the protection of the righteous between blessings eleven and fourteen.

Although we studied each individual paragraph I would like to analyze the progression of the blessings. The Talmud[1] explains the progression in the following way: Redemption is the seventh blessing because the wars that will lead to redemption will begin in the seventh year of the Shemittah cycle.[2] Healing is necessary after a circumcision which takes place on the eighth day. Therefore healing is the eighth blessing. David mentions sustenance in the ninth chapter of Psalms; hence our prayer for sustenance is the ninth blessing. Another verse in Psalms describes the ingathering of the exiles as immediately following tremendous blessings in our sustenance. Once the exiles have been gathered there will be a judgment against the wicked. Once the wicked have been judged the sinners will be destroyed. Once there are no more sinners the righteous will be raised up. Where will the righteous be honored? They will be venerated in Jerusalem. Once Jerusalem is rebuilt the messiah will come. Once the messiah has come there will be a new power of prayer. Once prayer has risen to new heights we will be able to serve God again in the Temple.

This section of the Talmud explains the progression from the seventh blessing through the seventeenth. Only the eighth and ninth are not presented as automatically following from the previous blessing. The Talmud also says that the sixteenth and seventeenth are part of the progression.

We must study this selection in order to understand the progression and what we are requesting in each blessing; the seventh blessing, redemption, parallels the wars that will lead to the redemption, wars that are the beginning of liberation. We are not praying for the wars. We are praying for the redemption that will follow. More specifically, we are praying for the cycle of events that are the redemption to begin. We are praying for salvation as if we are ignoring the wars and the suffering they will bring. We are focusing on the good and disregarding the bad. I believe that by presenting the redemption in the seventh blessing, which corresponds to the year of war, we are asking for the redemption to occur without the anguish of the wars. Our prayers have the power to change the order of redemption.

It is necessary to focus on this point before we continue with the general discussion. We are praying with the assumption that our supplications possess the power to change the predetermined order of history. This idea means that our prayers are far more powerful than we first imagine. We can literally change the course of history. Our prayers are far more effective if they are recited with an awareness of their power. When we pray without an appreciation of the force of those prayers we weaken them. Judaism emphasizes the importance of awareness of the power of our actions, and that actions with that awareness are all the more forceful as a result of that consciousness. The assumptions behind the blessing of redemption are a compelling statement on the power of prayer. (This should be integrated as a prayer tool.)

Although each of the blessings is addressed to the needs of the entire nation, they have meaning for the individual as well. How can we apply this supplication on a personal level? Judaism teaches that suffering is sometimes necessary to refine a person before he can be an appropriate receptacle for blessing[3]. People grow from challenges. Marriage takes work. The pain of the relationship helps each spouse develop into a better partner. Pain not only provides perspective on what is truly important it also teaches which mistakes to avoid in the future. Suffering refines us[4]. I am not speaking of self-flagellation which is anti-Judaism. I am speaking on the most basic level of growth from pain. This is true on a national level, which is one aspect of the wars that precede the redemption. It is also true on an individual basis. Just as we can pray that the redemption processes begin without the destined wars we can pray that we as individuals receive blessing without the suffering that possibly must precede them. If someone is suffering he can ask that if his suffering is to purify him in order to receive blessing, that he merit the blessings without the suffering.

Suffering does not only mean catastrophic pain. Frustration is suffering. If someone is frustrated in achieving a goal, he may request that he succeed without that aggravation. (These thoughts should be used as tools for dealing with suffering. You can use this prayer and this perspective; “Am I growing because of these challenges? What have I learned from this experience?)

Let’s return to our original discussion. We learned that in the seventh blessing we are praying for the redemption to proceed in a different order than has been predetermined. The eighth blessing, for healing, is explained by the Talmud as describing the healing that follows forgiveness, the topic of the sixth blessing. This blessing, despite being presented as independent of the succession of events, also mentions salvation; “save us and we will be saved.” This phrase hints that this blessing does, in some manner, fit into the series of blessings addressing redemption. We have explained that the meaning of the phrase is that God creates the salvation and we are praying for the ability to access what has already been created[5].

We have the healing that results from forgiveness and a prayer that we are granted the ability to access the redemption that has already been prepared. This means that once we are forgiven and healed we will have the ability to access the prepared salvation. This access is also independent of the predetermined order of events. This access means that we can access the salvation without waiting for the seventh year when the cycle of events is to begin. This blessing goes far beyond what we are appealing for in the previous section. The seventh blessing is an application for redemption without suffering. It is a request for God to change the preordained order of events. The eight blessing is saying, “Now that we have been granted forgiveness, (sixth section), grant us the ability to access the salvation without waiting for the specific year in which it is to occur. We are assuming that our appeal for forgiveness has been granted, another statement on the power of prayer; we proceed with the assumption that our prayers will be granted. (This should be used as a prayer tool.)Now that we have forgiveness, allow us to bring the salvation earlier than destined.

How can this be used on a personal level? Allow me to access the blessings that are stored for me[6] even if it is early. God is committed to our success in using this world to achieve our purpose and is ready to bless us abundantly[7]. (This should be used in the second blessing of the Amidah when we say that God supports life with kindness. This means that God is committed to our ultimate success. Add this to your workbooks.) God wants to bless us and waits until all the blessings stored for us are appropriate. In this blessing we ask that our prayers succeed to the point that we are ready now to receive the blessings God has for us.

The Talmud’s explanation for the placement of the ninth blessing seems weak; because sustenance is mentioned in the ninth chapter of Psalms it must be the ninth blessing. Aren’t there other descriptions of sustenance in the bible that are not associated with a specific number? Couldn’t we proceed with the steps of liberation without interjecting a plea for sustenance? If the Sages placed this blessing here in middle of a series of prayers dealing with redemption they must be telling us that there is a connection. In fact, their explanation of the tenth blessing, the ingathering of the exiles, is presented as a direct progression of from the ninth blessing, our appeal for sustenance. Perhaps we should first understand why the gathering of the exiles will follow sustenance, or as Rashi explains[8], the gathering of the exiles will occur in a year of plenty.

The previous prayers for salvation were for salvation from the midst of difficulties. The seventh blessing asks God to see our suffering. The eighth blessing refers to the need for healing and the need for salvation. The ninth paragraph is asking God to grant us the blessings of Messianic times even before he comes. The tenth blessing is for God to gather the exiles in a time of good. It should be a progression of wonderful things that are happening to us. In the seventh section we asked for the redemption to come without the destined wars. In this blessing we are petitioning for more; we are asking that the cycle begin with wonderful things happening, not just the absence of war.

At this point we have made the following requests:

• In the seventh section we requested that God change the preordained cycle of events and bring the redemption in the seventh year without the destined wars.
• In the eighth blessing we asked for the ability to access the prepared salvation without waiting for the ordained year.
• In the ninth blessing we petitioned God to send the blessings of Messianic times even before the messiah comes.
• In the tenth blessing we asked that the Messiah be a culmination of a time of tremendous good fortune, not a result of war and suffering and not as a salvation from misery.

Each of these requests is dependent on a greater awareness of the power of prayer than its precursor. This is an important concept in the Amidah as a whole; the power of our prayer increases as we progress. Praying increases the power of prayer. (This is an important concept to incorporate as a prayer tool.)

The Talmud continues by saying that once the exiles have been gathered there will be a judgment against the wicked. It is interesting to note that on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we first speak of the honor of the righteous and then we describe the fall of the wicked. In the standard Amidah we first describe the judgment against the wicked and then their fall. Only after the destruction of the wicked do we describe the honor given to the righteous. The Ramchal[9] explains that on Rosh Hashanah we are describing a world beginning and in such a situation the righteous will come before the wicked. During the year we are dealing with the reality of the world as we know it. Therefore, the influence of the wicked must be crushed before the righteous can take their place.

(This is an important tool to be used when frustrated with the absence of good in the world. When I was a little boy and had a terrible experience with someone who was perceived by the community as a Tzaddik but was clearly an evil man, my father took me to meet a very old man who had the face of an angel. It was clear that this man was a true Tzaddik. It was inspiring just to be in his presence. My father wanted me to touch “good”, so to speak, in order to help me deal with my horrible experience. When I later asked why this Tzaddik was not better known, he explained that such people will only be seen for what they truly are once evil has been destroyed. He then showed me the Ramchal I mentioned above. We must first battle evil in order for the good to flourish. It is effective to take small steps in battling evil. Take notice of insignificant acts of injustice and try to do something about them. For example, protest if you hear someone speaking evil of someone else and damaging their reputation. Speak up if you see someone being rude. All these are small steps. However, if they are taken as conscious acts of battling evil you are proactive in raising the profile of righteousness in the world. This should be used as part of the twelfth blessing which is the crushing of evil. Add this there to your workbooks and/or your Avodas Hashem/Service of God notebooks.)

The crushing of the wicked must begin with the judgment against them. We live in a world in which the wicked seem to prosper. It is a world without justice. Things don’t make sense. We see good people suffering. We watch floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and wars that decimate innocent people and children.

In the ninth blessing we asked for the blessing of Messianic times even before he comes. In the eleventh blessing we are applying for a world that is just. We are pleading for things to make sense and to see God’s justice in everything that happens to the world and to us as individuals. This is a much more powerful request than the one for blessings. This is a plea for a world that makes sense.

We are also requesting that the coming of the Messiah for the Jewish people seems just, to all the people of the world. The Semag[10] asks why the Messiah had not yet come in his time. He explains that the Messiah will only come when it the nations of the world perceive the Jews as deserving of salvation. The messiah cannot come if we act in a way that causes us to be perceived as undeserving of the privilege of redemption.

We are asking in this blessing for God to restore justice to the world and that He makes it clear that we, the Jewish people, deserve salvation. This blessing implies a terrific standard from us. It means that we are committed to living in such a way that we will be meritorious in judgment. This obviously is a development of the sixth blessing when we asked for forgiveness and the eight blessing when we asked that God heal our souls now that we have been forgiven. This blessing is assuming that we are living with the highest standards of moral behavior. We explained earlier, in the chapter on this blessing, that the restoration of justice will influence us to change and that it is difficult to live at those standards if we do not perceive any justice in the world, or if we feel that God is not taking care of us. The blessing is actually a progression of events in itself. There will first be a restoration of justice that will make us experience God’s involvement in our lives. That will influence us to live at the highest standards which will lead to the next stage of justice which will be that the entire world will understand that we merit redemption.

This is a more sophisticated form of prayer. We are asking God to influence us so that we may change and then influence the world. We are not asking God to do something for us. We are asking God to empower us to become better people who can then change the world. We are asking God to transform us as people. This is different from a prayer in which we ask for redemption as a gift to be granted. We are requesting a relationship of give and take. We are asking to play a role in the redemption. We are asking to be transformed as people so that redemption is not something that is granted but deserved.

We also pray on a personal level to achieve that level of good so that we will serve as an example of God’s presence in the world. It is appropriate to insert a prayer to be proper role models for our children and students.

We described how each prayer influences the prayer that follows and makes it more powerful. In this prayer we have reached a point in which our prayers can effect a change in what we are. This is an important concept of prayer. We can use prayer to request God’s help in our development as people. We can use prayer to effect growth and development.

At this point we have made the following requests:

• In the seventh section we requested that God change the preordained cycle of events and bring the redemption in the seventh year without the destined wars. We pray that God reveal Himself as the Redeemer of Israel without suffering.
• In the eighth blessing we asked for the ability to access the prepared salvation without waiting for the ordained year. We want God to reveal Himself as the One Who has prepared salvation.
• In the ninth blessing we petitioned God to send the blessings of Messianic times even before the messiah comes. We appeal to God to reveal Himself as the One Who brings Messianic blessing to the world.
• In the tenth blessing we asked that the Messiah be a culmination of a time of tremendous good fortune, not a result of war and suffering and not as a salvation from misery. We pray that God is revealed as the One Who gathers the exiles in a time of blessing.
• In the eleventh blessing we ask that God empower us through the restoration of justice to influence the entire world and to be active participants in bringing the Messiah. We want God to be revealed as the One Who empowers us through the restoration of justice.

It is important to remember how we have seen that our power of prayer develops with each section of this series of prayer. We should also review the prayer tools that we have identified:

• We pray with the assumption that our supplications posses the power to change the predetermined order of history. This idea means that our prayers are far more powerful than we first imagine. We can literally change the course of history.
• The power of our prayer increases as we progress. Praying increases the power of prayer.
• Our prayers are far more effective if they are recited with an awareness of their power.
• We proceed with the assumption that our prayers will be granted.
• We can use prayer to request God’s help in our development as people. We can use prayer to effect growth and development.

The twelfth blessing is our request for God to reveal Himself as the destroyer of sinners and His enemies. We are asking God to destroy all those who negatively influence the world by denying His presence. We are asking God to destroy evil and all its power. We mentioned earlier that the Messiah will not complete his tasks immediately upon arrival. He will work in stages. He will first gather those who believe in him. He will then introduce true justice and order to the world. He will then battle and destroy evil.

Rashi[11] explains that this blessing is a request for a higher level of moral clarity. We are not the only people in the world who believe in God. There are other religions that believe in One God. They have value systems which seem to be consistent with Judaism. In fact we are often described as part of the Judeo-Christian heritage, stressing how we seem so closely related. Jews are often confused regarding the values of Western civilization. We speak out against war with the same passion as the Christians even though Judaism believes in the necessity of warring against evil. Many Jews share opposition to nuclear arms with the same “moral clarity” of the catholic bishops even though Judaism is not necessarily opposed. People speak of the values of Judaism while picking and choosing which values are important and ignoring others. The influence of Christianity has corrupted our understanding of repentance, free choice and original sin. We have lost our moral clarity. Many Jews accept the Christian claim that the God of the Old Testament is a God of vengeance and the God of the New Testament in one of mercy. The Christians also believe in the idea of a messiah.

When we describe the crushing of evil we are addressing those who distort Jewish values, confusing our understanding of God and the world. As long as we lack moral clarity and a clear vision of Torah values we lose our appreciation of Judaism and what it offers.

We are appealing for the clarity necessary to appreciate Judaism without it being corrupted by the influence of others. Our battle is more sophisticated than that of earlier generations who were exposed to idol worship. Idol worship is clearly and unambiguously against Judaism. Our battle is against those who don’t seem to threaten Judaism (I am not referring to missionaries or Jews for Jesus) and who supposedly venerate Jewish beliefs and values. The distinction is often difficult to discern. It is easy to become confused. It is not a black and white battle between good and evil.

In fact this blessing was composed to draw out Christians who were masquerading as Jews[12]. It was almost impossible to tell from outward behavior who was Christian. The rabbis composed this blessing knowing that Christians would not recite it. It was only when someone refused to recite this blessing that we could tell that he was a Christian. Again, this is the idea of people, who are very similar to Jews in many ways, so much so that there was no way to tell the difference. This blessing is a request for the clarity necessary to know what authentic Judaism is and what it is not.

This is a step beyond the restoration of justice. This isn’t justice as much as it is freedom from the influence of “good” people who confuse us. We have not had clarity since the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We are praying for a world with that level of clarity.

We actually have everything necessary to achieve that clarity. We have Torah and all the commandments. We have not taken full advantage of Torah and its teachings. We are asking God to grant us what we should have achieved on our own. The composition and inclusion of this blessing in the Amidah was an active step toward that clarity. It is the addition of this blessing as an emergency initiative that allows us to ask God to complete the process for us.

This is an important tool in service of God; we can ask God to complete a process for us if we take one active step toward achieving that goal. We can even use prayer as that first active step. If we understand that prayer is not, in this context, the pleading of a child, but rather an active step toward achieving growth, we can use prayer to involve God enough to finish the process for us. (This should also be included in the list of prayer tools.)

We should include a personal request for moral clarity in this paragraph. There are times when we do not know what is moral in a specific situation. There are times when it is difficult to know which the moral path to take is. We can pray for God’s help in achieving that clarity.

It is important at this point to interject a fundamental aspect of Jewish thought: The Torah teaches, “And you shall do that which is just and good in the eyes of God.[13]” Nachmanidies asks why is it necessary to have such a general commandment when we already have 613 specific commandments governing each aspect of our lives. He explains that it is impossible for the Torah to list every situation that every human being will face over the course of history. This verse is teaching us that the observance of the commandments will train us to know what is just and good in the eyes of God even when it is not spelled out in black and white in the Torah. Nachmanidies is teaching us that we develop our sensitivity to God and His will by practicing the Mitzvot. We must understand that the Mitzvot nurture our souls by helping us develop a sixth sense for God’s will. Unfortunately we are all to familiar with people who are observant and yet seem to have no morals. The Mitzvot are not nurturing them. We must be aware of this benefit of the commandments when we practice them. We must ask for God’s help in allowing the Mitzvot to work as they should. Therefore it is essential to remember this idea and integrate it into this blessing. When we pray for moral clarity we are also praying that the Mitzvot nurture us as they can.

At this point we have made the following requests:

• In the seventh section we requested that God change the preordained cycle of events and bring the redemption in the seventh year without the destined wars. We pray that God reveal Himself as the Redeemer of Israel without suffering.
• In the eighth blessing we asked for the ability to access the prepared salvation without waiting for the ordained year. We want God to reveal Himself as the One Who has prepared salvation.
• In the ninth blessing we petitioned God to send the blessings of Messianic times even before the messiah comes. We appeal to God to reveal Himself as the One Who brings Messianic blessing to the world.
• In the tenth blessing we asked that the Messiah be a culmination of a time of tremendous good fortune, not a result of war and suffering and not as a salvation from misery. We pray that God is revealed as the One Who gathers the exiles in a time of blessing.
• In the eleventh blessing we ask that God empower us through the restoration of justice to influence the entire world and to be active participants in bringing the Messiah. We want God to be revealed as the One Who empowers us through the restoration of justice.
• In the twelfth blessing we ask God to reveal Himself as the One Who grants us moral clarity through the destruction of evil influences.

Once again, although we have already studied this individual paragraph, I would like to analyze this blessing as part of the series of blessings dealing with the redemption process. The Talmud explains that the righteous will rise after the fall of the wicked. We do not only want the destruction of evil with the moral clarity that follows we want a world of good. We desire a world in which we are influenced and inspired by the righteous. This will create a world that will merit redemption. In this blessing we are asking God to nurture the power of good in the world so that the messiah will come because it is a world of good. We do not want the messiah to come because the world is so evil that God will send him to save humanity from itself[14]. We are actually praying for the world to be perfected.

We now return to our blessing. It is clear that when we ask that God return to Jerusalem it is because we have affected that return. After we have perfected the world so that God will return to Jerusalem we request that He restore his presence, meaning that He respond to what we have achieved and take it one step further. The building of Jerusalem will be a reflection of God’s presence there. It will not be the building of Jerusalem as we have seen in our times. It will be a Jerusalem that reflects the presence of God, that inspires us to attach to Him and allows us to understand in practical ways the impact of our actions on all of creation. God will then restore the throne of David, meaning that there will be a reflection of God as king in this world[15].

This is a process that is in effect now. God is presently guiding the world to reach this point. We therefore conclude by asking God to reveal Himself as the Builder of Jerusalem.

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