What Do We Pray For When We Pray For Israel?: The Amidah

One can understand [the thirteen weekday blessings in the Amidah] as discrete requests pertaining to the good of the individual and of all Israel or as a progression of requests for the steps that lead to redemption. Although many of the individual blessings may have originated as personal requests, I believe that the final edited version [of the weekday Amidah] established after the destruction of the Temple was intended to be read as one interconnected prayer for redemption, each paragraph discussing one step in that process."
- Reuven Hammer, Entering Jewish Prayer, p. 174

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, עמידה, קבוץ גליות א׳

תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵֽנוּ וְשָׂא נֵס לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּוֹתֵֽינוּ וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנוּ יַֽחַד מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Amidah, Gathering the Exiles 1

Sound the great shofar for our liberty, and raise a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, O Lord, Gatherer of the dispersed of His people Israel.

Sound the great shofar....this [blessing] is a plea for spiritual [rather than physical] deliverance.
- ArtScroll Siddur, Weekday Amidah, p. 106

In what ways could an ingathering of all Jews to the Land of Israel be a spiritual deliverance? What other types of deliverance might you imagine such an occurrence being?

Blessing 10: Ingathering of exiles. With this paragraph, the requests change from individual to collective hopes. They begin with three prayers for political-historical renewal: the return of exiles, the restoration of independence, and an end to the factionalism that caused great damage to the Israelites from the biblical to the end of the Second Temple period.
- Koren Sacks Siddur, Weekday Amidah, p. 121

Does Rabbi Jonathan Sacks regard this blessing as a plea for spiritual deliverance?

BRING US TOGETHER. וקבצנו This second cycle of b'rakhot concludes with the prophet's promise that the messianic era will be marked by the entire Jewish people from all over the world gathering in the Land of Israel. It can also be understood as a prayer to free oppressed Jewish communities throughout the world.
- Siddur Lev Shalem, Weekday Amidah Commentary, p. 295

Does this blessing speak to you more as a prayer for the ingathering of all Jews to the Land of Israel or as a prayer to free oppressed Jewish communities throughout the world? In what ways are these two concepts connected? Are there ways can these two concepts be disentangled?

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, עמידה, בנין ירושלים א׳

וְלִירוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִירְ֒ךָ בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב וְתִשְׁכּוֹן בְּתוֹכָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ וּבְנֵה אוֹתָהּ בְּקָרוֹב בְּיָמֵֽינוּ בִּנְיַן עוֹלָם וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוֹכָהּ תָּכִין: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי בּוֹנֵה יְרוּשָׁלָֽיִם:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Amidah, Rebuilding Jerusalem 1

In Your mercy, return to Jerusalem, Your city, and dwell therein as You have spoken; and rebuild it soon, in our days, as an everlasting structure, and may You speedily establish the throne of David therein. Blessed are You, O Lord, Builder of Jerusalem.

Whose return to Jerusalem does this blessing seek?

And to Jerusalem. After having sought God's blessing on Israel's leaders and righteous people, we seek His blessing for the Holy City. No blessing is complete until the seat of holiness, Jerusalem, is rebuilt in all its grandeur.
- ArtScroll Siddur, Weekday Amidah, p. 108

What changes about God when God dwells in a restored Jerusalem?

Rabbi Akiva says, ... "Wherever Israel went into Exile, God's Presence, as it were, went with them... When they went into Exile in Edom, God's Presence was exiled with them... and when they return in the future, God's Presence, as it were, will return with them."
- Mekilta, quoted in Hammer, Entering Jewish Prayer, p. 180

Could the Lord dwell in Jerusalem without us?

Could we dwell in Jerusalem without the Lord?

If not, why?

JERUSALEM ירושלים Israel's capital city, the site of the ancient Temple and King David's throne, ideally represents the place where Jews are most rooted, in common community, in their relationship with God.
- Siddur Lev Shalem, Weekday Amidah Commentary, p. 276

What do you think of this statement?

Blessing 14: Rebuilding Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the home of the Jewish soul, the place to which we turn in prayer and for whose restoration Jews prayed in every generation.
- Koren Sacks Siddur, Weekday Amidha, p. 122

Speaking only for your generation, what do you think a prayer for the restoration of Jews means to your generation?

Do you have a sense of what this prayer might have meant to your parents' generation? to your grandparents' generation? to your children's generation?

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, עמידה, מלכות בית דוד א׳

אֶת־צֶֽמַח דָּוִד עַבְדְּ֒ךָ מְהֵרָה תַצְמִֽיחַ וְקַרְנוֹ תָּרוּם בִּישׁוּעָתֶֽךָ כִּי לִישׁוּעָתְ֒ךָ קִוִּֽינוּ כָּל הַיּוֹם: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי מַצְמִֽיחַ קֶֽרֶן יְשׁוּעָה:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Amidah, Kingdom of David 1

Speedily cause the sprout of David, Your servant, to flourish and exalt his power with Your deliverance. We hope all day for Your deliverance. Blessed are You, O Lord, Who causes the power of salvation to sprout.

The throne of David... Jerusalem cannot be considered rebuilt unless an heir of David sits on the throne (R' Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik).
- ArtScroll Siddur, Weekday Amidah, p. 108

How does Soloveitchik's understanding of restoration in Jerusalem fit with the State of Israel?

Does Soloveitchick's understanding of restoration in Jerusalem seem like a good idea to you?

ברכות ל״ד ב:י״ט-כ׳

וְאָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: כׇּל הַנְּבִיאִים כּוּלָּן לֹא נִתְנַבְּאוּ אֶלָּא לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ, אֲבָל לְעוֹלָם הַבָּא, ״עַיִן לֹא רָאָתָה אֱלֹקִים זוּלָתְךָ״. וּפְלִיגָא דִּשְׁמוּאֵל, דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אֵין בֵּין הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ אֶלָּא שִׁעְבּוּד מַלְכוּיוֹת בִּלְבַד. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי לֹא יֶחְדַּל אֶבְיוֹן מִקֶּרֶב הָאָרֶץ״.

Berakhot 34b:19-20

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the prophets only prophesied with regard to the change in world order in the end of days with regard to the days of the Messiah. However, with regard to the World-to-Come, which exists on a higher level, it is stated: “No eye has seen it, God, aside from You.” And the Gemara notes that this statement disagrees with the opinion of Shmuel, as Shmuel said: The only difference between this world and the days of the Messiah is with regard to servitude to foreign kingdoms alone. While in the days of the Messiah, Israel will be independent and free from enslavement to foreign powers, the world order will remain otherwise unchanged, as it is stated: “For the poor shall not cease from the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11), which indicates that the ways of the world are set and unchanging.

According to R. Hiyya bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, what will the world of the messianic era be like?

According to Shmuel, what will the world of the messianic era be like?

Which world would you rather live in?

What set of expectations does R. Hiyya bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan's view create for the State of Israel?

What set of expectations does Shmuel's view create for the State of Israel?

If you were Prime Minister of Israel which set of expectations would you rather be judged by?