Tefillah 053

29:
Having shown that the wording of the content of the benedictions is not constant and can be subject to change it follows that it is permissible to add the names of the matriarchs to the first benediction of the Amidah, alongside the names of their husbands. But, at the very beginning of our discussion of this issue I noted that there are two questions which must be addressed: having established that we may include the matriarchs we must now address the second question: should we do so? Once we have established that from the purely halakhic point of view one may change the wording of the benedictions the question of whether we should do so or not becomes less an halakhic issue and more a question of aesthetics. In order to address the question we must first pay close attention to the construction of the benediction.

30:
The first benediction of the Amidah has come down to us in more than one version. While the Babylonian tradition (which we use today) is more or less homogenous the ancient tradition of Eretz-Israel is quite varied showing textual changes of a greater or lesser nature. But in all the versions that have come down to, both Babylonian and those of Eretz-Israel, the first few phrases of the Avot benediction are unchanging. The phrases that are constant are the following:

For the convenience of those who do not have a siddur handy I have reproduced the Hebrew text here.

The reason that this part of the benediction is uniform in all versions is because each phrase is a biblical quotation:

• The phrase "Blessed are You, Lord" is a direct quotation from 1 Chronicles 29:10. (The phrase also occurs in Psalm 119:12, but the context in Chronicles is more appropriate.)
• "Our God" in connection with the patriarchs is an indirect quotation from Ezra 7:27.
• The phrase "God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob", which is the essential phrase for our present discussion, is a direct quote from Exodus 3:6. Even more to the point, it is the very phrase with which God introduces himself to Moses at the burning bush.
• The phrase "the great, mighty and tremendous Deity" is to be found verbatim in Deuteronomy 10:17.
• Lastly, the phrase "God Supreme" comes from Genesis 14:22. When Abraham contradicts Melchzedek he insists that it is Adonai who is God Supreme.

Since all these phrases are unchanging in all versions that have come down to us it seems to me huighly unlikely in the extreme than it was not the intention of those who formalized this part of the benediction to use this string of biblical quotations.

31:
It seems to me, therefore, that it would be an act of aesthetic vandalism to disturb this chain of biblical quotations, especially since even those elements in the medieval tradition that deviate from the text as we have received it do not do so with regards to these phrases. Therefore my response to the question should we introduce the names of the matriarchs into the Avot benediction alongside the names of their husbands is decidely that we should not do so.

32:
However, mentioning the virtues of the matriarchs and their essential contribution to the origins of our faith is of such paramount importance to us today- as I demonstrated in the previous shiur – that I also think that it would be very wrong not to mention them together with their husbands in our prayers. A solution to the dilemma that I can suggest seems to me to have much to commend it and little to detract from it.

I have already mentioned on several occasions that originally prayer leaders were expected to fill the framework of each benediction extempore – what is called in modern theatrical parlance to ad lib: they made up the prayers as they went along. As the texts of the benedictions became more standardized the cantors were expected to add to the benedictions poetical compositions of their own or of some other poet. Very many of these poems, called piyyut in Hebrew, have come down to us, and in orthodox congregations many are still said or sung as interpolations into the text of the Amidah. This custom, especially during the High Holidays, is still observed in not a few Conservative congregations around the world. The way it is done is that the cantor, when he or she repeats the Amidah out loud, pauses just before the closing b^erakhah of the benediction, adds an original poetical composition, and then concludes the benediction with the appropriate b^erakhah.

Those congregations (and individuals) who wish to include the matriarchs could do so with an additonal piyyut before the concluding b^eakhah, thus giving great prominence to the innovation while leaving the earlier biblical quotations intact.

33:
Another distinct point in favour of such an innovation is the fact that it would give ample scope for modern additions to the Amidah, thus making it ever more relevant to our spiritual concerns today. Of course, not everybody is capable of improvising such an addition, especially if it is done in Hebrew, observing metrical customs. In the Middle Ages it was customary, as I have already suggested, that the cantor add a (hopefully) short piyyut after each of the seven benedictions of the Shabbat Amidah. The whole composition was called a shiv'ata ("A Sevenfold") or a kerovah. But the idea was always the same. In order to see whether it could be done, even though I have no great artistic qualifications or gifts, I decided to see if I could compose a modern shiv'ata. As we proceed through the Amidah in this series of shiurim I shall make available the relevant stanza of my shiv'ata for your perusal, though – as I have said – I make no claims for worthy artistic merit.

34:
My shiv'ata is created with the same format as many of the ancient piyyutim that have become embedded into our Amidah. They consist of lines of Hebrew text, each of which consists of four strophes and each strophe consists of two natural beats in Hebrew. (A good example is the insertion Yismaĥ Moshe which introduces the fourth benediction in the Shabbat morning Amidah. We shall refer it it in due course. (This format is known as m^eruba'at in Hebrew, "foursquare".) Here is a translation of the first stanza of my shiv'ata:

The Hebrew text of this stanza which is, I hope, more elegant than its English translation, can be found here.

In our next shiur we shall examine the question of the wording of the concluding b^erakhah of the Avot benediction and we shall review the content of the remainder of the benediction.

To be continued

Tonight the fast of Tish'a b'Av is scheduled to begin. The best wish that I can think of regarding this fast is that before it begins it be God's pleasure to make it unnecessary.