I ended my post on Berakhot 16 by noting how much I loved Rav Safra’s personal prayer for peace because of its simplicity and conclusiveness. I should have turned the page before writing those words because actually Rav Safra’s prayer for peace continues on in Berakhot 17! The continuation of the blessing makes it somewhat less simple and universal, but it is still beautiful.
After Rav Safra’s prayer, the Talmud relates the personal prayer of Rabbi Alexandri. I had to check the Hebrew on that name because I never considered it a Jewish name, but indeed it is Alexandri! Rabbi Alexandri prays that we do God’s will. He identifies the two forces that prevent us from doing God’s will: our subjugation to foreign regimes that prevent us from following commandments (there have been too many to enumerate) and the “yeast in the dough”. I love that analogy of our inner drives rising like dough with yeast rising compelling us with ever more and more force. If you have ever experienced an urge to do something you know you should not, you will understand Rabbi Alexandri’s analogy.
The personal prayer of Rava is related which becomes the Al Chet prayer on Yom Kippur. Finally, we come to the personal prayer of Mar, the son of Ravina whose personal prayer was, “My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit. And to those who curse me, let my soul be silent; and let my soul be like dust to everyone. Open my heart to your Torah and let my soul pursue Your commandments. And save me from evil mishap from the evil inclination, from an evil woman, and from all evil occurrences that happen to come into the world. And all those who design evil against me, speedily nullify their counsel and disrupt their design. May the expressions of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor before You, my Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Some variation of this final personal prayer is said in every synagogue today at the conclusion of the Shemoneh Esrei.
Having discussed the sages personal prayers, the Talmud considers various wisdom sayings of the sages, similar to what would be found in Perkei Avot. My favorite comes from the Rabbis of Yavneh (a city in central Israel) who compare the work of a Torah scholar and the work of a peasant and point out that neither can do the other’s job and each should be rewarded – kind of the Talmudic version of city mouse/country mouse. A couple of these sayings indicate how we should treat everyone with respect and make peace with everyone, even non-Jewish strangers.
In keeping with the ancient view of the world that we have seen over the last few days, the Rabbis also discuss how a women merits eternal life. In orthodox Jewish thought, women are exempt from time-bound positive commandments (like reciting the Shema at a particular period of time). The Rabbis are concerned that women do not have enough opportunity to build the merit necessary to reach heaven. They conclude that women can raise children, take them for Jewish education and support and wait for their Torah scholar husbands – that is how women merit heaven.
The Talmud then goes on to discuss the various blessings the students would offer each other on departing from the academy. There is a long discussion of the interpretation of Isaiah 46:12 (“Listen to me you stubborn of heart, who are far from victory”). Exactly who are these stubborn of heart? In one interpretation they are either non-Jews who refuse to convert despite knowing the beauty and wisdom of Judaism or insincere converts. I find this passage fascinating because it suggests a lot more fluidity in the Jewish/non-Jewish divide. Additionally, there is a long discussion of differing customs of the holy day of Tish b’Av which commemorates the day of the destruction of the Temple. Inherent in this discussion is a recognition that customs vary by community and we should follow our community’s custom – again suggesting a certain flexibility in religious observance.
At this point, Chapter 2 of Berakhot ends. You can see it right on the page. I again am not sure what separates one chapter from another. Chapter 3 picks right up again with laws about the recitation of the Shema.
Chapter 3 opens with a Mishnah discussing times when we are excused from reciting the Shema. We do not need to recite the Shema, prayer, wearing tefillin and all positive commandments when we are in the time between the death of a relative and burial. Similarly, pall bearers waiting to carry the coffin (but not pall bearers who have already carried the coffin) are exempt from reciting the Shema and putting on tefillin. All pall bearers at a funeral, whether they have already carried the coffin or are waiting to carry the coffin, are exempt from the regular prayer service. After a funeral while we are waiting to comfort the mourners, if we have time before encountering the mourners, we are required to recite the Shema.