The Midrash of R. Tanḥuma: On Prayer

This excerpt from the collection of midrash titled Tanḥuma, or Tanḥuma-Yelammedenu, considers the number of individual blessings recited in the Amidah, tracing the different numbers to various sources, mostly but not all found in scripture. The text begins with the standard formula used throughout this work for legal materials: “May it please our master to teach us.” The opening question refers to a basic halakhic requirement, perhaps indicating that this work was targeted at Jews who were less familiar with or less committed to rabbinic practices. The text’s attempt to locate scriptural evidence for the precise number of benedictions also indicates an audience that saw the Hebrew Bible as the source of religious authority. Many of the texts in these passages are also found in earlier rabbinic sources, such as the Babylonian Talmud.