[Avodah] Prayer in Temple Times

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Mon Dec 13 08:47:24 PST 2021


On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 11:54:31AM +0200, David Cohen via Avodah wrote:
> Prof. Shumlamit Elizur has made the case that the original Shmoneh Esrei
> (the one that took the "chasidim harishonim" an hour to say) was
> significantly longer than either of those, and that what we are used to
> saying nowadays is actually the condensed version, the "me'ein shmoneh
> esrei" referred to by R' Yehoshua and R' Akiva in the mishna...

How then does he explain the need to spend an hour getting back to the
real world afterward?

Saying more at the same pace we do... Would it be the kind of experience
need so much cool-down? The warm-up and cool-down times really argue
for R' Aryeh Kaplan's assumption that their davening was a meditative
experience far far more so than the length of time they spent davening.

Which would mean fewer words, said with far more time and intent
per word. Maybe something in between -- a somewhat longer Amidah,
but not nearly so much longer as to account for the majority of the
time difference.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 When memories exceed dreams,
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   The end is near.
Author: Widen Your Tent                      - Rav Moshe Sherer
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF


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