The Amidah (Part 27): The Final Paragraph: Personally Speaking
“Prayer is not a miracle. It is a tool, man’s paintbrush in the art of life. Prayer is man’s weapon to defend himself in the struggle of life. It is a reality. A fact of life” (Rabbi Avrahom Chaim Feuer)
“May Hashem, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceitfully. To those who curse me, let my soul be silent, and let my soul be like dust to everyo ne. Open my heart to Your Torah, then my soul will pursue Your commandments. As for all those who design evil against me, speedily nullify their counsel and disrupt their design. Act for Your Name’s sake, act for Your right hand’s sake, act for Your sanctity’s sake, act for Your Torah’s sake. That Your beloved may be given rest, let Your right hand save and respond to me. May the expressions of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor before You, Hashem, my Rock and my Redeemer. He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace upon us and upon all Israel. And let us say: Amen.”
The final paragraph of the Amidah is differs from the rest of the Amidah. It is not a blessing but is a list of personal requests made in the singular. All the blessings of the Amidah are written in the plural because when we recite the Amidah, we are not just requesting for ourselves. Rather, we are praying for the entire Jewish People. Obviously, each person has their own personal requests and needs, but when we turn to Hashem, we do so as integral members of His chosen nation, beseeching Him to shower us all with blessings and goodness. In fact, so fundamental is this concept that the Ari z”l would begin each recitation of the Amidah with the words: “V’Ahavta L’Reaicha Kamocha — Love your fellow as yourself.” (Vayikra 19:18)
Yet, the concluding paragraph of the Amidah is not said in the plural and does not end with a blessing. From its syntax it is clear that it was not a part of the original composition but was added at a later time. The Talmud (Brachot 16b-17a) lists the personal prayers that were recited at the conclusion of the Amidah by some of the most righteous scholars of the Talmudic era. Our final paragraph is based on the one that Mar the son of Ravina composed. Why did some of the most illustrious Sages feel a need to add an extra paragraph to the end of their recitation of the Amidah? Why was it not enough to recite what had been composed by the Men of the Great Assembly without any additions?
Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (1713-1793) was the Chief Rabbi of Prague and one of the most decisive authorities of Jewish Law of his era. He was famed for his brilliance throughout Europe. His erudition even came to the notice of the government, who appreciated his ability to comprehend the long-term repercussions of their actions, and was asked to advise them accordingly. Due to the excellent relationships that he cultivated within the governing circles, he was able to use his influence to temper, and sometimes even annul, the flow of anti-Semitic laws that were constantly being legislated. Among several scholarly works that he authored is one called Tziyun leNefesh Chayah (commonly known by its acronym, Tzelach), containing his insights on the Talmud. Rabbi Landau offers an intriguing reason for our final paragraph’s inclusion and why its composition is so different from the rest of the Amidah. He cites our Sages (ibid. 29b), who teach that a person should endeavor to pray with a sense of freshness and innovation and not pray by rote. Prayer should be an expression of our inner yearnings and not something that is said habitually. Before the Men of the Great Assembly formalized the concept of prayer by composing the Amidah, this is exactly what prayer was — a spontaneous outpouring of devotion to Hashem. But due to the plummeting levels of spirituality prior to the destruction of the First Temple, the Men of the Great Assembly had no alternative but to compose the Amidah in a more formal fashion. However, once the Amidah became obligatory, with a standardized text recited by all, it ran the risk of becoming a prayer that is recited simply because the Men of the Great Assembly commanded us to say it in certain way. Rather than it being an individualistic expression of our complete reliance upon Hashem, it could become just another part of our daily routine, thereby losing its astonishing potency. That is why, explains Rabbi Landau, an extra paragraph was introduced into the end of the Amidah. It is a paragraph that expresses itself in the singular. It is a paragraph that allows each of us to express ourselves personally and to petition Hashem for our own unique needs in our own individual way. It is a prayer that, retroactively, lets us understand that everything that we have said up until now has also been recited with the same sense of purpose and singularity, despite the fact that it is said in the plural.
Why was the prayer of Mar the son of Ravina chosen to conclude the Amidah over all the other alternatives that the Talmud cites? What was it about his composition that made it the choice of the Rabbis to bring to a close our recitation of the Amidah? In describing each of the other options the Talmud writes that the author would recite his prayer after he finished his recitation of the Amidah. However, when the Talmud describes Mar the son of Ravina’s prayer, it says that Mar the son of Ravina recited it while he was finishing his Amidah. As far as Mar the son of Ravina was concerned, his prayer was not an addendum to the Amidah, but was a continuation of the Amidah. For this reason it was chosen to conclude our recitation of the Amidah — because it belongs to the Amidah.
To be continued…
