Sotah 40a — the Talmud in English

In the blessing of the kohanim,

in the Ne'ila of the Day of Atonement

the Ne'ila prayer on the Day of Atonement,

what do they say?

?

Mar Zutra said, and some say: a tanna taught in a baraita

there are those who say that thus we learned in a baraita: A.

“For so shall the man who fears the Lord be blessed.”

B.

“May the Lord bless you”

“from Zion, and see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.”

C.

“And see sons to your sons; peace upon Israel.”

And the Gemara explains:

where

in which place in the blessing of the kohanim

does he say them

does the Israelite say these verses?

Rav Yosef said: between each blessing and blessing

of the kohanim, the Israelite says the verses.

And Rav Sheshet said: upon the mention of the Name

the Israelite says the verses.

Rav Mari and Rav Zevid disagreed about it:

One

of them

said: one verse corresponding to one verse

one verse opposite one verse: for each verse that the kohen says, the Israelite says one verse; either upon the mention of the Name or at the end of the verse, according to each one’s view.

And one

of them

said: for each verse he says all of them

for each verse that the kohen says, the Israelite says all three verses; either upon the mention of the Name or at the end of the verse.

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: anyone who says them

these verses

in the provinces is nothing but mistaken,

for these verses are said only in honor of the special Name that they say in the Temple.

Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said:

Know

that they should not say them in the provinces,

for

behold,

even in the Temple there would be no need to say them

even in the Temple it would not have been proper to say them; for:

Do you have a servant whom they bless, and he does not listen!?

Rabbi Aha bar Hanina said:

Know, for

on the contrary, even

in the provinces there would be a need to say them

they need to say them; for:

Do you have a servant whom they bless, and he does not show a pleasant countenance

and show that he acknowledges them and is pleased with them!?

Rabbi Abbahu said:

At first I would say them

at first I would say these verses, even though it was in the provinces, but

once I saw Rabbi Abba of Akko, that he did not say them

but once I saw that he did not say them,

I too did not say them

I too ceased saying them.

Since Rabbi Abbahu said, “At first I would say,” and changed his practice because of Rabbi Abba of Akko, the Gemara brings what Rabbi Abbahu said further; he began with “At first I would say,” and changed his practice following Rabbi Abba’s action.

And Rabbi Abbahu said:

At first I would say: I am humble

at first I thought of myself that I was humble; but

once I saw Rabbi Abba of Akko, that he would say one explanation and his interpreter would say another explanation

for his interpreter would proclaim to the public in a different manner from what Rabbi Abba had said to him,

and

nevertheless

he was not particular,

Rabbi Abba,

I said

I said to myself: if so,

I am not humble

I am not humble in comparison with Rabbi Abba.

The Gemara explains:

and what was Rabbi Abbahu’s humility

what was the humility of Rabbi Abbahu?

For the wife of Rabbi Abbahu’s interpreter said

the wife of Rabbi Abbahu’s interpreter, who would bend down and hear from Rabbi Abbahu and proclaim the lesson to the public,

to Rabbi Abbahu’s wife

to Rabbi Abbahu’s wife:

Our husband does not need yours at all

my husband does not need your husband at all, for he is as wise as he is,

and this one’s bending down and rising over him is merely honor that he does for him

and what he bends down to hear from your husband and rises above him is only because of the honor that he gives your husband.

His wife went and told Rabbi Abbahu

Rabbi Abbahu’s wife went and related to him that she had said such and such to her.

He said to her

Rabbi Abbahu said to his wife:

And what difference does it make to you

what concern is it to you if this is indeed so; in the end,

from me

and

from him the Exalted One is praised

from me and from him together His blessed Name is praised; and what concern is it to you whether I proclaim it to him, or whether he knows it on his own?

Furthermore,

there was another incident that demonstrated Rabbi Abbahu’s humility:

D.

The Sages considered appointing Rabbi Abbahu as their head first

the Sages decided to place Rabbi Abbahu at their head, but

once he saw Rabbi Abba of Akko, that creditors were pressing him

when he saw Rabbi Abba, whose creditors were pressing him—

he said to them

Rabbi Abbahu said to the Sages:

There is a great man

behold, there is a man here greater than I, and it is fitting that you appoint him over yourselves, for such was the practice: the Sages would give their money and tithe the one who stood at their head, so that he would be honored and his words would be heard.

The Gemara further brings an account of Rabbi Abbahu’s humility:

D.

Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba happened upon a certain place

the two of them happened upon a certain place, and they were honored to deliver a public lesson.

Rabbi Abbahu expounded aggada,

whereas

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba expounded a halakhic teaching

Rabbi Abbahu expounded words of aggada, and Rabbi Hiyya expounded a matter of halakha.

Everyone left Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba and went to Rabbi Abbahu

the public of listeners left Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba and went to hear Rabbi Abbahu’s lesson in aggada.

His mind was weakened

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba’s mind was weakened.

He said to him

Rabbi Abbahu said to Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, in order to appease his mind:

I shall give you a parable!

To what is the matter comparable? To two people,

one of whom

sells precious stones

whose price is high,

and

the other

sells assorted small merchandise

whose price is low; and

upon whom do people leap

people—

not upon the one who sells assorted small merchandise

the one who sells inexpensive things—!?

So too, people come to me not because of the importance of my words, but, on the contrary, because they are inexpensive.

Rabbi Abbahu added and performed an act in order to appease Rabbi Hiyya’s mind:

Every day

until that day,

he would accompany

him,

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba would accompany Rabbi Abbahu to his lodging

Rabbi Hiyya would accompany Rabbi Abbahu to his inn,

because of the honor of the emperor’s court

because of the honor of the king, for Rabbi Abbahu was held in favor by the royal court—

but

on that day

on the day on which the incident occurred,

Rabbi Abbahu accompanied Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba to his lodging

Rabbi Abbahu accompanied Rabbi Hiyya to his inn,

and even so, his mind was not settled by him

Rabbi Hiyya’s mind was not settled.

Here the Gemara returns to the matter with which the Gemara dealt at the beginning, and from one matter to another, in the same matter:

When the prayer leader says “

We give thanks,”

what do the people say:

Rav said,

this is what they say: “

We give thanks to You, Lord”

“our God, for our giving thanks to You,”

meaning: for Your having placed in our hearts to cleave to You and give thanks to You.

And Shmuel said,

this is what they say: “[We give thanks to You, Lord, our God]”

“God of all flesh, our Former, Former of creation, for our giving thanks to You.”

The Nehardeans say in the name of Rabbi Simai,

that this is what the public says: “[We give thanks to You, Lord our God, God of all flesh, our Former, Former of creation],”

“blessings and thanksgivings to Your great Name, for having given us life and sustained us, for our giving thanks to You.”

Rav Aha bar Yaakov concludes it—

after Rabbi Simai’s words—

thus:

[for having given us life and sustained us],

“so may You give us life and sustain us and gather our exiles to the courtyards of Your Sanctuary, to observe Your statutes and do Your will with a whole heart, for our giving thanks to You.”

Rav Pappa said: Therefore, let us say all of them

one should say everything that these amoraim said.

Rabbi Yitzhak said:

The fear of the public should always be upon you, for

the

kohanim

turn

their faces

they turn

toward the people, and

while

their backs are toward the Shekhina

the Holy Ark.

Rav Naḥman said, from here

you have a basis from which to learn that the fear of the public should always be upon you:

As it is written: “

And King David rose to his feet and said: Hear me, my brothers and my people”—

and this requires explanation:

if “

my brothers”

they are,

why

did he call them “

my people,”

which implies that he rules over them,

and if

he called them “

my people,”

why

did he call them “

my brothers”!?

And

Rabbi Elazar said:

Thus

David said to Israel:

If you listen to me

to be wholehearted toward the Omnipresent, then

“you are my brothers”;

but if not,

if you do not listen to me, then

“you are my people, and I rule you with a rod.”

We have thus learned that even the king has the fear of the public upon him when they are proper, and he calls them “my brothers” and not “my people.”

The Rabbis said, from here

one should learn that the fear of the public should always be upon you:

For the Rabbis taught: The kohanim are not permitted to ascend to the platform in their sandals, and this is one of the nine enactments that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted.

But

what is the reason

they do not ascend in their sandals? Is it

not because of “

the honor of the public,”

so that they will not see their sandals with the mud upon them while they raise their hands, and the hems of their robes do not again cover their sandals!?

Rav Ashi said: No

this is not the reason; rather:

There

it is because

perhaps the strap of his sandal will break

perhaps the strap of his sandal will break, and he will be embarrassed by it,

and

while his fellow kohanim are blessing the people,

then

he

goes to tie it

he sits to tie the strap,

and

because he is not blessing the people,

they say

the public says: Surely

he is the son of a divorced woman or the son of a woman released through halitza,

and he is not a kohen fit to ascend to the platform.

We learned in the Mishna: In the provinces he says it as three blessings,

but in the Temple, one blessing: