Shabbat 10a — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

There,

at the time of the afternoon prayer,

drunkenness is not common,

for it is not customary to become drunk during the hours of the day; therefore, if he began the meal, he need not interrupt. But

here,

at the time of the evening prayer, which is at night,

drunkenness is common,

and he may become drunk during his meal. Therefore, if it were an obligation, we would trouble him to interrupt and pray.

Alternatively: With regard to the afternoon prayer,

he need not interrupt, since

its time is fixed for him

until nightfall; therefore

he is apprehensive

and takes care not to delay the time,

and he will not come to be negligent.

But

with regard to the evening prayer,

if it were an obligation, he would interrupt,

since the entire night is the time of the evening prayer.

Therefore

he is not apprehensive

that the time might pass

and he will come to be negligent

and lose the prayer.

Rav Sheshet raised an objection

to Abaye: Why, if he loosened his belt, need he not interrupt? For even if the evening prayer is optional, is it

a trouble

to return and

tighten his belt?!

And furthermore,

he challenged him: Why does he need to gird himself again?

Let him stand

like this and pray [

and pray ].

And we answer: He must gird himself before he prays,

because it is stated: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

For one must adorn oneself when standing before the Holy One, blessed is He, in prayer. And a belt is a matter of adornment.

Rava bar Rav Huna put on his socks [

important stockings on his feet ]

and

then

prayed.

Because of

what he said: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Rava cast off [

threw ]

his cloak

from upon himself before prayer, so that he would not appear as an important person,

and clasped [

embraced ]

his hands

with his fingers, like a person distressed from fear of his master,

and prayed. Because he said:

One must stand in prayer

like a servant before his master.

That is, he conducted himself contrary to the practice of Rava bar Rav Huna, who adorned himself for prayer.

Rav Ashi said: I saw Rav Kahana

who observed the practice of both of them. And this was his practice:

When there is distress in the world—

he casts off his cloak, clasps his hands, and prays.

And

he said

to explain his conduct: At a time of distress, one should pray

like a servant before his master.

But

when there is peace

in the world,

he dresses

in his garments,

and covers himself

with his cloak,

and wraps himself

in a prayer shawl—that is, in the manner of adornment—and then prays. For he

said: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Rava saw Rav Hamnuna prolonging his prayer. He said

about him:

“They abandon eternal life and engage in temporal life!”

For the Torah brings him to life in the World to Come, which is eternal, whereas prayer concerns the needs of temporal life, such as healing, peace, and sustenance.

But he [

Rav Hamnuna ]

held: The time of prayer is separate and the time of Torah is separate!

And one should not shorten the time appropriate for prayer on account of Torah study.

Rabbi Yirmeya was sitting before Rav Zeira, and they were engaged in a halakhic discussion. It grew late [

the day was delayed and the time arrived ]

to pray, and Rabbi Yirmeya was hurrying [

hastening ]

Rabbi Yirmeya

to interrupt the study and pray.

Rabbi Zeira applied to him

the verse: Also

“He who turns his ear away from hearing Torah—even his prayer is an abomination!”

And we return to the first matter:

From when is the beginning of the judgment

that we learned in it that if he began the judgment, he need not interrupt for the afternoon prayer? And

Rav Yirmeya and Rav Yona answered this.

One said: From when the judges wrap themselves!

For out of awe of the Divine Presence they would wrap themselves in their prayer shawls and cover their eyes, so that they would not turn their heads here and there. They did this so that their minds would be free for them.

And one said: From when the litigants begin with their claims!

And we explain:

And they do not disagree. This

which says “from when the litigants begin,” speaks of a case such as

they had been engaged and had come to a different judgment

earlier, and had already completed it, and now they come to adjudicate a new judgment. For in this case it cannot be said “from when they wrap themselves,” since they are already wrapped.

And this

which says “from when they wrap themselves,” speaks

when they had not been engaged and had not come to a judgment

earlier. For in such a case, the wrapping is the beginning of the judgment.

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi were sitting and studying between the pillars

of the house of study, upon which the upper story rested.

And at every hour they would strike the crossbar of the door [

strike the door bolt ]

and say: If there is

someone

who has a case, let him enter and come

here, and we shall adjudicate his case! For judgment is superior to Torah study. [Tosafot].

Rav Hisda and Rabba bar Rav Huna would sit in judgment all day,

and because they fasted all day until they completed judging, since they held that it is not proper for a judge to interrupt while he is sitting in judgment,

their

hearts grew faint

Rav Hiyya bar Rav of Difti taught them,

in order to prevent them from fasting, that which is taught:

“And all the people stood over Moses from morning until evening.” Would it enter your mind that Moses sat and judged the entire day?

If so,

when was his Torah done?

Rather, the verse departs from its plain meaning. And Scripture did not employ the expression “from morning until evening”

except to tell you: Any judge who judges a true judgment in its truth

even for one hour, Scripture accounts it to him as though he became a partner with the Holy One, blessed is He, in the work of Creation.

For

it is written here, “And all the people stood over Moses from morning until evening,” and it is written there,

in the account of Creation,

“And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

And we inquire concerning this: Since the judge is not obligated to sit in judgment the entire day,

until when do they sit in judgment?

And we answer:

Until the time of the meal.

That is, the sixth hour, which is the time of the meal of Torah scholars, as brought below. [Rif and Maimonides, chapter 3 of the Laws of the Sanhedrin, halakha 1].

Rav Hama said: What is the verse

from which we derive this?

For it is written: “Woe to you, land, whose king is a youth, and whose princes eat in the morning;

happy are you, land, whose king is the son of free men, and whose princes eat at the appointed time, in strength and not in drinking.”

And this verse concerns judges, for the judge is called a king, as it is written: “A king establishes the land through judgment.” And this is its meaning: Happy are you, land, whose judges engage

in the strength of Torah and not in the drinking of wine.

That is, they delay their meal because they engage beforehand in judgment according to Torah.

The Sages taught: The first hour

of the day—

the food of Ludeans!

For they are a famished nation of man-eaters. The

second

—

the food of robbers!

For they too are famished. But because they are awake at night, they are still sleeping during the first hour and eat during the second. [Rashi, Pesachim 12b]. The

third

—

the food of heirs!

For they precede their meal before everyone, since, having inherited great wealth, they are not occupied with worrying about and searching for their sustenance. The

fourth

—

the food of laborers. The

And we challenge this:

Is this so? For Rav Pappa said:

The

fourth hour is the time of the meal for every person!

And we answer: Rather, reverse it and

teach: The fourth is the food of every person, and the fifth is the food of laborers.

And we return to the continuation of the beraita: The

sixth

—

the food of Torah scholars.

From here onward, his eating is

like throwing a stone into a wineskin!

For it benefits the body nothing.

Abaye said: And we said this

that it does not benefit

only

where

he tasted nothing in the morning. But

if

he tasted something in the morning, we have no concern!

For then, even if he delays his eating until after midday, it still benefits the body.

Rav Adda bar Ahava said: A person may pray his prayer in a bathhouse!

A challenge was raised:

There were three rooms in their bathhouses. The inner room, in which they sweated and bathed; the middle room, into which they entered after bathing and where they put on their robe; and afterward they went out to the outer room to complete dressing and rest from the exertion of the bathhouse.

And it was taught:

One who enters the bathhouse—

a place where people stand dressed,

which is the outer room—

there are Scripture and prayer!

That is, it is permitted to recite the Shema there and to pray.

And it is unnecessary to say

that it is permitted there to

offer a greeting.

And

so too, he

puts on

there

tefillin, and it is unnecessary to say

that if he had already put them on outside,

he does not remove

them, since the outer room does not have the status of a bathhouse at all.

A place where people stand

there

naked and dressed,

which is the middle room in the bathhouse, has partially the status of a bathhouse. Therefore

there one may offer a greeting [even though “peace” is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed is He], but

[even though “peace” is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He], but

there is no Scripture

of the recitation of the Shema

or prayer. And he does not remove

the

tefillin

if he had already put them on. But

he does not put them on

there initially.

A place where people stand

there

naked,

which is the inner room in the bathhouse,

there one may not offer a greeting,

because this is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed is He.

And it is unnecessary to say

that it is forbidden

to engage in Scripture and prayer. And he removes

the

tefillin

even if he had already put them on,

and it is unnecessary to say

that if he is holding them in his hand,

he does not put them on

initially.

And this is difficult for Rav Adda bar Ahava, for since he stated without qualification, “A person may pray in a bathhouse,” it implies that he permits it in all the rooms. [Ran].

And we answer:

When Rav Adda bar Ahava said

that it is permitted to pray there,

he was speaking of a bathhouse in which there is no person.

The prohibition of Scripture and prayer applies only when there are naked people there, because it is forbidden to say a sacred matter opposite nakedness.

And we reject this:

But Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said: The bathhouse that they said

is forbidden for a sacred matter—is forbidden

even though there is no person in it

who is naked. For since the practice is to stand there naked, it has already been established as a disgraceful place.

And likewise,

the lavatory that they said

is forbidden for a sacred matter—is forbidden

even though there is no excrement in it!

For it had already been cleared from there.

And we answer:

Rather, when Rav Adda

bar Ahava said that it is permitted to pray in a bathhouse—

he was speaking of a new one,

which no person had yet bathed in, and which had merely been designated for use as a bathhouse. Therefore it did not yet have the status of a bathhouse.

And again we challenge:

But

even in this case

Ravina raised the question: If they designated a lavatory

but had not yet actually used it,

what is the law?

Do we say

“designation has effect”

and the law of a lavatory, in which a sacred matter is forbidden, has already taken effect,

or

perhaps

“designation has no effect,”

and it is not forbidden merely because it was designated, until they use it? And Ravina’s question was not resolved.

And we conclude concerning our challenge:

Is it not the same law with regard to a bathhouse,

that there too one should be uncertain whether it is forbidden even when new? And if so, Ravina should have resolved his uncertainty from what Rav Adda said [which was before him], “A person may pray in a bathhouse,” that “designation has no effect,” since he is speaking of a new one.