The central prayer of all services is called the Amidah, the standing prayer, also known as the Shemoneh esreh, “The Eighteen,” after the eighteen blessings included in it. It is recited while standing up, with the feet together as if at attention. It consists of three parts: The first three blessings praise God, the middle blessings are requests for our needs and the last three blessings express gratitude.
This payer is the climax of the service because it encapsulates all three components of the commandment to pray. It also involves a higher degree of concentration than other prayers and includes all the major categories of human desires, hopes and needs. It is the one prayer in which we are actually standing face-to-face, so to speak, with the Divine Presence.
