)
Originally, there were no set texts for prayers and blessings. This was ideal, in theory . Everyone could pray straight from the heart if they wanted, using their own words. However, in practice, the righteous and pious would recite heartfelt prayers and blessings, while ordinary people generally made do with lackluster ones, and became more and more distanced from God. This led to widespread sinning, including the extremely serious sins of idol worship, sexual immorality, and murder. These sins led to the First Temple's destruction and the exile which followed. Decades later, when the Jews were able to build the Second Temple, they established a High Court called the Great Assembly. Among other important enactments, this body formulated blessings and established prayer texts. These expressed the Torah’s values in an organized, formal way and integrated them into daily life. This resulted in the people being distanced from sin and brought closer to God through worship.
There is an additional advantage to having set texts for prayer. In their absence, people tend to pray solely about what is close to their hearts and ignore what the community needs. The set texts include a broad range of worthy requests, both communal and individual. This provides the person praying with a balance between his or her personal needs and the broader needs of the nation.
