In the days of Rabbi Haninah, when the words of all our
prayers were not yet fixed, a hazzan was expected to compose prayers according
to the themes of the Amidah. One hazzan
got carried away when Rabbi Haninah was present and sang out the introduction
to the first passage of the Amidah, referring to God as the great, mighty,
awe-inspiring, majestic, powerful, terrifying, strong, fearless, sure and
honored….”
After the service Rabbi
Haninah asked the hazzan, “Do you think that you have exhausted God’s praises with
your many descriptions? It is as if a
king owned a million gold coins and you praised him for owning one
hundred! Your very praise in an
insult! The only reason we call God even
‘great, mighty and awe-inspiring’ is because Moses used those adjectives in the
Torah. Without this precedent, we would
have nothing to say at all.” -cf
Berakhot 33b
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