Berakhot 8a (ח.) — the Talmud in English

What is the meaning of that which is written:

that which is stated: [Psalms 69:14]]

“But as for me, may my prayer to You, Lord, be at a favorable time”

When

is that

“favorable time”?

When the congregation is praying.

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: From here,

this matter is learned, as it is stated [Isaiah 49:8]:

“So said the Lord

at a favorable time I answered you,”

that is, when the congregation prays and there is a favorable time, “I answered you” applies even to an individual.

Rav Aḥa bar Rabbi Ḥanina said: From here,

this matter is learned from the verse [Job 36:5]:

“Behold, God is mighty and does not despise,

“mighty” being expressed in the plural, and He does not despise the prayer of an individual who prays at that time.

And

so

it is written [Psalms 55:19]:

“He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for they were with me in multitude,”

and its explanation is that since the prayer was “in multitude,” “they were with me” at the time that I prayed.

and this means that because the prayer was “with many,” “they were with me” at the time when I prayed.

It was likewise taught: Rabbi Natan says: From where is it derived that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not despise

the prayer of an individual when it is

at the

time of

the prayer of the many? —

As it is stated: “Behold, God is mighty and does not despise,” and

so

it is written: “He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me,” and it continues.

The Gemara explains the verse “He redeemed my soul in peace”:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Whoever engages

in matters of peace, namely,

in Torah,

in acts of kindness

and prays with the congregation,

I consider

it for him as though he redeemed Me

and My children

from among the nations of the world.

Further concerning prayer in a synagogue:

Reish Lakish said: Anyone who has a synagogue in his city

and does not enter it to pray there is called a “bad neighbor.”

As it is stated in Jeremiah 12:4:

“So said the Lord concerning all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave My people Israel,” “inheritance” refers to synagogues,

and the “evil neighbors” of synagogues are those who do not enter them.

And furthermore,

if he does not enter there to pray,

he causes exile for himself and for his children, as it is stated

in the continuation of the verse cited:

“Behold, I will uproot them from upon their land, and the House of Judah I will uproot from their midst.”

They said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: There are elderly people,

Jewish elders

in Babylonia.

He wondered

Rabbi Yoḥanan

and said: “So that you may prolong your days, and the days of your children, upon the land

which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers” [Deuteronomy 11:21]

is written;

this demonstrates that the promise of longevity applies only in the Land of Israel,

but not outside the Land of Israel.

Once they told him

that these elders

rise early

and stay late at the synagogue,

remaining there for an extended time: they come early in the morning for Shacharit and remain late at night for Arvit, his perplexity was dispelled,

and he said: This is what benefits them,

this practice benefited them with longevity —

as

according

to what Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to his sons

[to his sons]:

“Rise early and stay late, and enter the synagogue,”

come early in the morning for Shacharit, and likewise remain for an extended time at Arvit at night,

so that your lives may be prolonged,

so that you may live longer.

Rabbi Aḥa bar Rabbi Ḥanina said: What is the verse?

Where do we find in the Writings that sitting in a synagogue brings longevity? It is stated [Proverbs 8:34]:

“Fortunate is the person who listens to Me, watching daily at My doors, guarding the doorposts of My entrances,”

“My doors” refers to the doors of the synagogue and the house of study,

and it is written afterward,

as it says in the following verse:

“For whoever finds Me finds life.”

Rav Ḥisda said: A person should always enter a synagogue by two entrances.

The Gemara challenges this:

Do you think it means two entrances?!

Would it enter your mind that one must enter the synagogue through two entrances?!

Rather, say

that he should enter the synagogue to a

distance

equal to the width of

two entrances and then pray,

so that he should not sit near the entrance and appear as though remaining in the synagogue is a burden to him, and as though he is ready at the entrance to leave through it.

It is stated [Psalms 32:6]:

“For this, let every pious person pray to You at a time when You may be found,”

and its meaning is that he should pray that what he requires will be available to him when he needs it. However, it is not explained what need is being referred to. Before us are five interpretations of the need discussed by the verse.

Rabbi Ḥanina said: “A time when You may be found”—this is a wife,

so that he will find his match when he needs it,

as it is stated

in Proverbs 18:22:

“One who finds a wife finds good,”

which demonstrates that the expression “finds” is appropriate with regard to a match.

In the West,

in the Land of Israel,

when a person married a woman

when a man took a wife,

they would say to him this:

they would ask him: Is the match

“finds” or “finds continually”?

Their intention was to ask whether he had

“found a wife and found good, and obtained favor from the Lord,”

or whether it was

“finds continually,”

as

it is written

in Ecclesiastes 7:26:

“And I find more bitter than death

the woman, etc.”

Rabbi Natan says: “‘At the time of finding’ refers to Torah, as it is stated [

Proverbs 8:35] concerning Torah:

‘For whoever finds me finds life, etc.’;

thus, the expression ‘finds’ is appropriate with regard to Torah.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: “‘At the time of finding’ refers to death,”

for one should pray that, when his days are complete, he merit a pleasant and easy death, since there are different types of death [as explained below].

As it is stated [

Psalms 68:21]:

“For death there are occurrences”;

thus, the expression “finds” is appropriate with regard to death.

It was taught likewise:

that there are many types of death.

Nine hundred and three types of death were created in the world, as it is stated: “For death there are occurrences,” and the

word

“occurrences” has the numerical value of nine hundred and three;

nine hundred and three. —

The most difficult of them all

is the death of

askara , while

the easiest [

— the most comfortable]

of them all

is the death of

a kiss.

The death of

askara is like thorns in a ball of wool,

like thorns caught in tufts of wool,

when one pulls them out backward,

for when a person detaches the thorns and throws them backward, he cannot avoid pulling some of the wool out with them. So too with this death: the soul is, as it were, caught in the body, and detaching it causes pain to the body.

And some say:

There are those who say that the death of askara is

like removing a stopper from the mouth of the esophagus,

like thick ropes inserted into the narrow holes of a ship’s planks, which enter with difficulty because their diameter is equal to that of the hole. So too with this death, the soul separates from the body with pain and difficulty. But the death of

a kiss is like drawing a hair from milk,

like pulling a hair out of milk.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “‘At the time of finding’ refers to burial,”

for one should pray that he merit being brought to burial soon after his death.

Rabbi Ḥanina said: “What is the verse?”

From where do we learn this matter from the Writings? As it is stated [Job 3:22]:

“Who rejoice exceedingly and exult when they find a grave.”

Thus, the expression “find” is appropriate with regard to burial.

Rabba bar Rav Sheila said: This is what people commonly say:

For this reason people are accustomed to say:

“Let a person pray for mercy even until the final shovelful, in peace,”

that all his days should pass in peace, including the day of his burial, until the final covering of earth over his grave.

Mar Zutra said: “‘At the time of finding’ refers to a lavatory,”

which should be close to his home.

They say in the West

— in Eretz Yisrael:

“That of Mar Zutra is preferable to all of them,”

preferable to the other interpretations.

Rava said to Rafram bar Pappa: “Let our master tell us some of those excellent teachings that you stated in the name of Rav Ḥisda concerning synagogue matters,”

some of those fine teachings that you quoted in the name of Rav Ḥisda concerning matters of the synagogue.

He said to him,

Rafram bar Pappa said to Rava:

“This is what Rav Ḥisda said: What is the meaning of that which is written,

what is the interpretation of the verse [Psalms 87:2]:

‘The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob’? —

The Lord loves the gates distinguished in halakha,

places where Torah scholars gather and come to study Talmud, which leads to determining the halakha,

more than synagogues and houses of study. And this is

what

Rabbi

Ḥiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: ‘Since the day the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His world only the four cubits of halakha.’

And Abaye said: At first I would study inside the house,

at the beginning I would study in my house,

and pray in the synagogue,

and pray in the synagogue.

Once

I heard this

statement,

that Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: ‘Since the day the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His world only the four cubits

of halakha,’ I would pray only where I studied,

I would pray only in the place where I studied, that is, in my house. And likewise,

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi, although they had thirteen synagogues

thirteen synagogues

in Tiberias, did not pray

in them

but between the pillars, where they studied,

between the pillars of the house of study where they studied.

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: Great is

the one who fears Heaven

who enjoys the fruit of his labor, more than one who fears Heaven

who does not worry about his livelihood,

for concerning one who fears Heaven it is written [

Psalms 112:1]:

“Happy is the man who fears the Lord,” whereas concerning one who enjoys the fruit of his labor it is written [

Psalms 128:2]:

“When you eat the toil of your hands, you are happy and it is good for you.” “You are happy”

refers to

this world; “and it is good for you”

that is,

the World-to-Come. And

yet

concerning one who fears Heaven,

“happy is the man” is stated, but

“and it is good for you” is not written concerning him.

And

further

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: A person should always live in the place of his teacher, for

as long as

Shimi ben Gera

who was King Solomon’s teacher

was alive, Solomon did not marry Pharaoh’s daughter.

The Gemara raises an objection:

But it was taught: “He should not live

in the place of his teacher.”

The Gemara answers:

“It is not difficult: This

statement, that he should live near him, applies when he

submits to him,

accepting his teacher’s rebuke, whereas

this

statement, that he should not live there, applies when he

does not submit to him,

in which case it is better for him to distance himself from his teacher’s place, so that the teacher will not rebuke him and he will remain unwitting rather than deliberate in his wrongdoing.

Rav Huna bar Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Menaḥem, who said in the name of Rabbi Ami: What is the meaning of that which is written,

what is the interpretation of the verse [Isaiah 1:28]:

“And those who forsake the Lord shall perish”?

This refers to one who leaves a Torah scroll

when it is open even before they have begun reading,

and goes out

of the synagogue.

Rabbi Abbahu would go out

of the synagogue in the middle of the Torah reading

between one man and the next,

between one person called to the Torah and the next—that is, between the aliyot—for at that time the scroll is closed. This applies when he had already heard the Torah reading, when ten men remained in the synagogue, and he needed to leave for an urgent matter.

Rav Pappa raised a dilemma: Between one verse and the next, what is the law,

may one leave the synagogue between one verse and the next?

Teyku.

Rav Sheshet,

during the Torah reading,

would turn his face

to another side

and study. He said: “We

are engaged

in our matter, and they in theirs.”

And

further

Rav Huna bar Yehuda said that Rabbi Ami said: A person should always complete his passages together with the congregation:

he should read the weekly portion as the congregation reads it,

twice from the Scripture,

he should read the biblical text twice,

and

once

one

he should read the

translation

of the verse as Onkelos translated it.