Tefillah 066

1:
The taking of three steps back indicates that the Amidah is concluded. We have already mentioned this little piece of ceremony [see Tefillah 051 and also Tefillah 063]. Before we begin the Amidah we take three small steps back simply in order to take three steps forward, and those three steps are intended to be a physical reminder that we are about to enter into a personal and intimate communion with God. When we conclude the Amidah we take three small steps backwards and this is a physical indication for us that our personal 'interview' with the Deity is ended. In all services except the evening service the personal Amidah is followed by a public repetition of the prayer by the cantor.

2:
We have already mentioned on more than one occasion that it is not clear whether the Amidah was originally intended to be a unit of corporate communal worship that subsequently also became private (as is the opinion of liturgical scholars) or whether it was originally intended to be a unit of private devotion that subsequently also became public and corporate (as is the opinion of the sages in the Talmud). One thing is clear: for approximately the past two thousand years the Amidah has been initially recited by each individual worshipper as private communion and after that – if there is a minyan [a quorum that constitutes public prayer] present – the Amidah is repeated out loud by the cantor as an item of corporate communal worship. This matter is discussed in the Gemara [Rosh ha-Shanah 34b – 35a]. In the mishnah [Rosh ha-Shanah 4:9] the sages state:

Rabban Gamli'el demurs:

In the Gemara [Rosh ha-Shanah 34b] the sages object:

His response:

Remember that the cantor had to pray extempore, making up the text as he went along according to the general rubrics set out by tradition. Rabban Gamli'el now attacks:

Their response:

Rabban Gamli'el retorts:

3:
Thus there is a disagreement between Rabban Gamli'el and the rest of the sages as to what we now call the Repetition of the Amidah by the cantor. Although this disagreement is reported in the Talmud under the rubric of the Musaf Amidah for Rosh ha-Shanah (which is inordinately lengthy and halakhically complicated), it seems to have been accepted as a paradigm for all occasions when the Amidah is repeated. Rabban Gamli'el appears to hold that the essential Amidah is that recited out loud by the cantor whereas the sages appear to hold that the essential Amidah is the personal devotion of the individual worshipper – what we nowadays are accustomed to term Tefillah be-laĥash [the "silent" Amidah]. The Gemara establishes that the Halakhah is according to Rabban Gamli'el on Rosh ha-Shanah, but follows the opinion of the rest of the sages on all other occasions. At any rate, the opinion of the sages is the "working hypothesis" of the later poskim [decisors].

4:
Thus, according to the sages in the Gemara [Rosh ha-Shanah 33b, 35a] every individual has a duty to recite the Amidah; the cantor repeats the Amidah out loud only for the benefit of those in the congregation who were not able (due to their lack of skill) to fulfill their duty by themselves: the cantor recites the Amidah out loud and everyone answers 'Amen' to the berakhot, which is tantamount to saying "I identify with what you have just said, it is as if I had said it myself".

5:
It would be unthinkably callous if, after everyone has had the opportunity to recite their own Amidah, a general question were asked: "Is there anyone here who needs the cantor to repeat the Amidah out loud?" No one would respond because of the shame involved! Therefore it was established that it must always be assumed that it is necessary for the Amidah to be repeated (except at the evening service).

To be continued.

In Tefillah 064 we discussed the last benediction of the Amidah, Sim Shalom. We did not note that this text is used mainly in the morning and additional services (Shaĥarit and Musaf and that a shortened text, Shalom Rav, is used in the other regular services (Minĥah and Arvit). However, sometimes in the afternoon service (Minĥah the selection is reversed in many rites.

Yehuda N. Falk writes:

In nusach Ashkenaz, what determines when we say "Sim Shalom" and when we say "Shalom Rav"? I always assumed that it is related to whether or not Birkat HaCohanim is recited in the repetition, but that doesn't explain the
fact that in Eretz Yisrael we say Sim Shalom at Minchah on Shabbat, and not Shalom Rav as is done in the Diaspora.

I respond:

Quite clearly, from the historical point of view, Sim shalom and Shalom rav are just variants of the same benediction. Among Sefaradi congregations Sim shalom is always used; Ashkenazim, as Yehuda has noted, alternate. In all probablity this is yet another example of how peace was preserved in the nascent congregations of Europe 1800 years ago. Some worshippers were used to Sim shalom while others had brought with them from their home communities a preference for Shalom rav. In order to preserve the peace it was decided to allocate one version to the morning prayers and the other version to the evening prayers. And this is the custom in Ashkenazi congregations in the diaspora to this day.

However, as Yehuda notes, in Eretz-Israel which version is used at Minĥah is subject to change: sometimes one version is used and at other times the other. The explanation which Yehuda suggested to himself doesn't work, as he himself has realised. The answer is quite simple – and this answer is true of many other instances where Ashkenazi custom in Eretz-Israel differs from that which obtains in the dispora.

The designation aĥaronim refers to great poskim [decisors] who were active after the publication of the Shulĥan Arukh in 1555. One of the greatest of the aĥaronim was Rabbi Eliahu ben-Shneur Zalman, who died in 1760. He is better known throughout the Jewish world as the Vilner Ga'on (the talmudic genius from Wilna in Lithuania). One of his most earnest intentions was to emigrate to Eretz-Israel. Indeed, he even started out on this journey; but for some unknown reason he turned back and returned home. However, many of the disciples of his disciples did eventually make aliya, and they brought with them to Eretz-Israel the unique customs of their reveared teacher. Many – most – of these customs were noted and itemised in a pamphlet called Ma'aseh Rav. Because these olim of the First Aliyah were in most places the first Ashkenazim in Eretz-Israel their customs became the prevalent ones.

One of the liturgical customs of the Vilner Ga'on was to recite Sim shalom at Minĥah whenever the service had contained a reading from the Torah (on Shabbat afternoon, for example). This was because the text has a reference to "the Torah of life" from which we had just read.