The Amidah

amidah

עמידה

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

מוסף לשבת: עמידה

The Musaf Amidah for Shabbat

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; in others, the leader recites the first three blessings (including the Kedushah) aloud and the Amidah is then recited silently (a practice called “heicha kedushah” in Yiddish). The sign ↕ indicates the places to bow. The Amidah concludes on page 192.

Hebrew

כִּי שֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא, הָבוּ גֹדֶל לֵאלֹהֵינוּ.

Israeli

ki shem Adonai ekra, havu godel leiloheinu.

English

[Leader: As I proclaim the name Adonai, give glory to our God.]

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

Barukh atah Adonai, 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

Barukh atah Adonai, 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

THE MUSAF AMIDAH. On Shabbat and festivals, an extra sacrifice was offered in the Temple. Since the destruction of the Temple, we offer a gift of prayer to mark the specialness of the day: an additional service called Musaf, which consists entirely of an Amidah, a personal moment of prayer. The Amidah always contains three introductory b’rakhot and three concluding b’rakhot. On Shabbat, a middle b’rakhah celebrates the specialness and sanctity of the day.

AS I PROCLAIM כִּי שֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא. Deuteronomy 32:3. Most likely, this verse was originally inserted into the Amidah as an instructional phrase to be recited by the leader, asking the congregation to respond with “Amen” to the b’rakhot that follow. Thus it means: “When I proclaim God’s name, Adonai; you should respond by acknowledging God as well”—that is, by answering “Amen” to each b’rakhah and by responding when God’s personal name (Adonai) is mentioned: barukh hu u-varukh sh’mo (“Blessed be God and blessed be God’s name”).

GREAT, MIGHTY, AWE-INSPIRING הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא. This phrase is a quotation from Deuteronomy 10:17–18, where God is described as impartial, not favoring anyone.

TRANSCENDENT GOD אֵל עֶלְיוֹן. This name for God, El Elyon, is first used in the Torah (Genesis 14:18–19) by Melchizedek, the King of Salem, which classical Jewish commentators identified with Jerusalem. Including his words in our prayer thus hints at a vision of a restored Jerusalem, welcoming all who call upon God by whatever name.

LOVINGLY בְּאַהֲבָה. So much of this blessing has been about love: God’s love and kindness for all, our ancestors’ acts of love and kindness, and the redemption that will be achieved through love. To emphasize this idea, the Hebrew text places the word ahavah, “love,” as the very last word of this opening sentence.

God of Our Ancestors God can be perceived in almost infinite ways. Certainly each of our biblical ancestors experienced God differently, and the Kabbalists understood their personal stories as reflecting different understandings of the Divine. In their thinking, Abraham’s kindly love and compassion, demonstrated by his welcoming of strangers and his defense of the righteous who may have been living in Sodom, came to personify God’s love and kindness. Isaac’s binding personifies the perception of an aspect of God as awe-inspiring and as placing limits on existence. Jacob was able to achieve balance: he led a troubled life yet survived, and was able to experience joy and fulfillment at the end of his life. In Kabbalah, that balance was understood to be at the very center of the nature of the Divine. Added to these, we might imagine other human traits that are also Godly. We can picture Sarah as someone who perseveres and then appreciates her blessing and guards it carefully—emulating the God who is a protector and redeemer; Rebecca as one who takes the lead, knowing what needs to be done—the mover of history; Leah as a woman who suffers in life yet sustains a family—symbolizing the God who is with us in our suffering; and Rachel as one who has a short but passionate life—reflecting the God who loves deeply. Each of us experiences the universe and the presence of God differently. Our biblical ancestors reflect different ways of walking with God—and provide us with different models for our own journeys.