The Basics of the Avodah

The Avodah prayer is part of the Amidah, the main Tefillah, of the daily and Shabbat service. The Avodah is the 17th blessing of the weekday Amidah and the 5th blessing of the Shabbat Amidah.

According to the Rabbis of the Talmud, the Avodah prayer was said by the priests in the Temple just after they had offered the sacrifices (Mishnah Tamid 5:1). We are not sure what the original words of the Avodah prayer were. But, the medieval scholar, Rashi, tells us that they mentioned God accepting our "sacrifices" with favor. Today, we think of the word Avodah as meaning -- "worship, labor, or service". Our ancestors worshipped at the Temple by making sacrifices. After the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 C.E., sacrifices were no longer offered. Synagogues were built and Jews began to offer prayer (t'fillah) instead. Still, some traditional versions of the Avodah prayer voice the hope that the Temple will be rebuilt and the sacrifices restored.

The founders of Reform Judaism rejected both the hope for restoring the Temple and the restoration of sacrifices. Initially, the Reform liturgists were also against the appearance of Jewish nationalism. So, they altered the lines "May our eyes behold your return to Zion" and "Who restores his Divine presence to Zion". Later, in the Gates of Prayer siddur, the lines were restored to reflect the support present day Reform Judaism has extended to Zionism.

Our ancestors closely related sacrifice, nature, and the Divine. Various chapters in Exodus and Leviticus list the variety of different sacrifices offered to express thanks for rain, or sun, or new life. Some sacrifices were offered to cleanse a person from his/her sins, or to guarantee favor from God. Today, we are much more removed from nature in our daily life and (we believe) we use scientific methods (plumbing or chemicals are two examples) to irrigate dry fields or make plants grow. As we get further and further away from a direct connection with nature, we may find it hard to connect ourselves to God and the concept of offering sacrifices. But, we still make "offerings" of a sort, each time we pray.

Commentary:

I decided to write about the Avodah, because I wanted to discuss the idea of the Shechinah. I am studying Hebrew and was learning roots. I learned that the word "Shechinah" came from the root (shin, kaf, nun), which means "neighbor" or "nearby/within". Traditionally, the Shechinah is considered the Indwelling Presence of God, that aspect of God that is immanent and accessible to all of us. So, rather than the transcendent aspect of God, the Shechinah is the God we are able to know and experience. I also learned "Shechinah" was used in describing converts -- as in "He was brought under the wings of the Shechinah" ("Hich-nee-so ta-chat kan-fey ha'sh'chinah").

"There are times, however, when I am aware of God's Divine handiwork and God's ever-present being."

Since I am a convert and since I knew the word Shechinah to be translated as "Divine Presence", I began to wonder: how often do I think of God as my neighbor? When do I feel God's Divine Presence close by, just next door? How can I feel comfortable enough to just "drop in" on God, to ask God for help, or to borrow God's strength or God's patience -- the way I borrow my neighbors' tools or ask for their support when I need to lift something heavy, or deal with something too hard to bear?

There have been times in my life when I haven't thought that God was even on the same planet as me, let alone right next door! There have been times when I was angry, or despairing that I could even relate to God at all.

There are times, however, when I am aware of God's Divine handiwork and God's ever-present being. Those times occur when I am in nature. I cannot remember being in nature and losing track of God. Sometimes, when I have felt the most distant from God, a trek in the woods or just standing out in my driveway looking up at the stars brought me back to the realization that God is all around us. Last week, I hiked along the rim of the Grand Canyon. I was awestruck. Surely, I felt the Divine Presence with me in that spectacular place.

The twentieth century theologian, Abraham Joshua Heschel, says that most of the time we walk through life dead. He says that if we don't participate in prayer and ritual, our souls die. Heschel believes prayer and ritual allow us to capture a sense of wonder and radical amazement. Prayer and ritual help us to be present. Heschel's idea certainly resonates for me. It is in nature that I am forced to be present. In nature, I am easily and often "brought to my knees", dumbfounded by the power and majesty of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, and all the blessings I take for granted each day.

During my trip to the Grand Canyon, the Avodah prayer came alive for me as I realized the power of those sacrifices our ancestors offered to God. Our ancestors, in the desert and in their tribes, lived closer to nature than we do today. They had constant reminders -- light, dark, thunder, rain -- of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence of God.

Perhaps the line "Blessed is the Eternal God, whose presence is restored to the land of Zion" or, "Baruch atah Adonai ha-ma-cha-zir sh'chi-na-to l'tzi-yon" doesn't only refer to the ancient Temple or the Jewish homeland. Perhaps it is a reminder that the Divine Presence should be sought out wherever we are. I see the Avodah prayer as a call, not for God to "return" or to go anywhere, but for us to become aware of the Divine Presence all around us. In this way, then, we may infuse all places, and our everyday activities, with the "Shechinah".

Louise Stirpe-Gill

Prayer Text:

Text from Congregation Beth Am's Shabbat Morning Siddur (prayerbook)

R'tzei Adonai Eloheinu, b'am-cha Yisrael, u-te-fi-la-tam b'a-ha-va t'ka-beil, u-te-hi l'ra-tzon ta-mid a-vo-dat Yisrael a-meh-cha. El ka-rov l'chol ko-rav, p'nei el a-va-deh-cha v'cho-nei-nu. Sh'foch ru-cha-cha a-lei-nu, v'teh-che-zeh-na ei-nei-nu b'shuv-cha l'tzi-yon b'ra-cha-mim. Ba-ruch ata Adonai, ha-ma-cha-zir sh'chi-na-to l'tzi-yon.

Take pleasure, Eternal One our God, in Your people Israel, and receive their prayers with love. You are near to all who seek You in truth. Pour out Your spirit on us, and let our eyes behold the wonder of Your return to Zion. Blessed is the Eternal God, whose Presence is restored to the land of Zion.