Berakhot 17a (יז.) — the Talmud in English

Rav Safra,

after his prayer—

would say as follows: “May it be Your will, Lord our God, that You establish peace

in the heavenly entourage,

among the assembly of the princes of the nations; for when there is strife among the princes of the nations above, there is likewise quarrel among the nations below.

And

may You likewise establish peace

in the earthly entourage,

among the assembly of the Sages,

and among the students who engage in Your Torah—both among those who study for its own sake and among those who study not for its own sake,

but only for honor or in order to receive reward.

And all those who study not for its own sake

but in order to provoke others,

may it be Your will that they study for its own sake.”

Rabbi Alexandri, after his prayer,—

would say as follows: “May it be Your will, Lord our God, that You place us at a corner

of

light, and do not place us at a corner

of

darkness. And may our hearts not grieve, and may our eyes not grow dim.”

Some say:

This prayer,

Rav Hamnuna would recite it. And

whereas

Rabbi Alexandri, after praying, would say as follows: “Master of the worlds, it is manifest and known before You that our desire is to do Your will. And what prevents

us from doing Your will?

The leaven in the dough,

the evil inclination in our hearts, which makes us sin, just as leaven causes dough to rise, and causes us to transgress prohibitions,

and the subjugation to the kingdoms,

which prevent us from fulfilling the mitzvot. Therefore,

may it be Your will that You save us from their hand, and may we return to observing the statutes of Your will with a whole heart.”

Rava, after his prayer, would say as follows: “My God! Before I

was formed, I was unworthy;

I was neither important nor worthy to be formed.

And now that I have been formed,

I possess no significance; rather, I am still important

only as though I had not been formed. I am dust in my lifetime; all the more so in my death,

I am literally dust.

“Behold, I am before You like a vessel filled with shame and disgrace,”

because of the sins I have committed.

“May it be Your will, Lord my God, that I sin no more. And as for what I have sinned before You, cleanse it,

eradicate and eliminate it,

through Your abundant mercy, but not through suffering and severe illnesses.”

And this means:

This prayer is the wording of

the confession of Rav Hamnuna the Younger on Yom Kippur.

Mar, son of Ravina, when he concluded his prayer, would say as follows: “My God, guard my tongue from

speaking any

evil, and

guard

my lips from speaking deceit.

And to those who curse me—

may my soul remain silent.

And may my soul

be like dust before everyone.

Open my heart to Your Torah, and may my soul pursue Your mitzvot.

And save me from harmful occurrences, from the evil inclination, and from an evil woman, and from all evils that threaten to befall the world. And as for all those who plot evil against me, quickly frustrate their counsel and thwart their thoughts. [

Psalms 111:10]

‘May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable before You, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.’”

Rav Sheshet, when he would fast, after

praying would say as follows: “Master of the worlds, it is manifest before You that when the Temple stood, a person sinned and brought an offering. Only its fat and blood were offered from it, and he was granted atonement. But now I have fasted, and my fat and blood have diminished. May it be Your will that my diminished fat and blood be considered as though I had offered them before You upon the altar, and that You accept me,”

accept my fast and my prayer favorably.

Rabbi Yohanan, when he completed the book of Job —

and Job departed from the world with a good name—

would say as follows: “The end of man is death, and the end of an animal is slaughter. Everyone

is destined for death. Fortunate is one who grew up in Torah, and

continues to be

occupied with Torah,

brings gratification to his Creator, grows up with a good name, and departs the world with a good name. Concerning him Solomon said [

Ecclesiastes 7:1]:

‘A good name

is better than good oil, and the day of death

than the day of his birth.’”

It was a common saying of Rabbi Meir: this statement was habitually on his lips, as though it were a verse: “Complete,”

learn,

“with all your heart and with all your soul, to know My ways, and to be diligent at the doors of My Torah.”

Every word in the Torah is like a door that opens onto several rooms of the house, for the Torah states only the essential elements of the mitzvot, while the Gemara explains all the details of the laws.

“Guard my Torah in your heart” [when you are thinking], “and My fear shall be before your eyes” [when you perform an action].

For every word in the Torah is like a door that opens to several rooms of the house. The Torah states only the basic commandments, while the Gemara explains all the details of the laws.

“Guard your mouth from every sin”

[when you speak],

“and purify and sanctify yourself from every guilt and iniquity”

[even with regard to permitted matters].

And

then,

“I will be with you everywhere.”

It was a common saying among the Sages of Yavne:

I, who engage in Torah,

am a creature;

I

am.

And

also

my

fellow,

who is an am haaretz,

is a creature.

He, too, has a heart like mine with which to distinguish between good and evil.

is a creature.

“I”

work in the city, and my work is easier than his. “And he” works in the field.

“I rise early for my work, and

also

he rises early for his work.”

“Just as he does not presume

to undertake

my work, so I do not presume to undertake his work.”

“And perhaps you might say

that he is justified in his way, in not studying at all, because only

I

am

the one who studies much,

in Torah,

whereas he,

even if he studied a little, would see no blessing in his study, but would be considered

one who studies little,

for he would not have as open a heart to increase his Torah study as I do; and since he studied little, he would receive no reward.”

There is no basis for saying this! For there is reward both for the one who studies little and for the one who studies much, as

we learned: “Whether one does much or whether one does little,”

they receive reward,

provided that

the one who does little and the one who does much

direct their hearts to Heaven.

we learned: “Both the one who does much and the one who does little”

receive a reward,

provided that

the one who does little and the one who does much direct

It was a common saying of Abaye: “A person should always be clever in the fear of Heaven,”

that he should act against the evil inclination with every kind of stratagem, in order to fear his Creator. And likewise, he should conduct himself in the manner of “A soft answer turns away wrath,” and should increase peace with his brothers and relatives, with every person, and even with a gentile in the marketplace, so that he will be beloved above and gracious below, and accepted by people.

They said concerning Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai that no person ever preceded him in extending a greeting of peace, not even a gentile in the marketplace .

It was a common saying of Rava: “The purpose of wisdom,”

the essence of Torah, is that it be accompanied by

repentance and good deeds.

“So that a person should not read and study”

Torah, and

at the same time, through his evil deeds, be considered one who kicks his father and mother, his teacher, and one who is greater than he in wisdom and in number. As it is stated [ Psalms 111:10]: “The beginning of wisdom

is fear of the Lord; sound understanding belongs to all who perform them.”

“To those who study them” is not stated, but rather “to those who perform them,”

for had it said “to those who study them,” it would have implied those who study wisdom even if they do not fulfill it. Therefore it says “to those who perform them,” meaning those who fulfill what they have learned.

“so that a person should not read and study”

Torah

and

at the same time, through his evil deeds, be considered

“one who kicks his father and mother, his teacher, and one who is greater than he in wisdom and in number. As it is stated”

[Psalms 111:10]:

“The beginning of wisdom

Another version:

“To those who perform” is not stated, but rather “to those who perform them”—

to those who perform them for their own sake, and not to those who perform

them not for their own sake. The word “perform” means that they perform the deeds, whereas “those who perform them” means that they make themselves; that is, they study not for its own sake. “And whoever performs them not for their own sake,” it would have been preferable for him not to have been created, for his creation would have been in vain.

“For those who do” is not stated, but rather “for those who perform them”—

for those who perform them for their own sake, and not for those who perform

them not for their own sake.

“Those who do” means those who perform the deeds, whereas “those who perform them” means that they form themselves—that is, they study not for its own sake.

“And anyone who acts not for its own sake”

would have been better off not being created, because his creation would then have been in vain!

It was a common saying in the mouth of Rav:

the World to Come is not like this world. For

in the World to Come there is neither eating nor drinking, nor procreation, nor business dealings,

nor jealousy, nor hatred, nor rivalry,

rather—

the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads .

That is, they are free from the yoke of servitude.

And they enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence. As it is stated [

Exodus 24:11]

“And they beheld God, and they ate and drank.”

That is, they were satiated by the radiance of the Divine Presence as though they had eaten and drunk.

Greater is the promise that the Holy One, blessed be He, made to women than that which He made to men

as it is stated, [

Isaiah 32:9]

“Complacent women, arise; hear my voice; confident daughters, give ear to my speech.”

And they expounded: “complacent” refers to this world, and “confident” refers to the World to Come. That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, promised women two worlds, even though they do not perform the mitzvot through which a person merits the World to Come. Therefore, the promise to women is considered greater than that to men, for men merit the World to Come only by virtue of fulfilling mitzvot.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

Rav said to Rav Hiyya:

Women,

by what merit

will they merit the World to Come? Surely the Holy One, blessed be He, grants the World to Come only by virtue of Torah study.

The Gemara explains:

By bringing their sons to the synagogue—

by virtue of their concern for their sons’ Torah study and bringing them to the place of study, the synagogue.

And by sending their husbands to study in the house of the scholars,

as they enable their husbands to study in the beit-midrash, where Mishna and Gemara are studied.

And by waiting for their husbands until they return from the house of the scholars.

They wait for their husbands and permit them to go and study Torah in another city. And the one who enables the deed is greater than the one who performs it; therefore, they merit the World to Come by virtue of the Torah of their sons and husbands.

When the Sages took leave

of one another, as each one sought permission from his fellow to return to his home and his land,

from the house of Rabbi Ami—and some say

when they were leaving

the house of Rabbi Hanina—they would say to him as follows: “May you see your world during your lifetime,

so that you find all your needs,

and may your end be for life in the World to Come, and your hope endure for generation after generation. May your heart contemplate understanding, your mouth speak wisdom,

and may your tongue utter songs of praise; may your eyelids look straight before you,

so that you understand Torah according to the halakha.

May your eyes shine with the light of Torah, and your face radiate like the splendor of the firmament; may your lips express knowledge, and may your kidneys rejoice in uprightness; and may your feet run to hear the words of the Ancient of Days [

an appellation for the Holy One, blessed be He, in Daniel 7:9].

When the Sages took leave from the house of Rav Hisda—and some say, from the house of Rav Shmuel bar Nahmani—they said to him as follows: “Our leaders are burdened,

there is no breach, no going forth, and no cry in our streets”! [

Psalms 144:14]

The Gemara explains their intent:

“Our leaders are burdened”—

Rav and Shmuel; and some say, Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Elazar

disagreed about the interpretation of the verse:

One

said: “Our leaders,”

our teachers

in Torah, and “are burdened,”

laden

with mitzvot.

And one said: “Our leaders are burdened with Torah and mitzvot, and are burdened with afflictions.”