A colleague of mine recently shared an image in our whatsapp group: a chart depicting the speed in which people speak. The image demonstrated that the average person speaks 130 words per minute. Someone speaking quickly, or an audio book on tape in which the speaker is trying to cover some ground, speaks 150 words per minute. And the fastest speakers, such as auctioneers, speak at a rate of at least 250 words per minute.
The chart proceeded to apply this information to the pace at which we daven. The weekday shemoneh esrei is 713 words. At a typical conversational pace, shemoneh esrei would take 6.3 minutes. Speaking quickly, 5.5 minutes. And the auctioneer’s shemoneh esrei would endure a mere 3.3 minutes.
We can discuss the takeaway message from such a chart, but one thing is clear: Shemoneh esrei is long!
The last thing we need in this long tefilla recited three times daily is extra words, but already beginning in the first sentence we find exactly that.
The authors of shemoneh esrei seem to have borrowed a verbose phrase from our parsha (3:15) at the beginning of the Amidah.
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ ע֨וֹד אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה כֹּֽה־תֹאמַר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק וֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹ֖ב שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר׃
“And God said further to Moses, “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This shall be My name forever, This My appellation for all eternity.”
G-d describes Himself to Moshe as:
Elokei avoteichem- the G-d of your forefathers
Elokei Avraham, Elokei, Yitzchak, vEilokei Yaakov- The G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yizchak, and the G-d of Yaakov.
In very next pasuk (3:16) we find this phrase distilled slightly:
לֵ֣ךְ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞ אֶת־זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵהֶם֙ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִרְאָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם יִצְחָ֥ק וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לֵאמֹ֑ר פָּקֹ֤ד פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הֶעָשׂ֥וּי לָכֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, ‘I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt”
Here G-d is referred to as Elokei Avraham, Yitzchak, vYaakov- The G-d of Avraham, Yizchak, and Yaakov.
When writing shemoneh esrei, why would the authors choose the repetitious Elokei Avraham, Elokei, Yitzchak, vEilokei Yaakov of 3:15 rather than the more concise Elokei Avraham, Yitzchak, vYaakov of 3:16?
The 18h Century Rav Meir ben Yitzchak Eisentadt, know as the Maharam Eish, shares a beautiful answer to this question.
Avraham is the world’s first monotheist. He discovered Hashem, and at the surface, it seems Yitzchak, Yaakov, and the generations which followed, carried on the Alter Zaidy’s minhagim.
But the Maharam Eish suggests that that is not the case. Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, vEilokei Yaakov. He was not the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov; he was G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchak, and G-d of Yaakov. Each of the avot forged his unique, personal relationship with Him.
We live in a generation where people no longer take for granted that their descendants will follow their religious practice. A child in the 21st century will not blindly follow the G-d of his father. This feels like a new problem, and in many ways, it is, but the Maharam Eish’s insight demonstrates that Yitzchak did not blindly follow his father’s G-d either. Yitzchak forged his own relationship. Yaakov did the same. Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, vEilokei Yaakov.
Telling the next generation that they must look to create their own relationship with their Maker is easier said than done, but before looking for solutions for others, let us assess our own relationships with Hashem. Have I simply mimicked my parents and grandparents, or have I created by own relationship with Hashem?
Tefilla may be the litmus test for such a question. Tefilla can be a one on one, three times daily communion with G-d, but it can also be a block of text that many race through, simply repeating the same words without thought that those before us recited.
In the very first sentence, the Anshei Knesset Hagedola, the authors of shemoneh esrei, remind us the stakes of what we are beginning. As we take those three steps forward and enter into conversation with Hashem, we stress Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, vEilokei Yaakov. An authentic relationship with the Almighty requires us to put forth the effort to build that personal relationship with Him, and shemoneh esrei is the best time to do so.
Rav Mayer Twersky, one of the Roshei Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, points out that so much of shemoneh esrei is written in the second person. Baruch attah. Attah kadosh. Attah gibor. Michaye meitim attah. Reminders that I am speaking directly to G-d. The text is filled with reminders and tools to form that personal relationship with our Creator.
It behooves us not to read through it like auctioneers.
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