Attah Eḥad

("You are One"). Prayer composed in the era of the ge'onim (c. 800, Babylonia); the opening sentence is inspired by I Chronicles 17:21. In the Amidah of the Sabbath Afternoon Service, it forms an introduction to the prayer blessing the Day of Rest and may therefore be compared to Attah Kiddashta ("You hallowed ...") in the Sabbath Eve Evening Service, Yismaḥ Mosheh ("Moses rejoiced ...") in the Sabbath Morning Service, and Tikkanta Shabbat ("You instituted the Sabbath ...") in the Additional Service. Attah Eḥad proclaims a threefold link between the One God, His Chosen People, and the holy Sabbath. The belief that Israel's three Patriarchs honored the Sabbath day is found in the Midrash. The language employed here hints at the bliss awaiting observant Jews in the afterlife. Ashkenazim often sing most of this prayer to a well-loved traditional melody.

---