Berakhot 8a — the Talmud in English

What is the meaning of that which is written,

what is said: [Psalms 69:14]

“But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at a time of favor,”

when

is that

“time of favor”?

At the time when the community prays.

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: From here,

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

“Thus said the Lord

at a time of favor I answered you,”

that is, at the time when the community prays and there is a time of favor, then “I answered you” also applies to an individual.

Rav Aḥa bar Ḥanina said: From here,

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

“Behold, God is mighty and does not despise,”

“mighty” in the plural form, 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 many were with me,”

and its explanation is: because the prayer was “among many,” “they were with me,” at the time when I prayed.

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

It was taught likewise: 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 so on.

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

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

in words of peace, namely

in Torah,

and in acts of kindness

and prays with the community,

I consider

it on his account as though he redeemed Me

and My children

from among the nations of the world.

Further concerning prayer in a synagogue:

Reish Lakish said: Whoever has a synagogue in his city

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

As it is stated [A0111] [Jeremiah 12:4]:

“Thus said the Lord concerning all My bad neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave My people Israel,” “inheritance” means synagogues,

and the “bad 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 mentioned]:

“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 elders

Jewish elderly men

in Babylonia.

Rabbi Yoḥanan wondered

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 fathers” [Deuteronomy 11:21]

it is written,

so the promise of longevity is only in the Land of Israel,

but not outside the Land.

Once they told him

that these elders

rise early

and stay late in the synagogue,

remaining for a long time in the synagogue: they come early in the morning for the morning prayer, and remain late at night for the evening prayer. His wonder was removed,

and he said: This is what benefits them,

this matter benefited them by giving them longevity —

just

as

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to his sons

[to his children]:

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

come early in the morning for the morning prayer, and likewise remain late for the evening prayer at night,

so that your lives may be prolonged,

so that you may lengthen your days.

Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina said: What is the verse,

where do we find this matter in the Writings, that dwelling in a synagogue brings longevity? As it is stated [Proverbs 8:34]:

“Fortunate is the man who listens to Me, to watch daily at My doors, to guard the doorposts of My entrances,”

“My doors” are the doors of the synagogue and the beit-midrash,

and it is written afterward,

and in the following verse it says:

“For whoever finds Me finds life.”

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

The Gemara raises an objection to this:

“Two entrances”—does this enter your mind?!

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

Rather, say

that he should enter into the synagogue by

the measure

of the width of

two entrances and afterward pray,

so that he should not sit close to the entrance and appear as though remaining in the synagogue is a burden upon 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 the time of finding,”

and its explanation is that he should pray that what he requires will be available to him at the time of need. But it is not explained what need is being discussed. Before us are five explanations of which need the verse concerns.

Rabbi Ḥanina said: “The time of finding” refers to a wife,

that he should find his match at the time of need,

as it is stated [A0248][Proverbs 18:22]:

in Proverbs 18:22:

“He who finds a wife finds good,”

so 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 married a woman,

they would say to him thus:

they would ask him the following: Was the match

“a finding” or “a find”?

Their intention was to ask whether he had “found” a good woman, as

it is written: “He who finds a wife finds good and obtains favor from the Lord.”

Or is she

“a find”

as

it is written [A0264][Ecclesiastes 7:26]:

in Ecclesiastes 7:26:

“And I find the woman more bitter than death,

the woman, etc.”

Rabbi Natan says: “Le'et motza” is “Torah,” as it is stated [

Proverbs 8:35] concerning the Torah:

“For he who finds me finds life, etc.”,

thus the expression “finds” is appropriate regarding Torah.

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: “Le'et motza” is “death,”

that he should pray that when his days are completed he merit a good and easy death, since there are various types of death [as explained below].

As it is stated [

Psalms 68:21]:

“To death are the goings-out,”

thus the expression “finds” is appropriate regarding 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: “To death are the goings-out,” and

the word

“goings-out” has the numerical value of this,

nine hundred and three. —

The harshest of them all

is the death of

askara ;

the easiest

— the easy one —

of them all

is the death of

a kiss.

Death of

askara resembles a thorn in a bundle of wool,

like thorns caught in tufts of wool,

which are pulled out backward,

for when a person detaches the thorns and throws them backward, it is impossible that he will not detach wool along with them. So too with this death: the soul is, as it were, caught in the body, and its detachment causes pain to the body.

And some say,

there are those who say that the death of askara is

like corks in the mouth of the esophagus,

like thick ropes that are thrust into narrow holes in the boards of a ship, which enter with difficulty because their size is the measure of the hole; so too in this death, the soul separates from the body with pain and difficulty. Whereas the death of

a kiss resembles extracting a hair from milk,

like pulling a hair out of milk.

Rabbi Yohanan said: “Le'et motza” is “burial,”

that he should pray that he merit coming to burial close to his death.

Rabbi Hanina 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, who exult when they find a grave.”

Thus the expression “finds” is appropriate regarding burial.

Rabba bar Rav Shila said: This is what people say,

because of this people are accustomed to say:

A person should ask for mercy even until the final shovel-load, in peace,

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

Mar Zutra said: “Le'et motza” is “a privy,”

that it should be near his house.

They say in the West —

in the Land of Israel:

This of Mar Zutra is preferable to all of them,

preferable to the other interpretations.

Rava said to Rafram bar Pappa: Let the master tell us some of those fine teachings that you said in the name of Rav Hisda concerning matters of the synagogue,

from those excellent matters that you said in the name of Rav Hisda concerning synagogue matters.

He said to him

— Rafram bar Pappa to Rava:

Thus said Rav Hisda: What is the meaning of that which is written,

what is the meaning 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 that leads to the determination of halakha,

more than synagogues and study halls, and this is

what

Rabbi

Hiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: From 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 used to study within the house,

at first I would study inside my house,

and pray in the synagogue,

and pray in the synagogue.

Once

I heard this

teaching,

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

of halakha alone,” 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, even though 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 study hall where they studied.

And Rabbi Hiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: Greater is

the one who fears Heaven

who enjoys the fruit of his toil than the one who fears Heaven

who does not worry about his livelihood,

for concerning the one who fears Heaven it is written [

Psalms 112:1]:

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

Psalms 128:2]:

“When you eat the toil of your hands, you are praiseworthy and it is good for you”; “

you are praiseworthy” means

in this world, “and it is good for you”

means

in the World to Come, and

however,

concerning one who fears Heaven “

praiseworthy is the man” is stated, but

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

And

further

Rabbi Hiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: A person should always dwell in the place of his master, for

so long as

Shimei ben Gera

who was Solomon the king’s master was

alive, Solomon did not marry Pharaoh’s daughter.

The Gemara raises an objection:

But it was taught: “He should not dwell

in the place of his master.”

The Gemara answers:

It is not difficult: This

which said that he should dwell with him refers to a situation

where he is submissive to him,

to his master, to accept his rebuke; whereas

this

which said “he should not dwell” refers to a situation

where he is not submissive,

in which case it is better that he distance himself from the place of his master, so that he will not rebuke him, and he will be inadvertent rather than intentional.

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

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

“And those who forsake the Lord shall perish”?

This is one who leaves a Torah scroll

when it is open and even before they began reading,

and goes out

of the synagogue.

Rabbi Abahu would go out,

he would leave the synagogue in the middle of the Torah reading,

between one man and another,

between one person called to the Torah and another, that is, between the readings, because then the scroll is not open; and this means when he had already heard the Torah reading, there were ten people in the synagogue, and he needed to leave for a pressing need.

Rav Pappa raised a question: Between one verse and another, what is

between one verse and another, is it permitted to leave the synagogue?

Teyku.

Rav Sheshet

during the Torah reading

would turn his face

to another side

and study. He said: “We

are occupied

with our matter, and they with their matter.”

And

further

Rav Huna bar Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Ami: A person should always complete his sections together with the congregation,

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

twice Scripture,

he should read the Scripture twice,

and

once

one

he should read

the translation

of the verse as Onkelos translated it.