Berakhot 34b — the Talmud in English

The High Priest

bows

at the end of every blessing.

And the king

at

the beginning of every blessing and at the end of every blessing.

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

Rabbi Yitzhak bar Naḥmani said: “As for me, it was explained to me by Rabbi Joshua ben Levi: An ordinary person

bows

as we have said. The High Priest

at

the beginning of every blessing

but not at its end. And

the king, once he has bowed

at the beginning of the blessing of the Patriarchs,

does not straighten himself again

until he has finished praying.

As it is stated [I Kings 8:54]

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

The Sages taught: “Kida”—upon the face. As it is stated [I Samuel 1:31]

As it is stated [I Kings 1:31]

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

“Kri'a”—upon the knees. As it is stated [I Kings 8:54]

As it is stated [I Kings 8:54]

“From kneeling upon his knees.”

“Hishtahava”—this is with the hands and feet stretched out. As it is stated [Genesis 37:10],

Jacob said to Joseph regarding his dream,

“Shall I, 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 bent sideways,”

leaning to their sides and not stretching out their hands and feet.

One [baraita] taught: “One who bows during thanksgiving, behold, he is praiseworthy.”

And

it is seemingly difficult, for

another [baraita] taught: “Behold, he is disgraceful.”

The Gemara answers:

It is not difficult. This

is referring to one who bows

at the beginning

and is praiseworthy, whereas

that

is referring to one who bows

at the end

and is disgraceful.

Rava bowed during thanksgiving at the beginning and at the end. The Rabbis said to him: “Why does the Master do this?”

He said to them: “I saw Rav Naḥman bow, and I saw Rav Sheshet do this.”

The Gemara asks: How did they do this,

for it was taught

in a baraita

“One who bows during thanksgiving is disgraceful,”

and we established it as referring to one who bows at the end?

The Gemara answers:

That one refers to thanksgiving in Hallel,

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

The Gemara objects:

But it was taught, “One who bows during thanksgiving

in the prayer

or during thanksgiving in Hallel is disgraceful”?

It follows that even during thanksgiving in the prayer he is considered disgraceful.

The Gemara answers:

When that was taught, it referred to thanksgiving in the blessing of Grace after Meals.

And in truth, one who bows at the end of 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 like himself.

They 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 [is arranged]

his prayer is orderly

smoothly from my mouth

without stumbling, and everything I wish to say flows from my heart according to it,

I know that he is

the sick person

accepted; but if not, I know that he is distraught [his time has been thrown into confusion].

Gemara:

The Gemara discusses:

With regard to which [blessing],

regarding which blessing did we say that an error in it is considered a bad sign?

Rav Ḥiyya said in the name of Rav Safra, in the name of one

of the

Sages of the house of Rabbi: In

the blessing of

the Patriarchs,

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

There are those who transmit this

with regard to what we learned in the

baraita: “One who prays must direct his heart in

all the blessings

all of them; 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 in the name of Rav Safra

in the name of one of the Sages of the house of Rabbi:

What we learned, that “he should direct his heart in one,” means

in

the blessing of

the Patriarchs.

We learned in the Mishna:

“They said about Rabbi Ḥanina, etc.”

From where are these words,

that a prayer which flows smoothly proves that it will be accepted, and likewise the opposite?

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

“Creating the expression of the lips: peace, peace, for the distant and for the near, said the Lord, and I will heal him,”

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

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: All

the prophets all prophesied only concerning one who gives his daughter in marriage to a Torah scholar, one who conducts business for a Torah scholar, and one who benefits a Torah scholar from his property. But

concerning what

the Torah scholars themselves

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

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

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: All the prophets all prophesied only

about the good things and consolations that will be

in the days of the Messiah, but

the spiritual delight that will be

in the World to Come: “No eye has seen, O God, besides You.”

And

this statement of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba

disagrees

with the statement

of Samuel.

For Samuel said: There is no difference between this world and the days of the Messiah except for subjugation to the kingdoms alone, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 15:11]

“For the needy will not cease from the midst of

the land.”

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: All the prophets all prophesied only for those who repent, but the completely righteous—“No eye has seen, O 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 those who repent stand, the completely righteous do not stand, as it is stated [Isaiah 57:19]

“Peace, peace, for the distant and for the near.”

And it implies that

the “distant one,”

the penitent who had previously been distant, is mentioned

first,

for the verse places him before the other,

and afterward,

only afterward does the verse refer

to the “near one,”

who is the righteous person who is near to Him.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan,

who said that the righteous are superior to those who repent,

will say to you: What is “distant”?

This is the righteous person

who was distant from sin from the outset. And what is “near”?

This is the penitent

who was near to sin and became distant from it.

It follows that the verse placed the righteous before the penitent.

And the Gemara continues its explanation of the verse:

Now, what is “No eye has seen”?

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

from the six days of Creation.

Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said: This is Eden, over which the eye of no creature held sway.

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

In the Garden.

And lest you say: Is the Garden the same as Eden? The verse says [Genesis 2:10]

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

The Sages taught: An incident occurred in which the son of Rabban Gamaliel became 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 the son of Rabban Gamaliel was ill, and understood that he had sent them to request mercy for him,

he went up to the upper room and requested mercy for him.

When 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: If my prayer flows smoothly from my mouth, I know that he is accepted; and if not, I know that he is distraught.”

They sat down and recorded and calculated that moment, and when they came to Rabban Gamaliel, he said to them: “By the Temple service! You have neither fallen short nor added anything”

to the precise moment;

rather, this is what happened: At that same moment

when he answered you thus,

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, and the son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai became ill. He said to him: “Ḥanina, my son, request mercy for him, and he will live.” He placed his head between his knees, requested mercy for him, and he lived.

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said: “Had ben Zakkai pressed 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 stand constantly in the House of the Lord, praying over events, and is considered like a servant who fulfills his duty in the king’s palace,

“whereas I am like a minister before the king,”

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

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: 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 concentrate in prayer,

as it is stated [Daniel 6:11]

“With windows open for him in his upper chamber

(to receive)

opposite

Jerusalem.”

Rav Kahana said: Insolent to me is one who prays

in an open field

And Rav Kahana said: Insolent to me is one who explains his sins, as it is stated

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

Psalms 32:1:

Fortunate is one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

We shall return to you, chapter “Those Who Do Not Stand”.

Mishna: