After the Barchu, the call to prayer, we begin the core of the service. It consists of two parts: a) the Shma and the blessings before and after it, and b) the Amidah (the “standing” prayer).
The Shma, our declaration of relationship with the One G-d, is preceded by two blessings, and followed by one. These three blessings are “bulletpoints” naming the three major aspects of G-d’s personality: creator, revealer, and redeemer.
The first blessing, about creation, reminds us that everything in this world is created by G-d. Not only did G-d bring it all into existence—G-d actively maintains its existence every single minute. And not only does G-d maintain it—G-d maintains it with mercy. With “rachmunos.” Long before Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” our rabbis taught that the arc of the empathic universe is long, but it bends toward mercy.
Rabbi L. Wolkoff
Let God In
There is no beginning or end as to where to start. The first step to entering into the world of prayer is the willingness to let G-d enter into your heart and soul. Praying asks of us to have the courage to say, “I no longer want to walk this world alone!”
Reb Mimi Feigelson