Talmud zu Könige I 8:54

These are the benedictions for which one bows down²⁴⁴Here one does not talk about the recitation of the Shema‘ and its benedictions at all but about the eighteen benedictions of the Amidah, the subject of Chapters 3 and 4. In the Babli, the place of this discussion is in Chap. 4, p. 34a. The reason that the subject is taken up in this context in the Yerushalmi is that in the Tosephta (Berakhot 1:8) it is dealt with immediately after the discussion of short and long benedictions. (In Tosephta and Babli, the verb “to bow down” is שחה, not שחח as in the Yerushalmi. This is another indication that the Tosephta in our hands today is a Babylonian edition of an originally Israeli text.): The first²⁴⁵At the very start of Shemone Esre and before the benediction “Shield of Abraham.”, beginning and end; “thanks”, beginning and end. One who bows down for every benediction is taught that he should not bow down²⁴⁶Either because he imitates behavior reserved for the High Priest or because he is ostentatious in his religiosity, an objectionable behavior.. Rebbi Isaac bar Naḥman²⁴⁷One of the students of R. Joshua ben Levi in the early Talmudic period. in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: The High Priest bows down at the end of every benediction; the king at the start and the end of every benediction. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Once the king bows down deeply he does not get up until he finishes his entire prayer²⁴⁹The origin of this short insertion is Sukkah 5:4 where it is reported that Rabban Gamliel, on occasion of the joyous dance for the drawing of water on Sukkot not only had a fire dance with eight different torches swirling in the air but also showed “bowing down to one’s knees” as making a push-up by supporting oneself not on two hands but only on two fingers. This introduction has fallen out here and the two termsכריצה, בריכה have been switched. What the Yerushalmi calls בריכה, the parallel in the Babli (Megillah 22b, also Berakhot 34b) calls קידה, “falling on one’s face”.. What is the reason? (1Kings 8:54) “It was when Solomon finished all this prayer and supplication to the Eternal, he got up before the Eternal’s altar and did no longer bow down on his knees.”

(1Kings 8:54) “His hands raised to Heaven.”²⁵¹This is the end of the verse quoted earlier for Solomon’s prayer. The text of the Venice edition here is inferior to that of the Rome manuscript that has been followed. (In the Venice print: הזהיר is missing, נטפו for ינטפו.) As Levy recognized, נטף is the same as טנף. Rebbi Ayvu said: He was standing as if inanimate. Rebbi Eleazar bar Avina said: He made clear that these palms did not get at all dirty during the building of the Temple²⁵²He seems to emphasize that Solomon raised his “open hands”, not his “hands”, to show that from all the riches that David had assembled for the building of the Temple (1Chr. 29:1–9) not a penny was sticking to his own palms..