A lot changes in the universe when the Holy Days and Shabbat come about. All sorts of intangible things begin to shift here and there to make room for a whole other order of being, and for new blessings and holiness. And our prayers reflect all that, as would be expected.

So we’re taught to offer different, special blessings in the middle of Sh’mone Esrei those times rather than the standard weekday ones, in order to reflect those changes and help bring them about, which then furthers the perfection of creation. We find that we also need to offer fewer middle-blessings during the Holy Days and Shabbat, because of the intrinsic holiness of the times.

Let’s now delve into the rest of our daily prayers, on a mystical level.

Text Copyright © 2005 by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org.