And the Bnai Yisrael walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the water was a wall for them to their right and to their left. Hashem saved the Jews that day from the hand of the Egyptians... and the nation feared Hashem, and they had faith in Hashem and in His servant Moshe.

(Shemot 14:29-31)

Said Rabbi Yochanan: Who is a person who is deserving of the World to Come? One who begins the Amidah prayer (or the "Shemoneh Esreh") immediately after mentioning our redemption from Egypt.

(Berachot 4b)

Rabbenu Yonah (Berachot, loc. cit.) offers two explanations for this Gemara. Both of his explanations assume that it is not simply through following the prayerbook that one becomes a "Ben Olam Habba." One can achieve this lofty level only if he follows the mention of the exodus with the Amidah prayer *for the proper reasons*. If one then follows through, and conducts himself throughout the day according to the principles inherent in connecting the account of the exodus to the Amidah, he will undoubtedly be worthy of the World to Come.

But what is the connection between this idea and the Amidah prayer? Rabbenu Yonah cites a Gemara in Bava Kama (92b): "What is meant by the verse, 'And you shall *serve* Hashem your God' (Shemot 23:25)? This refers to the Amidah prayer." Our Sages refer to prayer, and the Amidah prayer specifically, as "Avodah," or "service."

(While it is true that we *serve* Hashem every time we perform a Mitzvah, prayer is the most intimate form of service. First of all, when we pray, we picture ourselves as if we were standing before Hashem Himself, with no worldly matters to distract us from His service. Secondly, in prayer we beseech of Hashem to supply us with all of our needs, thereby acknowledging His total mastery over us. For these reasons, prayer is similar to the priestly service in the Holy Temple, which is also referred to as "Avodah." In the Temple courtyard, the priests stood directly before the Divine Presence (see Parasha-Page Tetzave 5755). Also, the daily sacrifices were brought as a plea to Hashem to provide for all of our worldly -- and other-worldly -- needs. -MK)

This, says Rabbenu Yonah is the connection between mentioning the redemption from Egypt and praying the Amidah. A person who learns the lesson taught to us by the exodus (that he is a servant of Hashem) and immediately puts this lesson into practice (by serving Hashem in the form of prayer), has internalized a very important lesson. Such a person, who recognizes that he is but a servant of Hashem, will eagerly perform all of Hashem's commandments. He will certainly be worthy of a portion in the World to Come.

Prayer demonstrates a person's trust in Hashem. As Rabbenu Yonah puts it, "One who does not trust in Him will not request anything of Him." The very fact that a person addresses his prayers to God is a sign of his faith in Him. When a person mentions the exodus from Egypt, he is acknowledging the reward of those who put their trust in their Creator. By praying immediately, he shows that he has learned from the experience of his ancestors. He, too, is placing his trust in Hashem. If a person does this, it demonstrates that he has internalized the lesson of the exodus, and taught himself to trust that Hashem will provide for him. If one has accomplished this, Rabbenu Yonah suggests, then he has the basis for acquiring G-dfearingness and faith in Hashem, the two main ingredients necessary for acquiring a place in the World to Come.

This, then, is the message of the Gemara. If a person prays the Amidah prayer after mentioning the redemption from Egypt *because* he has learned to trust in Hashem, his reliance on his Creator will certainly guide him through all of life's trials and tribulations, and lead him along the path to Olam Habba.

Rabbenu Yonah brings support for this approach from the Midrash to this week's Parasha:

Why do we mention the splitting of the sea in the blessing which precedes the Amidah? Because when Hashem split the sea for the Bnai Yisrael, they had faith in Him... and because of this they merited to sing the praises of Hashem and to have the Divine Presence rest upon them. For this reason, immediately after the verse, "and they believed in Hashem..." it says, "Then Moshe and the Bnai Yisrael sang..." (Shemot 14:31 and 15:1). A person must pray the Amidah immediately after mentioning the redemption from Egypt, just as the Bnai Yisrael sang praises of Hashem immediately after trusting in Hashem at the splitting of the sea.

(Shemot Rabba 22:3)

In any case, these two suggestions -- that the Shemoneh Esreh is an expression of either our trust or our servitude -- can perhaps help us to understand another unique point about this prayer. The Amidah is recited differently from all of our other prayers. Our other prayers must be said out loud (see Ramban, end of Parashat Bo). The Amidah, on the other hand, must be prayed silently (Berachot 31a). We move our lips, but we to not make ourselves heard. Why is this?

Along the lines of Rabbenu Yonah's first approach, that the essence of the Amidah prayer is servitude, the answer is clear. Our Sages refer to prayer, elsewhere in the Gemara (Ta'anit 2a), not simply as "service," but as "service of the *heart*." This implies that the servitude which is expressed through prayer is not exemplified by our actions, nor even by our words, but by our very thoughts and feelings. When saying the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, we devote all of our thoughts to the service of Hashem. Since the Amidah is a service of the heart, we must eliminate anything which would impinge on the intimacy of this service, including the sounds of our voices. The "prayer of the heart" must be prayed silently.

Following the second approach, that the essence of the Amidah prayer is that we are showing our trust in Hashem, it is also appropriate that it be uttered inaudibly. The greatest expression of complete trust is silence. The serenity of silence displays our confidence in Hashem. We are so certain that Hashem will ultimately redeem us, that we need not even cry out. This theme is reflected in numerous verses in Tehillim: "Trust in Hashem... wait *silently* for Hashem and have hope in Him" (Tehillim 37:7). "I have remained *silent*, I have made myself as a nursing infant [who, helplessly, must rely on others to tend to his needs]... Put your hopes, Israel, in Hashem!" (Tehillim 131:2-3).

This is the level of trust in Hashem that the Bnai Yisrael reached by the sea. In Shemot 14:14, just before the splitting of the sea, Moshe tells the Jewish People, "Hashem will fight for you -- you be silent!" In the following verse, Hashem says to Moshe, "Why are you crying out to me? Just tell the Bnai Yisrael to go ahead [into the sea]!" As Rashi explains, Hashem was informing the Jews that they could proceed confidently; the merit of their silent faith in Hashem was sufficient for the sea to split on their behalf. Following in their lead, we pray the Shemoneh Esreh prayer *silently*, striving to attain the highest level of trust in Hashem.

(NOTE: See also Sho'el U'Meshiv [vol. 3, 3:51 letter Vav], who offers another explanation for the association of the Egyptian exodus with the Amidah prayer.)