Tefillah 068

12:
We have already noted that when the cantor repeats the Amidah out loud the third benediction, Kedushat ha-Shem [God's Sanctity] – often abbreviated simply to Kedushah [Sanctity] – is greatly expanded. What this benediction expresses is very simple: our God, the Deity of the Founding Parents, the Deity who liberates the oppressed and controls the keys of life and death – our God is holy. In the private Amidah, recited by each individual, a short reference is made to the visions of the prophets in which God is continuously lauded by the ministering angels:

When the cantor repeats the Amidah this chorus of ministering angels is graphically demonstrated.

13:
Two prophets, separately, describe their vision of the heavenly entourage. The prophet Isaiah [6:1-3] tells us that:

The vision of the prophet Ezekiel [3:12-13] is more complicated.

The "creatures" (Ĥayyot) and the "wheels" (Ofanim) are somehow connected in the prophet's exoctic vision with the divine chariot or throne of glory (see Tefillah 037, paragraph 35).

14:
The expanded versions of the benediction Kedushat ha-Shem received their impetus from a school of mystics called Yordé Merkavah. We have described their philosophy in Tefillah 039.

15:
In the ritual of Eretz-Israel up to the Middle Ages this expanded version of the third benediction was reserved for Shabbat and YomTov only: on weekdays the cantor simply repeated the Kedushah already recited by each congregant privately. But in the Babylonian rite, to which we are the heirs, there is an expanded Kedushah for every Amidah of the week which is repeated. The weekday version is relatively simple; the version designated for the morning service on Shabbat and YomTov (which is the object of our present study) is more complex; and the version for the Musaf services is embellished even more.

16:
The version currently used in our congregations on Shabbat morning can be found in Siddur Sim Shalom on page 116 and in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati on page 346. The visions of the two prophets are weaved into a single scene in which the heavenly chorus lauds God antiphonally; there is then added a prayer that we be permitted to witness God's ultimate redemptive theophany, and the Kedushah closes with Israel's chorus of praise [Psalm 146:10] which parallels the heavenly chorus.

The Kedushah now ends with a passage that connects the visions with the original berakhah which concludes this benediction:

18:
In many of our congregations the cantor begins the Kedushah, singing alone until everyone (except the cantor) sings Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh etc. But they do not stop at the end of the line, but continue – usually as fast as possible! – through the section, finishing at Baruch yomeru. Then the cantor repeats from Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh up to Baruch yomeru, and the rest of the Kedushah goes on in the same fashion. Strictly speaking, this manner of reciting the Kedushahis mistaken. Since it is an integral part of the cantor's repetition of the Amidah, the cantor should recite every single word of the Kedushah out loud, and the congregation should not interrupt except to join in with the Biblical quotations – and indeed this is how it is done in Sefardi congregations. However, I doubt that the ingrained mistaken custom could now be eradicated.

To be continued.