{"id":6517,"date":"2010-01-25T02:00:37","date_gmt":"2010-01-25T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=6517"},"modified":"2018-05-24T12:17:59","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T09:17:59","slug":"02-25-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-25-02\/","title":{"rendered":"02 – The Ma\u2019ariv Amidah"},"content":{"rendered":"
Yaakov Avinu established the Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> prayer, and based on this, Anshei Knesset HaGedolah <\/i>instituted praying Shemoneh Esrei<\/i> at night. They set the time of Ma\u2019ariv <\/i>to correspond to the offering of the organs and fats of the sacrifices, for whatever they did not succeed in burning during the day would be burned throughout the night (Berachot<\/i> 26b). However, Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> is optional (reshut<\/i>). It is a mitzvah to recite Ma\u2019ariv<\/i>, but not an obligation. Whoever wanted to engage himself in a different mitzvah, or had already gone to sleep, or found it difficult to pray Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> for another reason, was not required to do so. The reason that Shacharit<\/i> and Minchah<\/i> are different from Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> is that Shacharit<\/i> and Minchah<\/i> were instituted to correspond to the Tamid<\/i> offering of the morning and afternoon, specifically, to correspond to the sprinkling of their blood. Just as a person who does not sprinkle the blood does not fulfill his obligation of bringing the offering, so too, one is obligated to pray Shacharit<\/i> and Minchah<\/i>. However, Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> was instituted to correspond to the offering of the organs and fats upon the altar. Although it is a mitzvah to bring them, if they were not brought, the offering still remained valid. Therefore, the Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> prayer is optional.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, throughout the generations, all of Israel became accustomed to praying Ma\u2019ariv<\/i>. Therefore, at the time of the Rishonim<\/i> it was established as obligatory. Even so, Chazarat HaShatz<\/i> is not recited in it, since, in essence, the prayer is optional. Thus, Chazal<\/i> did not institute an Amidah<\/i> repetition for it, to fulfill the obligation of the uneducated (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 237:1).[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Women are exempt from praying Ma\u2019ariv<\/i>, even according to those who maintain that women are obligated to pray all the prayers instituted by the Chachamim<\/i>. A woman\u2019s obligation pertains to Shacharit<\/i> and Minchah<\/i>, which were established as obligatory, however, she is exempt from Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> which is optional. The men\u2019s minhag<\/i> of accepting upon themselves the recitation of Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> as an obligation does not apply to women.<\/p>\n