Berakhot 089

Today's shiur is dedicated by David Fishman in honour of the 76th birthday of his father Rabbi Hertzel Fishman.

1:
In the Talmud this mishnah is considered part of the previous mishnah, which is most logical since both are concerned with the content of the Amidah and the manner of reciting it.

2:
The Gemara [Berakhot 29b] first considers what the appropriate implications would be of Rabbi Eli'ezer's 'mechanical task' [keva]. One suggestion put forward there is that it seeks to prohibit the recitation of the Amidah as a burdensome duty that must be performed in any case. Another suggestion – not necessarily an alternative to the first – is that it seeks to require that language appropriate to begging and beseeching be used. Yet a third suggestion is that it requires some new element to be included each time the Amidah is recited.

3:
All three of these suggested interpretations of Rabbi Eli'ezer's dictum in the mishnah have this in common: they view the recitation of the Amidah in a different light than we do today. For the sages whose views we have just quoted, the recitation of the Amidah must be a very personal task – an act of loving devotion into which the individual worshipper pours an element of creativity and personal communion. Such a recitation is not possible if the worshipper is not in the right frame of mind or is not blessed with the necessary powers of fruitful invention. Even great sages were concerned that they may not have the necessary gifts: The Amora from Eretz-Israel, Rabbi Zeira says [Berakhot 29b], "I am, indeed, capable of saying something new [in each Amidah] but I am concerned that the effort might confuse me" – and would forget which berakhah had been reached and come to a dead halt, and so forth. Presumably, therefore, Rabbi Zeira is implying that he prefers to use a fixed text that he has learned by heart.

4:
This tension between two views of the nature of the recitation of the Amidah forces us to reconsider our understanding of the previous mishnah. Let us place them together as the Gemara does:-

5:
We can now see that Rabbi Akiva's opinion is an attempt to mediate between the views of Rabban Gamli'el and Rabbi Yehoshu'a. Thus Rabbi Akiva says that if the individual is capable of reciting the whole of the Eighteen Berakhot in the proper frame of mind and with creative elements included – The view of Rabban Gamli'el is preferable; however, if this is not the case one should at least recite a shortened version, according to the view of Rabbi Yehoshu'a. Surprising as it may seem to us, the sages took these views to their logical conclusion:-

6:
The great Medieval code, the Tur [Tur Oraĥ Ĥayyim 98] elaborates as follows:-

To be continued.