Prayers for rain and dew Due to the importance of winter rains to
agriculture in Israel, two blessings are changed in fall and winter to refer to rain.
Mentioning rain Between the holidays of
Shemini Atzeret and
Passover respectively, God's "power of [providing] rain" () is mentioned in the second blessing of the
Amidah (
Gevurot). This is done by inserting the phrase "" ("He [God] causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall"). The most prominent of God's powers mentioned in this blessing is the resurrection of the dead. Rain is mentioned here because God's provision of rain is considered to be as great a manifestation of His power as the resurrection. Rain is not mentioned in spring and summer, when rain does not fall in Israel. Nevertheless, given the importance of moisture during the dry summer of Israel, many versions of the liturgy insert the phrase "", "He causes the dew to fall", during every
Amidah of the dry half of the year, even though the Talmud explicitly says that there is no obligation to do so. On Shemini Atzeret and Passover, special extended prayers for rain or dew (known as
Tefillat Geshem and
Tefillat Tal respectively) are recited to introduce the change to the
Amidah. In the Ashkenazic tradition, both prayers are recited by the Reader during the repetition of the
Mussaf Amidah; however, many
Nusach Ashkenaz communities in Israel have adopted the Sephardic custom to recite it before the
Mussaf Amidah. In the normative contemporary Sephardic tradition, which prohibits such additions, places them before the
Mussaf Amidah; the exception is that
Spanish and Portuguese communities follow the older custom to recite it during the repetition. The change is made on these holidays because they are days of great joy, and because they are days of heavy attendance at public prayers. Therefore, the seasonal change in the language of the prayers is immediately and widely disseminated.
Requesting rain A "request" or prayer for rain () is also recited in winter, though for a shorter period. In Israel (and among the Jews of
Djerba), this recitation begins on the 7th of
Cheshvan. Although the
Jerusalem Talmud says that after the destruction of the Temple, we should begin the recitation immediately after Sukkos, the Halachah does not follow this opinion. The 15-day delay between Shemini Atzeret and 7 Cheshvan was instituted so that visitors to the
Temple in Jerusalem would be able to arrive home before prayers for rain began, as rain would interfere with their journey. Elsewhere, outside Israel, this season is defined as beginning on the 60th day after the autumnal equinox ("
Tekufat Tishrei") – in the 20th and 21st century, this is usually on 4 December. In all cases, the recitation ends on Passover. Requesting rain is done in the ninth blessing of the weekday
Amidah. In Ashkenazi custom, this is done by insertion of the words "may You grant dew and rain" in this blessing. In
Sephardi and
Yemenite Jewish rituals, the blessing is changed more dramatically. During the dry season, the blessing has this form: In the rainy season, the text is changed to read:
Conclusion of Shabbat and festivals At the
Maariv Amidah following the conclusion of a Shabbat or
Yom Tov, a paragraph beginning
Atah Chonantanu ("You have granted us...") is inserted into the weekday ''Amidah's
fourth blessing of Binah
. The paragraph thanks God for the ability to separate between the holy and mundane, paraphrasing the concepts found in the Havdalah ceremony. In fact, the Talmud teaches that if this paragraph is forgotten, the Amidah
need not be repeated, because Havdalah will be said later over wine. Once Atah Chonantanu'' is said, work prohibited on the holy day becomes permitted because the separation from the holy day has been established.
The Ten Days of Repentance During the
Ten Days of Repentance between
Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur, additional lines are inserted in the first, second, second to last, and last blessings of all
Amidot. These lines invoke God's mercy and pray for inscription in the
Book of Life. In many communities, when the chazzan reaches these lines during his repetition, he pauses and the congregation recites the lines before him; in other communities, the congregation recites the additions only in the last two blessings, but not in the first two. During the final recitation of the
Amidah on Yom Kippur the prayer is slightly modified to read "seal us" in the book of life, rather than "write us". Moreover, the signatures of two blessings are changed to reflect the days' heightened recognition of God's sovereignty. In the third blessing, the signature "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Holy God" is replaced with "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Holy King". On weekdays, the signature of the eleventh blessing is changed from "Blessed are You, O Lord, King who loves justice and judgement" to "Blessed are You, O Lord, the King of judgement". In many Ashkenazic communities, it is also customary to conclude the last Blessing "Blessed are You, O Lord, who makes peace" instead of "Blessed are You, O Lord, who blesses His people with peace".
Fast days On public
fast days, special prayers for mercy are added to the
Amidah. There are three customs as to at which prayers individuals recite the text of
Aneinu without its signature in the blessing of
Shomea Tefillah: • According to the Yemenite custom (based on the custom of the Gaonim), it is recited at Shacharit and Mincha of the fast, as well as at Maariv on the night proceeding the fast. • According to the Sephardic custom, it is recited at Shacharit and Mincha; and on Tisha Bav, when the fast begins at night, it is also recited in Maariv (effectively making this the same as the previous custom when it comes to Tisha Bav). • According to the Ashkenazic custom, it is recited by individuals only at Mincha. In all customs, the chazzan adds
Aneinu as additional blessing in his repetition right after the blessing of
Geulah, known by its first word
Aneinu ("Answer us") in both Shacharit and Mincha. The blessing concludes with the signature "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who responds [some say: to His nation Israel] in time of trouble." In addition, according to the original custom,
Selichot are recited in the middle of the blessing for forgiveness during the Chazzan's repetition. At mincha, Ashkenazic communities that say the "Shalom Rav" version of the
Shalom blessing at Minchah and Maariv say the "Sim Shalom" at this Minchah. The chazzan also says the priestly blessing before
Shalom as he would at Shacharit, unlike the usual weekday Minchah when the priestly blessing is not said at Mincha; in many communities where the Kohanim recite
Birkat Kohanim daily, this is recited now as well, particularly if Mincha is recited later in the day. On
Tisha B'Av at Minchah, Ashkenazim add a prayer that begins
Nachem ("Console...") to the conclusion of the blessing
Binyan Yerushalayim, elaborating on the mournful state of the
Temple in Jerusalem. The concluding signature of the blessing is also extended to say "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem." In other traditions, it is said in all the Amidot of Tisha B'av, or not included at all.
Ya'aleh VeYavo On
Chol HaMoed and
Rosh Chodesh, the prayer ''Ya'aleh Veyavo
("May [our remembrance] rise and be seen...") is inserted in the blessing of Avodah
. Ya'aleh Veyavo
is also said in the Kedushat HaYom
blessing of the Festival Amidah'', and at
Birkat HaMazon. One phrase of the prayer varies according to the day's holiday, mentioning it by name. Often, the first line is uttered aloud so that others will be reminded of the change.
Al HaNissim On
Hanukkah and
Purim, the weekday or sabbath Amidot are recited, but a special paragraph is inserted into the blessing of ''Hoda'ah''. Each holiday's paragraph recounts the historical background of that holiday, thanking God for his salvation. Both paragraphs are prefaced by the same opening line, "[We thank You] for the miraculous deeds (
Al HaNissim) and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season."
Modern changes The text of the Amidah was changed by the Hassidic movement in the 18th century. They attempted to fit the Ashkenazic liturgy with the rulings of the 16th century Kabbalist
Isaac Luria, commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "'''Ha'ARI'''" ("The Ari") The Ari formulated a text that was adapted from the
Sepharadi text in accordance with his understanding of
Kabbalah, and the Chasidim adapted
Nusach Ashkenaz to fit with his rulings, making what became known as
Nusach Sefard. Following the Zionist declaration of the
State of Israel, some
Orthodox authorities proposed changes to the special
Nachem "Console..." prayer commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem added to the
Amidah on
Tisha B'Av in light of these events. Conservative and Reform Judaism have altered the text to varying degrees to bring it into alignment with their view of modern needs and sensibilities.
Conservative Judaism retains the traditional number and time periods during which the
Amidah must be said, while omitting explicit supplications for restoration of the
sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah.
Reconstructionist and
Reform Judaism, consistent with their views that the rhythm of the ancient sacrifices should no longer drive modern Jewish prayer, often omit some of the
Amidah prayers, such as the
Mussaf, omit temporal requirements and references to the Temple and its sacrifices.
Reform Judaism has changed the first blessing, traditionally invoking the phrase "God of our Fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob", one of the Biblical names of God. New editions of the Reform
siddur explicitly say "our fathers and our mothers", and Reform and some Conservative congregations amend the second invocation to "God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob; God of Sarah, God of Rebekah, God of Leah, and God of Rachel". The new reform prayer book, ''
Mishkan T'filah'', reverses Leah's and Rachel's names. Some feminist Jews have added the names of
Bilhah and
Zilpah, since they were mothers to four tribes of Israel. Liberal branches of Judaism make some additional changes to the opening blessing. the phrase ("and brings a redeemer") is changed in
Reform Judaism to ("who brings redemption"), replacing the personal
messiah with a Messianic Age. The phrase ("who causes the dead to come to life") is replaced in the Reform and Reconstructionist siddurim with ("who gives life to all") and ("who gives life to all life"), respectively. This represents a turn away from the traditional article of faith that God will resurrect the dead. Prayer 17 (
Avodah) asks God to restore the
Temple services, build a
Third Temple, and restore
sacrificial worship. The concluding meditation ends with an additional prayer for the restoration of Temple worship. Both prayers have been modified within the siddur of
Conservative Judaism so that, though they still ask for the restoration of the Temple, they remove the explicit plea for the resumption of sacrifices. (Some Conservative congregations remove the concluding quiet prayer for the Temple entirely.) The
Reform siddur also modifies this prayer by eliminating all reference to the Temple service and replacing the request for the restoration of the Temple with: "God who is near to all who call upon you, turn to your servants and be gracious to us; pour your spirit upon us." Many Reform congregations will often conclude with either
Sim Shalom or
Shalom Rav. Once either of those prayers are chanted or sung, many congregations proceed to a variation on the
Mi Shebeirach (typically the version popularized by
Debbie Friedman), the traditional prayer for healing, followed by silent prayer, and then a resumption of the service. Conservative Judaism is divided on the role of the
Mussaf Amidah. More traditional Conservative congregations recite a prayer similar to the Mussaf prayer in Orthodox services except that they refer to Temple sacrifices only in the past tense and do not include a prayer for the restoration of the sacrifices. More liberal Conservative congregations omit references to the Temple sacrifices entirely. Reconstructionist and Reform congregations generally do not do the
Mussaf Amidah at all; if they do, they omit all references to Temple worship. ==Within the early Christian Church==