Yerushalmi Berakhot 2:1 ירושלמי ברכות ב׳:א׳

MISHNAH: If someone was reading in the Torah at the time of recital¹Time of the obligatory recital of Shema‘., if he read with intention²The intention of fulfilling the commandment of reading the Shema‘. he fulfilled his duty, otherwise he did not fulfill his duty. Between the sections³Of the Shema‘., one greets people out of respect and answers their greetings. In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Yehudah says: in the middle of a section one may greet out of fear and answer for respect, between sections one greets for respect and answers greetings from everybody.

HALAKHAH: Rebbi Abba said: This means that benedictions do not prevent⁴. Since the Mishnah allows one to concentrate on reading the Torah text as Shema‘ without requiring an interruption for recitations of the benedictions, it follows that benedictions are a separate obligation. In a number of prayer texts from the Genizah, the recitation of the Shema‘ has a separate benediction: “Praised be You, o Eternal, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us through His commandments and commanded us about the recitation of Shema‘, with a full heart to declare Him King over us, and willingly to declare His Unity.” While these texts are from a period about 500 years later than the text of the Yerushalmi, they show that recitation of Shema‘ was then still considered an obligation separate from the benedictions mentioned in the Mishnah. The latter benedictions could then be recited before the Amidah. See Ezra Fleischer,תפילה ומנהגי תפילה ,ארץ־ישראליים בתקופת הגניזה Jerusalem 1988.
The paragraph has been explained as parallel to the Babli (11b–12a) by R. Solomon ben Adrat (Rashba) in his responsa, vol. 1, no 319..

Rebbi Yose said: If you say that one needs to recite the benedictions; when he recited them he must focus his attention for the entire Shema‘⁵Rebbi Yose supports the statement of Rebbi Abba: If one would require concentration on what one recites for benedictions before and after Shema‘, certainly one requires total attention during the recitation of Shema‘. As seen at the end of this paragraph, this is not the rule.. They objected: Does he not interrupt and it does not appear in our statement?⁶In the Mishnah, it is assumed that one may recite the several sections of the Shema‘ separately since they are written at different places in the Torah scroll. Since the Mishnah does not mention the necessary interruptions in the recital, it might be possible that the Mishnah contemplates interruptions for the recitation of the benedictions before and after Shema‘; hence, the inference of Rebbi Abba is not justified. So here also, even though it has not been stated he must recite the benedictions. That means⁷The argument would be good only if the statement of Rebbi Yose were true., one must focus one’s attention for the entire Shema‘. We may hear it from the following: Rebbi Aḥai⁸Rebbi Aḥai was “Tanna”, collector of baraitot, in the Yeshivah of Rebbi Ḥiyya. He belongs to the generation between Tannaïm and Amoraïm. His statement, Tosephta Berakhot2:2 (Babli Berakhot 13a), shows that Rebbi Yose’s argument is correct and that Rebbi Abba stated the practice correctly. (In the printed editions of the Babli, the name is Rebbi Aḥa, but in the Munich manuscript, and in all manuscripts of the Tosephta, the name is correctly Rebbi Aḥai. Rebbi Aḥa is an Amora of the fourth generation.) said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah: “He has fulfilled his obligation if he focussed his attention for the first paragraph, even though he did not focus his attention during recitation of the second paragraph”¹⁰A natural question following the Tosephta of Rebbi Yehudah..

What is the difference between the first and second paragraphs?¹⁰A natural question following the Tosephta of Rebbi Yehudah. Rebbi Ḥanina said: Everything mentioned in the first paragraph is mentioned in the second. In that case, should one have to recite only one of them? Rebbi Illa said: The first one is directed to the individual, the second one to the community; the first one concentrates on learning, the second one on doing¹¹The first paragraph is formulated in the singular, the second one in the plural. In addition, while the essence of the first paragraph is repeated in the second as a communal obligation, there are many topics in the second paragraph that are not mentioned in the first. In the language of the Babli (14b), the first paragraph is the acceptance of the acceptance of Heaven, the second one the acceptance of the commandments of the Torah..

Bar Qappara said: One has to focus his attention only during the first three verses¹²This is the accepted practice for the Yerushalmi with no one objecting. In the Babli (13b), the statement is given in the name of an otherwise unknown Tanna Rebbi Zutra, and, even though it exemplifies the attitude of Rebbi Aqiba, it is later replaced by the statement of Rebbi Meïr that only the first verse, Deut. 6:4, must be recited with focussed attention. Another difference between the more demanding Yerushalmi and the Babli is that the Yerushalmi requires the rest of Shema‘ to be “repeated”, i.e., memorized, whereas in the Babli it has only to be read.. It was stated thus: (Deut. 6:7) “You should repeat”¹³Meaning, "memorize". until there is the obligation of focussed attention; from there starts the obligation of repetition.

Rebbi Ḥunah, Rebbi Uri¹⁴Rebbi Uri is not known from any other source. The Rome manuscript of the Yerushalmi reads “Rebbi Ammi”; this might be a better reading but Rebbi Ammi was a student of Rebbi Yoḥanan who in the parallel in the Babli (13b) is reported to require that a person walking has to stand still during recitation of the entire first paragraph of Shema‘, since he follows the ruling of Rebbi Aḥai in the name of Rebbi Yehudah that the entire first paragraph requires concentrated attention., Rav Joseph, Rav Yehudah¹⁵The most influential of all students of Samuel. in the name of Samuel: One has to accept the Kingdom of Heaven standing. Does this mean that one has to get up when one is sitting? No, if one is walking he has to stand still.

It was stated: One has to prolong “is One”.¹⁶The last word of the first sentence of Shema‘. The composition here is difficult to understand since one starts with a tannaïtic statement (“It was stated”), continues with the opinion of an Amora (Rav Naḥman bar Jacob), and then returns to a Tanna (Symmachos, an outstanding student of Rebbi Meïr). The parallel Babli (13b) starts with the statement of Symmachos and then continues with the statement of Rav Naḥman bar Jacob which is quoted there in the name of Rav Aḥa bar Jacob. It is possible that “Aḥa”, a name without meaning, is simply a form of endearment of the formal name “Naḥman”, and that in the Babli it is necessary to use the form of endearment to distinguish this Amora from Rav Naḥman, quoted without his father’s name because of his exalted status, whose full name seems to have been Rav Naḥman bar Jacob. Rav Naḥman bar Jacob said: But only at the daleth.¹⁷The soft ד, without dagesh, was pronounced like an Arabic ذ, or a voiced English th, a sibilant sometimes close to ז. For example, the Aramaic די appears in the Elephantine papyri as זי. Hence, it really was possible to prolong the consonant daleth since it was not a plosive sound as it is today.
In the Babli (13b), Rav Ashi adds that one should not omit to pronounce the ח. This was because in Babylonia, as in Medieval Ashkenaz, a ח was pronounced like a stronger ה and therefore tended to be silent in the middle of a word, as ה is mostly silent in the middle of a word in modern Hebrew. (Even the masters of the Massorah tried to counteract this tendency, e. g. by punctuating יִֽהְיֶה, to make the Sheva heard when it should be silent by grammatical rules, so that the Torah reader should be forced to pronounce the ה, but obviously to no avail.) Symmachos bar Joseph¹⁸A Tanna, student of Rebbi Meïr. said: Anyone who prolongs “is One” has his days and years prolonged in wellbeing. Rebbi Jeremiah was prolonging very much. Rebbi Zeïra said to him: So much is unnecessary, only so long that you should think of Him as King of Heaven and Earth and the four directions of the world.

Rav asked Rebbi Ḥiyya: But I never see that Rebbi accepts upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. He answered him: When you will see him cover his face with his hand, at that moment he accepts the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.¹⁹The parallel is in Babli, Berakhot 13b. It seems that Rebbi started his Yeshivah classes early in the morning, before one could recite Shema‘, and continued until it was too late to recite Shema‘ as “acceptance of the yoke of heaven”, but only as “reading from the Torah.” He asked him back: Is it not necessary also to mention the Exodus? He answered him: It is impossible that he should not turn his words²⁰Turn his words to the Exodus. In the Babli, Bar Qappara reports that Rebbi never gave a class in which he did not mention the Exodus.. Rebbi Tavyome²¹An Israeli Amora of the fourth generation who otherwise is quoted only in Midrashim. asked Rebbi Ḥizkiah: Does this not mean that one has to focus attention only for the first verse?²²If Rebbi recited the relevant portion of Shema‘ while covering his face with his hand during his morning classses, he could not have spent much time on it and, therefore, Rebbi does not accept the opinion of Bar Qappara that the first three verses have to be recited with focussed attention. He said to him: With that²³While he was covering his face he could have recited all three verses and there is no proof that he disagreed with the ruling that requires concentration for the first three verses. he might recite until “You shall repeat.”

²⁴Here starts the discussion of the second part of the Mishnah, about the permitted interruptions in the recitation of Shema‘. The parallel in the Babli, Megillah 18b, quotes both Rebbi Muna and Rav, but from a discussion of the rules of blowing the shofar, given below; they change the statement of Rav to “practice does not follow” and consider the statement here to be the opinion of Rebbi Yehudah only. Rebbi Muna²⁵This author, whose name appears in several forms here in print and in manuscripts, is Rebbi Muna, student of Rebbi Yehudah (Judah) and Tanna of the last generation. said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah who said in the name of Rebbi Yose the Galilean: If one interrupted so that he would have been able to read all of it, he did not fulfill his duty. Rebbi Abba, Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: The practice follows Rebbi Muna who said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah who said in the name of Rebbi Yose the Galilean.

Rebbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Jehozadak: The same rule²⁶That one has to start again if the interruption is so long that one could have finished the entire text in the meantime. The Babli (Rosh Hashanah 34b) quotes the same statement and declares that this is only the opinion of Rebbi Yoḥanan’s teacher but not his own, and, therefore, is not followed in practice, since arbitrary interruptions are allowed for blowing the shofar. The Yerushalmi differs from the Babli in that the principle of time limitation of interruptions in recitals is accepted without reservation; the blowing of shofar on Rosh Hashanah is not a recitation and, therefore, can follow different rules. applies to Hallel and the reading of the Esther scroll.

Abba bar Rav Huna²⁷He appears in the Babli as Rabba bar Rav Huna; he and Rav Ḥisda were the leaders of the third generation of Amoraïm in Babylonia. and Rav Ḥisda sat together and said, the same rule applies to blowing the Shofar²⁸That no interruption is allowed longer than what is needed to complete the entire ritual.. They went up to Rav’s Yeshivah and heard Rav Ḥuna in the name of Rav²⁹This must have been after the death of Rav when Rav Ḥuna was the head of the Academy. The text given here is from the Rome manuscript; the Venice print and Leyden manuscript have רַב חוּנָא בְשֵׁם רַב הוּנָא “Rav Ḥuna in the name of Rav Huna”, which certainly is a scribal error.: Even if one heard it in up to nine hours he fulfilled his obligation³⁰If one heard the nine sounds precribed for Rosh Hashanah on nine different occasions during the day (but in the correct order), then he has done his duty.. Rebbi Zeiïa said: When I was there, this was a problem for me³¹Whether the rule of interruptions applies to the blowing of the Shofar or not. This shows that Rav Ḥuna’s ruling was not widely accepted in Babylonia in his time.. When I came here, I heard Rebbi Yasa³²He is called Rebbi Assi in the Babli, student of R. Yoḥanan, and co-head of the Academy of Tiberias with Rebbi Immi (Ammi) after R. Yoḥanan. Both were Cohanim. in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: Even if one heard it during an entire day, one has fulfilled one’s obligation³³As mentioned earlier, this is the statement quoted in the Babli (Megillah18b, Rosh Hashanah 34b).. But only if one heard it in the correct order³⁴The basic obligation is to hear three times a straight note (תקיעה), followed by a broken sound, followed by a straight note. [Since there was diasgreement in practice whether the broken sound should be in three waves or in nine small variations, Rebbi Abbahu in the administrative center of Caesarea, where Jews from many different places came together, instituted the rule that one blows three times, each one of the two kinds of modulated sound and the third time the two sounds together.]. Rebbi Yose investigated: If one needed to hear the first simple tone and another one the final simple tone, one blow of the Shofar serves the requirements of both of them³⁵In fact, the benediction on Rosh Hashanah is not “to blow the Shofar” but “to listen to the sound of the Shofar”; hence, it is the personal obligation of each listener and does not depend on the intention of the blower..

Rebbi Abin bar Ḥiyya³⁶An outstanding student of Rebbis Yoḥanan and Zeïra who died young. investigated: The recitation of Shema‘ with its benedictions, it (the recitation of Shema‘) without its benedictions, its benedictions without it³⁷Since we have decided that one has to start anew if he interrupted long enough to have finished the entire recitation during the interruption, does he count the time for Shema‘ with its benedictions, or without benedictions, and does the rule of interruptions apply at all to the benedictions? The question remains unanswered.? If he interrupted after a third, interrupted after a second third³⁸Do separate interruptions count as one or is every interruption a separate count of time? The question remains unanswered.? Does one estimate by the reader’s speed or by the average speed of all men? Rebbi Mattaniah³⁹A Galilean Amora of the last generation. In the parallel in Megillah(2:2), the reading is: Rebbi Mattaniah said: Is it not reasonable that …, with a rhetorical negation [interpretation of Rashba (Rebbi Shelomo ben Adrat) in his commentary to the Mishnah in Berakhot.] said, it seems reasonable by the reader’s.

Rebbi Abbahu⁴⁰A student of R. Yoḥanan who became the principal defender of the Jews in Israel before the Roman authorities. His father’s name is unknown. His school was at Caesarea Philippi [C. Paneas], seat of the Roman prefect for Galilee. asked Rebbi Yoḥanan: Assuming that I am reciting Shema‘ and interrupting while passing by stinking passage ways⁴¹Where it is forbidden to study Torah or recite prayers, cf. Mishnah 5:3. This section is also discussed in Babli Rosh Hashanah 34b, where, according to the theory of the Babli mentioned above, R. Yoḥanan answers only according to the opinion of those who think that after a longer interruption one has to start anew., do I fulfill my obligation? He answered him: Abbahu my son, if you interrupt enough that you could have finished all of it, you did not fulfill your obligation.

Rebbi Eleazar⁴²A Babylonian who first was a student and then became a colleague of Rebbi Yoḥanan. Even though he was the greatest of his generation after Rebbi Yoḥanan, he never became head of a Yeshivah since he died shortly before Rebbi Yoḥanan. He often follows Babylonian positions like the one presented here, where the position of Rebbi Eleazar is that which the Babli, Rosh Hashanah 34b, accepts as the re-interpreted position of Rebbi Yoḥanan. went to pay a sick-bed visit to Rebbi Simeon bar Abba⁴³A fellow Babylonian who was a student of the great Amoraïm of the first generation, thus much older than Rebbi Eleazar.. He said to him: Since I am weak, when I am reciting Shema‘ I tend to slumber; do I fulfill my obligation? He said to him: yes. Rebbi Jeremiah asked before Rebbi Zeïra: Did Rebbi Eleazar give this ruling since he knew that Rebbi Simeon bar Abba is very scrupulous in the execution of his religious duties⁴⁴Therefore, will make an effort that his slumber periods will not be too long., or because he was so weak⁴⁵Since there is no other way he could fulfill his obligation he could claim an exemption from the general rule because of אוֹנס, an act of God.? He answered him: They⁴⁶Rebbis Yoḥanan and Eleazar, concerning whether a person who interrupted a recitation for a longer period and then continued where he interrupted, did fulfill his religious duty. disagree explicitly; Rebbi Eleazar said he fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yoḥanan said he did not fulfill his obligation. They disagree for the recitation of Shema‘ since that is composed of separate chapters, but for the recitation of Hallel and the Esther scroll, Rebbi Eleazar will agree⁴⁷That after a long interruption one has to start from the beginning again. This sentence is a comment by the editors of the Yerushalmi; it is not the Babylonian position..

It was stated: If someone wants to greet his teacher or anybody who his greater than himself in Torah, he is permitted to do so⁴⁸To continue the discussion of the Mishnah, we now turn to the definition of what it means to interrupt “to greet somebody out of respect.”. That implies that a person has to greet anybody who is greater than himself in Torah. And also from the following⁴⁹A similar but more explicit baraita is found in Babli Nedarim 87a. A person stands at the deathbed of someone for whom he would be required to mourn. He must tear his clothes after the person’s death. In the case discussed here, he tore his clothes, thinking that the patient was dead but then the dying person showed signs of life. If the final death occurs within the time needed for “speech”, the first tear is sufficient. The baraita is quoted here only to introduce the standard for greeting, which is that the student is required to say: “Peace be with you, my teacher.” This is the standard of behavior for a student.: If one tore his clothes and the soul returned, if it is instantaneous he does not have to tear again. If it is later, he has to tear again. How much is instantaneous? The time for speech. How much is time of speech? Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said: the time one needs to greet his friend⁵⁰The greeting of a person to his friend is שלום עליכם “Peace be with you.” In the main parallel in the Babli (Baba qama 73b), no names are given but it is stated that there are two measurements of “speech”, one from teacher to student, the same as a person to a friend, and the longer one from student to teacher.. Abba bar bar Ḥana⁵¹He appears in the Babli as Rabba bar bar Ḥana; his father Rabba bar Ḥana was a nephew of Rav. in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: the time for greeting between teacher and student, when he says “Peace be with you, my teacher.⁵²The Babli (loc. cit.) has the longer sentence שלום עליך מורי ורבי, “peace be with you, my instructor and teacher.””

Rebbi Yoḥanan was leaning on Rebbi Jacob bar Idi when Rebbi Eleazar saw him and hid himself before him⁵³This story is inserted here to show that the obligation to greet one’s teacher was accepted in Babylonia only when the student could not hide from his teacher. Rebbi Yoḥanan also insists that all his teachings be reported in his own name; this is discussed in the next section. A psalm is quoted there to support Rebbi Yoḥanan’s position mentioning the Temple; the rôle of David in the building of the Temple is discussed in the third part of this aggadic insert.. He said, these two things the Babylonian does to me: First, that he does not greet me, and second, that he does not teach the traditions in my name. He said to him, thus they behave among themselves; Zeïra did not greet Rabba⁵⁴The names here do not seem to be correctly transmitted. Rabba belongs to the generation after Rebbi Yoḥanan and Rebbi Zeïra studied under Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah in Babylonia. Therefore, it seems that the name is Zeïri, a Babylonian who studied under Rav and them emigrated to Israel where he became famous but did not acquire any rabbinic title. The second name, therefore, is Rav. since they observe (Job 29:8) “Boys see me and hide themselves.” As they were walking, he⁵⁵Rebbi Jacob bar Idi. saw a Bet Midrash. He⁵⁵Rebbi Jacob bar Idi. said to him: Here Rebbi Meïr sat and reported traditions in the name of Rebbi Ismaël but he never reported traditions in the name of Rebbi Aqiba. He⁵⁶Rebbi Yoḥanan. answered: Everybody knows that Rebbi Meïr was the student of Rebbi Aqiba. He⁵⁵Rebbi Jacob bar Idi. retorted, everybody knows that Rebbi Eleazar is the student of Rebbi Yoḥanan. May one pass by a cursed⁵⁷The word אהדורי makes no sense. In the parallel sources in the Yerushalmi, Sheqalim 2:6, Moëd qaṭan 3:2, the word is ארורי “cursed”. statue? He⁵⁸Rebbi Yoḥanan; the person who asks is Rebbi Jacob bar Idi who already knew the answer from Rebbi Joshua ben Levi, Avodah zarah 3:8. said to him, do you want to honor it? Pass it by and blind its eyes! He⁵⁹Rebbi Jacob bar Idi points out that one avoids only important people or circumstances. One “blinds the eyes” of the idol if one passes by it without taking any notice of it and the idol sees that it is not taken seriously. said to him, Rebbi Eleazar did well that he did not pass before you. He said: Rebbi⁶⁰The title “Rebbi” is missing in the Rome ms.; this is the better reading since the teacher will not adress his student (nor his equal) by his title. Jacob bar Idi, you know how to pacify.

But Rebbi Yoḥanan required that traditions should be reported in his name. Also David begged for divine mercy in this respect, (Ps. 61:5) “may I dwell in Your tent forever!”⁶¹The context of the Psalm excludes an interpretation that would refer the verse to the Future World since it directly refers to the earthly Temple. Rebbi Phineas⁶²R. Pinḥas bar Ḥama Hacohen, leading preacher of the fourth generation of Galilean Amoraïm., Rebbi Jeremiah, in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan; Could David think of living forever? Rather, David meant: May I have the merit that my words will be mentioned in my name in synagogues and houses of study. What good does that do to him? Levi, the son of the Nazir⁶³An author who is not otherwise mentioned in the Talmudim. In the parallels in the Babli (Yebamot 96b, Sanhedrin 90b, Bekhorot 31b) the statement is R. Yoḥanan’s in the name of R. Simeon (either ben Yoḥai or ben Yehoẓadaq) and the verse is quoted in the name of several authors, one of them Simeon Nazira who probably was the father of Levi, the son of the Nazir who is quoted here. (The Nazir may not cut his hair, drink wine, or become impure by a dead body. Since the destruction of the Temple, any vow of nezirut is permanent.) said: If someone mentions a tradition in the name of its author, the latter’s lips whisper with him in the grave. What is the reason? (Cant. 7:10) “Dripping from the lips of the sleeping ones.” Like that bunch of grapes which drips by itself. Rebbi Ḥanina bar Pappai⁶⁴A colleague of Rebbi Simon and Rebbi Abbahu, equally outstanding in practice and in aggadah. (“Spiced wine” from Latin conditura “condiment, spice.”) and Rebbi Simon, one said, like one who drinks spiced wine, the other said, like one who drinks old wine, even though he consumed it, its taste remains in his mouth.

There is no generation without scoffers. What did the hooligans of that generation do? They went to David’s windows and said to him: David, when will the Temple be built, when will we go to the Lord’s house? But he said, even though they intend to enrage me, it comes over me that I am happy, (Ps. 122:1) “I enjoy it when they say to me: let us go to the Lord’s house.”⁶⁵Knowing that he would not build the Temple and not see it. (2Sam. 7:12) “⁶⁶The word והיה given here is not in 2Samuel; the quote starts with the second word. When your days will be complete”; Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said, the Holy One, praise to Him, said to David: ‘I am counting full days for you, I am not counting missing days for you⁶⁷This is one of the blessings bestowed at Mount Sinai on the Jewish people, Ex. 23:26, that the Just will live complete years; as in fact Moses died on his 120th birthday. It is asserted here that David also lived complete years; his age is never indicated in Tanakh.. Will not your son Solomon build the Temple to sacrifice? Law and justice that you are upholding is more to my liking than sacrifices.’ What is the reason? (Prov. 21:3) “Upholding justice and law is preferred by the Lord to sacrifice”.

New Section. “Between the sections one greets people out of respect, and answers them.”⁶⁹This is a quote from the Mishnah. The problem is that Rebbi Meïr does not indicate why one should answer. Since for Rebbi Yehudah the rules for answering are more lenient than for initiating the exchange, it follows that for Rebbi Meïr the rules for answering are not more lenient, but it is unclear whether answering and initiating have identical status or that the rules for answering are more restrictive than those for initiating a verbal exchange. The Babli (13b) explains the words of Rebbi Meïr as meaning “one may start an exchange and it goes without saying that one may answer”, they seem to assume that it is obvious that the rules of answering cannot be stricter than those for starting. Also, the Babli takes the two parts together; it is possible that the unnecessary length in the statement of Rebbi Meïr is considered simply as a parallel to the necessary length of the statement of Rebbi Yehudah while for the Yerushalmi the two parallel statements of Rebbi Meïr represent two parallel problems which have to be solved separately. Hence the seemingly repetitous arrangement of the Yerushalmi here; but the first quote of Rebbi Meïr is in support of an argument while the second one presents the topic for further discussion; the two quotes of the identical text are of different status. Why does one answer, out of fear or to show respect? We may hear it from this: “In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer (for respect), the words of Rebbi Meïr.” Hence, in the prior case one may ask because of respect and answer out of respect.⁷¹Since in the middle of a section certainly more restrictive rules apply than between sections. “In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer, the words of Rebbi Meïr.” For what does one answer, out of fear or to show respect? We may hear it from this: “Rebbi Yehudah says: in the middle of a section one may greet out of fear and answer for respect.” Hence⁷²Since Rebbi Meïr disagrees with Rebbi Yehudah, and from the previous discussion we know that answering does not have more restrictive rules than starting the conversation, it follows that Rebbi Meïr must hold in all cases that answering and starting have the same status., in the first case one asks because of fear and answers because of fear.

So far in the middle of a section. Or even in the middle of a verse⁷³Do the rules given in the Mishnah apply only between verses in the middle of a section or even in the middle of a verse?? Rebbi Jeremiah gave hints⁷⁴The text here is not uniform. The Leyden manuscript and the Genizah text are as the Venice print, מדמה, but in the quotes of this passage by Ramban, Milḥamot Hashem, Berakhot Chap. 2 and the authorities depending on him (Rashba and Rosh on Babli Berakhot 14a), the text reads מרמז. The meaning is in both cases that Rebbi Jeremiah did not talk but give greetings or instructions by pantomime.. Rebbi Jonah made himself understood⁷⁵I. e., he talked.. Rebbi Ḥuna, Rav Joseph: (Deut. 6:7) “You may talk in them”, from here that one is authorized to talk between them⁷⁶In Hebrew, future, imperative, and subjunctive may have the same form. In general, the passage ודברת בם in Shema‘ is translated “you must talk about them” (The Divine commandments), but Rebbi Ḥuna takes it to mean “you may talk in them”, i. e., while reciting the verses..