Berakhot 55a — the Talmud in English

Everyone who prolongs his prayer and examines it

[expecting that he will be answered because he prayed with concentration],

in the end

of the matter, his request is not fulfilled, and

he comes to heartache, as it is stated

[Proverbs 13]:

“Deferred hope

[a prolonged prayer] causes

sickness of heart.”

And

so

said

also

Rabbi Isaac: Three things

cause the deeds of their owners to be examined, and it is found that they

recall a person’s iniquities, and these are they:

one who passes through a place of danger, such as beneath

an inclined wall,

and thereby reveals that he trusts in his merits,

and examination

of prayer,

for he trusts in the merit of his prayer,

and submitting a judgment

that he has

against his fellow, to Heaven,

and since he trusts in his merits, he thinks that his fellow will be punished. It follows that prolonging the prayer causes him harm; and how did they say that one who prolongs his prayer has his days and years prolonged?

The Gemara answers:

This is not difficult,

for

this

which leads to heartache is in a case

where he examines it,

whereas

this

which causes his days and years to be prolonged is in a case

where he does not examine it. And how does he act

when he “prolongs his prayer”? —

By increasing supplication.

The Gemara explains: The reason that

“one who prolongs his meal

has his days and years prolonged” is that his reason for prolonging the meal is

lest a poor person come and he give it to him

to dine with him, and we find that when one feeds the poor, his table atones for him,

as it is written

[Ezekiel 41:22]:

“The altar was of wood, three cubits high.” And it is written

[there, at the end of the verse]:

“And he said to me, This is the table that is before the Lord,”

and apparently it is puzzling: how did he

begin with “altar” and conclude with “table”? —

Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Eleazar both say:

This verse comes to teach that

as long as the Temple exists, the altar atones for Israel, and now

that the sacrifices have ceased,

a person’s table

on which he feeds the poor

atones for him,

and because of this it is considered like an “altar,” and causes his days to be prolonged.

“And one who prolongs himself in the privy,”

the Gemara wonders: is this

an advantage? But it was taught: Ten things bring a person to hemorrhoids,

[piles], and these are they: 1.

one who eats the leaves of reeds

2.

and vine leaves

3.

and vine shoots

4.

and animal morigim

[parts of its flesh that are not smooth, such as the palate and the skin of the tongue, which are grooved and resemble a “sharp threshing sledge”], 5.

and a fish’s spine

6.

and salted fish that is not fully cooked.

7.

And one who drinks wine dregs.

8.

And one who wipes himself

[after relieving himself]

with lime,

9.

and with potsherd.

10.

And one who wipes himself with a clod with which his fellow wiped himself, and some say, even one who suspends himself

[kneels on his knees so that his orifices will open]

in the privy more than necessary,

so prolonging oneself in the privy harms a person; and how did they say that it causes his days and years to be prolonged?

This is not difficult,

for

this

which brings one to hemorrhoids is in a case

where he prolongs himself and suspends

himself, whereas

this

which prolongs his days and years is in a case

where he prolongs himself but does not suspend himself,

but sits in the privy in his usual manner.

The Gemara proves it from an incident that occurred:

For it was like that incident in which a certain noblewoman said to Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Ila’i: “Your face resembles that of pig breeders and usurers,”

who profit without labor, and because they are content with their lot their faces are yellow, and so your face also appears!

He said to her: By my faith

[an oath],

for me, both of them

[taking interest and raising pigs]

are forbidden, rather,

my face appears well because

there are twenty-four privies from my lodging

[inn]

to the study house, for when I go

from my lodging to study in the study house,

I examine myself

whether I need to relieve myself

in all of them,

and through this I am healthy and look well.

And Rav Judah said: Three things shorten a person’s days and years,

and these are they: 1.

One to whom they give a Torah scroll to read and he does not read.

2. One to whom they give

the cup of blessing to recite the blessing, and he does not recite the blessing.

3.

And one who conducts himself with authority

[domination].

The Gemara explains: One to whom they give

“a Torah scroll

to read and he does not read”

—from where is it derived that his days are shortened? —

As it is written

[Deuteronomy 30]:

“For it is your life and the length of your days,”

and when he refuses to read, he shows that he does not desire life.

“The cup of blessing to recite the blessing, and he does not recite the blessing” —

as it is written

[Genesis 12]:

“And I will bless those who bless you,”

and one who recites Grace after Meals blesses the host, and everyone who blesses his fellow is himself blessed; and when he refuses to recite the blessing, he shows that he does not desire to be blessed.

“And one who appoints himself to a position of communal authority” —

“And one who conducts himself with authority” —

for Rabbi Hama son of Hanina said: Why did Joseph die before

his brothers? — Because he conducted himself with authority.

And Rav Judah said in the name of Rav:

regarding

three things one must

request

mercy

that they should come, since they are in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they come only if He grants permission. 1. A good king

2.

A good year

3.

And a good dream. A good king, as it is written

[Proverbs 21]:

“Channels of water is the heart of a king in the hand of the Lord.” A good year, as it is written

[Deuteronomy 11]:

“The eyes of the Lord your God are upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” A good dream, as it is written

in the prayer of Hezekiah, king of Judah [Isaiah 38]:

“And restore me

to health (and revive me)”

(and revive me)”

(and give me life). Rabbi Yohanan said: Three things the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself proclaims, and these are they: 1.

Famine

2.

and plenty

3.

and a good provider.

Famine, as it is written [II Kings 8]:

and a good provider.

and a good provider. Famine, as it is written

“For the Lord has called for a famine, and so on.” Plenty, as it is written

[Ezekiel 36]:

“And I will call for the grain and increase it. A good provider, as it is written

[Exodus 38]:

“(And he said)”

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: See, I have called by name Bezalel, and so on.”

Rabbi Isaac said: A

court

does not appoint a provider over the community unless it consults with the community,

so that they will agree with his words and obey him,

as it is stated

[Exodus 31:2]:

“See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel,”

meaning that he asked Israel, “See”—give your eyes and heart to examine whether you agree to his appointment, for so they expounded this verse:

He said to

the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: “Moses,

is

Bezalel suitable in your eyes?” —

He said to

Moses to the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Master of the world, if he is suitable before You, is it not all the more so before me?! He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Even so, go and tell them

Israel, so that they may say whether they want his appointment.

Moses went

and

said to them, to Israel,

“Is

Bezalel suitable in your eyes?” —

They said to him: “If he is suitable before the Holy One, blessed be He, and before you, is he not all the more so before us?!

Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan: Bezalel was called by virtue of his wisdom,

and we find that he was called “in the shadow of God” on account of his wisdom in constructing the Tabernacle, for

when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Go and tell Bezalel: Make for Me a Tabernacle, an ark, and vessels”

[in Parashat Ki Tisa, Exodus 31:7, “the Tent of Meeting and the ark of testimony”],

Moses went and reversed

and said to him: “Make an ark

and vessels and a Tabernacle”

[in the order stated in Parashat Teruma ],

he said to him

Bezalel to Moses:

“Moses our master, the practice of the world

is that first

a person builds a house and afterward brings vessels into it, and you say

first

‘Make for Me an ark

and vessels

a

and afterward

a Tabernacle; where will I put the vessels that I make? Perhaps this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to you —

‘Make a Tabernacle, an ark, and vessels’!” —

He said to him

Moses: indeed, thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said. Is it possible that

you were in the shadow of God and knew

how He had spoken to me?!

Rav Judah said in the name of Rav: Bezalel knew how to combine the letters with which heaven and earth were created

through combining them,

and the proof is that

it is written here

about Bezalel [Exodus 35:31]:

“And He filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge,” and it is written there

about the act of Creation [Proverbs 3:19]: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom; He established the heavens with understanding,” and it is written

[there, verse 20]:

“By His knowledge the depths were broken open,”

so Bezalel merited the aspects of “wisdom, understanding, and knowledge,” with which heaven and earth were created.

regarding the Creation [Proverbs 3:19]:

“The Lord founded the earth with wisdom; He established the heavens with insight,” and it is written

[there, verse 20]:

“By His knowledge the depths were split open,”

so Bezalel was granted the qualities of “wisdom, insight, and knowledge,” through which Heaven and earth were created.

Rabbi Yohanan said: The Almighty grants wisdom only to one who possesses wisdom,

as it is stated [

Daniel 2:21 ]

“He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge

knowledgeable

of understanding.”

Rav Tahlifa bar Ma'arava heard

the words of Rabbi Yohanan

and repeated them before Rabbi Abbahu.

He said to him: You derive it from there [

from the verse in Daniel ],

you teach it

that wisdom is given to the wise,

whereas we derive it from here [

from a verse in the Torah ],

we teach it, for it is written [

Exodus 31:6 ]

“And in the heart of every wise-hearted man I have placed wisdom.”

Rav Hisda said:

It is good for a person that he should see

every dream, and

the main thing is that he should

not

see

dreams requiring fasting [

a dream for which one must fast ].

And

further

Rav Hisda said: A dream that has not been interpreted [

resolved ]

is like a letter that has not been read.

For all dreams follow the interpretation, and if it was not interpreted, it causes a person neither good nor evil.

And

further

Rav Hisda said: A good dream does not come true [

is fulfilled ]

in its entirety [

all of its interpretation ],

nor does a bad dream [

bad ]

come true in its entirety.

And

further

Rav Hisda said: An uninterpreted bad dream

that has not been interpreted

is preferable to an uninterpreted good dream

that has not been interpreted, because since without the interpretation the dream has no significance, a bad dream is preferable, as it arouses a person to repentance.

And

further

Rav Hisda said: For a bad dream, its sadness is sufficient —

the distress caused on account of it nullifies the decree contained in it;

for a good dream, its joy is sufficient —

the joy caused on account of it takes the place of the good tidings contained in it.

Rav Yosef said: Even for me, a good dream

although I am blind ,

its amusement dispels it —

the small amount of joy caused to me on account of it nullifies it.

And

further

Rav Hisda said:

The anxiety on account of

a bad dream

is

more difficult

for his body

than lashes [

flogging ],

as it is stated [

Ecclesiastes 3:14 ]

“And God has done it so that they should fear before Him,” and Rabbah bar bar Hannah said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: This is a bad dream

which the Almighty sends in order to arouse a person to repent.

It is stated in Jeremiah [

23:28 ]:

“The prophet who has a dream with him, let him recount the dream; and he who has My words with him, let him speak My words of truth. What has straw to do with grain? says the Lord.” And what connection do grain and straw have with a dream? —

Rather, Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: Just as it is impossible for grain [

produce ] to be

without straw

which is refuse,

so it is impossible for a dream

to come

without

there being mixed into it

meaningless matters,

and therefore a false prophet “recounts” the dream, which is an expression of empty words, because he sees as the principal thing what is secondary within it, whereas a true prophet “speaks” only the words of truth in the dream.

Rabbi Berechiah said: Although part of a dream comes true, the whole of it does not

come true,

and meaningless matters are always mixed into it,

From where do we know this? —

From Joseph,

for it is written [

Genesis 37:9 ]

“Behold, the sun and the moon

and eleven stars bowing down to me”—that is, corresponding to his father, his mother, and his brothers, who would eventually bow down before him.