Talmud su Salmi 29:78

“One starts to pray only in a serious frame of mind.”²²With this quote from the Mishnah, the detailed discussion starts. The following verses seek to prove that a serious state of mind is required in a place of holiness (Babli 30b). Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, (Ps. 29:2) “Bow down before the Eternal in the splendor of the sanctuary,” in fear of the holy²³In some Galilean and all Babylonian dialects, ה and ח sounded the same and were not distinguished. In other dialects, the sounds were close.. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, (Ps. 2:11) “Serve the Eternal in fear, rejoice in trembling.” Rebbi Aḥa said, when an evil day should come, you may rejoice²⁴The person to rejoice even in bad times is the Just, who has nothing to fear. In the opinion of Tosaphot (Berakhot 31a, s. v. במקום), R. Aḥa gives the simple sense of the verse, in contrast to the homiletics of R. Yose ben R. Ḥanina..

Rebbi Levi⁹¹In the Tosephta (Berakhot3:25) this is a tannaitic text together with the later quote about composite benedictions; in the Babli (loc. cit.) it is attributed to the school of R. Samuel bar Naḥman, and by implication to the latter’s teacher, the first generation Amora R. Jonathan. said, corresponding to the eighteen Divine Names⁹²In biblical language, אזכרה is the part of a cereal sacrifice burned on the altar (Lev. 2:2). It is best explained from Accadic zekrun“pronounced name”, since the part to be burned is taken ceremoniously in God’s Name. The same explanation applies here; the word is used exclusively to refer to the Name YHWH. written in Give to the Eternal, sons of the mighty⁹³Ps. 29.. Rebbi Ḥuna said: If it were said that they are seventeen, tell him the one against sectarians the Sages fixed already at Jabneh⁹⁴Rebbi Ḥuna’s question is an attack against all who try to find a reason for the eighteen benedictions by pointing out that in the 500 years between the institution of formalized prayer by the Men of the Great Assembly and the Synhedrion of Rabban Gamliel, the Amidah prayer consisted of only 17 benedictions. Rebbi Ḥuna’s answer is that the eighteenth benediction also is an institution of the Synhedrion, the legal successor of the Great Assembly, and, therefore, all eighteen benedictions have the same status.. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose objected before Rebbi Yose, but is it not written the God of Glory thundered⁹⁵Ps. 29:3. This Divine name is not an askara.? He said to him: Has it not been stated: “He takes together the one against sectarians and sinners in ‘He Who subdues offenders’, the one for elders and proselytes in ‘Assurance to the righteous’, and the one for David in ‘He Who builds Jerusalem.’⁹⁶This implies that the benediction containing the curse upon apostates and sectarians (i. e., Christians) was not newly introduced at Jabneh but that it was a modification of an old benediction directed at those who wantonly transgress the commandments of the Torah. Hence, the original number of benedictions instituted by the Great Assembly was 18. The Palestinian version had no separate benediction asking for the return of the Davidic rulers. The Babylonian version has no mention of the Davidic dynasty in the prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem; it is retained in today’s Yemenite prayerbook. Current Ashkenazic and Sephardic versions combine the Palestinian prayer for Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty in benediction 14, with the Babylonian one for the Davidic dynasty alone in benediction 15. Hence, Psalm 29 accommodates both the Galilean 18 benedictions based on the number of mentions of the Tetragrammaton, and the 19 of the Babylonian version, based on all invocations of the Deity in the Psalm.” Then you have enough to have ˂a Divine Name˃⁹⁷Added from G and ב. for each one of them.

Rebbi Levi⁹¹In the Tosephta (Berakhot3:25) this is a tannaitic text together with the later quote about composite benedictions; in the Babli (loc. cit.) it is attributed to the school of R. Samuel bar Naḥman, and by implication to the latter’s teacher, the first generation Amora R. Jonathan. said, corresponding to the eighteen Divine Names⁹²In biblical language, אזכרה is the part of a cereal sacrifice burned on the altar (Lev. 2:2). It is best explained from Accadic zekrun“pronounced name”, since the part to be burned is taken ceremoniously in God’s Name. The same explanation applies here; the word is used exclusively to refer to the Name YHWH. written in Give to the Eternal, sons of the mighty⁹³Ps. 29.. Rebbi Ḥuna said: If it were said that they are seventeen, tell him the one against sectarians the Sages fixed already at Jabneh⁹⁴Rebbi Ḥuna’s question is an attack against all who try to find a reason for the eighteen benedictions by pointing out that in the 500 years between the institution of formalized prayer by the Men of the Great Assembly and the Synhedrion of Rabban Gamliel, the Amidah prayer consisted of only 17 benedictions. Rebbi Ḥuna’s answer is that the eighteenth benediction also is an institution of the Synhedrion, the legal successor of the Great Assembly, and, therefore, all eighteen benedictions have the same status.. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose objected before Rebbi Yose, but is it not written the God of Glory thundered⁹⁵Ps. 29:3. This Divine name is not an askara.? He said to him: Has it not been stated: “He takes together the one against sectarians and sinners in ‘He Who subdues offenders’, the one for elders and proselytes in ‘Assurance to the righteous’, and the one for David in ‘He Who builds Jerusalem.’⁹⁶This implies that the benediction containing the curse upon apostates and sectarians (i. e., Christians) was not newly introduced at Jabneh but that it was a modification of an old benediction directed at those who wantonly transgress the commandments of the Torah. Hence, the original number of benedictions instituted by the Great Assembly was 18. The Palestinian version had no separate benediction asking for the return of the Davidic rulers. The Babylonian version has no mention of the Davidic dynasty in the prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem; it is retained in today’s Yemenite prayerbook. Current Ashkenazic and Sephardic versions combine the Palestinian prayer for Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty in benediction 14, with the Babylonian one for the Davidic dynasty alone in benediction 15. Hence, Psalm 29 accommodates both the Galilean 18 benedictions based on the number of mentions of the Tetragrammaton, and the 19 of the Babylonian version, based on all invocations of the Deity in the Psalm.” Then you have enough to have ˂a Divine Name˃⁹⁷Added from G and ב. for each one of them.

Rebbi Levi¹⁴²In the Babli, this is a statement of Rebbi Hillel, the son of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥmani. Also the following discussion has a parallel in the Babli. said, corresponding to the 18 Divine Names written in (Ps. 29) “Give to the Eternal, o sons of the mighty.” Rebbi Ḥuna said: If it were said that they are 17, tell him the one against sectarians the Sages fixed already at Jabneh¹⁴³Rebbi Ḥuna’s question is an attack against all who try to find a reason for the eighteen benedictions by pointing out that in the 500 years between the institution of formalized prayer by the Men of the Great Assembly and the Synhedrion of Rabban Gamliel, the Amidah prayer consisted of only 17 benedictions. Rebbi Ḥuna’s answer, not very satisfactory, is that the eighteenth benediction is also an institution of the Synhedrion, the legal successor of the Great Assembly, and, therefore, all eighteen benedictions have the same status.. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose objected before Rebbi Yose, but is it not written (Ps. 29:3) “the God of Glory thundered¹⁴⁴The mention of God introduces a nineteenth Divine name.”? He said to him: Has it not been stated: He takes together the one against sectarians and sinners in “He Who subdues offenders”¹⁴⁵This implies that the benediction containing the curse upon apostates and sectarians (i. e., Christians) was not newly introduced at Jabneh but that it was a modification of an old benediction directed at those who wantonly transgress the commandments of the Torah. Hence, the original number of benedictions instituted by the Great Assembly was 18. The benediction has been changed in Christian surroundings beyond recognition. The text of Jabneh must have been close to today’s Yemenite version: למשומדים אל תהי תקוה, כל המינים והמוסרים כרגע יאבדו ומלכות זדון תעקור ותשבור מהרה בימינו. ברוך אתה ײ֨ שובר אויבים ומכניע זדים., the one for elders and proselytes in “Assurance to the righteous”, and the one for David in “He Who builds Jerusalem.”¹⁴⁶This is the Israeli version which has no separate benediction asking for the return of the Davidic rulers. The Babylonian version has no mention of the Davidic dynasty in the prayer for rebuilding Jerusalem; it is retained in today’s Yemenite prayerbook. Current Ashkenazic and Sephardic versions combine the Israeli prayer, for Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty in benediction 14, with the Babylonian one for the Davidic dynasty alone in benediction 15. Hence, Psalm 29 accomodates both the Galilean (18) benedictions based on the number of mentions of the Tetragrammaton, and the Babylonian (19) versions, based on all invocations of the Deity in the Psalm. Then you have enough to have a Divine name¹⁴⁷The parallels הזכרות, אדכרה in this paragraph show that in the times of the Yerushalmi the sounds of ז /z/ and soft ד /ð/ (voiced th) were almost indistinguishable. for each one of them.

Rebbi Levi¹⁴²In the Babli, this is a statement of Rebbi Hillel, the son of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥmani. Also the following discussion has a parallel in the Babli. said, corresponding to the 18 Divine Names written in (Ps. 29) “Give to the Eternal, o sons of the mighty.” Rebbi Ḥuna said: If it were said that they are 17, tell him the one against sectarians the Sages fixed already at Jabneh¹⁴³Rebbi Ḥuna’s question is an attack against all who try to find a reason for the eighteen benedictions by pointing out that in the 500 years between the institution of formalized prayer by the Men of the Great Assembly and the Synhedrion of Rabban Gamliel, the Amidah prayer consisted of only 17 benedictions. Rebbi Ḥuna’s answer, not very satisfactory, is that the eighteenth benediction is also an institution of the Synhedrion, the legal successor of the Great Assembly, and, therefore, all eighteen benedictions have the same status.. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose objected before Rebbi Yose, but is it not written (Ps. 29:3) “the God of Glory thundered¹⁴⁴The mention of God introduces a nineteenth Divine name.”? He said to him: Has it not been stated: He takes together the one against sectarians and sinners in “He Who subdues offenders”¹⁴⁵This implies that the benediction containing the curse upon apostates and sectarians (i. e., Christians) was not newly introduced at Jabneh but that it was a modification of an old benediction directed at those who wantonly transgress the commandments of the Torah. Hence, the original number of benedictions instituted by the Great Assembly was 18. The benediction has been changed in Christian surroundings beyond recognition. The text of Jabneh must have been close to today’s Yemenite version: למשומדים אל תהי תקוה, כל המינים והמוסרים כרגע יאבדו ומלכות זדון תעקור ותשבור מהרה בימינו. ברוך אתה ײ֨ שובר אויבים ומכניע זדים., the one for elders and proselytes in “Assurance to the righteous”, and the one for David in “He Who builds Jerusalem.”¹⁴⁶This is the Israeli version which has no separate benediction asking for the return of the Davidic rulers. The Babylonian version has no mention of the Davidic dynasty in the prayer for rebuilding Jerusalem; it is retained in today’s Yemenite prayerbook. Current Ashkenazic and Sephardic versions combine the Israeli prayer, for Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty in benediction 14, with the Babylonian one for the Davidic dynasty alone in benediction 15. Hence, Psalm 29 accomodates both the Galilean (18) benedictions based on the number of mentions of the Tetragrammaton, and the Babylonian (19) versions, based on all invocations of the Deity in the Psalm. Then you have enough to have a Divine name¹⁴⁷The parallels הזכרות, אדכרה in this paragraph show that in the times of the Yerushalmi the sounds of ז /z/ and soft ד /ð/ (voiced th) were almost indistinguishable. for each one of them.

The seven¹⁵²Benedictions of the Amidah. There is no need to ask for a reason for the seven benedictions of a holiday since holidays in everything imitate the Sabbath. In the Babli (29a) only the first reason is given, in the name of R. Ḥalaphta ben Shaul.
In a Midrash Yelamdenu quoted in Yalqut Shim‘oni Psalms #863, the seven voices are said to refer to the seven kinds of voices heard at the theophany at Sinai, which was on a Sabbath. of Sabbath, from where? Rebbi Isaac¹⁵³An Amora from the circle of Rebbi Yoḥanan. said, corresponding to the seven “voices” written in (Ps. 29) “Give to the Eternal, o sons of the mighty.” Rebbi Yudan Antoraya said, corresponding to the seven Divine Names in (Ps. 92) “Psalm, Song for the Sabbath Day.”

R. Joshua said: Great is peace, for when Israel stood [at Sinai] and declared, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do, and obey,¹⁴Ex. 24, 7. [59b] the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoiced in them and gave them His Torah and blessed them with peace, as it is stated, The Lord will give strength¹⁵Here taken as a synonym of Torah. unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.¹⁶Ps. 29, 11.

¹⁹³A parallel with slightly different treatment of the entire paragraph appears in 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 (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”, (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”, (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”, (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: (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 (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 (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 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 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 (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) “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.”

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 (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..

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”.: (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? (Ps. 29:11) “The Eternal gives strength to His people, the Eternal blesses His people with peace.”

The mafṭir recites also the parts of the Shema‘.¹⁸This is explained below. The recitation of the Shema‘ is deemed to be a great honour which compensates for the lesser dignity conferred by the reading of the hafṭarah. Of what Shema‘ has this been said?¹⁹The Shema‘ is recited several times during the service. Of the one [recited when] the scroll of the Torah [is taken from the ark].²⁰Cf. the next Rule. How does one begin?²¹The collection of Biblical verses recited when the Torah scroll is taken from the ark. Happy are they that dwell in Thy house.²²Ps. 84, 5. Then the mafṭir stands and recites, There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord; and there are no works like Thine.²³ibid. LXXXVI, 8. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the mighty? Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?²⁴Ex. 15, 11. Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.²⁵Ps. 145, 13. The Lord is King, the Lord hath reigned, the Lord shall reign for ever and ever.²⁶Compounded from Ps. 10, 16, XCIII, 1 (E.V. reigneth) and Ex. 15, 18. The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to make the teaching great and glorious.²⁷Isa. 42, 21. The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.²⁸Ps. 29, 11. Thou art the Lord, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is in them and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.²⁹Neh. 9, 6.

On the Feast of Weeks³⁵Pentecost. [the psalm is] Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye sons of might.³⁶Ps. 29. On the ninth day of Ab [the reading consists] of four verses of Jeremiah, Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah? to For Thou hast made all these things,³⁷Jer. 14, 19-22. and the following two psalms, O God, the heathen are come into Thine inheritance³⁸Ps. 79. and By the rivers of Babylon.³⁹Ps. 137. Although it is usual⁴⁰lit. ‘in every place’. to give precedence to the Holy Words⁴¹lit. ‘words of holiness’, the Hagiographa. over the words of [prophetical] traditions,⁴²The Prophets forming the second division of the Scriptures. in this case the latter⁴³Jeremiah, although it is included in the Prophets. takes precedence over the former.⁴⁴The Psalms, which are included in the Hagiographa.