Berakhot 34b (לד:) — the Talmud in English

The High Priest

bows

at the conclusion of each blessing.

And the king

bows

at the beginning of each blessing and at the conclusion of each blessing.

For the more distinguished a person is, the more he must humble himself.

Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Naḥmani said: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi explained it to me explicitly: An ordinary person

bows

as we said. The High Priest

at

the beginning of each blessing

but not at its conclusion. Whereas

the king, once he bows

at the beginning of the blessing of the Patriarchs,

does not straighten himself again

until he has completed his prayer.

As it is stated [1 Kings 8:54]:

“And when Solomon finished praying ... he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling upon his knees.”

The Sages taught: “Kida,” on one’s face.

As it is stated [I Kings 1:31]:

“And Bathsheba bowed, with her face to the ground.”

“Keri'a,” on one’s knees.

As it is stated [I Kings 8:54]:

“From kneeling upon his knees.”

“Hishtakhava,” this means lying fully prostrate, with one’s hands and feet extended.

As Jacob said to Joseph concerning his dream

“Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to you to the ground?”

Rabbi Ḥiyya, son of Rav Huna, said: I saw Abaye and Rava praying while bending to the side,

leaning to their sides without extending their hands and feet.

One tanna taught: “One who bows during the thanksgiving blessing is praiseworthy.”

And

this is seemingly difficult, since

another beraita taught: “He is contemptible.”

The Gemara answers:

This is not difficult. This

refers to one who bows

at the beginning

and is praiseworthy, whereas

that

refers to one who bows

at the end

and is contemptible.

Rava bowed during the thanksgiving blessing both at the beginning and at the end. The Rabbis said to him: Why does the Master act in this manner?

He said to them: I saw Rav Naḥman bow, and I also saw Rav Sheshet act in this manner.

The Gemara asks: How could they have acted in this manner?

But it was taught

in a beraita:

“One who bows during the thanksgiving blessing is contemptible,”

and we established this as referring to one who bows at the end.

The Gemara answers:

That statement refers to the thanksgiving in Hallel,

when one says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” But during the thanksgiving in the prayer, one must bow.

The Gemara challenges this:

But it was taught: “One who bows during the thanksgiving

in the prayer

or during the thanksgiving of Hallel is contemptible.”

This indicates that bowing even during the thanksgiving in the prayer is considered contemptible.

The Gemara answers:

When that was taught, it was with regard to the thanksgiving in the Grace after Meals.

Indeed, one who bows at the end of the thanksgiving in the prayer acts properly.

Mishna:

One who prays and errs, it is a bad sign for him.

And if he is the prayer leader

and errs,

it is a bad sign for those who sent him, because a person’s agent is equivalent to him.

It was said about Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa that he would pray for the sick and say, “This one will live,” and, “This one will die.”

They said to him: From where do you know this?

He said to them: If my prayer flows smoothly

his prayer is orderly

from my mouth

without stumbling, and everything I wish to say emerges from my heart according to my will,

I know that he is

the sick person

accepted, but if not, I know that he is distracted [that his hour has been disrupted].

Gemara:

The Gemara asks:

With regard to what

did we say that an error is considered a bad sign?

Rabbi Ḥiyya said that Rav Safra said in the name of one

of the

amoraim of the house of Rabbi: In

the blessing of

the Patriarchs,

which is the beginning of the prayer, and an error in it indicates that God does not desire this prayer.

Some teach this statement

with regard to what we learned in a

beraita: “One who prays must direct his heart in

all the blessings

in their entirety; and if he cannot direct his heart in all of them, he should direct his heart in one

of the blessings.”

And concerning this,

Rabbi Ḥiyya said that Rav Safra said

in the name of one of the house of Rabbi:

What we learned, that he should direct his heart in one, refers to

the

blessing of

the Patriarchs.

We learned in the Mishna:

“It was said about Rabbi Ḥanina, etc.”

From where are these words derived,

that a prayer that flows smoothly demonstrates that it will be accepted, and vice versa?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: For the verse says [Isaiah 57:19]:

“Creating the expression of the lips: Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the Lord, and I will heal him,”

and they explained it as follows: When the “expression” [the prayer] is healthy, his peace is assured.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All

the prophets prophesied only concerning one who marries his daughter to a Torah scholar, one who conducts business for a Torah scholar, and one who benefits a Torah scholar from his possessions. But

concerning what

the Torah scholars themselves will merit, it is stated [Isaiah 64:3]:

will merit, it is stated [Isaiah 64:3]:

“No eye has seen, God, besides You; He will do for the one who waits for Him.”

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the prophets prophesied only

about the good and consolations that will be

in the days of the Messiah, but

the spiritual delight that will be

in the World-to-Come is described by: “No eye has seen, God, besides You.”

And

this statement of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba

disagrees

with the statement

of Shmuel.

For Shmuel said: The only difference between this world and the days of the Messiah is the subjugation of the kingdoms, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 15:11]:

“For the poor shall never cease from the midst of

the land.”

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the prophets prophesied only concerning penitents, but as for the completely righteous: “No eye has seen, God, besides You.”

And

this statement of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba

disagrees

with the statement

of Rabbi Abbahu.

For Rabbi Abbahu said: In the place where penitents stand, the completely righteous do not stand, as it is stated [Isaiah 57:19]:

“Peace, peace, to the far and to the near.”

This implies that

“to the far,”

meaning the penitent, who was previously far away, is mentioned

first,

as he is given precedence,

and afterward,

only afterward does the verse refer

to “the near,”

meaning the righteous person who is near to God.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan,

who said that the righteous are superior to penitents,

could have said to you: What is meant by “far”?

This is the righteous person

who was originally far from sin. And what is meant by “near”?

This is the penitent

who was near to sin and distanced himself from it.

It follows that the verse gives precedence to the righteous over the penitent.

The Gemara continues its explanation of the verse:

Now, what is meant by “No eye has seen”?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This is wine preserved in its grapes

since the six days of Creation.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: This is Eden, which no creature’s eye has ever seen.

Lest you say: Where was Adam, the first man? —

In the Garden.

And lest you say: Are the Garden and Eden one and the same? The verse states [Genesis 2:10]:

“And a river went out from Eden to water the Garden.” The Garden is one thing, and Eden is another.

The Sages taught: It once happened that the son of Rabban Gamliel fell ill, and he sent two Torah scholars to Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa to request mercy for him. When he saw them,

he already knew that Rabban Gamliel’s son was ill, and understood that he had sent them to request mercy on his behalf;

he went up to an upper chamber and prayed for him.

As he descended, he said to them: Go, for the fever has left him.

They said to him: Are you a prophet? —

He said to them: I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. Rather, this is what I have received as a tradition: If my prayer flows smoothly from my mouth, I know that it is accepted; and if not, I know that it is rejected.

They sat down and recorded the exact time, and when they came to Rabban Gamliel, he said to them: By the Temple service! You have neither omitted nor added

a thing; you identified the exact time.

Rather, this is what happened: At that very time

when he told you this,

the fever left him, and he asked us for water to drink.

And again,

there

was an incident involving Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, who went to study Torah with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s son fell ill. He said to him: Ḥanina, my son, pray for him, and he will live. He placed his head between his knees, prayed for him, and the boy lived.

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said: Had ben Zakkai thrust his head between his knees all day long, they would not have paid attention to him

in Heaven.

His wife said to him: Is Ḥanina greater than you? He said to her: No. Rather, he is like a servant before the king,

for he is accustomed to standing constantly in the House of God and praying concerning events, and is considered like a servant who performs his duty in the king’s palace;

whereas I am like a minister before the king,

for I teach Torah to the public. I am like a minister who does not serve in the king’s palace, and when he wishes to enter before him, he must approach his servants.

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: A person should pray only in a house in which there are windows,

through which he can look toward the heavens, so that his heart will be humbled and he will have proper intention in prayer,

as it is stated [Daniel 6:11]:

“His windows were open

(facing)

toward

Jerusalem.”

Rav Kahana said: I regard as insolent one who prays

in an open field

in a valley], because it is an exposed place, and the heart is humbled only in a secluded place where the awe of a king takes hold of him.

And Rav Kahana said: I regard as insolent one who openly recounts his sins, as it is stated

Psalms 32:1:

“Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

We have completed the chapter “One Does Not Stand”

Mishna: