Rosh Hashanah 35a (לה.) — 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 Eretz Yisrael] and returned,

he explained it

, explaining Rabbi Yohanan’s statement on the basis of what he had heard from the scholars of Eretz Yisrael:

What Rabbi Yohanan said:

The Sages agree with Rabban Gamliel

—this refers to

the blessings of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur

of the Jubilee, for in those blessings even one who is proficient fulfills his obligation through the repetition of the prayer leader. The reason will be explained below.

And what Rabbi Yohanan said:

The halakha

is in accordance with Rabban Gamliel, from which it may be inferred

that they disagree

, that the Sages still disagree with Rabban Gamliel—this refers to

the blessings of the entire year

. For in this regard, the Sages maintain that the prayer leader does not fulfill the obligation on behalf of one who is proficient.

And we challenge this:

No!

That is not so. For:

But he said

, Rabbi

Hana the Tzipporite

[from the city of Tzippori]

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

of the Jubilee. This indicates that even with regard to the blessings of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the Sages disagree with Rabban Gamliel!

Therefore, the Gemara offers another explanation:

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

, the Sages of 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 in accordance with Rabban Gamliel, from which it may be inferred

that they disagree—those who disagree with Rabban Gamliel are

the Sages

,

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

As it was taught: In

the

blessings of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur

of the Jubilee,

the prayer leader fulfills

the obligation of

the community

, even that of those who are proficient;

these are the words of Rabbi Meir,

who agreed with Rabban Gamliel only with regard to the blessings of Rosh HaShana 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 Rabbi Meir’s reason for distinguishing between the blessings of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur and the prayer of the entire year:

We considered this:

What is different about these

, why are the blessings of Rosh HaShana and 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 prayers of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur of the Jubilee, because the verses concerning the additional offerings and the verses of Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofarot are recited there—and they were concerned that individuals might err in them because they are numerous, and therefore instituted that even those who are proficient fulfill their obligation through the repetition of the prayer leader—

It is impossible to say this. For:

But he said

, Rabbi

Ḥananel said in the name of Rav: Once

a person

has said

in the additional prayer, “We shall perform and offer before You [the additional offerings] in accordance with the command 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 HaShana and Yom Kippur of the Jubilee differ from the prayers of the rest of the year is

because the blessings are extensive

, for there are nine blessings themselves, and they are lengthy and liable to cause confusion, and no one is proficient in them.

Therefore, they instituted that even those who are proficient fulfill their obligation through the repetition of the prayer leader.

The Gemara now returns to the matter itself

. The Gemara now discusses the substance of the statement of Rav Ḥananel in the name of Rav, which was mentioned above:

Rav Ḥananel said in the name of Rav: Once

a person

has said

in the additional prayer, “We shall perform and offer before You [the additional offerings] in accordance with the command 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 initially understood

, the students of the academy understood, that

this applies only to an individual

, that this ruling was stated specifically with regard to the prayer of an individual.

But with regard to the community—

it was not stated

, this ruling was not stated. Rather, when praying as a community, one must recite the verses of the additional offerings.

It was stated

in the beit-midrash:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Both an individual and a community, once one has said

in his prayer

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

he no longer needs

to recite the verses.

And apropos of what we learned above in the words of Rabban Gamliel, that they instituted the silent prayer so that the prayer leader could arrange his prayer in his mouth, the Gemara cites a statement of Rabbi Elazar along similar lines:

Rabbi Elazar said: A person should always arrange his prayer

, reviewing his prayer so that he will not become confused,

and

only

afterward should he pray.

Rabbi Abba said: Rabbi Elazar’s statement is reasonable with regard to the blessings of Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and the occasional prayers

, the prayers of the festivals.

But

with regard to the prayer

of the entire year—

no

, it is not necessary to review it before praying, because presumably it is familiar to him and he will not err.

No!

There is a contradiction to Rabbi Abba’s words:

But Rav Yehuda 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:

Rav Yehuda is different

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

And

since he would pray once every thirty days—

it is comparable to an occasional prayer

. Since he waited thirty days between one prayer and the next, it is like the prayer of the festivals, regarding which there is concern that during those thirty days he might have forgotten the order of the prayer and it would no longer be familiar to his tongue.

The Gemara now discusses the opinion of Rabban Gamliel, who maintains that the prayer leader fulfills the obligation through his prayer even on behalf of individuals who are proficient in the order of the prayer:

Rav Aḥa bar Avira said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: Rabban Gamliel would fulfill 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 Rav Aḥa bar Avira’s wording [when he said this 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 fulfills the obligation of

those who are here

, meaning that it is obvious that the prayer leader fulfills the obligation on behalf of the people who are in the city rather than in the fields, even when they are not in the synagogue.

And we raise an objection:

On the contrary!

It is more reasonable to exempt the people in the fields than the people in the city. For

these

, the people in the fields,

are prevented by circumstances

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

these

, the people in the city,

are not prevented by circumstances

, since they are close to the synagogue and can come!

And there is proof for this:

For Abba, son of Rav Binyamin bar Ḥiyya, taught

a beraita: Although the people in the fields are included in the blessing of the priests, 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.

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 leader, it is more reasonable to exempt the people in the fields, who cannot come, than to exempt the people in the city, who could come but did not!

Rather, when

he came,

Ravin

from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia,

he said

in the name of

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi

as follows: This is what

Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said:

Rabban Gamliel did not fulfill the obligation

on behalf of one who does not hear the repetition of the prayer leader,

but

only on behalf of

the people in the fields.

What is the reason?—

Because they are prevented by their work

, since they are compelled by their work in the fields and cannot come to the synagogue.

But

a person who is

in the city

and did not come to the synagogue—

does not

fulfill his obligation through the prayer of the prayer leader.

We have completed Chapter Yom Tov, and the tractate Rosh HaShana is concluded