The Guide for the Enthused: Why Pray with a Fixed Text from a Siddur?

1. Who Established the Prayer? The three holy patriarchs instituted the three prayers: Abraham our Forefather established Shacharit, Isaac our Forefather established Mincha, and Jacob our Forefather established Arvit. The prayer's text was fixed by the Men of the Great Assembly during the time of the Second Temple. This assembly was formed by Ezra the Scribe and consisted of 120 elders, which included prophets and sages like Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Nehemiah, Mordecai, Zerubbabel, and Shimon the Righteous.

2. Opening Heavenly Chambers and Correcting Worlds. The Amidah prayer was composed with divine inspiration and contains holy phrases that unlock heavenly chambers when recited in its fixed form. The prayer holds deep intentions that create repairs in the upper worlds. The fundamental halachic book, the 'Mishnah Berurah,' writes on this: "When the Men of the Great Assembly established the prayer's wording, there were 120 elders among them, including some prophets. They counted every word in blessings and their combinations for various secrets. When we say these words as phrased by the Great Assembly, even if we cannot concentrate properly, our prayers reach their appropriate destination because the words themselves perform sanctity above, unlike when prayers are said in other languages." (Siman 101, sub-section 13).

Here is how Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin puts it in his book 'Nefesh HaChaim': "The wise will understand on their own, not for nothing did 120 elders and some prophets establish a short prayer like this. They achieved with their divine inspiration and prophetic understanding, knowledgeable about the orders of creation and parts of the chariot. Therefore, blessings and prayers were fixed in these specific words, from what they saw and understood about the light of each particular word, necessary for the repair of many worlds and upper powers and the ordering of the chariot." (Gate 2, Chapter 10).

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin also writes that the intentions explained to us by the sages are just a drop in the ocean compared to the depth of the intentions of the Men of the Great Assembly in the prayer's text, which creates new repairs in all worlds daily. And here are his words: "Even what was revealed to us, a bit of intention from our first rabbis, holy ones, even the rabbi the Arizal, who made great wonders in intentions, is not even a drop in the ocean compared to the inner depth of the intention of the Men of the Great Assembly. Because there were 120 elders among them and several prophets. Whoever understands will understand. No man on the land exists who can establish such a wondrous and terrible repair to encompass and conceal in a fixed and ordered prayer text, all the repairs of the upper and lower worlds and the parts of the chariot. Each time we pray, we cause new repairs in the ordering of worlds and powers and drawing down of new insights." (Nefesh HaChaim, Gate 2, Chapter 13).

3. A Text that Helps Pray for Everything Important. The prayer contains all a person's needs, both personal and communal — sustenance, peace, health, national security, and more. If prayer were said freely, each person would mostly pray about the current main issue of difficulty and would not ask about other areas. They would focus on what they feel is currently missing, while other matters might be neglected in prayer. The fixed prayer text serves as a daily reminder to man to depend on the Creator for all areas of life, helping him pray for all important areas. Moreover, without a fixed text, people worried about their daily lives might forsake structured prayer for brief and weak prayers.

The Weekly Challenge

To connect more with the prayer from the Siddur, it's recommended to learn about the meaning of the prayer, the explanation of words, and the intentions behind them, and about the spiritual depth in its various parts. This week, listen to a lesson about the meaning of the Amidah prayer (or other parts, like morning blessings and Torah, Shema reading, etc.). Alternatively, find a good book on the subject this week and start reading it.

What Is the Power of Prayer? Can a heartfelt prayer change anything? Does Hashem have to respond to our prayers? And in general, what is the fixed text in prayer, wouldn't it be more comfortable for me to pray about what I feel? Rabbi Yitzchak Fangerhelps us understand the great power in our hands. Watch: