Amidah עמידה
The standing prayer of "Eighteen Blessings"—the core of all three daily services; composed by the Men of the Great Assembly.
As prophecy was ending, the Men of the Great Assembly under Ezra gave the people a single text: eighteen blessings—praise, petitions for everything a person and a people need, thanksgiving. It is said standing, feet together, facing Jerusalem, in a whisper—like Hannah, whose "lips alone moved": from her the manner of prayer was learned.
At Yavneh Rabban Gamliel fixed its order, and Shmuel haKatan added a nineteenth blessing—against informers; the name "Shemoneh Esreh", eighteen, remained. Three times a day, three steps back at the end—"He who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace for us"—so ends every Jewish prayer.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Berakhot 33a — the Men of the Great Assembly instituted the prayers
- Berakhot 28b — the order of Yavneh and the added blessing
- I Samuel 1:13 — Hannah: «only her lips moved»
Basis: Talmud and midrash.