Mga Sanggunian sa Talmud para sa Daniel 6:11: Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat, Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot, Avot DeRabbi Natan & Berakhot

MISHNAH: A person should not sit before the barber close to the time of afternoon prayers unless he has prayed²This Mishnah is not connected with the laws of the Sabbath in contrast to the following ones for which it is an introduction. The general rule is that once there is an obligation to pray, the obligation should be fulfilled before any profane action is taken, in particular if the intended action may be a lengthy one. The problem with afternoon prayers is that it is possible to pray starting half an hour after noon (“the great minḥah”) but the actual obligation starts only an hour and a quarter before sundown (“the small minḥah”). The “hours” mentioned here are variable, one-twelfth of the time between sunrise and sundown. From the Halakhah in the Yerushalmi it is clear that only the small minḥah is taken into account; in the Babli (9b) both times are considered.. Nor should one enter the bathhouse or the tannery, nor start eating, nor sit in judgment; if they started they should not interrupt. One interrupts for the recitation of the Shemaˋ but not for prayer³While there exists a general biblical obligation to pray (Sifry Deut. 41 based on Deut. 10:12) neither time nor texts are fixed by biblical law. Therefore there is no biblical obligation to pray at any fixed time; all rules are rabbinic even if based on Dan.6:11, a book without standing in halakhah. On the other hand, the recitation of the Shemaˋ evenings and mornings is a biblical requirement (Deut. 6:7,11:19). An ongoing activity one interrupts for biblical but not for rabbinic obligations..

There (Šabbat 1:2) we have stated: “One interrupts for the recitation of Shema‘ but one does not interrupt for prayer.”¹⁶³It is implied by the following discussion that one talks about groups of people engaged in the study of Torah. This situation is made explicit in Babli Šabbat 9b. Of those who give the reasons for the difference in the treatment of Shema‘ and Amidah, Rebbis Aḥa and Yose belong to the fourth generation of Amoraïm in Israel, hence Rebbi Abba will also belong to that group. [There were too many Amoraïm by the name of Rebbi Abba to clearly distinguish between them.]
The entire section here and the following one also appear in Yerushalmi Šabbat 1:2. Rebbi Aḥa said: The recitation of Shema‘ is a Biblical obligation; prayer is not a Biblical obligation¹⁶⁴Everybody in this discussion seems to agree that the basis of the recitation of Shema‘ is Biblical, at least for the first verse [following the Babli (Teshuvot ha Rashba, #320)] or the first three verses [following the Yerushalmi, as seen here]. There is disagreement on the status of prayer. The Yerushalmi at the beginning of Chapter 4 follows the Sifri in the interpretation of the “service of the heart” mentioned in Deut. 10:12, 11:13 as prayer, which, therefore, is Biblical. Rebbi Aḥa does not accept this derivation; similarly, the Babli (Berakhot 21a) declares prayer to be a Rabbinical obligation.. Rebbi Abba said: The time for the recitation of the Shema‘ is fixed, the time for prayer is not fixed.¹⁶⁵Rebbi Abba is among those who accept prayer as a Biblical obligation. The clearest statement of that position is given by Maimonides (Hilkhot Tefillah 1:1) who writes: “It is a positive commandment that one should pray every day as it is said: ‘you shall serve the Eternal, your God.’ Tradition teaches us that this service is prayer, as it is said: ‘to serve Him with all your heart’; the sages explain that the service of the heart is prayer. But the number of prayers is not from the Torah, neither is the formulation of the prayer from the Torah. Prayer has no fixed time from the Torah.” [Everybody agrees that the obligation of offering prayer three times a day is historical (Daniel 6:11) and the form of prayer is an institution of the Men of the Great Assembly.] This interpretation of the disagreement between Rebbis Aḥa and Abba is given by the great Sephardic commentators, Rabbis Eleazar Azkari and Moshe ben Ḥabib.
There is a different interpretation possible, namely that Rebbi Abba wants to state that the time of Shema‘ is narrowly fixed, as we have seen, and once that time is passed, the omission cannot be repaired. For prayer, however, the rules are much more elastic. First, there is much more time given for the recitation; then it is possible to pray in advance of the time (as in the evening prayers held before sundown), and a missed prayer can be compensated for by praying the next time twice. Hence, in a real sense, even prayer in the Rabbinical sense has no fixed time compared to Shema‘. Rebbi Yose said: The recitation of Shema‘ does not need concentration, prayer needs concentration.¹⁶⁵Rebbi Abba is among those who accept prayer as a Biblical obligation. The clearest statement of that position is given by Maimonides (Hilkhot Tefillah 1:1) who writes: “It is a positive commandment that one should pray every day as it is said: ‘you shall serve the Eternal, your God.’ Tradition teaches us that this service is prayer, as it is said: ‘to serve Him with all your heart’; the sages explain that the service of the heart is prayer. But the number of prayers is not from the Torah, neither is the formulation of the prayer from the Torah. Prayer has no fixed time from the Torah.” [Everybody agrees that the obligation of offering prayer three times a day is historical (Daniel 6:11) and the form of prayer is an institution of the Men of the Great Assembly.] This interpretation of the disagreement between Rebbis Aḥa and Abba is given by the great Sephardic commentators, Rabbis Eleazar Azkari and Moshe ben Ḥabib.
There is a different interpretation possible, namely that Rebbi Abba wants to state that the time of Shema‘ is narrowly fixed, as we have seen, and once that time is passed, the omission cannot be repaired. For prayer, however, the rules are much more elastic. First, there is much more time given for the recitation; then it is possible to pray in advance of the time (as in the evening prayers held before sundown), and a missed prayer can be compensated for by praying the next time twice. Hence, in a real sense, even prayer in the Rabbinical sense has no fixed time compared to Shema‘. Rebbi Mana said: I objected before Rebbi Yose: Even if you say that the recitation of the Shema‘ does not need concentration, the first three verses need concentration. Since they are so few, one will concentrate upon their meaning.

On acts of kindness. How so? It says (Hosea 6:6), “For I desire kindness, not a well-being offering.” The world was created from the very beginning with kindness, as it says (Psalms 89:3), “For I have said that the world will be built on kindness, and the heavens will be established on Your faith.” Once, Rabban [our rabbi] Yohanan ben Zakkai, left Jerusalem, and Rabbi Yehoshua followed after him. And he saw the Holy Temple destroyed. [Rabbi Yehoshua said: Woe to us, for this is destroyed –] the place where all of Israel’s sins are forgiven!²I.e., via the bringing of sacrifices. [Rabbi Yohanan] said to him: My son, do not be distressed, for we have a form of atonement just like it. And what is it? Acts of kindness, as it says (Psalms 89:3), “For I desire kindness, not a well-being offering.” And so we find that Daniel, the precious man, would busy himself with acts of kindness. And what were these acts of kindness that he was so busy with? If you would say that in fact he did bring burnt offerings and other sacrifices in Babylon, doesn’t it already say (Deuteronomy 12:13–14), “Take care not to bring burnt offerings in just any place you see, but only in the place that the Eternal will choose in one of your tribal territories shall you bring burnt offerings.” So what were the acts of kindness he busied himself with? He would help a bride and bring her happiness, he would escort the dead [in a funeral procession], and he would always give a perutah to a poor person. And he would pray three times a day, and his prayers would be gladly accepted, as it says (Daniel 6:11), “When Daniel learned that [the ban against worshiping God] had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made a confession to his God, as he had always done.”
And when Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem, he said to [the inhabitants]: Fools! Why do you seek to destroy this city and burn the Holy Temple? What do I request of you? Only that you give me one bow or one arrow [as a sign of your surrender], and then I will leave you be. They said to him: Just as we went out [to battle] against the two who came before you, and killed them, so will we go out against you and kill you. When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai heard this, he sent for the men of Jerusalem and said to them: My children, why do seek to destroy this city and burn the Holy Temple? For what did he ask of you but one bow or one arrow, and then he would leave you be. They said to him: Just as we went out [to battle] against the two who came before him, and we killed them, so will we go out against him and kill him. Vespasian had men lurking within the walls of Jerusalem, and everything they heard they would would write on an arrow and shoot over the wall. So they reported that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai supported the Caesar. [Thus would he remind the men of Jerusalem, i.e., plead with them to acquiesce to Vespasian.] And after Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai said this [to them] day after day, and saw that they would not accept his advice, he sent for his students, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, and said to them: My sons, take me out of this place! Make me a coffin, and I will sleep in it. So Rabbi Eliezer held [the coffin] on one end, and Rabbi Yehoshua held it (on the other, and they carried him until the sun set, right up to the gates of Jerusalem. The gatekeepers said to them: What is this? They replied: A dead body – and you know that a corpse cannot remain overnight in Jerusalem. They said: If that is a dead body, go ahead and take it out [of the city]). So they took him out (and they were carrying him until sunset) until they came to Vespasian, and they opened the coffin, and [Rabbi Yohanan] got up and stood before him. He said: So you are Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. Ask for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you. He replied: I ask nothing from you except for Yavneh. I will go there and teach my students, and I will establish prayer, and I will do all the mitzvot [mentioned in the Torah]. [Vespasian] replied: Go. All that you wish to do, you may do. [Rabbi Yohanan] said to him: Do you want me to tell you one thing? He said: Go ahead. He said to him: Take note; soon you will ascend to the kingship. How do you know? [Vespasian] said to him. [Rabbi Yohanan answered:] We have a tradition that the Holy Temple will not be taken by an ordinary man, but only by a king. For it says (Isaiah 10:34), “And the Lebanon tree will fall in its majesty.” They say that it was not (one or two or) three days until a letter came from [Vespasian’s] city announcing that the Caesar had died and they were appointing him to ascend to the kingship. They brought him a catapult and positioned it toward the walls of Jerusalem. Then they brought him cedar posts, put them in the catapult, and fired them against the wall until they made a breach. Then they brought him the head of a pig, put it in the catapult, and flung it toward the sacrificial portions that were on the [Temple] altar.
While Jerusalem was being taken, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai was sitting and waiting, and he trembled (before God), just as Eli sat and watched, as it says (I Samuel 4:13), “There was Eli, sitting on a seat on the side of the road, waiting, and his heart trembled because of the Ark of God.” When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai heard that Jerusalem was destroyed and the Holy Temple was burning in flames, he tore his clothes, and his students tore their clothes, and they cried and screamed and lamented.
It says (Zechariah 11:1), “Open your doors, Lebanon [i.e., the Holy Temple], and let fire consume your cedars” – these are the (high) priests who were in the Sanctuary, who [took] their keys in their hands and threw them toward the heavens, and said before the Holy Blessed One: Master of the World! Here are Your keys, which You entrusted to us. For we were not faithful custodians doing the King’s work and eating from the King’s table.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes, were also crying and screaming and lamenting, and they said (Zechariah 11:2), “Howl, cypresses, for cedars have fallen! How the mighty are ravaged!” [“Howl, cypresses, for cedars have fallen!” – these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes.] “Howl, you oaks of Bashan” – these are Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. “For the stately forest is laid low” – that is the Holy of Holies. “The voice of wailing shepherds, for their fields [have been ravaged]” (Zechariah 11:3) – these are David and his son Solomon. “The sound of the lions roaring, for the jungle of the Jordan has been ravaged” – these are Elijah and Elisha.