Rosh Hashanah 35a — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

When Rabbi Abba came up from the sea—

when Rabbi Abba sailed by ship across the sea [to the Land of Israel], and returned—

he explained it:

he explained Rabbi Yohanan’s words according to what he had heard from the sages of the Land of Israel:

What Rabbi Yohanan said:

The Sages agree with Rabban Gamliel—

it is speaking

of the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and of Yom Kippur

of the Jubilee, for even one who is proficient fulfills his obligation through the repetition of the prayer by the prayer leader. And the reason will be explained below.

And what Rabbi Yohanan said:

The halakha

is according to Rabban Gamliel, from which one must infer from his words,

it follows that they disagree—

that the Sages still disagree with Rabban Gamliel—it is speaking

of the blessings of the entire year.

For in this matter the Sages hold that the prayer leader does not discharge the obligation of one who is proficient.

And we object:

That is not so!

This is not so. For:

But he said,

for he said,

Rabbi Hana of Tzippori

[from the city of Tzippori]

said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: The halakha is according to Rabban Gamliel with regard to the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and of Yom Kippur

of the Jubilee. And from here it follows that even with regard to the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the Sages disagree with Rabban Gamliel!

And therefore the Gemara answers in another manner:

Rather, Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Who are the ones who agree

who are the sages about whom Rabbi Yohanan said that they agree with Rabban Gamliel?—

It is Rabbi Meir,

and not the other Sages.

And what Rabbi Yohanan said

the halakha

is according to Rabban Gamliel, from which one must infer from his words—

it follows that they disagree—

that those who disagree with Rabban Gamliel—these are

the Rabbis,

the other Sages, apart from Rabbi Meir, who still maintain their disagreement and did not agree with Rabban Gamliel.

For it was taught:

With

the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and of Yom Kippur

of the Jubilee,

the prayer leader discharges

the obligation of

the many,

and even those who are proficient,

the words of Rabbi Meir,

who agreed with Rabban Gamliel only with regard to the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

And the Sages say: Just as the prayer leader is obligated

to pray himself,

so each and every individual

who is proficient in prayer

is obligated

to pray himself.

And the Gemara explains the reason of Rabbi Meir, who distinguishes between the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the prayer of all the days of the year:

And we inquire about it:

What is different about these,

why are the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and of Yom Kippur of the Jubilee different from the blessings of the entire year?

If you say it is because there are many verses,

if we explain that there are many verses in the additional offerings of Rosh Hashanah and of Yom Kippur of the Jubilee, because there the verses of the additional-offering sacrifices and the verses of kingship, remembrances, and shofarot are mentioned. And they were concerned that individuals would err in them because they are numerous, and therefore ordained that even those who are proficient fulfill their obligation through the repetition of the prayer by the prayer leader.

It is impossible to say so. For:

But he said,

for he said,

Rav Ḥananel said in the name of Rav: Once

a person

says

in the additional prayer: “We shall perform and bring before You [the additional offerings] according to the commandment of Your will,

and

as

it is written in Your Torah, saying,”—

he no longer needs

to recite the verses of the additional offerings!

Rather,

the reason that the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur of the Jubilee differ from the prayers of the other days of the year is

because the blessings are extensive,

for the blessings themselves are nine, and they are lengthy and confusing, and no one is proficient in them.

And therefore they ordained that even those who are proficient fulfill their obligation through the repetition of the prayer by the prayer leader.

The body of the matter.

Now the Gemara discusses the substance of the words of Rav Ḥananel in the name of Rav, which were mentioned above:

Rav Ḥananel said in the name of Rav: Once

a person

says

in the additional prayer: “We shall perform and bring before You [the additional offerings] according to the commandment of Your will,

and

as

it is written in Your Torah, saying,”—

he no longer needs

to recite the verses of the additional offerings.

They understood from this

the members of the academy understood that

this matter applies to an individual,

that the statement applies specifically to the prayer of an individual.

But with a congregation—

it was not stated,

this law was not stated. Rather, with a congregation one must recite the verses of the additional offering.

It was stated

in the beit-midrash:

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: Whether an individual or a congregation, once he has said

in his prayer

“And it is written in Your Torah, saying,” \-

he no longer needs

to recite the verses.

And since we learned above in the words of Rabban Gamliel that they instituted the silent prayer so that the prayer leader would arrange his prayer in his mouth, the Gemara brings a statement of Rabbi Eleazar of a similar nature:

Rabbi Eleazar said: A person should always arrange his prayer,

he should review his prayer, so that he will not become confused,

and

only

afterward should he pray.

Rabbi Abba said: The statement of Rabbi Eleazar is reasonable with regard to the blessings of Rosh Hashanah, and of Yom Kippur, and of the festivals,

appointed times.

But

with regard to the prayer

of the entire year—

no,

he does not need to review it before praying, because presumably it is fluent in his mouth and he will not err.

That is not so!

But there is a contradiction to the words of Rabbi Abba:

But Rav Judah would arrange his prayer, and pray.

He would review his prayer until it was arranged in his mouth, and only afterward would he pray!

And we answer:

It is different;

Rav Judah differs from other people. For Rav Judah was occupied with his learning, and he would complete his learning every thirty days, and only then would he pray.

And

since he prayed from thirty days to thirty days—

it is comparable to the prayers of the festivals.

Since he waited thirty days between one prayer and the next, this is like the prayer of the festivals, concerning which there is concern that during those thirty days the order of the prayer would be forgotten by him, and it would not be fluent upon his tongue.

And now the Gemara discusses the view of Rabban Gamliel, who holds that the prayer leader discharges through his prayer even the obligation of individuals who are proficient in the order of the prayer:

Rav Aḥa bar Avirah said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida: Rabban Gamliel would discharge the obligation even of

the

people in the fields,

who do not hear the prayer leader, and nevertheless fulfill their obligation through his prayer.

And

from the wording of Rav Aḥa bar Avirah [who said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida] “even the people in the fields,” it is implied that

it is not necessary to say

that he discharges the obligation of

those who are standing here,

for it is obvious that the prayer leader discharges the obligation of the people who are in the city and not in the fields, even when they are not in the synagogue.

And we wonder:

On the contrary!

It is more reasonable to discharge the obligation of the people in the fields than that of the people of the city. For

these,

the people in the fields,

are coerced,

they are prevented from coming to the synagogue, since they are outside the city, whereas

these,

the people of the city,

are not coerced,

for they are near the synagogue and can come!

And there is proof for the matter:

For Abba, the son of Rav Binyamin bar Ḥiyya, taught

a beraita: Even though the people in the fields are blessed by the priestly blessing, nevertheless

the people who are behind the priests—

are not included in the blessing,

because they can come before the priests, and the priests will turn toward them and bless them.

And therefore, if they did not come, they are not included in the blessing.

And from here we learn that even with regard to fulfilling one’s obligation through the repetition of the prayer by the prayer leader, it is more reasonable to discharge the obligation of the people in the fields, who cannot come, than to discharge that of the people of the city, who could have come but did not!

Rather, when

he came,

Ravin

from the Land of Israel to Babylonia,

he said

in the name of

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi:

Thus

Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said:

Rabban Gamliel did not discharge the obligation

of one who does not hear the repetition of the prayer by the prayer leader,

but

only of the

people in the fields.

What is the reason?—

Because they are coerced by their work,

because they are coerced by their work in the field and cannot come to the synagogue.

But

a person who is found

in the city

and did not come to the synagogue—

does not

fulfill his obligation through the prayer of the prayer leader.

We shall return to you, chapter Yom Tov, and the tractate Rosh Hashanah is completed