רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, בְּכָל יוֹם מִתְפַּלֵּל אָדָם שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר, מֵעֵין שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אִם שְׁגוּרָה תְפִלָּתוֹ בְּפִיו, יִתְפַּלֵּל שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה. וְאִם לָאו, מֵעֵין שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה:
The mishna cites a dispute with regard to the obligation to recite the Amida prayer, also known as Shemoneh Esreh, the prayer of eighteen blessings, or simply as tefilla, prayer. Rabban Gamliel says: Each and every day a person recites the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Yehoshua says: A short prayer is sufficient, and one only recites an abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings. Rabbi Akiva says an intermediate opinion: If he is fluent in his prayer, he recites the prayer of eighteen blessings, and if not, he need only recite an abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings.
Written by Bachya ben Asher (1255 - 1340), Kad HaKemach is a book of Musar, describing how to live a moral life. The work is composed of 60 chapters, covering topics such as belief in God and Jewish ritual.
(ב) וצריך אתה לדעת כי מימות משה רבינו עד אנשי כנסת הגדולה היתה התפלה בישראל בלתי מסודרת בתיקון שוה לכלנו, שהיה כל א' וא' עושה מליצה ומתפלל לעצמו כפי ידיעתו וחכמתו וצחות לשונו, עד שבאו אנשי כנסת הגדולה ותקנו תפלה זו של שמונה עשרה כדי שתהיה תפלה מסודרת שוה לכל ישראל...
...and you should know that from the days of Moses our teacher until the Men of the Great Assembly, prayer in Israel was not arranged in a definite order for everyone alike. Each individual prayed for himself according to her/his knowledge, wisdom, and clarity of expression, until the Men of the Great Assembly established the prayer of the 18 (blessings) in order that liturgy would be set for all of Israel alike...
Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Polish-American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. Heschel, a professor of Jewish mysticism at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, authored a number of widely read books on Jewish philosophy and was a leader in the civil rights movement.
Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity by Abraham Joshua Heschel
There is a specific difficulty with Jewish prayer. There are laws: fixed texts. On the other hand, prayer is worship of the heart, the outpouring of the soul, a matter of devotion. Thus, Jewish prayer is guided by two opposite principles: order and outburst, regularity and sponteneity, uniformity and individuality, law and freedom.
These principles are the two poles about which Jewish prayer revolves. Since each of the two moves in the opposite direction, equilibrium can be maintained only if both are of equal force. However, the pole of regularity usually proves to be stronger than the pole of spontaneity, and as a result, there is a perpetual danger of prayer becoming a mere habit, a mechanical performance, an exercise in repetitiousness.
The fixed pattern and regularity of our services tends to stifle the spontaneity of devotion. Our great problem, therefore, is how not to let the principle of regularity impair the power of devotion. It is a problem that concerns not only prayer but the whole sphere of Jewish observance. He who is not aware of this central difficulty is a simpleton; he who offers a simple solution is a quack.
Rabbi Gail Labovitz, PhD is Professor of Rabbinic Literature and former Chair of the Department of Rabbinics for the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.
Rabbi Gail Labovitz, PhD - Fixed Prayer, Spontaneous Meaning
"Keva and kavannah are not, and have not ever been, mutually exclusive. Finding the time, accessing the words of prayer can be difficult; and left to our own devices we might forget to even try. So, as we recite the shema and amidah, (or any other prayer), our liturgy prompts us, reminding us of our history - from where we have come and to where we are going. The liturgy of the siddur assembles our collective destinies and aspirations, and provides space for expanded emotional and spiritual vocabulary, enabling each of us to pave our own paths. As Abraham Joshua Heschel taught us: "Prayer is a perspective from which to behold, from which to respond to, the challenges we face. Man in prayer does not seek to impose his will on God; he seeks to impose God's will and mercy upon himself.... To pray is to open a door, where both God and the soul may enter." This type of prayer is indeed prayer of the heart, prayer that expresses our deepest yearnings and concerns; it is prayer that is heartfelt and transformative. And, it is full of kavannah."