אֵיתָן [Abraham] the mighty one. An extended poem by the author Rabbi Eliya ben Mordekhai, divided into three parts, corresponding to the first three paragraphs of the Amida. The first and second form a two-part alphabetical acrostic. In the third, the acrostic spells the author’s name. The first paragraph of the Amida, with its ending “Shield of Abraham,” represents the first patriarch. Abraham is called “the mighty” because he answered the call of God to leave his home (Bava Batra 15a). בְּדוֹר In a generation. Abraham was a lone monotheist in an age of idolators (Maimonides, Laws of Idolatry 1:3).

הִדְרִיךְ תּוֹעִים בִּנְתִיבָתֶֽךָ He guided the wayward along Your path. A reference to the tradition that Abraham and Sarah gathered converts (Bereshit Raba 39:14).

טִעֵם לָעוֹבְרִים כַּלְכָּלָתֶֽךָ He provided passersby with Your sustenance. A reference to the famous scene in which Abraham and Sarah provide hospitality to three passersby who turn out to be angels (Gen. 18). According to tradition Abraham and Sarah led people to faith in God through their hospitality. When their guests were about to leave, they thanked their hosts, who told them instead to thank God who is the Author and Owner of all. לִטַּע אֵֽשֶׁל Planting a tamarisk tree. According to one interpretation this was an orchard whose fruits Abraham gave to travelers. According to another it was an inn, a place where passersby could lodge overnight (Sota 10a).

מָאֳהָב וְיָחִיד Beloved only child. This is Isaac at the binding. The poet follows a midrashic tradition that says that it was the angels who pleaded with God to show mercy as Abraham lifted his knife to sacrifice his son (Bereshit Raba 56:5). Isaac had his life restored to him: hence his connection with the second paragraph whose subject is God as Giver of life, who will one day bring the dead back to life.

כְּשָׂרוּף As though his ashes were scattered. Isaac was willing to be sacrificed, and though the act was averted, God counts a noble intention as if it were a deed (Kiddushin 40a).

בְּשֵׁם תָּם In the name of [Jacob] the innocent one (next page). The third paragraph of the Amida is associated with Jacob, who is called tam, “the innocent” or “perfect one” (Gen. 25:27). According to tradition the image of Jacob is engraved on God’s throne of glory (Bereshit Raba68:12), since Jacob, all of whose children stayed faithful to the covenant, represents the Jewish people as a whole. אֵיבָה מַשְׁלִיכִים Setting aside all enmity. Yom Kippur only atones for sins between us and our fellows if we apologize and secure their forgiveness. It should be a day on which we let go of any feelings of animosity to others.

מֵחֲרַכִּים Lattices. A reference to Song of Songs 2:9, “My beloved…stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices.” Just as one who watches through a lattice sees but cannot be seen, so God constantly watches over us even when we are not aware of it.

אֱמוּנַת אֹם נוֹטֶֽרֶת… יְכַפֵּר…תְּפִלָּתֵֽנוּ A nation that keeps its faith… He shall atone… Our prayers… These three lines are not a single prayer. Rather, they are the opening lines of three longer prayers, the first by Rabbi Elazar HaKalir, the second and third of unknown authorship. In some communities they were said in full, in others they were omitted; our custom is to say only the opening lines because of pressure of time.

מִיכָאֵל מִיָּמִין Michael at His right side. As we approach the Kedusha, based on the mystical visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel who saw angels surrounding God’s throne of glory, the poetry moves from earth to heaven. According to Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer(ch. 4), there are four groups of angels surrounding the throne, those associated with Michael to the left, Gabriel to the right, Uriel in front, Raphael behind. All four are mentioned in the prayers we say before sleep at night.

אֵל נָא, רְפָא נָא God, please, heal please. This prayer is based on the Mishna in Ta’anit (15a), which says that on fast days the leader of prayer would, in seven consecutive blessings, pray to God to answer us as He answered Abraham at the Binding, the Israelites at the Reed Sea, Joshua at Gilgal, Samuel at Mitzpah, Elijah at Mount Carmel, Jonah and Solomon. It was said particularly at times when there was a danger of an epidemic.