Berakhot 34a — the Talmud in English

and therefore he did not direct his intention. But

is there companionship toward Heaven?!

For they teach him to direct his intention. And

if

it is his way

not

to

direct his mind from the outset,

we strike him with a blacksmith’s hammer until he directs his mind.

Mishna:

“He who says, ‘May the good bless You,’ this is the way of heresy,

for it implies as though only the good are fit to bless the Lord, whereas in truth one must include the wicked and pray with them

.”

The communal prayer leader

who passes before the ark and errs

in the middle of the Eighteen Benedictions, and does not know how to correct and continue his prayer,

another shall pass

and continue the prayer

in his place, and

although in every prayer it is proper to refuse slightly when they ask him to go down before the ark, in this manner, since it is disgraceful for the order of the prayer to be interrupted for a long time,

the second shall not be

the

one who refuses at that moment,

but shall immediately agree to go down before the ark.

From where does he

the second

begin? —

From the beginning of the benediction

in which this one erred,

the first one.

The communal prayer leader

who passes before the ark shall not answer Amen after

the benediction of

the priests, because of

the concern of

confusion

[that he will become confused while calling out the words of the Priestly Benediction].

And

because of this concern, even

if there is no priest there except him, he shall not raise his hands,

lest he err and fail to begin the benediction “Grant peace” properly.

But

however,

if his assurance

[if he is confident in himself]

that

he

can

be

one who raises his hands and return to his prayer

without error, he

may

raise his hands.

Text missing

Gemara:

The Sages taught:

When a person is asked to be

the one who passes before the ark, he must refuse

at first, and present himself as though he does not want to, as if saying that he is not fit for this.

And if he does not refuse,

he lacks proper conduct, and he

resembles a dish in which there is no salt; and if he refuses excessively, he resembles a dish that its salt has spoiled,

for he appears arrogant.

What does he do? —

The first time he refuses;

the second, he gestures

— he indicates that he is preparing to rise —

the third, he stretches out his feet and goes down

before the ark.

The Sages taught: Three things, most of them are harmful and a small amount of them is beneficial, and these are they: leaven

which it is proper to put a little of into dough to make it sour, but if one puts in too much, it will become spoiled.

And salt,

whose small amount gives good taste to a dish, but its abundance ruins it,

and refusal,

such as that of a communal prayer leader, as above.

Rav Huna said:

A communal prayer leader who

erred in

one of the

three

benedictions

of the first ones,

the one who stands in his place

returns to the beginning

of the prayer, because all three deal with praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, and are considered one benediction.

And if he erred

in

one of the

middle benedictions, he returns to “You graciously grant knowledge,”

which is the beginning of the middle benedictions, and all of them are like one benediction of requesting one’s needs.

And if he erred

in

one of the three

last benedictions, he returns to “the Temple service,”

because all three deal with thanksgiving to the Lord, and are considered one benediction.

And Rav Asi said:

The

middle benedictions have no order,

and therefore, if he erred and skipped one benediction, he says it at the place where he remembered it , and does not return to the beginning of the prayer.

Rav Sheshet raised an objection:

Behold, we learned in our Mishna

“From where does he return?” —

“From the beginning of the benediction in which this one erred,”

and this means even with regard to the middle benedictions.

A refutation of Rav Huna,

who said that he must return to “You graciously grant knowledge.”

Rav Huna could say to you: All the middle benedictions are one benediction,

and what we learned, that he returns “from the beginning of the benediction in which this one erred,” means that he returns to “You graciously grant knowledge,” which is the beginning of the middle benedictions.

Rav Yehuda said: A person should never request his needs

private ones

in the first three, nor in the last three, but in the middle ones,

since

Rabbi Hanina said:

In the

first benedictions he resembles a servant who arranges praise before his master,

and in the

middle ones he resembles a servant who requests a gift from his master,

and then he requests his private needs, whereas in the

last ones he resembles a servant who received a gift from his master, takes leave, and goes away.

The Sages taught: An incident occurred with one student who went down before the ark in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer, and he prolonged

his prayer

excessively. His students said to him, ‘Our teacher, how much of a prolonger this one is!’ He said to them, ‘Does he prolong more than Moses our teacher, concerning whom it is written

after the incident of the calf [Deuteronomy 9:25]

“the forty days and the forty nights, and so forth”?”

Again

there

was an incident with one student who went down before

the ark in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer, and he shortened

his prayer

excessively. His students said to him, ‘How much of a shortener this one is!’ He said to them, ‘Does he shorten more than Moses our teacher, concerning whom it is written

[Numbers 12:13] that in his prayer for Miriam his sister, when she was afflicted with leprosy, he said only

“Please, God, please heal her.”

Rabbi

Yaakov said in the name of Rav Hisda: Whoever requests mercy for his fellow does not need to mention

his

name,

because the Holy One, blessed be He, knows for whom he intends it,

as it is stated: “Please, God, please heal her,” and he does not mention Miriam’s name.

The Sages taught

[in the Tosefta, Berakhot 1:11]:

These are the benedictions in which a person bows: In “Ancestors,”

he bows at the beginning and at the end;

in “Thanksgiving,” at the beginning and at the end.

And if he comes to bow at the end of every benediction

and benediction and at the beginning of every benediction and benediction, they teach him not to bow.

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of Bar Kappara: An ordinary person

bows

as we said.