MAGEN AVRAHAMThe Secret of the Amidah Prayer

By Professor Avraham Apatow

The aim of this presentation is to share a profound insight into the Amidah Prayer

that will help you:

• Improve concentration• Discover deeper meaning• Hasten the geulah, G-d willing

We shall see that the Amidah prayer is not only a description of our desires and wishes:

The Amidah prayer contains coded within its words and structure:

the power and means for bringing this vision into reality.

We say a picture contains a 1000 words

A picture is seen in a single instant

But at the same time it can convey very deep and complex meanings

And yet it is communicated effortlessly

The Amidah prayer can also be pictured as an image -- the image of the Magen David.

• By understanding how these words are transformed into the image, we can gain a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of our prayer.

• But how can words be transformed into images?

• Consider Tehillim 67 “to the conductor”

In his battles with his enemies Hashem revealed to King David a powerful secret that we are all familiar with.

Hashem revealed to him Tehillim 67 with its words formed in the shape of a menorah.

• King David received this prophetic image and placed it upon his shield, and the Chida writes that King David would keep the secret of this prayer in his mind and would emerge victorious because his enemies would fall before him.

The Amidah contains a similar secret and power as we shall explain and demonstrate to you.

We will go through each of these 18 steps that form this awesome vision.

Afterwards I will present some essential teachings and reflections that are vital for understanding its significance.

• The activity of prayer includes these three essential aspects:

• Praise• Request• Gratitude

The Basic Structure of the Amidah:

• 3 Introductory Blessings of Praise

• 12 Requests

• 3 Blessings of Thanks

In the Amidah, the Sages have created a prayer recitation that has 2 functions that occur

simultaneously:

• 3 requirements of prayer: praise, requests, gratitude

• the spiritual process of building the connection between Heaven and Earth

• In order to understand how this Is accomplished we will present the following analysis of the prayer.

• There are 18 primary blessings to the Amidah (with one later addition).

• These form 6 triplets or triads.

= 18

Baruch atah HashemMagen Avraham

• Indeed, the very first blessing is “magen Avraham.”

• This hints to the magen which the amidah forms, which is the source of

1

23

45

6

• We shall now show you how these 6 triads form the overall structure of the Amidah in a special diagram.

= 18

G-d’s Presence Above “Soul”

• Triad 1

Human Needs Soul• Triads 2 & 3 &

Body

National Needs• Triads 4 & 5 Soul

&G-d’s Presence Body

Below • Triad 6 “Body“

• We will now explain briefly each of these triads. It might be helpful if you follow along in your personal siddur’s version of the Amidah.

• After this review of the 18 blessings we shall show you the profound insights and power of the meditation on this magen David structure.

Triad 1Holy G-d Above

1. Shield (Magen) of Avraham

3. Holy G-d 2. Resurrects (El HaKodosh) Dead

Triad 2a Human Needs (Soul)

1. Bestows Wisdom

3. Forgiveness 2. Desires

Penitence (teshuva)

Triad 2b Human Needs (Body)

2. Health 1. Liberation

3. Blessing of Prosperity

Triad 3a Needs of Nation (Soul)

1. Gathers the Exiles

3. Support of 2a. Loves (restores) Righteous Justice 2b. Destroys Enemies

Triad 3a Notes

• Gathers exiles is also spiritual, it is a gathering from all the sins of the nations.

• Justice and destroying enemies is also good inclination’s conquest of evil inclination

• The reward of righteous is the “ohr ganuz” which is received through righteousness

Triad 3b Needs of Nation (Body)

1. Rebuilds Jerusalem

3. Hears Prayer 2. Gives Power of

Salvation

Triad 3b Notes

1. This triad is the drawing down of the Divine Presence into the physical world, the holy city of Jerusalem and Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple).

2. Divine Presence is the power of salvation 3. The revealed Kingship of G-d (Malchut) is

called “Prayer” in kabbalah -- Prayer being the expression of unity between G-d and man.

Triad 1b G-d’s Presence Below

2. Praising Name 1. Returns Divine Good Presence

3. Blesses Israel with Peace (completion)

Triad 1b Notes

It is through building of Holy City and power of prayer that we then achieve the final triad:

1. Return of Divine Presence2. Ability to fully praise and see G-d’s goodness3. Receive shalom, which is peace, but more

importantly completion, which is the completion of the unity of Creation:

Here is the picture of the overall structure we have just analyzed.

G-d’s Presence Above “Soul”

• Triad 1

Human Needs Soul• Triads 2 & 3 &

Body

National Needs• Triads 4 & 5 Soul

&G-d’s Presence Body

Below • Triad 6 “Body“

Through the energy of prayer we complete Creation by connecting G-d’s presence above Creation with His presence within Creation.

(G-d Himself of course never changes. We speak here of G-d in the way He reveals Himself to us.)

G-d’s Presence Above

Human Needs

National Needs

G-d’s Presence Below

When you pray the Amidah, you are participating in actively creating this unity.

When the Holy G-d Above….

Is United with the Divine Presence Below

We see the Fulfillment of the Prophecy

On that day the LORD shall be One

And His Name One

And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; on that day the LORD shall be One,

and His Name One.(Zecharia 14: 9)

Hashem is One…always.

But Hashem’s Name becomes One, and this depends upon us…

His presence or His power and revelation in Creation is called by the Torah “His Name.”

The only things that truly reveal Hashem’s Name are:

• Torah • Children of Israel • The Land of Israel

They reveal the infinite and miraculous within the natural world.

Hashem above can be likened to the “Soul”

Am Israel below is the aspect of “Body”

Creation and Life itself is about the unity of the soul with the body, the infinite with the finite.

The realization of this unity is the ultimate purpose of life and the key to our providential

protection and fulfillment of our purpose in the

world.

This is an aspect of the building of the Holy Temple. As Chazal teach (Sanhedrin 92a):

For one with wisdom, it is as if the Holy Temple was built in his days.

The Temple is the meeting place of Heaven and Earth, Infinite and Finite.

This is not merely for the holy Tzaddik. It is the purpose of every Jew and the realization of Geulah. As the prophet Isaiah (11: 9) says:

…for the earth shall be full of the wisdom of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

What is this wisdom?

To know that in all our experience there is nothing but G-d, in heavens above and earth below.

The revelation of this unity comes through love.

Before the morning prayer the Arizal taught us to take on the mitzvah to love our fellow Jew like our own life and possessions.

• Wisdom is to know that there is an awesome and direct experience of unity between you and your fellow Jew.

That in truth, there is no separation.

It is like a man and wife who are one flesh.

Together all Israel is the Temple for Hashem.

When we glimpse this higher vision, this mochin de gadlut (expanded awareness), it reveals the true perspective from which to see our personal lives and the realization of our deeper and intimate connection with G-d, our people and all of Creation

So How Do We Achieve This?

So How Do We Achieve This?

• The work of prayer is the work of building the Beit HaMikdash.

• Each time we pray we are perfecting these 18 elements and building the structure of the Beit HaMikdash to unite Heaven and Earth -- drawing down G-d’s presence into the physical world and refining our individual souls.

The more we are able to understand this process and envision and feel its reality, the greater the power of our prayer and wisdom.

This is our work, our avoda. This is the purpose of the study of Torah and doing of mitzvot (commandments).

The activity of prayer is not merely longing and desiring for the rebuilding of the Temple.

The activity of prayer is being the Beit HaMikdash.

Your very soul connects with all of Israel and unites Heaven and Earth.

Hashem enters your heart, you become G-dly and unified with the community of Israel.

• Each time of prayer is an opportunity to enter the Geulah, to build the Beit HaMikdash, and open your heart to the experience of the connection between Heaven and Earth.

Practical Advice

You do not have to do extra work to accomplish this. Our Sages have given us the key. Our work is to prepare our minds and hearts to be fully engaged in our prayers.

Practical Advice

• Become familiar with the structure that we have outlined.

• Meditate upon the meaning of the words of each prayer.

Practical Advice

• Once you become familiar with the structure and meaning of the Amidah as a magen David, spend time outside of formal prayer meditating and reflecting upon its meaning in your mind and imagination.

• Imagine vividly in your experience the reality of the fulfillment of its words.

Practical Advice

• More detailed instruction to follow G-d willing in additional presentations.

Practical Advice

Sometimes we glimpse the beauty and harmony of the unity of Am Israel.

Sometimes our prayers are completely uninspired and we feel other people disturb our concentration.

Practical Advice

For thousands of years our people have committed to this activity and this experience of prayer -- in its most sublime form and its most natural and down to earth form.

This is unifying heaven and earth.

Stick with it…

Geulah

• As Rebbe Nachman and many other great sages taught, this activity of prayer gives power to the Moshiach.

Moshiach is the united Soul of All Israel and:

“The weapon of Moshiach is prayer.” (L.M. II)

It is this power of unity and prayer that brings the revelation of G-d’s providence and protection, and ultimately Geulah.

The Only True Protection

May we all see the destruction of evil and the birth and flourishing of the revolution of kindness and wisdom that will truly enlighten humanity and bring G-d’s miraculous salvation.

And the restoration of the Kingship of David and the building of the Beit HaMikdash speedily in our days

Amen For more information about the work of Professor Apatow and a free download of his book Genesis Revealed, please visit genesisrevealed.com and avrahamapatow.com.