The Amida prayer is the climax of the service. When reciting the Amida one is likened to a person who was brought into a royal palace and is standing, with awe, in the presence of the king. It is prohibited to interrupt the Amida prayer; one may not talk, move from his spot, signal with his hands, or the like.

One recites the Amida prayer while standing, with his feet together and facing the Land of Israel. One who is in Israel should face Jerusalem, and one who is in Jerusalem should face the Temple Mount.

The Amida is also called the Silent Prayer, because it is recited in a whisper, so that one’s voice will not be heard by those standing nearby.

A verbal interruption unconnected to the Amida is permitted only in a life-threatening situation. One may not signal through body movement or walk from one place to another, except in a case of great need, e.g., if a baby begins to cry and this interferes with one’s concentration, or if a person praying without a prayer book forgets how to continue the Amida and thus needs a prayer book.

The Amida prayer begins with three blessings of praise to the Creator, continues with thirteen blessings that contain various requests, and concludes with three blessings of thanksgiving.

During the Amida prayer, one bows down four times: (1) when saying Barukh Ata Hashem, “Blessed are You, Lord” at the beginning of the Amida; (2) when saying “Blessed are You, Lord” at the end of the first blessing, which concludes Magen Avraham, “Shield of Abraham”; (3) at the blessing of Thanksgiving [Modim], “We give thanks to You, for You are the Lord”; and (4) when saying “Blessed are You, Lord” at the end of the blessing of Thanksgiving. It is prohibited to bow down at the start or close of any of the other blessings of the Amida.

The bowing for “Blessed are You, Lord” is performed as follows: When saying the word Barukh (“Blessed are”), one bends the knees slightly; when saying Ata, “You,” one bends the entire upper body quickly and in one movement at the waist, until one’s entire back is bent; and while pronouncing God’s name, one rises again. The prostration of “We give thanks to You” [Modim] is performed similarly, but without the first step, of bending one’s knees. Here too, when one says the name of God in the phrase “for You are the Lord,” he straightens up.

In the second blessing of the Amida prayer, and also in the ninth blessing (which ends with the words Mevarekh hashanim, “Who blesses the years”), there are differences between the text that is recited during the winter and during the summer. Both versions appear in prayer books.

At the end of the Amida prayer, one acts like someone taking leave of a king: Before saying Oseh shalom, “May He who makes peace,” one bends his upper body and takes three small steps backward, with his body still bent. At the end of the three steps he stops, turns his head to the left and says, Oseh shalom bimromav, “May He who makes peace in His high places,” then turns his bent head to the right and says, Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu, “make peace for us,” before ending with his bent head turned forward while saying ve’al kol Yisrael ve’imru amen, “and all Israel, and say Amen.”

At the conclusion of the Amida prayer, one remains standing in the spot where his three backward steps ended. He waits there until the prayer leader reaches Kedusha, or at least until he begins his repetition of the Amida, and then takes three steps forward again. One who is praying without a minyan should wait a few seconds in the spot where the three steps ended, before returning to his place.

After the congregation has finished the silent Amida prayer, the prayer leader [shaliah tzibbur, abbreviated in Hebrew as shatz] repeats this prayer out loud. This is called Hazarat Hashatz, “the prayer leader’s repetition,” and it is done only when praying with a minyan. During the prayer leader’s repetition, those present must listen carefully. Every time he mentions the name of God toward the end of a blessing, those who are listening respond Barukh Hu uvarukh shemo, “Blessed be He and blessed be His name,” and when he finishes the blessing, they answer “Amen.”

The response of “Amen” expresses one’s belief that the blessing that was recited is true and I believe in its content. When a blessing includes praise and supplication, which is the case for the blessings in the prayer leader’s repetition of the Amida, there is another meaning to the response of Amen. One who says Amen participates in the praise and the request, reinforcing and strengthening them. In this regard, the Sages said, “One who answers Amen is even greater than the one who recites the blessing.”

Following the second blessing in the prayer leader’s repetition, everyone stands straight with their feet together to recite Kedusha. At the end of Kedusha the congregation may sit down, although many have the practice to stand for the duration of the repetition.

After the Amida prayer, the congregation recites Tahanun, a set of passages of supplication [tehina], as well as various hymns and verses. On Mondays and Thursdays, one recites an extended form of Tahanun.