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(א) הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃ (ב) יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃ (ג) כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם ה׳ אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵאלֹקֵֽינוּ׃
(1) Give ear, O heavens, that I may speak,
hear, O earth, the utterance of my mouth.
(2) Let my teaching [Lit. “what is received.”] drip like rain,
let my words flow like dew,
like droplets on new-growth,
like showers on grass.
(3) For the name of God I proclaim,
give [Or “ascribe.”] greatness to our God!
רִבִּי יוֹסֵי צַיְידַנָיָא בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן לִפְנֵי תְפִילָּתוֹ הוּא אוֹמֵר ה׳ שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִילָּתֶךָ. לְאַחַר תְּפִילָּתוֹ הוּא אוֹמֵר יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ ה׳ צוּרִי וְגוֹאֲלִי. רִבִּי יוּדָן אֲמַר תְּרַוֵּיהוֹן קוֹמֵי צְלוּתֵיהּ.
Rebbi Yose from Sidon in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: Before one’s prayer one says (Ps. 51:17) “Master, open my lips that my mouth may proclaim Your praise.” After one’s prayer, one says (Ps. 19:15): “May the sayings of my mouth be agreeable and the thoughts of my heart, before You, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Rebbi Yudan used to say both of them before his prayer.
(א) לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ (ב) בְּֽבוֹא־אֵ֭לָיו נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֝֗א אֶל־בַּת־שָֽׁבַע׃
(1) For the leader. A psalm of David, (2) when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had come to Bathsheba.
(יז) ה׳ שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
(17) O Lord, open my lips, and let my mouth declare Your praise.
כִּי שֵׁם ה׳ אֶקְרָא הָבוּ גֹֽדֶל לֵאלֹקֵֽינוּ:
ה׳ שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹקֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ אֱלֹקֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹקֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא אֵל עֶלְיוֹן...
When I proclaim Adonoy’s Name attribute greatness to our God.
My Master, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the Almighty, the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome, most high Almighty, ...
"When I proclaim God's name, Adonai, you should respond by acknowledging God as well." [Elliot Dorff] see Mahzor Lev Shalem For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur p 81
(ד) אֱ֭לֹקִים שְׁמַ֣ע תְּפִלָּתִ֑י הַ֝אֲזִ֗ינָה לְאִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃
(4) O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
(א)תפלתי. ואמרי פי כפל דבר או פי' תפלתי בלב ואמרי פי בלשון:
My Prayer - Either the Psalm is saying the same thing twice or "prayer" is in the heart and "words of my mouth" are in speech.
(יג) וְחַנָּ֗ה הִ֚יא מְדַבֶּ֣רֶת עַל־לִבָּ֔הּ רַ֚ק שְׂפָתֶ֣יהָ נָּע֔וֹת וְקוֹלָ֖הּ לֹ֣א יִשָּׁמֵ֑עַ וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ עֵלִ֖י לְשִׁכֹּרָֽה׃
(13) Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
יָכוֹל יַשְׁמִיעַ קוֹלוֹ בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ — כְּבָר מְפוֹרָשׁ עַל יְדֵי חַנָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְקוֹלָהּ לֹא יִשָּׁמֵעַ״.
Furthermore, I might have thought that one may make his voice heard in his Amida prayer; it has already been articulated by Hannah in her prayer, as it is stated: “And Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved and her voice could not be heard” (I Samuel 1:13).
וּגְנוּתוֹ בְּקוֹל רָם?! וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי: מִפְּנֵי מָה תִּקְּנוּ תְּפִלָּה בְּלַחַשׁ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא לְבַיֵּישׁ אֶת עוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵירָה.
The Gemara asks: But should one really say that which is to his discredit in a loud voice?
But didn’t Rabbi Yoḥanan say in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai himself: For what reason did the Sages institute that the Amidaprayer should be recited in a whisper? So as not to embarrass transgressors who confess their transgressions during their prayer.
וְרַבִּי נָמֵי, הָכְתִיב ״שְׁמַע״! הַהוּא מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ: לְהַשְׁמִיעַ לְאָזְנֶיךָ מָה שֶׁאַתָּה מוֹצִיא מִפִּיךָ.
The Gemara asks: But according to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi as well, isn’t the word “hear” written? The Gemara answers: He requires that for the halakha that you must have your ears hear that which comes out of your mouth, i.e., one must recite Shema audibly so he hears it while reciting it.
strongly proclaims another message.
הָיָה עוֹמֵד וְנִזְכַּר שֶׁהִתְפַּלֵּל רַב אָמַר חוֹתֵךְ. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר אֵינוֹ חוֹתֵךְ.
שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר וָוא בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן וּולְוַאי שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל אָדָם כָּל הַיּוֹם. לָמָּה שֶׁאֵין תְּפִילָּה מַפְסֶדֶת....
רִבִּי חֲנִינָא לֹא אָמַר כֵּן אֵלָּא בְּעַיָין קוֹמֵי רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן סָפֵק נִתְפַּלֵּל סָפֵק לֹא נִתְפַּלֵּל אֲמַר לוֹן וּולְוַאי שֶׁמִּתְפַּלְּלִין כָּל הַיּוֹם. לָמָּה שֶׁאֵין תְּפִילָּה מַפְסֶדֶת.
If one was praying and remembered that he already had prayed, Rav says, he cuts short, and Samuel says, he does not cut short. Simeon bar Abba in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: If only one would pray the whole day long....
They asked before Rebbi Yoḥanan, if one is in doubt whether he did pray or not? He told them, if only one would pray the whole day long, why, because prayer is never in vain.
מָר בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבִינָא כִּי הֲוָה מְסַיֵּים צְלוֹתֵיהּ אָמַר הָכִי: ״אֱלֹהַי, נְצוֹר לְשׁוֹנִי מֵרָע וְשִׂפְתוֹתַי מִדַּבֵּר מִרְמָה, וְלִמְקַלְּלַי נַפְשִׁי תִדּוֹם, וְנַפְשִׁי כֶּעָפָר לַכֹּל תִּהְיֶה. פְּתַח לִבִּי בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ, וּבְמִצְוֹתֶיךָ תִּרְדּוֹף נַפְשִׁי. וְתַצִּילֵנִי מִפֶּגַע רָע, מִיֵּצֶר הָרָע, וּמֵאִשָּׁה רָעָה, וּמִכָּל רָעוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת לָבֹא בָּעוֹלָם. וְכָל הַחוֹשְׁבִים עָלַי רָעָה מְהֵרָה הָפֵר עֲצָתָם וְקַלְקֵל מַחְשְׁבוֹתָם. יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ ה׳ צוּרִי וְגוֹאֲלִי״.
When Mar, son of Ravina, would conclude his prayer, he said the following: My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit. To those who curse me let my soul be silent and may my soul be like dust to all. Open my heart to Your Torah, and may my soul pursue your mitzvot. And save me from a bad mishap, from the evil inclination, from a bad woman, and from all evils that suddenly come upon the world. And all who plan evil against me, swiftly thwart their counsel, and frustrate their plans. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
הַהוּא דִּנְחֵית קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא, אֲמַרהָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא וְהָאַדִּיר וְהָעִזּוּז וְהַיָּראוּי, הֶחָזָק וְהָאַמִּיץ וְהַוַּדַּאי וְהַנִּכְבָּד״. הִמְתִּין לוֹ עַד דְּסַיֵּים. כִּי סַיֵּים אֲמַר לֵיהּ: סַיֵּימְתִּינְהוּ לְכוּלְּהוּ שִׁבְחֵי דְמָרָךְ?! לְמָה לִי כּוּלֵּי הַאי? אֲנַן, הָנֵי תְּלָת דְּאָמְרִינַן אִי לָאו דְּאַמְרִינְהוּ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ בְּאוֹרָיְיתָא, וַאֲתוֹ אַנְשֵׁי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה וְתַקְּנִינְהוּ בִּתְפִלָּה — לָא הֲוֵינַן יְכוֹלִין לְמֵימַר לְהוּ, וְאַתְּ אָמְרַתְּ כּוּלֵּי הַאי וְאָזְלַתְּ! מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ אֶלֶף אֲלָפִים דִּינְרֵי זָהָב, וְהָיוּ מְקַלְּסִין אוֹתוֹ בְּשֶׁל כֶּסֶף. וַהֲלֹא גְּנַאי הוּא לוֹ!
With regard to additions to prayers formulated by the Sages, The Gemara relates that a particular individual descended before the ark as prayer leader in the presence of Rabbi Ḥanina. He extended his prayer and said: God, the great, mighty, awesome, powerful, mighty, awe-inspiring, strong, fearless, steadfast and honored. Rabbi Ḥanina waited for him until he completed his prayer. When he finished, Rabbi Ḥanina asked him: Have you concluded all of the praises of your Master? Why do I need all of this superfluous praise? Even these three praises that we recite: The great, mighty and awesome, had Moses our teacher not said them in the Torah and had the members of the Great Assembly not come and incorporated them into the Amida prayer, we would not be permitted to recite them. And you went on and recited all of these.
(6) You must surely know the following celebrated passage in the Talmud—would that all passages in the Talmud were like that!—although it is known to you, I quote it literally, as I wish to point out to you the ideas contained in it: “A certain person, reading prayers in the presence of Rabbi Haninah, said, ‘God, the great, the valiant and the tremendous, the powerful, the strong, and the mighty.'—The rabbi said to him, Have you finished all the praises of your Master? The three epithets, ‘God, the great, the valiant and the tremendous,’ we should not have applied to God, had Moses not mentioned them in the Law, and had not the men of the Great Synagogue come forward subsequently and established their use in the prayer; and you say all this! ...
(7) Consider, first, how repulsive and annoying the accumulation of all these positive attributes was to him; next, how he showed that, if we had only to follow our reason, we should never have composed these prayers, and we should not have uttered any of them. It has, however, become necessary to address men in words that should leave some idea in their minds, and, in accordance with the saying of our Sages, “The Torah speaks in the language of men,” the Creator has been described to us in terms of our own perfections; but we should not on that account have uttered any other than the three above-mentioned attributes, and we should not have used them as names of God except when meeting with them in reading the Law. Subsequently, the men of the Great Synagogue, who were prophets, introduced these expressions also into the prayer, but we should not on that account use [in our prayers] any other attributes of God. The principal lesson to be derived from this passage is that there are two reasons for our employing those phrases in our prayers: first, they occur in the Pentateuch; secondly, the Prophets introduced them into the prayer. Were it not for the first reason, we should never have uttered them; and were it not for the second reason, we should not have copied them from the Pentateuch to recite them in our prayers; how then could we approve of the use of those numerous attributes!
(ב) לְךָ֤ דֻֽמִיָּ֬ה תְהִלָּ֓ה אֱלֹ֘קִ֥ים בְּצִיּ֑וֹן וּ֝לְךָ֗ יְשֻׁלַּם־נֶֽדֶר׃
(2) Silence is praise to You, O God in Zion, and to You a vow is paid
(ה) רִגְז֗וּ וְֽאַל־תֶּ֫חֱטָ֥אוּ אִמְר֣וּ בִ֭לְבַבְכֶם עַֽל־מִשְׁכַּבְכֶ֗ם וְדֹ֣מּוּ סֶֽלָה׃
(5) So tremble, and sin no more;
ponder it on your bed, and be still.
The idea is best expressed in the book of Psalms, “Silence is praise to Thee” (lxv. 2). It is a very expressive remark on this subject; for whatever we utter with the intention of extolling and of praising Him, contains something that cannot be applied to God, and includes derogatory expressions; it is therefore more becoming to be silent, and to be content with intellectual reflection, as has been recommended by men of the highest culture, in the words “Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still” (Ps. 4:4).
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well
And to draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will
If it be your will