one who creates peace on high bring peace to us and to all Israel [and to all who dwell on earth]. And we say: Amen.

Commentary

KADDISH SHALEM. Every service that features an Amidah is brought to a close with Kaddish Shalem, the complete Kaddish, so called because in addition to the words of the Kaddish recited at other times in the service, it adds a line asking God to accept our prayers: “May the prayers and pleas of all Israel be accepted by their creator in heaven.” Here, the placement of Kaddish Shalem marks the end of the morning Shaḥarit prayers. The liturgy now moves on to the Torah service. In a formal sense, though introduced and followed by b’rakhot and prayers, the reading of the Torah and the haftarah constitutes study, not prayer. For the ancient rabbis, prayer was quintessentially defined by the Amidah, which we have now completed.

Tilling the Soil Why did Moses ask that his “teaching drip down like rain” (Deuteronomy 32:2)? A Ḥasidic master notes that rain is only beneficial for plants, enabling them to grow, if the earth has first been plowed and sowed; if the area has not been properly prepared, the rain will produce only mud. So too with Torah, which is most beneficial to those who are properly prepared to receive it. As we conclude our Shaḥarit service and turn to the public reading of the Torah, we hope that our prayers have done just that: tilled and plowed our consciousness, loosening our hearts and minds, so that the words of Torah might drip down deep within, nourishing the seeds our prayers have planted. As Louis Finkelstein once noted, “Our love for the Torah is only in part rationalistic; in the main, we need not be ashamed to confess it, it is emotional, intuitive and mystic.” Prayer prepares us for the words of Torah to penetrate deep within us.