Talmud su Salmi 35:78

The word of Ḥanan bar Abba⁶The entire paragraph does not belong here but is taken word by word from Chapter 1, Halakhah 8, at note 265 ff. disagrees since Ḥanan bar Abba said to the colleagues: I shall tell you one of the good things that I saw Rav do and, when I told it before Samuel he got up and kissed me on my mouth. At “praised are You”, he bows down. When he comes to mention Hashem, he straightens up. Samuel said: I shall give the reason (Ps. 35:10): “The Lord straightens the bent ones.” Rebbi Ammi said: It is not reasonable, but (Mal. 2:5): “Before My Name he is low.” Rebbi Abun said: If it were written “at My Name he is low” then you would be right, but it is written “before My Name he is low”, before he mentions Hashem he is low.

⁸⁸Here starts an extensive Genizah text edited by Ginzberg in his Yerushalmi Fragments, New York 1909 (G). Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi⁸⁹While the name of R. Joshua ben Levi is missing in G and the parallel text ב, in the Babli Berakhot28b the statement is ascribed to the school of R. Joshua ben Levi, whose great authority turns this haggadic statement into halakhic prescription.: corresponding to the eighteen bones in the spine since when a person prays he has to bend all of them bowing down. What is the reason? All my bones shall say, Eternal, who is like You⁹⁰Ps. 35:10.?

Rebbi Simon said, corresponding to the 18 bones in the spine since when a person prays he has to bend all of them bowing down. What is the reason? (Ps. 35:10) “All my bones shall say, o Eternal, who is like You?¹⁴¹In the Babli (28b), this reason for the number 18 is given by Rebbi Tanḥum in the name of R. Joshua ben Levi who notes that, when bowing down in prayer, all joints must be moved.”

Rebbi Ḥalaphta ben Shaül²⁵³An Amora of the first generation in Israel who occasionally is quoted as a Tanna. His opinion is the only one given here, to the effect that one has to bow down at modim. The Babli (Berakhot 34b) quotes that Rava, Rav Naḥman and Rav Sheshet actually fell down on their knees for modim; the Talmud quotes a baraita which explicitly forbids falling down on one’s knees. Louis Ginzberg assumes that in Israel, falling on one’s knees was always strictly forbidden since their synagogues were built of stone with stone floors and falling on one’s knees on a stone floor outside the Temple is forbidden. In Babylonia, where synagogues were brick with hardened dirt floors, falling on one’s knees was permitted. stated: Everybody bows down with the cantor for the benediction of thanksgiving. Rebbi Zeïra said: But only for the word modim. Rebbi Zeïra was attentive to the Qeroba²⁵⁴Qeroba is the cantor, the שליח ציבור, who presents his own poetic offering of the prayer, the qerovut, קרובות or קרובץ, to the congregation for the repetition of the Amidah, as noted by L. Ginzberg. סבר here seems to mean “to be attentive”, as in the exclamation before the qiddush סברי “please pay attention”.
It seems that Rebbi Zeïra timed his thanksgiving, one of the longer texts given here, so he could end his benediction in unison with the cantor. to bow his head at the beginning and at the end. Rebbi Yose when he came up here²⁵⁵“Coming up” means making aliyah from Babylonia to Israel. The Babli (Soṭa 40a) also reports very short texts by Rav, Samuel, Rebbi Simai (also of the generation between Tannaïm and Amoraïm) and a slightly longer one by Rav Aḥa bar Jacob (a student of Rav Huna, the student of Rav). Most of these texts are so short that they do not lead to the congregation whispering for any length of time. saw them bowing down and whispering. He said to them: What is this whispering? He had not heard what Rebbi Ḥelbo, Rebbi Simeon said in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan, in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah²⁵⁶A Tanna of the last generation, student of R. Yehudah ben Batyra., Rebbi Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi Miasha²⁵⁷One of the first Tannaïm with the title of “Rebbi”, from the last times of the Second Temple., Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Simai, and some say, the colleagues²⁵⁸The collective of scholars in the Yeshivah. in the name of Rebbi Simai: We thank You, Master of all creatures, God of praises, eternal Rock, Life of the Universe, Creator, Who resurrects the dead, that You have made us alive, kept us, gave us merit, supported us, and brought us near to give thanks to Your name; praised be You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda²⁵⁹An Israeli Amora who received his training in the Babylonian academy of Rav. in the name of Rav: We thank You since we are obliged to give thanks; may my lips sing, for I shall sing to You with my soul that You have redeemed; praised are You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Rebbi Samuel bar Inia²⁶⁰A student of Rebbi Aḥa, Israeli Amora of the fourth generation. The name of his father cannot be determined with certainty; the form given here is from the Rome manuscript. In the Venice print it appears as Mina, at other places in the Yerushalmi it appears as Ina, ldi, Bina, Yonah, Yanna, Yannai. The fourth generation of Galilean Amoraïm saw the Roman empire become Christian and lived through the first persecutions that finally forced the following generation to abandon the work on the Jerusalem Talmud. in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: Thanksgiving and praise to Your name, Yours is greatness, Yours is strength, Yours is glory! May it please You, o Eternal, our God and God of our fathers, that You may support us in our fall, straighten us up from our bent state, because You support the falling and straighten up the bent ones, You are full of mercy and nothing exists except You; praised are You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Bar Qappara²⁶¹A contemporary of Rebbi who also made his own compilation of Mishnayot. His full name was R. Eleazar, son of R. Eleazar the Qappar. Since his name is identical to that of his father it is clear that he was a posthumous child; cf. E. and H. Guggenheimer, Jewish Family Names and Their Origins, Ktav 1992, Etymologisches Lexikon der jüdischen Familiennamen, München 1996, both p. xviii.
While the previous texts were quoted in historical order, the text of Bar Qappara should have been the first. The reason may be his extensive use of Biblical verses that were a matter of controversy, see below (and in all Yerushalmi versions this is a formal benediction.) said: For You we fall down, for You we bend down, for You we prostrate ourselves, for You we kneel, to You every knee should fall down and every tongue swears. (1Chr. 29:11–13): Yours, o Eternal, is greatness, strength, glory, victory, and majesty, truly all that is in heaven and on earth; Yours, o Eternal, is the kingdom, and You lift Yourself over all as head. Riches and honor are before You, You rule over all; in Your hand is power and strength, it is in Your hand to make great and strengthen everything. And now, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name; with all our heart and soul we prostrate ourselves before You. (Ps. 35:10) My entire self shall say: O Eternal, who is like You, Who saves the destitute from one who is stronger than he is, the destitute and poor from the one who robs him. Praised are You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Rebbi Yudan said: the rabbis used to say all of these²⁶²Statement of Rav Papa in Babli Soṭa 40a. It appears from here that Rav Papa (fifth generation in Babylonia) had good precedent for his ruling from Rebbi Yudan (fourth generation in Israel). The method of Rebbi Yudan/Rav Papa is more adequate to a collection of short statements as given in the Babli than to the very long pieces quoted here in the Yerushalmi.. But some say, either one or the other.

We have stated: Only that one should not bow down too much²⁶³After the digression about the text of the private prayer during modim, the discussion now returns to the statement that one has to bow twice at the beginning and the end of the Amidah.. Rebbi Jeremiah said: On condition that one should not behave like that large lizard²⁶⁴Arabic חַרְד̇וֹן, חִרְד̇וֹן “large lizard”. Tosafot Berakhot 12b in the Venice print quote this Yerushalmi as הירוגא and declares it to be the Yerushalmi translation of צָב (Lev. 11:29). In the Wilna Talmud Babli, the word was changed to הרדונא following our text. In the Targum Yerushalmi (Pseudo-Jonathan), the translation of צב is חַדְרוֹנָא. It seems that the Targum Yerushalmi takes Hebrew צב as parallel to Arabic צַ֗בּ “lizard” (of all sizes), not as “turtle” as in late Biblical and modern Hebrew.
Rebbi Jeremiah means that, while one should not bow down too much, on the other hand one should not behave like a lizard which keeps its body quiet and moves only the head when it is catching flies. He requires that one should bow down enough so that all bones of one’s spine are moved in God’s praise., but (Ps. 35:10) “All my bones should say, o Eternal, who is like You?” The word of Ḥanan bar Abba²⁶⁵Ḥanan bar Abba appears in the Babli as Rav Ḥanan bar Rava, son-in-law of Rav and father-in-law of Rav Ḥisda. He disagrees with those who bow down at modim and remain bowed to the end of their private supplication, even though he formulates his statement in terms of the first benediction of Shemone Esreh which starts and ends with “Praised are You, Hashem”, but his statement is applicable to all other situations, that one never should be bowed when mentioning the Name. disagrees since Ḥanan bar Abba said to the colleagues: I shall tell you one of the good things that I saw Rav do and, when I told it before Samuel, he got up and kissed me on my mouth. At “praised are You”, he bows down. When he comes to mention Hashem, he straightens up. Samuel said: I shall give the reason (Ps. 35:10): “The Eternal straightens the bent ones.” Rebbi Ammi²⁶⁶Since Rebbi Ammi and Rebbi Abun the first (Ravin) were contemporaries, R. Abun here is the first, not his posthumous son of the same name. Rebbi Ammi also is the contemporary of R. Ḥiyya bar Abba mentioned in the next section and, as successor of R. Yoḥanan as head of the Yeshivah of Tiberias, he is the higher authority. said: It is not reasonable, but (Mal. 2:5): “Before My Name he is low.”²⁶⁷The verse in Maleachi refers to Levi, son of Jacob, or Aharon, the High Priest. Most commentators of Psalms, including Rashi, derive נחת from the root חתת “to tremble” but the Amoraïm take it as derived from (Aramaic) נחת “to descend”. Rebbi Abun said: If it were written “at My Name he is low” then you would be right, but it is written “before My Name he is low”, before he mentions Hashem he is low.

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials before the Holy Blessed One, and he emerged from each one complete.
They are as follows: Two when God said to him, “Go forth!” Two with his two sons. Two with his two wives. One with the war of the kings. One at the Covenant of the Parts. One in Ur Kasdim. One with circumcision. (The Covenant of the Parts.) And why so many? So that when Abraham our forefather comes to take his reward, the angels will say: More than us, more than anyone, Abraham deserves his reward, as it says (Ecclesiastes 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart.”
Because Abraham was tested with ten trials, and emerged from each one complete, the Holy Blessed One performed ten miracles for his children in Egypt, and brought ten plagues, and performed ten more miracles at the sea, and brought ten more plagues upon the Egyptians at the sea.
The Egyptians roared at the top of their lungs, and so the Holy Blessed One thundered back across the sea, as it says (Job 37:5), “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The Egyptians came to the sea with bows and arrows, and so the Holy Blessed One appeared before them with a bow and arrow, as it says (Habakkuk 3:9), “Bared and ready is Your bow,” and (Psalms 18:15), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them….” The Egyptians came to the sea with swords, so the Holy Blessed One came upon them with swords (and mercy), as it says (ibid.), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.” And lighting always means a sword, as it says (Ezekiel 21:14–15), “The sword, the sword has been sharpened and polished, sharpened in order to slaughter, so that it sparkles like lightning.” The Egyptians came proudly with shield and armor, and so the Holy Blessed One did the same, as it says (Psalms 35:2), “Grab shield and armor and rise to my defense.” The Egyptians came with spears, and so did the Holy Blessed One, as it says (Habakkuk 3:11), “Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The Egyptians came with rocks and slings, and the Holy Blessed One outdid them with hailstones, as it says (Psalms 18:13), “(Out of the brilliance before Him,) hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.”
When our ancestors stood at the sea, Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea begins to split open. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it began to split open, as it says (Habakkuk 3:14), “You will split open the heads of his warriors with your staff.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea becomes like a valley before us. So Moses struck the sea and it became like a valley before them, as it says (Psalms 78:13), “He split the sea and passed them through,” and (Isaiah 63:14), “Like a beast going down into the valley.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it is divided into sections, as it says (Psalms 136:13), “Who divided the Sea of Reeds into sections.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross!. They said: We will not cross until it becomes solid matter. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it became mud, as it says (Habakkuk 3:15), “You led Your horse into the sea, onto solid waters.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a desert. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:9), “He led them through the depths as if it were the desert.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes all smashed up into particles. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 74:13), “You smashed the sea with Your might.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a bed of rocks. He took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (there), “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the water.” And they could not be broken like this except on rocks. Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes dry land. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 66:6), “He turned the sea into dry land,” and (Exodus 14:29), “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes walls. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 14:22), “And the water became a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until goatskins (nodot) [to drink from] appear before us. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:8), “[The walls] stood like a stack (ned) of flowing water.” (And where do we learn that between the sections, fire came down and, as it says [Isaiah 64:1], “Like fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water to announce Your name to Your antagonists”?) And so the goatskins would draw oil and honey into the mouths of the babies, who would nurse from them, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:13), “He nursed him with honey from the rock.” And some say that fresh water flowed from the sea, and they would drink it between the sections of the sea, since seawater is usually salty, for it says, “flowing,” which always means sweet, as it says (Song of Songs 4:15), “A well of fresh water, flowing from the Lebanon.” And the Clouds of Glory were above them, so that the sun would not oppress them. And this is how the Israelites crossed the water, in order that they would feel no pain.
Rabbi Eliezer would say: The sea depths were arched over them from above, and the Israelites crossed through, so that they would feel no pain. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon would say: The upper waters and the lower waters tossed the Egyptians, as it says (Exodus 14:27), “The Eternal tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”