Kommentar zu Taanit 2:2

ורגיל – who knows the order of prayer.

Introduction Today’s mishnah continues to set the scene for the prayers recited on the special fast days.

ויש לו בנים וביתן ריקן – But his home lacks what to support his children, and because his soul is in grief, he prays with spiritual intention; alternatively, his home is empty from sin, for a bad name has not gone - out during his youth about him.

[When] they stand up to pray they bring down before the ark an old man conversant [with the prayers], one who has children and whose house is empty [of food], so that his heart is complete prayer. This section describes the shaliah tzibbur, the prayer leader. It is critical for the success of the community’s prayers for them to choose a qualified shaliah tzibbur. Their prayers will be mediated through him so as a community this is a consequential choice. The person chosen is not one who sings the best, but one whose prayers will be the most heart felt and who knows the liturgy. The person has to be old, one who has gone through many of life’s experience and is therefore wiser. The person has to have children. A man who has children will pray even harder during a drought because he knows that without rain he will not be able to provide food for them. As hard as it is for a person to suffer, it is even harder for one to watch his/her children suffer. Finally, his house must be empty, for if his house were full, his prayers would be less personal. In short, they would find an old poor person who has children.

ומוסיפין עליהם שש – between [the blessing] “who redeems [Israel] (the fifth blessing of the weekday Amidah) and [the blessing] “who heals [the infirm of his people Israel] (the eighth blessing of the weekday Amidah), he recites these six blessings.

He recites before them twenty-four benedictions, the eighteen recited daily, to which he adds six. This section begins to describe the contents of the prayers themselves. The Amidah for fast days is made up of the 18 benedictions that are recited every week day, plus another six special blessings, which shall be enumerated in the following mishnah.