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The Amidah: A Prayer for Doubters

 

By Rabbi Elie Kaunfer

“Blessed are you, God, shield of Abraham.” This is the concluding line of the first blessing of the Amidah, recited by Jews in every statutory prayer service. What could it mean for God to be the “shield of Abraham,” and what theme does that develop?

The source of most prayers can be traced to the Bible. God is a shield for Abraham in Genesis 15. It reads:

After those things, the word of YHVH came to Abram in a vision, saying: “Don’t fear, Abraham, I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.” But Abram said: “Lord, YHVH, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless and the one in charge of my household is Damesek Eliezer?” Abram said: “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir!”

The word of YHVH came to him, saying: “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir”.… Then He said to him: “I am YHVH who brought you out from Ur Casdim to assign this land to you as a possession.” And he said: “Lord, YHVH, how shall I know that I am to possess it?”

(Genesis 15:1–8, based on New Jewish Publication Society translation)

The foundation of the relationship between God and Abraham is based on two promises: Abraham will have many children, and he will inherit the land of Canaan. When God encountered Abraham in Genesis 12, these promises were made outright. But here in Genesis 15, Abraham is afraid that God will not make good on these promises. Abraham questions God—where is my child? God does not get angry but simply reiterates the promise that children are on the way. But when God renews the promise of the land, Abraham does not fundamentally believe. He asks: “Lord, YHVH, how shall I know?” (Genesis 15:8).

This verse is viewed in early Jewish tradition as the classic expression of doubt in the mouth of Abraham (see further, Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 32a).

We often think of Abraham as the “knight of faith,” the one who was willing to sacrifice his beloved son on the altar to fulfill God’s word. However, the Amidah reflects a very different Abraham—the one who is plagued by doubts. In many ways, this is the crux of the blessing, which is the foundation of the Amidah. Read with the biblical intertext, the prayer could be saying: don’t worry about your doubts. Even Abraham was filled with doubt, and he had a direct relationship with God. The project of prayer, this blessing could say, is that of holding your doubt and grappling with it, but not letting that be a reason to drop out of a relationship with God.

 

*********************

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, named one of the top fifty Jewish leaders by the Forward, and one of Newsweek’s top fifty rabbis, is co-founder and executive director of Mechon Hadar (www.mechonhadar.org), an institute that empowers Jews to build vibrant Jewish communities. Mechon Hadar has launched the first full-time egalitarian yeshiva program in North America, Yeshivat Hadar (www.yeshivathadar.org), where Rabbi Kaunfer teaches Talmud. A Dorot Fellow and Wexner Graduate Fellow, Rabbi Kaunfer co-founded Kehilat Hadar (www.kehilathadar.org), an independent minyan in Manhattan committed to spirited traditional prayer, study and social action. He was selected as an inaugural Avi Chai Fellow, known as “The Jewish Genius Award.” Rabbi Kaunfer is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities (Jewish Lights).

 





Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities

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Other Prayer Resources

A Song Every Day
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http://songeveryday.wordpress.com/

Making Prayer Real
By Rabbi Mike Comins
http://makingprayerreal.com/

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