We have three daily Services: Maaribh, “Evening prayer;” Shacharith, “Morning prayer,” [156] and Minchah, “Afternoon prayer.” On Sabbath, New-moon, and Festivals an “Additional prayer,” Musaf, is inserted between the Morning and the Afternoon Services, and on the Day of Atonement, Neïlah, “Concluding Service,” is added after Minchah. The two most essential elements in these Services are: (1) the Reading of Shema (‏קריאת שמע‎), in the Maaribh and the Shacharith; (2) the Tefillah or Amidah, common to all the Services. 1. THE READING OF SHEMA. In obedience to the precept, “Thou shalt speak of them,” i.e., of “the words which I command thee this day—when thou liest down and when thou risest up,” three sections of the Law are read daily in the morning and in the evening, viz., (1) Deut. vi. 4–9, beginning ‏שמע‎ “Hear;” (2) Ibid. xi. 13–21, beginning ‏והיה אם שמע תשמעו‎ “And it shall be if ye will diligently hearken;” (3) Num. xv. 37–41, beginning ‏ויאמר יי‎ “And the Lord said.” The first section teaches the Unity of God, and our duty to love this One God with all our heart, to make His Word the subject of our constant meditation, and to instil it into the heart of the young.—The second section contains the lesson of reward and punishment: that our success depends on our obedience to the Will of God. This important truth must constantly be kept before our eyes and before the eyes of our children.—The third section contains the commandment of tsitsith, the object of which is to remind us of God’s precepts: “Ye shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray, that you remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” The reading of the shema is preceded by two berachoth: (1) ‏יוצר אור‎ Praise of the Creator for the regular sequence of day and night, light and darkness; (2) ‏אהבה רבה‎ or ‏אהבת עולם‎ Praise of His goodness in giving us the Torah, and prayer for His assistance in the study of the Torah. The shema is followed by a berachah on the Redemption of Israel; it contains a reflection on the last words of shema, “I am the Lord your God,” an expression of our faith in the truth of these words, which strengthen our belief in the future Redemption of Israel. [157] In the Evening Service a second berachah follows, beginning ‏השכיבנו‎, and containing a prayer for protection during the night. [158] 2. THE TEFILLAH OR AMIDAH. The Tefillah, “Prayer” par excellence, is called Amidah (lit., “standing”), because the worshipper stands during the time he offers it up. It is also called Shemoneh-esreh, “Eighteen,” because it contains on most occasions eighteen (or nineteen, comp. p. 431) paragraphs, each concluding with a benediction. The first three paragraphs contain praise of God’s goodness to us, the descendants of the pious patriarchs (1), His omnipotence (2), and His holiness (3).