Pesachim 117b — the Talmud in English

Is it not that they disagree concerning this?

The tannaim in the two baraitot:

According to the one who says

in the words of Beit Shammai

“until ‘When the mother of children is joyful,’” he holds: “Halleluya”

which follows “When the mother of children is joyful,”

is the beginning of the chapter

of “When Israel went forth.” And therefore he did not state “until ‘When Israel went forth,’” [for he would have had to say until “Halleluya,” and we would not have known until which “Halleluya.” And see below the Gemara’s objection].

And according to the one who says

in the words of Beit Shammai

“until ‘When Israel went forth,’”

he holds:

“Halleluya”

is the end of the chapter

of the previous chapter, and therefore he did not state “until ‘When the mother of children is joyful’” [for he would have had to say “until ‘Halleluya’”].

And we reject this:

Rav Hisda explains according to his own reasoning: Everyone holds

“Halleluya”

is the end of the chapter.

The one who says

“until ‘When Israel went forth’”

is proper

as we said.

And the one who says

“until ‘When the mother of children is joyful’”

holds

“until—and the endpoint is included.”

And therefore he did not state “until ‘When Israel went forth,’” for then it would have been implied that “When Israel went forth” must also be said; rather, he stated “until ‘When the mother of children is joyful,’” which also is included in the recitation.

And we object:

Let him say

“until ‘Halleluya,’”

for “Halleluya” also must be said, since it is the end of a chapter and belongs to the previous chapter?

And if you would say

that for this reason he did not say so,

that not

we would

know which

“Halleluya”

is intended—which “Halleluya”?

It still is difficult:

Let him say “

until

‘the Halleluya of “When the mother of children is joyful”’?”

It is difficult!

But

Rabba bar Rav Huna explains according to his own reasoning: Everyone holds

“Halleluya”

is the beginning of the chapter.

The one who says

“until ‘When the mother of children is joyful’” is proper.

And the one who says

“until ‘When Israel went forth’”

holds

“until, but the endpoint is not included,”

and he could not state “until ‘When the mother of children is joyful,’” for then it would have been implied that it is not necessary to say “When the mother of children is joyful.”

And we object:

Let him say

“until ‘Halleluya,’

for now it is implied that one must say until “When Israel went forth,” and included in this is also “Halleluya,” yet “Halleluya” is the beginning of the chapter and it is not necessary to say it?

And if you would say

that for this reason he did not state so, because

not

we would

know which

“Halleluya”?

It still is difficult:

Let him say

“until ‘the Halleluya in ‘When Israel went forth’”?

It is difficult!

We learned in the Mishna:

And he concludes with the blessing of redemption.

Rava said:

The blessing of redemption that follows

the recitation of the Shema, and the Hallel

the blessing of redemption of Passover night, which he says after the first part of the Hallel [according to Rabbi Akiva’s view, who concludes “Who redeemed Israel”], its wording is

“Who redeemed Israel,”

in the past tense, for it recounts and praises the redemption of Israel that took place.

That of prayer,

the conclusion of the blessing of redemption in the Amida, its wording is

“Who redeems Israel,”

in the present tense.

What is the reason?

Because

they are prayers,

for we pray concerning the future.

Rabbi Zeira said: That of kiddush

At kiddush on Shabbat and festivals one says

“Who sanctified us with His commandments” [

“and commanded us,”

the Vilna Gaon deletes this, for it is not said in kiddush], since it is thanksgiving for what has already occurred.

That of prayer,

in the prayer of Shabbat and festivals one says

“Sanctify us with Your commandments.”

What is the reason?

Because

they are prayers,

since it is said in the middle of the prayer, it is appropriate to say it in the language of a request.

Rav Aha bar Yaakov said: And one must mention

the Exodus from Egypt in the kiddush of the day,

both in the kiddush over the cup on Shabbat and festivals, and in the blessing of the sanctity of the day in the Shabbat and festival prayer.

It is written here

“so that you shall remember the day

you went forth from the land of Egypt,”

and it is written there

“Remember the day of Shabbat, to sanctify it.”

And we derive by gzera shava: “remembering,” “remembering”—Shabbat from Passover. For on Shabbat also one must mention the Exodus from Egypt. And all the festivals are learned by “what do we find” from Passover [Rashbam].

Rabba bar Shila said: That of prayer,

in the blessing “The sprout of David” in the Amida, he concludes

“Who makes the horn of salvation flourish,”

for we request that He make the horn of salvation flourish for Israel.

That of the haftara,

in the haftara, in the blessing “Rejoice us in the kingship of the house of David Your anointed one,” he concludes

“Shield of David.”

“And I will make your name great, like the name of the great ones” [II Samuel 7:9],

which the prophet Nathan said to David from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed is He:

Rav Yosef taught: This is what they say

“Shield of David,”

just as they say “Shield of Abraham.”

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “And I will make you into a great nation,”

which the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Abraham—

this is what they say

“God of Abraham”

in the first blessing of the Amida.

“And I will bless you”—this is what they say

“God of Isaac.”

“And I will make your name great”—this is what they say

“God of Jacob.”

Could they conclude

the blessing

“with all of them”?

The verse states

“And you shall be a blessing”—with you they conclude!

For they say “Shield of Abraham”

and they do not conclude with all of them!

Rava said: I found the elders of Pumbedita,

Rav Yehuda and Rav Eina,

sitting and saying: On Shabbat, both in prayer,

in the prayer, in the blessing of the sanctity of the day,

and in kiddush,

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Shabbat.”

On a festival, both in prayer and in kiddush,

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons.”

And I said to them: On the contrary!

That of prayer, both on Shabbat and on a festival,

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel.”

In kiddush, on Shabbat,

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Shabbat.”

On a festival

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons.”

And I shall state my reason and your reason.

And I shall explain my reason and your reason.

Your reason: Shabbat, which is fixed and established,

for it is fixed and established from the six days of Creation and does not depend on the fixing of the month, through which the court determines when the new month is, therefore

both in prayer and in kiddush

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Shabbat,”

and he does not mention the sanctity of Israel.

A festival, which Israel fixes

when the festival will occur by means of

intercalating the months

intercalating the month,

and fixes the second,

determining in which year there will be two Adars. Therefore he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons,”

since the sanctity of the festivals depends on the sanctity of Israel.

My reason: Prayer, which is performed by the many,

since they pray as a public, he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel”

because of the honor of the public.

Kiddush, which is performed by an individual,

for the individual says it in his home,

on Shabbat

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Shabbat.”

On a festival

he concludes

“Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons,”

in accordance with the reason explained above.

And we object to Rava:

That is not so!

For

is prayer not sometimes performed by an individual?

And is kiddush not sometimes performed by the public?

In the synagogue and at a wedding feast.

And Rava holds: Follow the primary form,

for the primary form of prayer is by the public, and the primary form of kiddush is by an individual.

Ulla bar Rav went down before Rava,

he led the prayer before Rava on Shabbat or on a festival.

He said it like the elders of Pumbedita, and Rava did not say to him

anything

at all.

It follows,

it is evident that

Rava retracted

from his dispute with the elders of Pumbedita.

Rav Natan, the father of Rav Huna son of Rav Natan, went down before Rav Pappa.

He said it like the elders of Pumbedita, and Rav Pappa praised him.

Ravina said: I happened to come to Sura before Marimar, and the communal prayer-leader went down before him and said it like the elders of Pumbedita, and everyone was silencing him,

the public silenced him so that he would not say it like the elders of Pumbedita, but like Rava.

He said to them

Marimar:

“Leave him alone! The halakha is like the elders of Pumbedita!”

And they no longer silenced him

any further.

Mishna:

They pour for him the third cup,

and then

he blesses over his food,

the Grace after Meals, and he drinks the cup after the Grace after Meals.

The

fourth cup—over it he completes the Hallel

which he began before the meal.

And over it he says the blessing of the song.

And in the Gemara it explains what this is.

Between these cups,

between the first cup and the second, or between the second and the third,

if he wishes to drink

wine,

he may drink,

for the wine before the meal or during the meal is not intoxicating.

But

between

the

third cup and the fourth, he may not drink,

so that he will not become intoxicated and be unable to complete the Hallel.

Gemara:

Rav Hanan said to Rava: Infer from this

from our Mishna that

the Grace after Meals requires a cup!

For the third cup comes only for the sake of the Grace after Meals.

He said to him

Rava: In truth, during the rest of the days of the year a cup is not required for the Grace after Meals. And here too, the cup does not come for the sake of the Grace after Meals. Rather,

the Sages instituted four cups

to drink on the night of the seder, because of

the manner of freedom.

And

each one and one—we perform a mitzva with it,

it is fitting that he perform a mitzva with it [over the first cup he says kiddush, over the second he says the Haggada, over the third he says the Grace after Meals, and over the fourth he completes the Hallel].

We learned in the Mishna:

“The fourth cup—over it he completes the Hallel, and over it he says the blessing of the song.”