[Avodah] Shmoneh esrei - 18/19

[D&E-H Bannett]

[RRW:]
> the gmara in brachos links 18 with psalm 29 having 18 hazkoros.
> And FWIW so does Baruch Hashem l'olam

and the gemara in brachos was written in Bavel where the tradition had
always been that they had 18 before minim was added. Similarly, the
gemara Yerushalmi that I quoted was written in E"Y so it is no surprise
that it speaks of 17 before the minim was added.

> The kasha is really more on minhag bavel that maintained the terminology
> of shmoneh esrai w/o really having 18

And still more of a kasha on us Ashkenazim who have continued calling
it shmoneh-esrei for an additional 1500 years. And we even call the 7
of Shabbat shmoneh-esrei as well. And we even have a shmoneh-esrei in
musaf on rosh-hashana.

The Sefaradim seem to have more sekhel than us because they use the name
'amida for the sh'moneh-esrei. While in y'kum purkan we still say a prayer
for the reish galuta in Bavel, the sefaradim don't. Since the gulf wars,
has no one noticed that there is no longer a gaonate in Iraq.

> 17 doesn't seem to fit as well.

Why not? I always thought that 17 is TO"V.

And 19 fits?

17 -> 18 -> 19 ??             7 =9=18  ??

Oy. Such thoughts. Shver tzu zein a Yid.

Brakhot and such to you and to those who live in Shushan or in cities
that were walled in the era of the ancient Yehoshua' bin Nun.
David