Yerushalmi Berakhot 7:3 ירושלמי ברכות ז׳:ג׳

MISHNAH: How does one ‘invite’? If there are three, he says: let us praise⁹¹The changes apply only to the start of the invitation; in all cases one continues with “Him, Whose food we ate”.. If there are three in addition to himself, he says: praise!⁹²Since there are three without him, he may address them without including himself. If there are ten, he says: let us praise our God. If there are ten in addition to himself, he says: praise! There is no difference between ten and ten myriads⁹³This is the majority opinion; the rest of the Mishnah is Rebbi Yose the Galilean’s, as explained at the end of the Mishnah.. If there are a hundred, he says: let us praise the Eternal, our God. If there are a hundred in addition to himself, he says: praise! If there are a thousand, he says: let us praise the Eternal, our God, the God of Israel. If there are a thousand in addition to himself, he says: praise! If there are ten thousand, he says: let us praise the Eternal, our God, the God of Israel, God of Hosts, Who thrones over the Cherubim, for the food that we ate. Rebbi Yose the Galilean says, the praise has to be according to the multitude of the assembled, as it is said (Ps. 68:27): “In assemblies⁹⁴It will be clear in the Halakhah that the difference between the Sages and R. Yose the Galilean is in the interpretation of this word, whether it means “assemblies”, i. e., different assemblies recite different praises, or “choirs” that all sing together. praise God, the Lord, from the root of Israel.”
Rebbi Aqiba said, do we not find in the synagoge that one recites “Praise the Eternal” whether there are many or few? Rebbi Ismael says, “Praise the Eternal, the Praised One!”¹¹⁰This Mishnah is sequel to the preceding one and presents the argument of the Sages against Rebbi Yose the Galilean. The difference in text between the two authorities already was discussed in the preceding Halakhah.

HALAKHAH: Clarification. Rebbi Zeïra, Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, and Rebbi Ḥanina the colleague of the rabbis, were sitting and eating together. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa took the cup⁹⁵The cup of wine over which Grace is recited. Since there were four sages eating together, the Mishnah would require that he start with “praise!”. and said “let us praise”, he did not say: “praise!”. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba asked him, why did you not say “praise!” He said to him, did we not state⁹⁶Tosephta Berakhot 5:18, Babli 50a.: “One does not insist on the formulation. Whether he says ‘let us praise’, or he says ‘praise!’, one does not criticize him, but the pedants⁹⁷The reading of the Arukh is נקרנין “nitpickers.” The Babli (50a) interprets the Tosephta to mean that “praise!” is acceptable but not preferred; the Yerushalmi seems to accept Samuel’s statement (also Babli 49b) at face value that “praise!” should not be used in practice. criticize him for that.” Rebbi Zeïra felt badly that Rebbi Jacob bar Abba had called Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba a pedant.

Samuel said: I do not want to exclude myself from the group⁹⁸In the Babli, Samuel is quoted as saying “nobody should exclude himself from the group” as obligatory ruling, whereas here he is quoted as stating his personal preference for נברך against the Mishnah.. They objected: look at the benediction for the Torah where he says “praise!” Rebbi Abun said, since he will conclude by “the Praised One”, he does not exclude himself from the group.⁹⁹It is explained in the next Mishnah that the benediction for reading the Torah starts with “Praise the Eternal” according to Rebbi Aqiba, and “Praise the Eternal, the Praised One” according to Rebbi Ismael. Rebbi Abun indicates that practice follows Rebbi Ismael. The Babli (50a) indicates that in Torah reading, the people forced adherence to the opinion of R. Ismael, apparently against the resistance of some rabbis (called “black vessels” by Rava) who preferred to follow Rebbi Aqiba. It seems that R. Ḥiyya bar Abba, a native Babylonian, felt that R. Jacob bar Aḥa was following the uneducated, but in Galilee everybody followed Samuel and popular opinion.

Rebbi Abba bar Zamina waited upon Zeïra and mixed him a cup. He¹⁰⁰The last two words are not in the Rome manuscript and are probably dittography. said to him: Old man, make the benediction, and have the intention of drinking another one, as we have stated: The waiter makes a benediction for every single cup¹⁰¹Since he cannot expect to get another cup, he cannot have the intention to make one benediction for more than one cup. On the other hand, in the opinion of the Yerushalmi the waiter will always have occasion to eat some food from the kitchen, hence he may make a benediction for the future. In the Babli (Ḥulin 107b), this baraita is a statement of Rav and is restricted there to formal dinners. The Babli also quotes an opinion of the Galilean R. Yoḥanan that for solid food also the waiter cannot make a benediction for the uncertain future; since this is not mentioned here one has to conclude that the Yerushalmi rejects the distinction made in the Babli. but not for every morsel. He answered him: Just as I have the intention of absolving you of your obligation by the benediction so you must have the intention of absolving me of my obligation¹⁰²All commentators except R. Moshe Margalit declare this passage to be corrupt and that it should read מַפְקָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתָךְ “fulfill your obligation”; this seems to be required by the following quote (which is formulated for sounding the shofar but is valid for all obligations that may be fulfilled by listening.) by “Amen”. Rebbi Tanḥum bar Jeremiah¹⁰³A student of R. Mana II of the fifth generation. said, a Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 4:8) states this: The absent-minded¹⁰⁴The word means usually “absentminded” but can also mean “practicing” and that probably is the primary meaning in this Mishnah, that one who blows the shofar in order to learn the technique cannot by the same act fulfill his obligation, neither can anyone who hears him. But in our application, the intended meaning is “absent-minded.” R. Abba bar Zamina’s implication is that in hearing a benediction one must answer “Amen” in order to make sure that the listener is not absent-minded either. This explains the placing of this paragraph here, following another one where also one person recites Grace in order for all others (even a hundred thousand) to be freed from their obligation. did not fulfill his obligation and he who heard from the absent-minded did not fulfill his obligation.

“If there are a hundred” etc. Rebbi Yoḥanan said, these are the words of Rebbi Jose the Galilean, but the Sages say “there is no difference between ten and ten myriads”. Rava¹⁰⁵It seems that here an apostrophe is missing and the name is R. Abba who is frequently mentioned in the Yerushalmi, rather than Rava (Rav Abba), one of the architects of dialectics in the Babli who lived at the time when the work on the Yerushalmi came to an end. The latter is mentioned only once in the Yerushalmi [Beẓa 1:3 (fol. 60b)] as Rebbi (!) Abba bar Josef [in the parallel in the Babli, based on the Yerushalmi, his full name is given as Rava bar Rav Josef bar Ḥama in contrast to Babylonian material where his name consistently is only Rava]. In the Babli, (50a) Rava is quoted as saying that “the people follow R. Ismael”, i. e., there is no binding ruling in the matter but a silent consensus, whereas the statement in the Yerushalmi indicates a rabbinic ruling. said, practice follows him who states that there is no difference between ten and ten myriads.

From where that “congregation” means ten people¹⁰⁶The discussion here is to prove that for a public invocation of the Name one needs a congregation of at least ten adult males. The relevant verses are Lev. 19:2 “Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel and tell them: conduct yourselves in holiness because I, The Eternal, your God, Am Holy” and Lev. 22:32 “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel.” The same discussion is reported Megillah 4:4, Sanhedrin 1:4. The parallel discussion in the Babli, Megillah 23a, in the name of the first generation Rebbi Ḥiyya, is based on the second verse and is intelligible only if it is understood as reference to the derivation in the Yerushalmi.? Rebbi Abba and Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: It is said here “congregation” and it says there¹⁰⁷“Here” refers to Lev. 19:2, “there” to Num. 14:27: “How long for this evil congregation”, speaking of the ten spies who argued against entering the Land. There were twelve spies in all; Joshua and Caleb were in the opposition; accordingly there were ten evil persons who formed the congregation. “congregation”. Since “congregation” mentioned there means ten, so also “congregation” mentioned here must mean ten. Rebbi Simon said, it is said here “in the midst” and it is said there “in the midst” (Gen. 42:5): “The sons of Israel came to buy grain in the midst of those who came.” Since “in the midst” said there means ten, so also here it must mean ten. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said to him, if you deduce from “in the midst”, there are too many of them¹⁰⁸In particular, in Lev. 22:32, “in the midst” must mean 600’000 adult males. In the Babli, Lev. 22:32 is used to establish a formal parallel, known as gezerah shawah, between this verse and the one from Genesis. The latter verse is then used to arrive at the number ten (since of the twelve tribes, Joseph and Benjamin were missing). From the Babli it seems that there was a tradition linking the two verses (since in its opinion, gezerah shawah must be based on a tradition) and, therefore, R. Simon is forced to quote a verse that in itself seems to be less adequate than the one used before.. But it is said here “the children of Israel” and it is said there “the children of Israel.” Since “children of Israel” said there means ten, so here it also must mean ten.

How do the Sages use the reason of Rebbi Yose the Galilean? “In assemblies”, in each separate congregation. Rebbi Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, it is written במקהלת¹⁰⁹The opinion of the sages is that the plural “assemblies” points to different assemblies at different places and not to different categories of the same assembly. R. Ḥanina notes that in R. Yose the Galilean’s tradition, the word was written defective and could be read as a singular מִקְהֶלֶת “assembly”. Hence, if the word is vocalized as a plural, it is an ideal plural that refers to different stages of the same assembly. In all our sources, the word in Psalms is written plene to support the position of the Sages; the Masorah to Num. 32:25/26 (composed several centuries after the conclusion of the Talmudim) notes that מקהלת appears as geographical name only in Num. and that in Psalms, מקהלוֹת is a hapax legomenon. The parallel Babli (50a) refers the verse in Psalms, in the name of R. Meir, to the choir of children at the Red Sea, a tradition more justly attributed to Rabban Gamliel in Yerushalmi Soṭa 5:6..

Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi rose to read in the Torah and said “Praise the Eternal,” he did not add “the Praised One!” They wanted to silence him. Rav said to them, let him, because he follows Rebbi Aqiba¹¹¹The title “Rebbi” found twice in the text is a scribal error; Rav Ḥiyya Bar Ashi never went to Israel.
It seems that Rav, when he returned to Babylonia from his studies in Galilee, followed the Galilean order of prayers. [Even centuries later, we still find that Rav’s Yeshivah in Surah followed the minhag Eretz Israel in reciting liturgical poems in the prayers, whereas the autochthonous Yeshivah of Pum Beditha (Nahardea) never recited them.] Rav Ḥiyya Bar Ashi became a member of Rav’s Yeshivah but kept the old Babylonian minhag following Rebbi Aqiba. Rav had to explain to his students that this way also is acceptable. The parallel in the Babli (50a) tells a similar story about Rafrem bar Papa, a student of Rav’s student Rav Huna; there, Rava notes that even in Babylonia “the people follow Rebbi Ismaël.” This shows that common practice was settled only three generations after Rav. (The Rome ms. has “Rav Ada” instead of “Rav”. Since Rav Ada was one of Rav’s students, ranking much below Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi, the reading has to be rejected.). Rebbi Zeïra rose to read as Cohen in place of a Levite and recited the benediction before and after. They wanted to silence him. Rav Hiyya bar Ashi said to them, let him, because that is their way of doing it¹¹²This second story deals with another subject. The original practice, as spelled out in the Mishnah Megillah 3:1, was that the first to read in the Torah pronounced the benediction before the reading and the last one the benediction after the reading. Even in Mishnaic times it became customary that every reader recited his own benediction. Here, Rebbi Zeïra had read his portion as Cohen; in the absence of a Levite he was called a second time to read and he started by reciting the benedictions again. It is reported in the Babli (Avodah Zarah 16b) that R. Zeïra studied some time in the Yeshivah of R. Ḥiyya bar Ashi after having been ordained by Rav Yehudah and before his immigration to Galilee. The action of R. Zeïra, therefore, reflects the practice of the Yeshivah of Nahardea..

It is written (Neh. 8:6): “Ezra praised the Eternal, the great God.” In what did he declare Him great? He declared Him great by the Explicit Name¹¹³The name YHWH pronounced with the correct vocalization that is unknown to us.. Rav Mattanah said, he declared Him great by a benediction. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Why are they called the Men of the Great Assembly¹¹⁴The parallel is in Megillah 3:8; in Babli Yoma 69b it is spelled out that Rav Mattanah means the first benediction of the ‘Amidah that contains the sentence “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God” chosen by the Men of the Great Assembly, and the observation of R. Joshua ben Levi is intended to buttress the argument of Rav Mattanah.? Because they returned the Crown to its former status. Rebbi Phineas said, Moses fixed the formula of benediction, (Deut. 10:17) “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God.” Jeremiah said (Jer. 32:18): “the Great, Strong God,” but he left out “Awesome.” Why did he say “the Strong”? He may rightly be called strong because He sees the destruction and is silent. And why did he not say “the Awesome”? Awesome is only the Temple, as it is said (Ps. 68:36): “Awesome is the Eternal from Your holy place.” Daniel said (Dan. 9:4)¹¹⁵The same expression is used by Nehemiah, Neh. 1:5.: “the Great and Awesome God,” he did not say “the Strong”; His sons are put in neck-irons¹¹⁶Latin collare “neck-iron.”, where is His strength? Why did he say: “the Awesome?” He may well be called “the Awesome” by the wonders He did for us in the fiery oven. But when the Men of the Great Assembly came,they restituted Greatness to its former place, “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God.” Does flesh and blood have power to set limits in these matters? Rebbi Isaac ben Eleazar¹¹⁷There were two sages of this name, one a student of R. Yoḥanan and the other in the fourth generation, a colleague of R. Mana. In the Babli, the statement is attributed to R. Eleazar. said, the prophets know that their God is Truth and they will not fawn before him.