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On Megillah 17b : Rabbi Yochanan said, others say it was taught in a Beraita, that 120 elders including many prophets established the eighteen blessings in the order that we have today.

Before the destruction of the Second Temple, was there an obligation to recite the Amidah like there was after: "Shimon HaPekoli arranged the order of eighteen benedictions before Rabban Gamliel at Yavneh. (Brachos 28b) ?

According to R. Berel Wein " ... the leaders in Babylon codified a system of prayer that substituted for the Temple service. They based this on the prophetic verse, “Our lips will substitute for sacrifices” (Hosea 14:3)." After the exile (Babylonian) would this formula (The Amidah?) have been obligatory since there was a new Temple?

Regarding the seeming contradiction of the Amidah being instituted twice, from Wikipedia: In order to remove the discrepancies between the latter and the former assignment of editorship, the Talmud takes refuge in the explanation that the prayers had fallen into disuse, and that Gamaliel reinstituted them (Meg. 18a)

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  • Can't remember where I heard it, but I heard they did say it during the temple
    – user613
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:17

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Rabbenu Chananel on Berachos 28b explains that people were just saying the first and last 3 Berachos, and doing the middle ones in any order, the way their teachers taught them. All shimon hapekoli did was make the order we have it now, so they were saying it, the great assembly just didn't make the order of the middle 12 blessings.

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  • I've seen somewhere the seeming contradiction of how the Amidah could have been instituted twice, and the answer was that it fell out of use.
    – warz3
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:43
  • @warz3 never heard that it was instituted twice, but you might be right.
    – user613
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:44
  • Both excerpts from the Gemara above recount that it was instituted, and Rashi says about the second that it was after the destruction.
    – warz3
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:53
  • From Wikipedia: In order to remove the discrepancies between the latter and the former assignment of editorship, the Talmud takes refuge in the explanation that the prayers had fallen into disuse, and that Gamaliel reinstituted them (Meg. 18a).
    – warz3
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:56
  • also, the clip from Chabad you pasted, it says that the prayers correspond to the daily sacrifices, which implies there weren't any more sacrifices...
    – warz3
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:57
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The Rambam in Hilchos Tefillah Chapter 1 regarding Ezra's court:

Halacha 4: ... When Ezra and his court saw this, they established eighteen blessings in sequence.

Halacha 5: ... They also decreed that the number of prayers correspond to the number of sacrifices - i.e., two prayers every day, corresponding to the two daily sacrifices. On any day that an additional sacrifice [was offered], they instituted a third prayer, corresponding to the additional offering.

So it seems that there were 2 daily required Amidahs from the time of Ezra

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  • And how is this answering your question?
    – user613
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 15:44
  • @user613 Ezra with the other Men of the Great Assembly produced the Amidah, and according to the Rambam required 2 recitations daily, before the destruction. Obviously it isn't clear exactly what the rules would have been then, i.e. "c-shemoneh esrei (abridged version)" etc
    – warz3
    Commented Aug 14, 2015 at 15:53

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