Berakhot 28b (כח:) — the Talmud in English

Rav Avya fell ill and did not come to Rav Yosef’s lecture [

derasha],

which

he delivered in Pumbedita on Shabbat, before the Musaf prayer.

The next day, when he came

Rav Avya before Rav Yosef,

Abaye sought to placate Rav Yosef

so that he would not be upset with Rav Avya.

Therefore,

he said to

Rav Avya:

Why did you, sir, not come

yesterday

to the lecture?

Rav Avya

said to him: Because

my heart was weak, and I was unable

to come!

Abaye

said to him:

Why did you not taste something

before you came to pray Musaf, in order to strengthen your heart,

and then come?

Rav Avya

said to him: Is it that

you, sir, do not accept the ruling of Rav Huna—

b Sha’agat Aryeh [18] wrote that since the time for Musaf lasts all day, there is concern that one may be negligent; therefore, even if one began eating, he must stop. But the Mishna Berura [235:2] ruled regarding the evening prayer that if one began eating, he need not stop, even though its time lasts the entire night. In the responsa of Hatam Sofer [Orah Hayyim 69] it is written that since the prohibition is due to concern that one might forget to pray, a guardian is effective in preventing this concern. However, in the responsa Shalmat Hayyim [172] he proved from the Gra that a guardian is not effective. And in Shemirat Shabbat Kehilkheta [52, note 54] it is written that according to the Tzelah, since a woman is exempt from Musaf, she may eat a regular meal before Musaf. However, he cited Rabbi Akiva Eiger as writing that the custom was to pray. He said to him: You, sir, should have prayed the Musaf prayer individually

For Rav Huna said: It is forbidden for a person to taste anything before he prays the Musaf prayer!

Since Rav Yosef’s lecture was before Musaf, I could not taste anything then, and therefore my heart became weak.

before the congregation prayed,

and

then

afterward

taste something and come

to the lecture!

Rav Avya

said to him: Is it that

you, sir, do not accept that which Rabbi Yohanan said: It is prohibited for a person to advance his

prayer, before

the

the congregation’s prayer?

And for this reason I could not pray and taste something before the lecture.

Abaye

said to him: Is it not stated concerning

Rabbi Yohanan

the following:

Rabbi Abba said:

The prohibition against praying before the congregation prays

was

when one prays in the synagogue with

the congregation. That is so, but if one prays at home, he may advance his prayer before the congregation’s prayer. If so, you could have prayed and tasted something before the lecture.

The conclusion of the Gemara:

And the halakha is not in accordance either with Rav Huna or with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi!

The halakha is not

with

Rav Huna,

regarding

that which we stated

in his name, that it is prohibited to taste anything before the Musaf prayer.

And the halakha is not

with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi,

regarding what

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Once the time for the Mincha prayer has arrived—

it is prohibited for a person to taste anything before he prays the Mincha prayer.

Rather, tasting was prohibited only before the Shacharit prayer, as they expounded the verse, “You shall not eat upon the blood.”

Mishna:

Rabbi Nehunya ben HaKana would pray upon his entering

the beit-midrash, and upon his leaving

from there,

a brief prayer.

They said to him: What is the place

for this prayer,

and what is its nature?

He said to them: Upon entering, I pray that no mishap should occur through me. And upon leaving, I offer thanks

to the Creator

for my portion.

Gemara:

The Sages taught: Upon entering

the beit-midrash—

what

does he say?

May it be Your will, Hashem, my God, that no mishap occur through me, that I not fail in a matter of halakha, and

as a result

that my colleagues rejoice because of me

when I fail [and thereby cause two evils: one to me, through the failure itself, and one to my colleagues, who would be punished because of me].

And that I not say

of something impure

that it is

“pure,” nor of something pure

that it is

“impure.”

And that my colleagues not fail in a matter of halakha, and

as a result

I rejoice in them

when they fail.”

Upon leaving the beit-midrash

what does he say?

I give thanks before You, Hashem, my God, that You have assigned my portion among those who sit in the beit-midrash, and have not assigned my portion among those who sit at street corners

[shopkeepers or unlearned people who engage in idle conversation

and neglect Torah].

I rise early, and they rise early—

I rise early for words of Torah, and they rise early for idle matters.

I labor, and they labor—

I run, and they run—

I labor and receive reward, while they labor and receive no reward.

I run, and they run—

The Sages taught: When Rabbi Eliezer became ill, his students entered to visit him.

I run toward the life of the World to Come, while they run toward the pit of destruction!

The Sages taught: When Rabbi Eliezer fell ill, his students entered to visit him.

He said to them: Be careful to honor your colleagues! Keep your children from excessive speculation,

They said to him: Our teacher, teach us paths of life, and we will merit through them the life of the World to Come!

He said to them: Be vigilant regarding the honor of your colleagues!

Keep your sons from higayon,

so that you do not accustom them to Scripture excessively, because they will be drawn after it and neglect Mishna and Talmud.

And perhaps you will say: Since you must prevent them from higayon, will they remain idle? It is not so. Rather,

seat them among the knees of Torah scholars!

In order to accustom them to good character traits, even though they are not yet fit for Talmud.

And when you pray, know before Whom you stand,

so that you will pray with awe and focused intention,

and through this you will merit the life of the World to Come.

And when Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai fell ill, his students entered to visit him. When he saw them— he began to cry. His students said to him: O lamp of Israel, right-hand pillar, mighty hammer, why are you crying?

and through this you will merit the life of the World to Come.

And when Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai fell ill, his students entered to visit him.

When he saw them—

he began to cry.

His students said to him: Lamp of Israel,

right-hand pillar, mighty hammer,

why are you crying?

The Maharsha explained "Ner Yisrael" in the commandments, as it is written "for a mitzva is a lamp and the Torah is light." "The right pillar" upon which the generation leans, as we found in Gittin [56b] that he saved several righteous ones at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. And "the strong hammer," in the Torah, as it is written in the words of the Torah "a hammer will break a rock." And [unclear: name reading unclear] they asked him, and of course their desire was "light in the light of the presence of the King," yet he desired to live for the repair of the generation, and therefore they asked whether his will is to guide them to good like "Ner Yisrael" which lights their path to see every small thing; or whether he wishes to protect them by his merit like "the right pillar" which implies governance above the way of nature; and if he feared that he did not have the power to conquer the inclination except by the help of Hashem, and that reward does not belong to him — then you are "the strong hammer" who breaks the evil inclination. explained the Aruch : just as sparks scatter under the hammer, so halakhot scatter in his name throughout the world. Maran haGra"m Shach was astonished: do they not know the verse in Kohelet [7:20] "There is no man righteous on earth who does good and does not sin"? And he explained that their intent was what one weeps over today, not yesterday or the day before, and necessarily because of death; and therefore they asked him, "Is this a time for ascent?" and he answered them that one ought every day to weep over what has passed, whereas on this day one ought to weep more because now it is again impossible to repair. [Machshevet Musar, Tekah].

He said to them: If they were leading me before a flesh-and-blood king

to judgment,

who today

is

here

and

tomorrow

is

in the grave,

for if

he

is angry with me—

his anger is not eternal.

And if he imprisons me

in a prison—

his imprisonment is not eternal.

And if he kills me—

his death is not eternal

in the World to Come.

And I can appease him with words and bribe him with money—

even so, I would cry

out of fear of his judgment.

And now that they are leading me

to judgment

before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who lives and endures forever and for all eternity.

For if He is angry with me—

His anger is eternal.

And if He imprisons me—

His imprisonment is eternal.

And if He kills me—

His death is eternal.

And

after my death,

I can no longer appease Him with words

through prayer,

nor bribe Him with money

through charity.

Furthermore,

even if my death is not eternal, and I merit life in the World to Come,

two paths still lie before me: one leading to Gan Eden, and one leading to Gehenna

in which I will be judged for twelve months.

And I do not know along which path they are leading me—

And

therefore

should I not cry?!

It seems puzzling: why fear and weep, whereas he should have done repentance, which is accepted even at the last moment!? And HaRav Chaim Shmuelevitz (Maamar 98) explained that Ribaz knew he fulfilled the entire Torah, but he feared that perhaps he erred in the way of his service of Hashem, and therefore repentance did not apply, for he thought he was walking the path of truth. And Maran haGra"m Shach answered that his weeping was not for what he had done but for what he could have done and did not do, and he wept even about his good deeds, as it is said in Kohelet [12:14] that the judgment is "for every hidden thing, whether good or whether evil," which is that according to his merit he is judged whether he completed his good deeds properly, and for the deficiency in the perfection of his deeds repentance is not effective [there 29]. Indeed, Maran noted in his will this fear of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, and warned that if he feared about not fulfilling his role in his world, how much must every person fear about it. See Shiurei Da'at .

They said to him: Our teacher, bless us!

He said to them: May it be Your will that the fear of Heaven be

upon you like the fear of flesh and blood!

His students said to him:

Is it

only to this extent

that the fear of Heaven should be upon us, and not more than the fear of flesh and blood?

He said to them: Would that

the fear of Heaven were upon you in this manner, like the fear of flesh and blood! For through this you will refrain from many transgressions.

Know

that this is so, for

when a person commits a transgression,

he

says:

“Provided only that”

no person sees me!

But he does not desist from the transgression because of the Holy One, blessed be He, even though everything is revealed before Him.

At the time of his death he said to them

—Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai:

Remove the vessels because of impurity

, so that they would not become impure through contact with the tent of the corpse.

And prepare a chair for Hezekiah, king of Judah,

who is now coming to greet me.

Mishna:

Rabban Gamliel says: Every day a person prays the Eighteen

blessings, in every prayer.

Rabbi Yehoshua says:

He prays

an abridged form of the Eighteen

blessings every day, and the Gemara will explain his words.

Rabbi Akiva says: If his prayer is fluent in his mouth—

he prays the Eighteen

blessings, in accordance with the statement of Rabban Gamliel.

But if not

, meaning that his prayer is not fluent in his mouth—he prays

an abridged form of the Eighteen

blessings, in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua.

Rabbi Eliezer says:

If he

makes his prayer fixed

and it becomes for him like a burden—

his prayer

is not appropriate, for one must pray in the manner of a request and

supplication.

HaGra"A explained that there are in prayer two matters: (a) the fulfillment of the mitzva of prayer; (b) by it his requests are answered and his needs are filled. And when he makes his prayer fixed, he fulfills the mitzva and receives reward for that. But he does not employ it so that his needs will be fulfilled, for "supplications" are that he receives a gift of grace by his request and cry, and when his prayer is as an obligation, how will he receive mercy [see Shnot Eliyahu and V'amrei Noam ].]

Rabbi Yehoshua says: One who travels in a place of danger

and the time for prayer arrives, but he is unable to compose his thoughts, does not

pray

a complete prayer, and not even “an abridged form of the Eighteen,” but only

a short prayer.

And this is how he prays:

“Save, O Lord, Your people,

the remnant of Israel. In every period of transition, may their needs be before You. Blessed are You, O Lord, Who hears prayer!”

[The wording of the prayer is explained below, 29b].

If he was riding on a donkey

and the time for his prayer arrived, he should not pray while riding, but

dismount

from the donkey

and pray.

And if

he has no one to hold his donkey, and therefore

cannot dismount

from it—he should

turn

—direct

his face

toward Jerusalem and pray while riding.

And if he cannot turn his face

toward Jerusalem,

he should direct his heart toward the Holy of Holies

and pray.

And likewise, if

he was traveling in a boat, or

he was

in an asda

—a raft— and cannot stand and turn his face toward Jerusalem—he should

direct his heart

and his thoughts, and imagine that his face is

directed toward the Holy of Holies,

and pray.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: A person prays the Eighteen.

The Gemara discusses this:

These Eighteen

blessings in prayer—

corresponding to whom

did they institute them?

Rav Hillel, son of Rav Shmuel bar Nahmani, said:

They instituted them

corresponding to the eighteen mentions

of the Name

that David said

in the psalm [Psalms 29:1]:

“Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty.

And

this psalm contains an allusion to the first three blessings of the Eighteen, which are: Patriarchs, Divine Might, and the Holiness of the Lord.”]

Rav Yosef said: They correspond to the eighteen mentions

of the Name

in the recitation of the Shema

; they instituted them accordingly.

Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They correspond to the eighteen vertebrae in the spine!

And Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who prays must bow until all the vertebrae in his spine crack!

That is, until the knobs [the joints] of his vertebrae become visible.

Ulla said:

One must bow

until an issar becomes visible

that is

opposite his heart

alone. When a person bends, two folds are formed. He must bend in such a way that the width of the flesh between them appears to be the size of an issar.

Rabbi Hanina said: Once he moves his head

that is sufficient, and

he need no longer

bow further.

Rava said: This applies when he causes himself distress

because of the bowing,

and it appears

that he wishes to bow but is unable to; in that case he is considered

as one who has bowed,

and need no longer bow.

The Gemara raises an objection: Are

these

blessings of prayer

eighteen

[i.e., eighteen]? But they are

nineteen

!

They are!

Why, then, did we learn, “eighteen blessings”?

Rabbi Levi said: Initially the Men of the Great Assembly instituted eighteen blessings, but

At first, the Men of the Great Assembly instituted eighteen blessings, but

the blessing concerning the sectarians

[“And for the slanderers let there be no hope”]—

they instituted in Yavne

much later.

The Gemara asks: The eighteen blessings were instituted corresponding to the eighteen mentions of the Divine Name;

corresponding to whom did they institute

the additional blessing?

Rabbi Levi said: According to Rabbi Hillel, son of Rav Shmuel bar Nahmani,

who said that the eighteen blessings correspond to the eighteen mentions of the Tetragrammaton in “Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty”—they instituted the blessing concerning the sectarians

corresponding to

[ibid., verse 3]

“The God of glory thunders,”

which is also considered a mention of the Divine Name.

And

according to Rav Yosef,

who said that the eighteen blessings correspond to the eighteen mentions of the Divine Name in the recitation of the Shema, they instituted the blessing concerning the sectarians

corresponding to “One” in the recitation of the Shema,

which is also similar to a mention of the Divine Name; thus there are nineteen mentions.

And

according to Rabbi Tanḥum, who said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

said that they were instituted corresponding to the eighteen vertebrae in the spine, they instituted the blessing concerning the sectarians

corresponding to the small vertebra in the spine

, which is the nineteenth vertebra.

The Sages taught: Shimon HaPakuli

[the seller of bundles of cotton]

arranged the Eighteen blessings before Rabban Gamliel in their proper order

Aruch

in Yavne.

Aruch Aruch (Luz) wrote that it is the very "luz," about which it was said [B.R. 28:3] that it does not decay, and from it the resurrection will arise [see Tosafot Bava Kamma 16b]. And regarding its place Rashi and the Aruch took it as "at the end of the eighteen vertebrae of the spine," and in Midrash Talpiyot they posited it is at its lower end, whereas in Chesed to Abraham and in the book to Abraham [ch. 50] and in the book HaBrit vol ch they wrote it is the HaBrit (vol. 1 ch. 11) they wrote it is the upper one beneath the brain. Ritva explained that although the Men of the Great Assembly had already arranged the order, it was forgotten and he re-arranged them. And Rabbenu Yonah wrote that initially they were not instituted with a set order, and Shimon ha-Pekuli was the arranger, and Rabbenu Chananel wrote that only the middle blessings had no set order, and when Rabban Gamliel heard the prayer of Shimon ha-Pekuli it pleased him and he fixed it for all.

Rabban Gamliel said to the Sages: Is there

among you

someone who knows how to formulate the blessing against the Sadducees?

Shmuel HaKatan stood and formulated it .

The following year,

when Shmuel HaKatan served as prayer leader,

he forgot it,