Who wrote the Amidah, and if it was Anshei Knesset Hagedolah in the time of the second temple period, why are there blessings for Rebuilding Jerusalem, Redemption, etc.?
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partial dupe http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/31673/759 – Double AA Feb 06 '17 at 05:30
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It should be noted that there are only one or two words of rabbinic Hebrew in (at least some editions of) the amidah, which is an indicator (but not a proof) that it is likely quite old. – mevaqesh Feb 06 '17 at 07:06
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2related http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/67831/759 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/14672/759 http://www.hakirah.org/Vol14Zelcer.pdf – Double AA Feb 06 '17 at 14:54
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Who wrote the Amidah?
The Anshei Knesset Hagedolah wrote the Amida, as we know it. That's an explicit Gemara in Brachot 33a nd Megila 17b.
As the Rambam says in the first chapter of הלכות תפילה:
וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאָה עֶזְרָא וּבֵית דִּינוֹ כָּךְ עָמְדוּ וְתִקְּנוּ לָהֶם שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה בְּרָכוֹת עַל הַסֵּדֶר
The Kesef Mishne says this was the Anshei Knesset Hagedolah
וכיון שראה עזרא ובית דינו וכו'. בפ''ב דמגילה (דף י"ז ע"ב) תנא ק''כ זקנים ומהם כמה נביאים תקנו י''ח ברכות על הסדר. ובפרק אין עומדין (ברכות דף ל"ג.) אנשי כנסת הגדולה תקנו להם לישראל ברכות תפלות וקדושות והבדלות:
The exception being the 12th blessing - וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים - which was added at the time of Raban Gamliel, as the Rambam says (ibid Ch. 2).
בִימֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל רַבּוּ הָאֶפִּיקוֹרוֹסִין בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיוּ מְצֵרִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמְסִיתִין אוֹתָן לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרֵי הַשֵּׁם. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁזּוֹ גְּדוֹלָה מִכָּל צָרְכֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם עָמַד הוּא וּבֵית דִּינוֹ וְהִתְקִין בְּרָכָה אַחַת שֶׁתִּהְיֶה בָּהּ שְׁאֵלָה מִלִּפְנֵי הַשֵּׁם לְאַבֵּד הָאֶפִּיקוֹרוֹסִין וְקָבַע אוֹתָהּ בַּתְּפִלָּה כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּהְיֶה עֲרוּכָה בְּפִי הַכּל. נִמְצְאוּ כָּל הַבְּרָכוֹת שֶׁבַּתְּפִלָּה תְּשַׁע עֶשְׂרֵה בְּרָכוֹת
If it was Anshei Knesset Hagedolah in the time of the second temple period, why are there blessings for Rebuilding Jerusalem, Redemption, etc.?
Since it was at the time of the 2nd temple, which lacked many of the spiritual features of the 1st temple, they still pined for the original version.
But they have a different nusach for some of the Brachot - see this (200 page) article that brings many of the early/original versions and discusses how widespread the Amida was before the destruction of the second temple.
The article includes some of the original vversion. E.g. for the blessing where we ask for rebuilding they had (from page 44):
בנה ביתך שכלל היכלך בא״ה אלקי דוד בונה ירושלים
Danny Schoemann
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1What do you mean by "as we know it"? That's not really what that Gemara says. – Double AA Feb 06 '17 at 14:48
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1Note בא״ה אלקי דוד בונה ירושלים is the ending for what we have as "Lirushalayim" and "Et Tzemach" since those two blessings were combined as one in old Israeli Nusach. They had only 17 blessings originally and Lameshumadim added an 18th. – Double AA Feb 06 '17 at 14:51