The Amidah (Hebrew: תפילת העמידה, Tefilat HaAmidah "The Standing Prayer"), also called the Shmoneh Esreh (שמנה עשרה, Shmoneh Esreh "The Eighteen," in reference to the original number of constituent blessings, there are now nineteen), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. As Judaism's central prayer, the Amidah is often designated simply as tefila (תפילה, "prayer") in Rabbinic literature.

Observant Jews recite the Amidah at each of three prayer services in a typical weekday: morning, afternoon, and evening. A special abbreviated Amidah is also the core of the Mussaf ("Additional") service that is recited on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), Rosh Chodesh (the day of the New Moon), and Jewish festivals, after the morning Torah reading, with various forms of the Amidah that depend on the occasion. The typical weekday Amidah actually consists of nineteen blessings, though it originally had eighteen; when the Amidah is modified for specific prayers or occasions, the first three blessings and the last three remain constant, framing the Amidah used in each service, while the middle thirteen blessings are replaced by blessings specific to the occasion.

Aaron Dugan is a guitarist, composer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dugan has performed and recorded with a wide variety of musicians and producers including Roots Tonic, Matisyahu, Trevor Hall, Bootsy Collins, Amy Carrigan, John Zorn, Maya Dunietz, Chris Tunkel, Mark Guiliana and Bill Laswell. Dugan has clinched two Gold Records as lead guitarist on Matisyahu's Live at Stubb's and Youth, and has recorded two solo albums featuring his own compositions.

Personal Life

Born June 20, 1977 Dugan grew up in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Exposed to music and instruments at a young age, at fourteen, Dugan received his first guitar as a birthday present and spent most of his teenage years skateboarding and practicing guitar. In 1992 he moved to Willow Grove, a northwestern suburb of Philadelphia. There, Dugan joined Abington Senior High School's jazz band and began teaching guitar at the Pro Drum Music Works in Glenside, PA. In 1998, Dugan enrolled in the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, NY. He received a B.F.A. in Jazz Composition in 2001.