An Early Version of the Gevurot, Kedushat ha-Shem, and Daʿat Blessings According to a New Fragment of a Palestinian Siddur / ברכת גבורות, קדושת השם והדעת בנוסח התפילה הקדום לאור קטע חדש מסידור על פי מנהג ארץ ישראל

MS St. Petersburg, Antonin Collection, Evr. III B 995, part of an early Palestinian siddur, contains sections of the Amidah prayer. The version of some of the blessings found in this text differs from the prevalent Palestinian nusaḥ of this prayer. Comparison of the gevurot, kedushat ha-Shem, and daʿat blessings from this siddur to hundreds of fragments from siddurim found in the Cairo Geniza elicits the following conclusions: (1) these texts, which appear in a small number of fragmentary Palestinian siddurim, should be viewed as a different branch of the Palestinian nusaḥ; and (2) the liturgical language of these blessings exhibits affinities to the Babylonian nusaḥ. Based on analysis of the language of these blessings in light of findings from early siddurim preserved in the Cairo Geniza as well as various passages from talmudic and midrashic sources, I conclude that the nusaḥ represented by this branch is very early. I further suggest that both the Babylonian nusaḥ and the Palestinian nusaḥ of the Geniza period developed from this early branch. The literary and ideological factors that explain the liturgical development of each of these blessings are examined in detail.