Rabbi Arthur Waskow

The Amidah for Shabbat: The Seven Blessing

The following is a summary and interpretation of the seven blessings that make up the Amidah we pray on Shabbat.

1. For ancestors & origins: Blessed are You Who shields Abraham & calls Sarah lovingly to mind.

2. For nurturing & healing the world through the waters of rain and dew and the tears of human compassion: Blessed are You Who gives life to the dead.

3. For bringing the vision of fuller holiness to the world through the holy hope of Your coming holy reign of justice & peace: Blessed are You, Holy God.

4. For restfulness: Blessed are You Who makes holy Shabbat.

5. For the reunion of sacred time, sacred space, and sacred peoplehood [and when Shabbat falls on or in Festivals, for the blessing of well-being and transformation that flows from the reconnection of the festival cycle with the Land where it was shaped]: Blessed are You, who restores Your presence to Tziyyon.

6. With thankfulness for the blessings that come every moment: Blessed are You, God of thankfulness.

7. For peace, lovingkindness, and enlightenment: Blessed are You, Who blesses with peace Your Godwrestling people and all who dwell on earth.

by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Director, The Shalom Center