The next slice of the first beracha of the Amida I would like to look at is also a citation of a Biblical verse. However, the phrase is so commonplace that we don’t always realize that it first appeared in the Torah. The opening beracha describes God as:

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob
אֱ-לֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱ-לֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵא-לֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב

This exact phrase appears twice in the third chapter of Shemot (verses 6 and 15) and then once in the fourth chapter (verse 5).¹ When God first speaks from the burning bush and calls Moshe’s name, Moshe’s immediate response is “הנני – here I am” (3:4). However, in the next two verses God tells Moshe to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground and then introduces God’s-self and says: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Shmot 3:6).

When Moshe learns who this mysterious voice is, the Torah tells us that he responds with following action:

And Moshe hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God (Shmot 3:6).

What interests me is the physical reflex that Moshe offers once he realizes that God is speaking to him². He seems to respond out of a sense of fear. We will eventually learn that Moshe is the most humble person on the face of the earth (Bamidbar 12:3). The first action that Moshe takes upon hearing that God is reaching out is to cover his face.³

The opening beracha of the Amida refers us back to Moshe’s first encounter with God. On the one hand, there is something inspirational about imagining ourselves in the place of Moshe at that moment of being called to lead the Jewish People. At the same time, we must be reminded that Moshe was mostly terrified and did his best to negotiate his way out of the mission.

The primary posture of prayer must be one of humility.⁴ Who am I to stand before the Creator of the World and offer praise or petition? How do I have the right to ask that God look down and pay attention to my minute human needs?

There is a deeper message here as well. Prayer is a mysterious encounter with the Divine that cannot adequately be explained with words. There is something transcendent that can happen when we are in the right frame of mind. That connection is very real and can feel empowering. It is at that exact moment that we need to be reminded of the importance of humility.

We dare not move into the dangerous place of imagining that we can control God. We must never believe that there is a huge candy-machine in the sky and that if we put in enough coins, or prayers, our desires will magically be fulfilled. God is infinite, and we are finite. The connection of those two is personal and mystical but should never lead to a sense of power or arrogance.

The same is true when we speak about God more broadly. The infinity of God is so far beyond our limited human comprehension that we can never claim with one hundred percent certainty to know what it is that God wants from us. We do our best to live according to the dictates of Halakha as the closest approximation of the divine will that we can access. But we must never forget that God is bigger and greater and wiser and kinder and filled with more love than Halakha.

In Rabbi Moshe of Coucy’s monumental work from 1250, the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol⁵ , he elaborates on the 613 commandments as enumerated by Rambam. In negative commandment number 64 he writes:

⁶A warning that people should not be arrogant when God influences them for the best. They should not say that because of all of their hard work God caused them this great benefit.

Rav Moshe of Coucy understood the importance of theological humility; of not getting pulled down a dangerous rabbit hole where people sometimes lose their moral compass. We need to have the confidence to stand before God with integrity and honesty while at the same time recognizing that we are simply one tiny speck in the divine plan.

1. In chapter three verse sixteen and chapter four verse five the phrase appears without the repetitive elohay אֱ-לֹהֵי between each of the avot. As I will note in the next essay that additional word plays a significant roll in understanding the placement of this verse in the verse beracha of the amida.
2. Note that Midrash Shmot Rabba 3:1 is conflicted about Moshe’s response. Some of the Amoraim criticize Moshe for hiding at this moment because he could have learned even more about the ways of God. Some view this is a model of humility and claim that Moshe eventually was rewarded for his behavior.
3. See also the response of Eliyahu in 1 Kings 19:13 – וַיָּלֶט פָּנָיו בְּאַדַּרְתּוֹ – he wrapped his mantle about his face.
4. See Bavli Berachot 30b and 31a for a series of debates about how one is meant to “rise to pray.”
5. Rav Moshe from Coucy in Northern France was a student of Rav Yehuda ha-Chasid. In the סמ”ג he follows the codification of Rambam’s 613 Mitzvot but combines the enumeration with the dialectic of the Ba’alei ha-Tosafot. The wedding of Rambam and Tosafot on the pages of the סמ”ג marks an important step forward in the history of Halakha.
6. אזהרה שלא יתגאו בני ישראל כשהקדוש ברוך הוא משפיע להם טובה ויאמרו שבריוח שלהם ועמלם הרויחו כל זה ולא יחזיקו טובה להקדוש ברוך הוא מחמת גאונם שעל זה עונה זה המקרא.