Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 2:4

משנה: הַקּוֹרֵא אֶת שְׁמַע וְלֹא הִשְׁמִיעַ לְאָזְנוֹ (רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר) יָצָא. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר לֹא יָצָא. קָרָא וְלֹא דִיקְדֵּק בְּאוֹתִיּוֹתֶיהָ רִבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר יָצָא רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר לֹא יָצָא. הַקּוֹרֵא לְמַפְרֵעַ לֹא יָצָא. קָרָא וְטָעָה יַחְזוֹר לְמָקוֹם שֶׁטָּעָה. MISHNAH: He who recited the Shema‘ and did not make his ear hear, (Rebbi Yehudah says that)¹⁵³In the separate Mishnah at the start of the chapter (fol. 4a), as well as in most Mishnah and Babli manuscripts, the words in parenthesis are missing. However, in some manuscripts both of Mishnah and Babli, the words appear. It seems from the Halakhah that the editors of the Yerushalmi did not read the words in parenthesis and, maybe, considered the full text as a baraita. A similar instance appears in the Berakhot.15a">Babli (15a) where the Mishnah is presented in this form: He who recited the Shema‘ and did not make his ear hear has fulfilled his obligation, and the Gemara two lines later treats this as anonymous statement, but five lines further down quotes the Mishnah (דתנן) as: ‘He who recited the Shema‘ and did not make his ear hear has fulfilled his obligation, these are the words of Rebbi Yehudah.’ One of the editors of 18th Cent. editions of the Talmud, R. Joel Sirkes known as Baḥ, wants to cross out the last part of the quote, but the Yerushalmi shows that two versions of the Mishnah did exist and, since it is impossible to write two versions at the same place, one is quoted as a separate Mishnah and the other in the text. he has fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yose says that he has not fulfilled his obligation. If he recited and was not exact in its letters¹⁵⁴I. e., he mispronounced or slurred., Rebbi Yose says that he has fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yehudah says that he has not fulfilled his obligation. He who reads backwards has not fulfilled his obligation. If he recited and made a mistake then he should return to the place of the mistake.

הלכה: רַב אוֹמֵר הֲלָכָה כְדִבְרֵי שְׁנֵיהֶן לְהָקֵל. דִּלָכֵן מַה כֵן אָֽמְרִין סְתָמָה וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲלָכָה כִסְתָמָא. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי וְרִבִּי יוּדָה הֲלָכָה כְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי. וּמַה צְרִיכָה לְמֵימַר רַב הֲלָכָה כְדִבְרֵי שְׁנֵיהֶן לְהָקֵל. אֶלָּא בְגִין שָׁמַע דְּתַנִּי לָהּ רִבִּי חִייָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי מֵאִיר לְפוּם כֵּן צָרִיךְ לְמֵימְרָא הֲלָכָה כְדִבְרֵי שְׁנֵיהֶן לְהָקֵל. HALAKHAH: Rav said: practice follows both of them for leniency¹⁵⁵In the Berakhot.15b">Babli (Berakhot 15b), this is a statement of Rebbi Ṭabi in the name of Rebbi Josiah; the latter was a student of Rebbi Yoḥanan. The statement in the Babli is accepted without discussion because, as Rav Haï Gaon points out in his commentary, the Talmud previously did establish that the first statement is Rebbi Yehudah’s and, therefore, the question asked in the Yerushalmi has no place in the Babli.
One may assume that the fact that the ruling is attributed to a Babylonian in the Yerushalmi and to a Galilean in the Babli is intentional, to show that this is the universally accepted practice [necessary, because in general borrowing leniencies from opposing points of view is frowned upon.]. If it were not so, what could one say? An anonymous statement and Rebbi Yose, practice follows the anonymous¹⁵⁶Here, the Yerushalmi uses the Mishnah without the clause which identifies Rebbi Yehudah as the author. An anonymous statement in the Mishnah gives the consensus of the Sages and therefore has the force of law.. Rebbi Yose and Rebbi Yehudah, practice follows Rebbi Yose¹⁵⁷This is also the position of the Eruvin.46b">Babli, Erubin 46b. It follows that the statement of Rav seems superfluous.. So why does Rav have to say, practice follows both of them for leniency? Because he had heard Rebbi Ḥiyya formulating it in the name of Rebbi Meïr¹⁵⁸In the Babli (loc. cit.), Rebbi Meïr states that the obligation of reciting Shema‘ “is in the mind”; this implies that one does not have to hear what he himself is saying. Since the Mishnah or an equivalent is never quoted in the name of Rebbi Meïr, R. Zachariah Frankel wants to correct “Rebbi Meïr” to “Rebbi Yehudah” and considers the second version of the Mishnah in both Talmudim as the Mishnah of Rebbi Ḥiyya, in contrast to the Mishnah of Rebbi that is formulated anonymously. However, there is no textual support for such a theory.
Practice follows Rebbi Yose even against Rebbi Meïr; hence, the statement of Rav is necessary for the first part of the Mishnah., he has to say that practice follows both of them for leniency.

תַּנִּי נִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא הִשְׁמִיעַ לְאָזְנוֹ יָצָא. לְמִי נִצְרְכָה לְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי. הַייְּדֵין רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲדָא דְתַנִּינָן הַקּוֹרֵא אֶת שְׁמַע וְלֹא הִשְׁמִיעַ לְאָזְנוֹ יָצָא. וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר לֹא יָצָא. אָמַר רַב מַתָּנָה דְּרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הִיא. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲוִינָן סָֽבְרִין מֵימַר מַה פְלִיגִין רַבָּנָן וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי בִּשְׁמַע דִּכְתִיב בָּהּ שְׁמַע. הָא שְׁאָר כָּל־הַמִּצְווֹת לֹא. מִן דָּמַר רַב מַתָּנָה דְּרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הִיא הֲוֵי הִיא שְׁאָר כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת. מַאי טַעֲמָא דְּרִבִּי יוֹסֵי. וְהַאֲזַנְתָּ לְמִצְוֹתָיו. יִשְׁמְעוּ אָזְנֶיךָ מַה שֶׁפִּיךָ מְדַבֵּר. It was stated: “He who did pray¹⁵⁹The thrice daily Amidah prayer. and did not make his ear hear did fulfill his obligation.” For whom do we need that? For Rebbi Yose! For which statement of Rebbi Yose? For that which we have stated: “He who recites the Shema‘ and did not make his ear hear has fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yose says that he has not fulfilled his obligation.” Rav Mattanah¹⁶⁰This paragraph and the following do not really belong here, they refer to the Megillah 2:5:1" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Megillah.2.5.1">Mishnah Megillah 2:4: “The insane, the deaf and dumb, and minors cannot read the Megillah (for others)”. Rav Mattanah notes that, obviously, one does not mean a deaf and dumb person who cannot talk, but a deaf person who cannot hear. Since the Mishnah is anonymous, it must be the consensus of the Sages that one cannot fulfill the obligation of reading the Megillah if one does not hear what he himself is saying. Hence, the general consensus in Megillah is identical with the opinion of Rebbi Yose in Berakhot. The practice, therefore, should follow Rebbi Yose for stringency, in contrast to Rav’s statement in the preceding paragraph. said: That formulation is Rebbi Yose’s. Rebbi Yose¹⁶¹The Amora, one of the compilers of the Jerusalem Talmud. said: We could be of the opinion that the rabbis and Rebbi Yose disagree only about Shema‘ since there it is written: “hear!”, but not about any other obligations. Since Rav Mattanah said “that formulation is Rebbi Yose’s”, it is the same for all obligations. What is the reason of Rebbi Yose? (Exodus.15.26">Ex. 15:26) “Bend your ear to His commandments”, your ears should hear what your mouth says.

אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא לֵית כַּן חֵרֵשׁ. הַשְׁגָּרַת לָשׁוֹן הִיא. מַתְנִיתָא לְרִבִּי יוּדָה. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי מִסְתַּבְּרָא דְיוֹדֵי רַב חִסְדָּא בִּתְרוּמוֹת דְּהִיא דְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי. אָמַר רִבִּי חֲנִינָא בְשֵׁם רַב חִסְדָּא דְּרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הִיא. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּרִבִּי בּוּן עַל כָּרְחֵיךְ אִיתְמַר דְּהִיא דְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי דְתַנִּינָן חֲמִישְׁתָּא קַדְמִייָתָא וְלֹא תַנִּיתָהּ עִמָּהֶן אִם מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין תְּרוּמָתָן תְּרוּמָה. וְהָא תַנִּינָן חֲמִשְׁתֵּי אַחֲרָנִייָתָא וְלֹא תַנִּיתָהּ עִמָּהֶן. הָוֵי סוֹפָךְ מֵימַר דְּרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הִיא. Rav Ḥisda said: The deaf and dumb person is not mentioned, it is a formula.¹⁶²Since in all legal matters the insane, the deaf and dumb, and minors are equally incapacitated, the people who had to memorize “insane and minors” automatically changed the phrase in their memories to “insane, deaf and dumb, and minors”. After this correction, the Mishnah in Megillah may well be Rebbi Yehudah’s. Then the Mishnah might be Rebbi Yehudah’s. Rebbi Yose¹⁶³The Amora. said: It is reasonable to think that Rav Ḥisda concedes that the statement from Terumot is from Rebbi Yose¹⁶⁴Terumah, the heave, is the first gift of grain to the Cohen from the new harvest. There is no amount fixed for terumah in the Pentateuch; it must be consecrated explicitly. Only a person of sound mind can consecrate terumah. The first Mishnah in tractate Terumot reads: “Five categories of people cannot consecrate terumah and if they did it anyhow, their actions are null and void: the deaf and dumb, the insane, minors, one who is not the owner, and a non-Jew.” The sixth Mishnah then reads: “Five categories of people should not consecrate terumah (since a priori it requires the recitation of a benediction) but if they did it anyhow their actions are valid: the speechless, the drunk, the naked, the blind, those impure by emission of semen.” In between it is explained that חרש means a deaf and dumb person who is not legally capable of acting but that the deaf who can talk belongs to the same category as the second group of five.. Rabbi Ḥanina said in the name of Rav Ḥisda, this one is by Rebbi Yose. Rebbi Yose bar Rebbi Abun said: It must be said that that one is Rebbi Yose’s since we have stated the first five cases and did not include it¹⁶⁵The case of the deaf who is able to speak., because their terumah is no terumah. Then we have stated the five later ones and did not include it. So in the end you must say, that one is by Rebbi Yose¹⁶⁶Hence, the second Mishnah in Terumot, explaining that the deaf who is able to speak can give terumah, has to be formulated separately and could not be included in the sixth Mishnah since the first and sixths Mishnayot are Rebbi Yose’s who will object to the inclusion of the deaf-but-not-speechless in the second group..

אֵלּוּ צָרִיךְ דִּיקְדּוּק. עַל לְבָֽבְךָ. עַל לְבַבְכֶם. עֵשֶׂב בְּשָֽׂדְךָ. וַאֲבַדְתֶּם מְהֵרָה. הַכָּנָף פְּתִיל. אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ. רִבִּי חֲנִינָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע י֙י. These need careful attention: al-lĕvāvĕkhā, al-lĕvavkhem, ēśev bĕśādĕkhā, waăvadt̂em mĕh̃ēr̄āh, hakkānāph pĕt́īl, etkhem mēereẓ¹⁶⁷In the Berakhot.15b">Babli (Berakhot 15b) this list is an appendix by Rava to a baraita stating that in reciting the Shema‘ one has to differentiate between identical sounds. There is no problem with the words in Shema‘ where final and initial 1 and m clash. More of a problem is the clash of soft and hard ב, פ. The late Prof. Y. Kutscher pointed out that in classical Arabic there is a tendency to pronounce fb as bb [Contemporary Studies in North-Western Semitic, Journal of Semitic Studies 10(1965) pp. 21–51, see p. 30] but it seems clear at least for ב which, under the influence of the Greek that was the common vernacular, in Galilee both ב and בּ were pronounced “v”. For example, the technical term מחוור “logically consistent” in the Babli appears as מְחוּבָּר “connected” in Yerushalmi Peah 2:1, fol.l6d. It does not make any sense to derive מחוור from Aramaic חוור “pale”. Hence, Galilean מחבר sounded מחוור in Babylonian ears. (Possibly both ב and בּ were pronounced as “b” in Babylonia, as they still are today in dialects of Jews from Arabic speaking countries.) It is less certain but still possible that פ was pronounced “p-h” rather than “f”.. Rebbi Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: ăšer nišb̀a’ ădonay¹⁶⁸In Biblical times, ע (‘) was a hard glottal sound similar to Arabian Arabic ع but in Talmudic times it was either silent (see the next paragraph) or very weak so that there was (almost) a double vowel a..

רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר חֲנִינָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָא יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חוֹשֶׁךְ. דְּלָא יֵימַר יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא נוֹגַהּ. רִבִּי חַגַּיי בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי אַבָּא בַּר זַבְדָּא שָׁם שָׁרוּ לָךְ דְּלָא יֵימַר שָׁם הַלְלוּ לָךְ. רִבִּי לֵוִי רִבִּי אֶבְדִּימָא דְחֵיפָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי לֵוִי בַּר סִיסִי צָרִיךְ לְהַתִּיז לְמַעַן תִּזְכְּרוּ. רִבִּי יוֹנָה בְשֵׁם רַב חִסְדָּא צָרִיךְ לְהַתִּיז כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ. תַּנִּי אֵין מַעֲבִירִין לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה לֹא חֵיפָנִין וְלֹא בֵּישָׁנִין וְלֹא טִיבְעוֹנִין מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵן עוֹשִׂין הֵיהִין חֵיתִין וְעַיְינִין אָאִין. אִם הָיָה לְשׁוֹנוֹ עָרוּךְ מוּתָּר. Rebbi Samuel bar Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi Hoshaiah¹⁶⁹A Babylonian, student of Rav Yehudah and Rav Huna, who later emigrated to Israel and became student of Rebbi Yoḥanan.: “He Who forms light and creates darkness¹⁷⁰This is the beginning of the first benediction before the Shema‘, it appears here in the context of the recitation of Shema‘. The language is that of the verse (Isaiah.45.7">Is. 45:7) “He Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates evil.” In prayer, the verse is changed to “He Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all” to soften the language. Rebbi Hoshaiah notes that one may not go so far as to eliminate the mention of darkness, in the words of the Berakhot.12a">Babli (12a) “to mention night at day and day at night”, to negate any Zoroastrian dualism.”; one should not say: “He Who forms light and creates radiance.” Rebbi Ḥaggai¹⁷¹A Babylonian who went to study in Tiberias. in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Zavda¹⁷²A Galilean who went to study temporarily in Babylonia; he was a chief authority in Galilee after the death of Rebbi Yoḥanan. Both authors mentioned here were familiar with the Babylonian prayer ritual.: “There they sang for You¹⁷³In Berakhot 1:6:2-11" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Berakhot.1.6.2-11">Halakhah 1:9, the Yerushalmi quotes the Babylonian version of a short benediction after Shema‘: “We thank You that You took us out of Egypt and redeemed us from the house of slavery to thank Your Name”. The Berakhot.14b">Babli (14b) has the corresponding Galilean version: “We thank You that You took us out of Egypt and redeemed us from the house of slavery, did for us wonders and great deeds on the sea, and we sang for You”. The version “There they praised You” seems to be an alternative Babylonian form that is rejected here (since it is not a proper introduction to the required recitation of Exodus.15.11">Ex. 15:11,Exodus.15.19">19. In later times, the Israeli standard introduction to these verses was בגילה ברנה בשמחה רבה ואמרו כולם, retained in the Ashkenazic service on holiday nights.)”, one should not say: “There they praised You”. Rebbi Levi, Rebbi Eudaimon¹⁷⁴An Amora of the second generation. His name Εὐδαίμων “fortunate” shows that the pronounciation of Greek in his time was as today, that υ = f = ב. of Haifa, in the name of Rebbi Levi bar Sisi¹⁷⁵Levi who usually is quoted without title or patronymic.: one has to pronounce tizkeru voiced¹⁷⁶Since voiced z (ז) and voiceless s (שׂ,ס) are similar sounds, care is needed to distinguish between תזכרו (Numbers.15.40">Num. 15:40) “you shall remember” and תסכרו “you shall dam up”, תשׂכרו “you shall hire”, and even, under the influence of Greek, which knows no sh sound, תשׁכרו “you will get drunk”.. Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rav Ḥisda: one has to pronounce ki lĕ‘ôlām ḥasdȏ voiced¹⁷⁷It is not clear why one should pronounce חַסְדּוֹ with a soft s. R. Zachariah Frankel notes that the two Aramaic verbs חֲסַד ḥăsad “to be loving” and חַסַּד ḥassad “to insult, degrade” differ in the quality of its s sound; hence, one has to take care that “truly, His kindness is forever” should not sound as “truly, His insulting is forever”. It seems that while s should not really sound like z, care has to be taken not to make it sound like ss. Maybe the same difference was once heard between Hebrew חסד I “to show kindness” and חסד II “to insult.”. It was stated: One does not take as reader anyone from Haifa, Beth Sheän or Tiv‘on since they read ח like ¹⁷⁸Western Ashkenazic pronunciation treated ח like hh until the middle of the sixteenth Century. Under the influence of Polish, which in contrast to German has only one ch- sound, Ashkenazic pronunciation lost the difference between ח (ḥ) and כ (kh). In all other Jewish dialects, the problem is not the identification of כ,ח but of ע . ח,ה is lost in all Ashkenazic pronunciations; it is retained in Italian and Portuguese Hebrew as ng.ה and ע like א. If his pronunciation was orderly, it would be permitted¹⁷⁹If he makes an effort and tries to realize the difference, even if he does not quite succeed..

פיסקא. הַקּוֹרֵא לְמַפְרֵעַ לֹא יָצָא. רִבִּי יוֹנָה אָמַר תַּנָּא רַב נַחְמָן בַּר אָדָא רִבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר תַּנָּא נַחְמָן סַבָּא וְהָיוּ בְּדֶרֶךְ הֲוִייָתָן יְהוּ. תַּנִּי אַף בְּהַלֵּל וּבִקְרִיאַת הַמְּגִילָּה כֵּן. New Section.He who reads backwards¹⁸⁰Reading sentences out of order; reading words out of order is clearly useless since it makes no sense. has not fulfilled his obligation. Rebbi Jonah said that Rav Naḥman bar Ada¹⁸¹A Babylonian, student of Samuel. He probably is identical with “Naḥman the Old”, to distinguish him from later Amoraïm also called Naḥman. stated, Rebbi Yose said that Naḥman the Old stated, (Deuteronomy.6.6">Deut. 6:6) “They shall be”, they shall be unaltered¹⁸²Taking the verb היה “to be” in the sense of “to exist”.. We have stated: The same holds for Hallel and the reading of the Esther scroll.

נִיחָא בִקְרִיאַת הַמְּגִילָּה דִּכְתִיב בָּהּ כִּכְתָבָם. בְּרַם בְּהַלֵּילָא בְגִין דִּכְתִיב מִמִּזְרַח שֶׁמֶשׁ וְעַד מְבוֹאוֹ מְהוּלָּל שֵׁם י֙י מַה אַתְּ שְׁמַע מִינָּהּ אָמַר רִבִּי אָבוּן עוֹד הִיא אֲמוּרָה עַל סֵדֶר. בְּצֵאת ישְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם לְשֶׁעָבַר. לֹא לָנוּ י֙י לֹא לָנוּ לְדוֹרוֹת הַלָּלוּ. אָהַבְתִּי כִּי יִשְׁמַע י֙י אֶת קוֹלִי לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ. אִסְרוּ חַג בָּעֲבוֹתִים לִימוֹת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג. אֵלִי אַתָּה וְאוֹדֶךָּ לְעָתִיד לָבוֹא. This is fine for the Esther scroll since it is written there (Esther.9.27">Esther 9:27): “As they are written”¹⁸³The verse reads: “The Jews confirmed and accepted for themselves, not to be cancelled, that they would observe these two days as they are written and it its time, every single year.” Hence, the scroll must be read as it is written.. But for Hallel, since it is written (Psalms.113.3">Ps. 113:3): “From sunrise to sunset, may the name of the Eternal be praised?”¹⁸⁴Since there is no difference between East and West, there should be no difference between before and after. What can you understand from that? Rebbi Abun said: It also is written in order. (Psalms.114.1">Ps. 114:1) “When Israel left Egypt” in the past. (Psalms.115.1">Ps. 115:1) “Not for us, o Eternal, not for us” in the present¹⁸⁵In the much more detailed parallel passage in the Pesachim.118a">Babli (Pesaḥim 118a), this sentence is applied by Rebbi Yoḥanan either to the oppression by hostile governments or to the sufferings preceding the coming of the Messiah. That may be the meaning of the sentence here also. Alternatively, the psalm is interpreted there as the song of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah in the fiery oven.. (Psalms.116.1">Ps. 116:1) “I loved, truly the Eternal listened to my voice” in the days of the Messiah. (Psalms.118.27">Ps. 118:27) “Bind the holiday sacrifice with ropes” in the days of Gog and Magog¹⁸⁶In the celebration after the final defeat of the forces of evil. In Psalms.118.24">Midrash Tehillim, Ps. 118:24 “This is the day the Eternal made, let us rejoice and be happy on it” is taken to describe the time when one can be sure that the deliverance will not be followed by another oppression.. (Psalms.118.28">Ps. 118:28) “You are my God” in the future world.

רִבִּי אָחָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֵּן לֵוִי אַף מִי שֶׁהִתְקִין אֶת הַתְּפִילָּה הַזֹּאת עַל הַסֶּדֶר הִתְקִינָהּ. שָׁלֹשׁ בְּרָכוֹת רִאשוֹנוֹת וְשָׁלֹשׁ בְּרָכוֹת הָאַחֲרוֹנוֹת שִׁבְחוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם וְהָאֶמְצָעִיּוֹת צָרְכָן שֶׁל בִּרְיוֹת. חָנֵּינוּ דֵיעָה. חָנַנְתָּנוּ דֵיעָה רְצֵה תְשׁוּבָתֵינוּ. רָצִיתָ תְשׁוּבָתֵינוּ סְלַח לָנוּ. סָלַחְתָּ לָנוּ גָּאֳלֵינוּ. גְּאַלְתָּנוּ רְפָה חָלְיֵינוּ. רִיפִּיתָ חָלְיֵינוּ בָּרֵךְ שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ. בֵּירַכְתָּ שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ קַבְּצֵינוּ. קִיבַּצְתָּנוּ שׁוֹפְטֵנוּ בְצֶדֶק. שְׁפָֽטְתָנוּ בְצֶדֶק הַכְנַע קָמֵינוּ. הִכְנַעְתָּ קָמֵינוּ צַדְּקֵינוּ בַּמִּשְׁפָּט. צִידַּקְתָּנוּ בְּנֵה בֵיתְךָ וּשְׁמַע עֲתִירָתֵינוּ וּרְצֵינוּ בְתוֹכוֹ. לֵית צוּרְכָוה דִּבְנֵה בֵיתְךָ וּשְׁמַע עֲתִירָתֵינוּ וּרְצֵינוּ בְתוֹכוֹ. אֶלָּא כְמַה דְאִישְׁתָּעֵי קַרְייָא כֵּן אִישְׁתָּעֵייא מַתְנִיתָא וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂימַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִילָּתִי. Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Also he who composed this prayer¹⁸⁷The week-day 18 benedictions of the Amidah. Another derivation is given in the following paragraph. composed it in good order. The first three and the last three are the praise of the Omnipresent, the middle ones are the needs of the creatures. Give us knowledge. You gave us knowledge¹⁸⁸The entire list should be read as a conditional: Assuming that You gave us knowledge (fourth benediction), please accept our repentance (fifth benediction). This is particularly evident in the second part, starting from the prayer for good years, which is a prayer for redemption and therefore future oriented even though the formulation here is in the past tense., accept our repentance. You accepted our repentance, forgive us. You forgave us, save us. You saved us, heal our diseases. You healed our diseases, bless our years. You blessed our years, gather us in. You gathered us in, judge us in justice. You judged us in justice, subdue those who arise against us.¹⁸⁹While the benediction against apostates was introduced at Jabneh and the rest of the Amidah is an institution of the Men of the Great Assembly, its place was chosen in the spirit of those who first formulated the prayer. You subdued those who arise against us, justify us¹⁹⁰This is the text of the Rome and Genizah manuscripts, not like the Leyden manuscript and the Venice print which have צדקנו במשפט “justify us in law” that belongs to the benediction before the previous one, not to the one for the elders (and all) of Israel and the converts which follows after the imprecation against apostates.. You justified us, build Your house, listen to our supplications, be pleased with us in it. Is it necessary after “build Your house,” listen to our supplications, be pleased with us in it¹⁹¹After a prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, the prayers for acceptance of the prayer and the hope that our service be for God’s pleasure may seem superfluous since acceptance of prayer and God’s pleasure are guaranteed in the Temple.? But as the verse is, so is the tradition (Isaiah.56.7">Is. 56:7): “I shall bring them to My holy mountain, make them happy in My house of prayer.¹⁹³A parallel with slightly different treatment of the entire paragraph appears in Megillah.17b-18a">Babli Megillah 17b–18a.”

אָמַר רִבִּי יִרְמְיָה מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים זְקֵנִים וּמֵהֶם שְׁמוֹנִים וְכַמָּה נְבִיאִים הִתְקִינוּ אֶת הַתְּפִילָּה הַזֹּאת. וּמַה רָאוּ לִסְמוֹךְ הָאֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ לְחוֹנֵן הַדָּעַת עַל שֵׁם וְהִקְדִישׁוּ אֶת קְדוֹשׁ יַעֲקֹב. מַה כְתִיב בַּתְרֵיהּ וְיֵדְעוּ תוֹעֵי רוּחַ בִּינָה. דֵּיעָה לִתְשׁוּבָה הַשְׁמֵן לֵב הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאָזְנָיו הַכְבֵּד וְעֵינָיו הָשַׁע וגו׳ עַד וּלְבָבוֹ יָבִין וְשָׁב. תְּשׁוּבָה לִסְלִיחָה וְיָשׁוֹב אֶל י֙י וִירַחֲמֵהוּ וְאֶל אֱלֹהֵינוּ כִּי יַרְבֶּה לִסְלוֹחַ. סְלִיחָה לִגְאוּלָה הַסּוֹלֵחַ לְכָל־עֲווֹנֵיְכִי הָרוֹפֵא לְכָל־תַּחֲלוּאָיְכִי הַגּוֹאֵל מִשַּׁחַת חַיֵּיכִי. וְיֹאמַר רוֹפֵא חוֹלִים קֳדָמֹיי. אָמַר רִבִּי אֲחָא מִפְּנֵי מַה הִתְקִינוּ גּוֹאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרָכָה שְׁבִיעִית לְלַמְּדָךְ שֶׁאֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל נִגְאָלִין אֶלָּא בִשְׁבִיעִית. רִבִּי יוֹנָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת בְּשׁוּב י֙י אֶת שְׁבוּת צִיּוֹן שִׁירָה שְׁבִיעִית הִיא לְהוֹדִיעֲךָ שֶׁאֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל נִגְאָלִין אֶלָּא בִשְׁבִיעִית. אָמַר רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא מִפְּנֵי מַה הִתְקִינוּ רוֹפֵא חוֹלִים בְּרָכָה שְׁמִינִית כְּנֶגֶד הַמִּילָה שֶׁהִיא לִשְׁמֹנָה. עַל שֵׁם בְּרִיתִי הָֽיְתָה אִתּוֹ הַחַיִּים. אָמַר רִבִּי אַלֶכְסַנְדְּרִי מִפּנֵי מַה הִתְקִינוּ מְבָרֵךְ הַשָּׁנִים בְּרָכָה תְשִׁיעִית כְּנֶגֶד קוֹל י֙י שׁוֹבֵר אֲרָזִים. שֶׁהוּא עָתִיד לְשַׁבֵּר כָּל־בַּעֲלֶי שְׁעָרִים. רִבִּי לֵוִי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא בַּר חֲנִינָא מַה רָאוּ לִסְמוֹךְ מְבָרֵךְ הַשָּׁנִים לִמְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. עַל שֵׁם וְאַתֶּם הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲנַפְכֶם תִּתְּנוּ וּפְירִיכֶם תִּשְׂאוּ לְעַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל. לָמָּה כִּי קָֽרְבוּ לָבוֹא. נִתְקַבְּצוּ הַגָּלִיּוֹת וְהַדִּין נַעֲשֶׂה הַזֵּדִין נִכְנָעִין וְהַצַּדִּיקִים שְׂמֵחִים. וְתַנִּי עֲלָהּ כּוֹלֵל שֶׁל מִינִים וְשֶׁל רְשָׁעִים בְּמַכְנִיעַ זֵדִים. וְשֶׁל גֵּרִים וְשֶׁל זְקֵינִים בְּמִבְטָח לַצַּדִּיקִים. וְשֶׁל דָּוִד בְּבוֹנֵה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם. אַחַר יָשׁוּבוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִקְשׁוּ אֶת י֙י אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֵת דָּוִד מַלְכָּם. ¹⁹³A parallel with slightly different treatment of the entire paragraph appears in Megillah.17b-18a">Babli Megillah 17b–18a. Rebbi Jeremiah said: 120 elders, among them more than 80 prophets, instituted this prayer. Why did they follow “the holy God”¹⁹⁴The third benediction of the Amidah. What follows is a description of the benedictions of the week-day Amidah. by “He Who favors with knowledge”? Because (Isaiah.29.23-24">Is. 29:23–24) “they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob” is followed by “and those of erring spirit will know insight.” “Knowledge” followed by “Repentance”, (Isaiah.6.10">Is. 6:10) “Makefat the heart of this people, make it hard of hearing and its eyes sticky, that it should not see with its eyes, nor hear with its ears, nor understand with its heart, because if it would repent then it would be healed.” “Repentance” by “Forgiveness”, (Isaiah.55.7">Is. 55:7) “He should return to the Lord that He would have mercy on him, and to our God because He forgives much.” “Forgiveness” by “Redemption”, (Psalms.103.2-3">Ps. 103:2–3) “He Who forgives all your sins, He Who hears all your maladies, He Who redeems your soul from destruction.” Then he should say “Healer of the sick” before that¹⁹⁵Since in the verse redemption comes after healing. (Redemption here is personal redemption; redemption of the people is described by benedictions 9–14).. Rebbi Aḥa said: why did they institute “Redeemer of Israel” as the seventh benediction? To teach you that Israel will be redeemed only in a Seventh Year¹⁹⁶A Seventh Year (shemiṭṭah) in a Jubilee cycle. The “seventh song” in the next sentence is the seventh of the songs of ascent.. Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: (Psalms.126">Ps. 126) “A song of ascent. When the Eternal will return the returnees of Zion” is the seventh song, to show you that Israel will be redeemed only in a Seventh Year. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: Why did they institute “Healer of the sick” as the eighth benediction? That is for circumcision which is done on the eighth, following (Malachi.2.5">Maleachi 2:5) “My covenant was with him: Life”¹⁹⁷The Covenant refers to circumcision.. Rebbi Alexander said: Why did they institute “He Who blesses the years” as the ninth benediction? Corresponding to (Psalms.29.5">Ps. 29:5) “The sound of the Eternal breaks cedars”, since in the future He will break all market manipulators¹⁹⁸Manipulators of prices of basic commodities who are compared to cedars for their (financial) strength. In the Babli, R. Alexander quotes Psalms.10.15">Ps. 10:15, which in Babylonian (and Rashi’s) count was Ps. 9:36 and, therefore, is appropriate for the Ninth benediction. Our texts of Psalms which split an alphabetic acrostich between Psalms.9">Psalms 9 and 10 is the Yerushalmi tradition which, therefore, cannot use the verse quoted in the Babli.. Rebbi Levi in the name of Rebbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina: Why did they follow “He Who blesses the years” by “Ingatherer of the dispersed of Israel”? Because of (Ezekiel.36.8">Ez. 36:8) “you, mountains of Israel, sprout your branches and carry your fruits for my people Israel”, why? “because they will soon come.” When the dispersed are gathered in then justice will be done, the evildoers will succumb, and the just will be happy¹⁹⁹This describes benedictions 10–13. The wicked are Gentile governments that oppress the Jews. The evildoers are Jewish evildoers.. It was stated: One includes the apostates and the wicked in “He Who subdues the evildoers”, the converts and the elders in “refuge of the just”, David in “Builder of Jerusalem”²⁰⁰This is today the practice of Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews. The Babylonian practice was not to mention the restoration of the Davidic dynasty in the benediction for Jerusalem, but to make it a separate benediction preceding the final benediction “He Who hears prayer”. Only the Yemenite ritual follows the strict Babylonian style; the other Jewish groups pray twice for the Davidic dynasty, once in the Yerushalmi form of “Builder of Jerusalem” and then in the Babylonian form “He Who makes sprout the horn of salvation”.. (Hosea.3.5">Hosea 3:5) “Then the children of Israel will repent, seek the Eternal, their God, and their king David.²⁰¹The verse concludes: “They will tremble for the Eternal and His Goodness at the End of Days”, referring to Messianic times.”

רַבָּנָן אָֽמְרֵי אָהֵן מַלְכָּא מְשִׁיחָא אִין [מִן] חַייָא הוּא דָּוִד שְׁמֵיהּ. אִין [מִן] דְּמָכִייָא הוּא דָּוִד שְׁמֵיהּ. אָמַר רִבִּי תַנְחוּמָא אַנָּא אָֽמְרִית טַעְמָא וְעוֹשֵׂה חֶסֶד לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְדָוִד. The Rebbis say: This King Messiah, if he is from the living, his name is David. If he is from the dead, his name is David. Rebbi Tanḥuma said: I am declaring the reason (Psalms.18.51">Ps. 18:51) “He gives kindness to His anointed, to David.²⁰²The previous discussion ended with the verse from Hosea, which indicates that in Messianic times all twelve tribes will seek their king David; it is clear that Hosea talks about the Messiah and calls him David. This gives rise to an insertion about the Messiah in this and the next paragraph.
The second argument is more explicit in the Sanhedrin.98b">Babli, Sanhedrin 98b, where for the first case a verse in Jeremiah.30.9">Jeremiah (30:9) is cited: “They shall serve the Eternal, their God, and their king David whom I shall raise for them” which also is written in the future tense. The second case, that the original David will be resurrected as Messiah, is based on a verse in Ezekiel.34.24">Ezechiel (34:24) “I, the Eternal, shall be for them their God, and My servant David prince in their midst”, seems to refer to the historical David in Messianic times. The Babylonian Talmud points out that a prince is less than a king and, therefore, the new King Messiah will have the status of a Roman Augustus whereas the resurrected David will occupy the position of Caesar, or Crown Prince. In any case, the next paragraph makes is quite clear that the Messiah was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple and that, therefore, nobody with a recorded date of birth can ever be considered as Messiah. There is no reason to believe that the Babli would disagree with this conclusion. In addition, Maimonides in his Letter to Yemen is quite adamant that the Messiah can only appear in the Land of Israel and must be a political figure.’

רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי אָמַר צֶמַח שְׁמוֹ. רִבִּי יוּדַן בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי אַייְבוּ אָמַר מְנַחֵם שְׁמוֹ. אָמַר חֲנַנְיָה בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי אַבָּהוּ וְלֹא פְלִיגֵי חוּשְׁבְּנֵיהּ דַּהֲדֵין כְּחוּשְׁבְּנֵיהּ דַּהֲדֵין הוּא צֶמַח הוּא מְנַחֵם. וְדָא מְסַיְּיעָא לָהוּ דָּמַר רִבִּי יוּדַן בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי אַייְבוּ עוּבְדָּא הֲוָה בְחַד יְהוּדָאֵי דַּהֲוָה קָאִים רְדִי [בְהָדֵי בִקְעַת אַרְבֵּל] גָעַת תּוֹרְתֵיהּ קוֹמוֹי עָבַר חַד עַרְבִיי וּשְׁמַע קָלָהּ. אָמַר לֵיהּ בַּר יוּדָאֵי בַּר יוּדָאֵי שָׁרִי תוֹרָךְ וְשָׁרִי קַנְקַנָּךְ דְּהָא חָרֵיב בֵּית מוּקְדְּשָׁא. גָּעַת זְמַן תַּנְיִינוּת. אָמַר לֵיהּ בַּר יוּדָאֵי בַּר יוּדָאֵי קְטוֹר תּוֹרָיךְ וּקְטוֹר קַנְקַנָּיךְ דְּהָא יְלִיד מַלְכָּא מְשִׁיחָא. אָמַר לֵיהּ מַה שְׁמֵיהּ מְנַחֵם. אָמַר לֵיהּ וּמַה שְׁמֵיהּ דְּאָבוֹי אָמַר לֵיהּ חִזְקִיָּה. אָמַר לֵיהּ מָן הֵן הוּא. אָמַר לֵיהּ מִן בִּירַת מַלְכָּא דְּבֵית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה. אָזַל זַבִּין תּוֹרוֹי וְזַבִּין קַנְקַנּוֹי וְאִיתְעַבִּיד זַבִּין לְבָדִין לְמֵיינוּקָא וַהֲוָּה עַיּיָל קִרְייָה וְנַפְקָא קִירְיָה. עַד דְּעָל לְהַהוּא קַרְתָּא וְהַוְייָן כָּל־נְשָׁייָא זְבָנָן וְאִימֵּהּ דִמְנַחֵם לָא זְבָנָה. שָׁמַע קָלָן דִּנְשָׁייָא אָֽמְרִין אִימֵּיהּ דִּמְנַחֵם אִימֵּיהּ דִּמְנַחֵם אַיְתִיי זוֹבְנִין לִבְרָךְ. אָֽמְרָא בְּעָייָא אֲנָא מֵיחְנְקוּנֵיהּ סַנְאֵיהוֹן דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל דִּבְיוֹמָא דְאִיתְיַלִּיד אִיחְרוּב בֵּית מוּקְדְּשָׁא. אָמַר לָהּ רְחִיצֵיא אֲנָן דִּבְרַגְלֵיהּ חֲרֵיב וּבְרַגְלֵיהּ מִתְבְּנֵיי. אָֽמְרָה לֵיהּ לֵית לִי פְרִיטִין. אָמַר לָהּ וּמַה אִיכְפַּת לֵיךְ אַיְתִיי זוֹבְנִין לֵיהּ אִין לֵית קוֹמֵךְ יוֹמָא דֵין בָּתַר יוֹמֵי אֲנָא אָתִי וְנָסִיב. בָּתַר יוֹמִין עָאַל לְהַהוּא קַרְתָּא אָמַר לָהּ מַהוּ מֵיינוּקָא עֲבֵיד. אָֽמְרָה לֵיהּ מִן שַׁעְתָּא דַחֲמִיתָנִי אָתוּן רוּחִין וְעַלְעוֹלֵיהּ וְחַטְּפִינֵיהּ מִן יָדַיי. אָמַר רִבִּי בּוּן מַה לָנוּ לִלְמוֹד מִן הָעַרְבִי הַזֶּה וְלֹא מִקְרָא מָלֵא הוּא וְהַלְּבָנוֹן בְּאַדִּיר יִפּוֹל. מַה כְתִיב בַּתְרֵיהּ וְיָצָא חוֹטֵר מִגֶּזַע יִשָׁי. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, his name is Ẓemaḥ. Rebbi Yudan, the son of Rebbi Aivu, said his name is Menaḥem²⁰³The parallel to the entire paragraph is in Midrash Ekha rabbati 1(57). The verse of R. Joshua ben Levi is Zechariah.6.12">Zach. 6:12: “Behold, a man of the name of Ẓemaḥ, he will sprout from below and build the Eternal’s temple.” The verse of Rebbi Yudan is Lamentations.1.16">Threni 1:16: “Behold, far from me is Menaḥem who will restore my spirit.”. Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said: they have no disagreement since the numerical value of one is the numerical value of the other: Ẓemaḥ is equal to Menaḥem²⁰⁴138. צ̇מ̇ח̇ = 90+40+8, מ̇נ̇ח̇ם̇ = 40+50+8+40.. Since Rebbi Yudan the son of Rebbi Aivu said, it happened to a Jew who was plowing in the valley of Arbel²⁰⁵This is the reading of the Rome ms. and Genizah fragments; the valley of Arbel is West of Tiberias. The place name is missing in the Leyden ms. and the Venice print. that his ox was bellowing. An Arab passed by and heard the bellowing of the ox. He said to him: Jew, Jew, unharness your ox, unharness your plow²⁰⁶קנקן usually means a pitcher or a bottle, from late Latin canna “small vessel”. However, this קנקן appears several times also in the Babli (noted in the Rabbinic dictionary ‘Arukh under קנקן ב׳) and seems to mean the central peg by which the motion of the plow is controlled; possibly from old Persian gan, “plow”. because the Temple was destroyed. The ox bellowed a second time. He said: Jew, Jew, harness your ox, fix your plow because King Messiah has been born. He said to him: What is his name? Menaḥem. He said to him: What is his father’s name? Ḥizqiah. He said to him: Where is he? He said to him: At the king’s palace in Bethlehem in Judea. He went and sold his ox and plow and made himself a vendor of baby linens. He went to towns and left towns until he came to that town. All the women bought from him but the mother of Menaḥem did not buy. He heard the women say: Menaḥem’s mother, Menaḥem’s mother, come and buy for your son! She said: I would rather strangle him like a hater of Israel because he was born on the day the Temple was destroyed. He said to her: I like him, because for him it was destroyed and for him it will be rebuilt. She said to him, I have no money. He said to her, that does not bother me, come and buy for him! If you have nothing with you today, I shall return another day and I will take it then. After some time he went up to that town and said to her: How is your baby doing? She said to him: After you had seen me there came storms and raised him and tore him from my hands²⁰⁷The Zohar (II, 7b–8b) improves on the story and asserts that the Messiah is living in Paradise at a place known as “bird’s nest”.. Rebbi Abun said: We do not need to learn from that Arab, is it not a full verse (Is. 10:35): “The Lebanon will fall through a noble one”?²⁰⁸The use of Lebanon as a figure of speech for the Temple can be traced to the interpretation of Deuteronomy.3.25">Deut. 3:25, where Moses begs to see “this good mountain and the Lebanon.” Since God later showed Moses all he wanted to see, but nothing North of the city of Dan, it follows that “Lebanon” here cannot mean the mountain range. The verse here was used by Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai to predict to Vespasian that he would be emperor before he could conquer Jerusalem because the Temple could fall only to a noble one (Ekha rabbati 1(32)). In Isaiah, the verse is the introduction to a description of Messianic times. And the next verse is (11:1) “A sprout will come from the stem of Jesse.”

אָמַר רִבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא מִפְּנֵי מַה הִתְקִינוּ שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִילָּה בְּרָכָה חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה כְּנֶגֶד י֙י לַמַּבּוּל יָשַׁב שֶׁהוּא כוֹלֶה אֶת הַפּוּרְעָנוּת מִלְּבוֹא לָעוֹלָם. ²⁰⁹After the digression about the Messiah, one returs to the main theme; the final benediction of the weekday insertion is the fifteenth in the Galilean count, and the mention of God’s name in the verse is the fifteenth in the Psalm. Rebbi Tanḥuma said: Why did they institute “He Who listens to prayer” as the fifteenth benediction? Corresponding to (Psalms.29.10">Ps. 29:10) “The Eternal throned over the Deluge”, that He avert the catastrophy, that it should not come over the world²¹⁰God has sworn that no future Deluge will engulf the entire globe, but one has to pray that partial deluges will be averted..

עֲבוֹדָה לְהוֹדָייָה זוֹבֵח תּוֹדָה יְכַבְּדָֽנְנִי וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ אַרְאֶנּוּ בְּיֶשַׁע אֱלֹהִים. וְחוֹתֵם בְּשָׁלוֹם שֶׁכָּל־הַבְּרָכוֹת חוֹתְמֵיהֶן שָׁלוֹם. אָמַר רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן חַלְפוּתָא אֵין לְךָ כֵּלִי שֶׁמַּחְזִיק בְּרָכָה יוֹתֵר מִן הַשָּׁלוֹם וּמַה טַעַם י֙י עוֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן י֙י יְברֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם. Temple service (precedes) Thanksgiving²¹¹Now we are back to the explanation of the sequence of benedictions in the Amidah. The 16th (Israeli count) prays for restoration of the Temple service and acceptance of our prayer as if performed in the Temple. The 17th benediction is Thanksgiving, the 18th is for Peace, following (in the Morning Service) the Priestly Blessings that end in “peace”.: (Psalms.50.23">Ps. 50:23) “He who brings a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me and shows a path; I shall make him see God’s help.” One finishes with Peace, since all benedictions end with peace²¹²The Priestly Blessings end in “peace”, and all other services, prayers and grace, end with “He Who makes peace in His heights, may He give peace to us and all of Israel, Amen.”. Rebbi Simeon bar Ḥalaphta²¹³A great preacher of the last generation of Tannaïm; his statement here is the last statement of the Mishnah (Uqeẓin 3:12). said: There is no vessel that contains more blessing than peace. What is the reason? (Psalms.29.11">Ps. 29:11) “The Eternal gives strength to His people, the Eternal blesses His people with peace.”

קָרָא וְטָעָה יַחְזוֹר לְמָקוֹם שֶׁטָּעָה. טָעָה בֵין כְּתִיבַת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה לִשְׁנִייָה חוֹזֵר לִכְתִיבָת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה. טָעָה וְאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ הֵיכַן טָעָה יַחְזוֹר כְּבַתְּחִילָּה לְמָקוֹם הַבָּרוּר לוֹ. דֵּלֹמָא רִבִּי חִייַא רִבִּי יַסָּא רִבִּי אַמִּי סַלְקוּן מֵיעֲבַד גִּנּוּנִיָּה דְּרִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר. שָֽׁמְעֻין קָלֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי יוֹחָנָן אִי מְחַדֵּית מִילָּה. אָֽמְרִין מַן נָחֵית שְׁמַע לָהּ מִינֵיהּ. אָֽמְרִין וְיֵיחוּת רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר דְּהוּא זָרִיז סַגִּין. נָחֵית וְסַלִּיק אָמַר לוֹן כֵּן אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן קָרָא וּמָצָא עַצְמוֹ בִּלְמַעַן חֲזָקָה כִּוֵּין. “If he recited and made a mistake then he should return to the place of the mistake.”²¹⁴Quote from the last part of the Mishnah that now will be discussed. The entire paragraph is repeated in Berakhot.16a">Babli Berakhot 16a. If he made a mistake between the first and second mention of “writing” he must return to the first “writing”²¹⁵Both verses Deuteronomy.6.9">Deut. 6:9, Deuteronomy.11.20">11:20, read: “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates.” Since the verses are identical, a person who recited Shema‘ mechanically has no way of deciding between the two but must start anew from the first verse.. If he made a mistake and does not know where he made the mistake, he returns to the start, to any place that he is sure about²¹⁶In the Babli, this is quoted in the language of the Tosephta (Berakhot 2:5) that one has to return to the start of the section he remembers. Since the language from the start of the paragraph to here is in pure Hebrew, it probably represents an Israeli version of that Tosephta.. An explanation: Rebbi Ḥiyya, Rebbi Yasa, Rebbi Ammi were preparing the wedding canopy²¹⁷Probably Latin genialia, ium (n., plur.) “marriage bed, marriage” (E. G.). Rebbi Ḥiyya mentioned here is R. Ḥiyya bar Abba; his name is missing in the Babli. for Rebbi Eleazar. They heard the voice of Rebbi Joḥanan when he explained something new. They said: Who is going down to hear that from him? They said, let Rebbi Eleazar go down since he is very careful. He descended, ascended, and said to them: So says Rebbi Joḥanan, if he recited and found himself at למען²¹⁸In the last verse of the second section of Shema. Since the third section is completely different in wording and style, one may assume that he recited the first two parts correctly. one can be sure that he had the right intention.

רִבִּי לִיָא רִבִּי יָסָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא רוּבָּא נִתְפַּלֵּל וּמָצָא עַצְמוֹ בְשׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִילָּה חֲזָקָה כִּוֵּין. רִבִּי יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר נִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא כִוֵּין לִבּוֹ אִם יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהוּא חוֹזֵר וּמְכַוֵּין אֶת לִבּוֹ יִתְפַּלֵּל וְאִם לָאו אַל יִתְפַּלֵּל. אָמַר רִבִּי חִייָא רוּבָּא אֲנָא מִן יוֹמָיי לֹא כַיוְנִית אֶלָּא חַד זְמָן בָּעִי מְכַוְּונָה וְהִרְהָרִית בְּלִבִּי וְאָֽמְרִית מַאן עֲלֵיל קוֹמֵי מַלְכָּא קְדָמִי אַרְקַבֶּסָּה אִי רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא. שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר אֲנָא מָנִית אֶפְרוֹחַיָּא. רִבִּי בּוּן בַּר חִייָא אָמַר אֲנָא מָנִית דֵּימוֹסִיָּא. אָמַר רִבִּי מַתַּנְיָה אֲנָא מְחַזֵּק טִיבוּ לְרֹאשִׁי דְּכַד הֲוָה מָטֵי מוֹדִים הוּא כָרַע מִגַּרְמֵיהּ. Rebbi Lia²¹⁹Rebbi La or Illaï, Galilean Amora of the third generation., Rebbi Yasa in the name of the great Rebbi Aḥa²²⁰He cannot be the Amora Rebbi Aḥa since the latter belongs to the fourth generation. Probably he is the Tanna Rebbi Aḥa of the last generation of Tannaïm.: If he prayed and he found himself in “He Who hears prayer”, he may assume that he prayed with intent²²¹Since the weekday Amidah is a long prayer, it is probable that he lost concentration on what he was saying somewhere in between but when he realizes that he recited the last of the intermediary benedictions he may assume that he said all others in the required order.. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: If he prayed without intent and he knows that the second time he will pray with intent, he may pray a second time; otherwise he should not pray²²²It seems that the Yerushalmi requires total concentration for all 18 benedictions for somebody who is not satisfied with the quality of his prayer. The following examples show that such a total concentration over a lengthy period of time is impossible and, hence, repetition of an imperfect prayer is excluded. The Berakhot.34b">Babli [Berakhot 34b, a statement of Rebbi Ḥiyya (bar Abba) in the name of the Babylonian Rav Safra] requires total concentration only during the first benediction; hence, for the Babli someone who did not concentrate during the first benediction has to repeat the Amidah. {In the Shulḥan Arukh (Sec. 101,1), R. Josef Qaro follows the Babli but R. Moshe Isserles decides Ashkenazic practice according to the Yerushalmi.]. The great Rebbi Ḥiyya said: I never managed to pray with intent, but one time I made an effort to concentrate and I started to think and said to myself, who enters first before the king, the ἀργαπέτης²²³This Greek form was found in a Palmyrenian inscription. Following Fleischer, the title is a composition of Persian ارك ark “citadel”, پد pad (old Persian pat) “master, overseer”. So the title seems to designate the person who overseas the royal castle (Fleischer) or “commandant of a fort” (Liddell & Scott). or the Resh Galuta²²⁴The Davidic head of Babylonian Jewry, who was a hereditary Noble under the Parthian and Persian rulers and still an important official in Moslem times.? Samuel said: I counted chicks²²⁵When I consciously attempted total concentration for all the 19 (Babylonian) benedictions of the Amidah.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya said: I counted stone rows²²⁶Greek δόμος, “building; rows of stones or bricks in a building.” At other places in the Yerushalmi, the spelling דומדס is found; in the Babli it always is דימוס (which, however, might mean another word, δῆμος).. Rebbi Mattaniah said: I an thankful to my head that when I come to modim it bends down by itself.