Pt1 Prayer, Poetry, and Ethics: A Journey Through Seventeen Talmudic Prayers and Ethical Teachings (Berakhot 16b-17a)
Prayers of: R' Elazar; R' Yoḥanan; R' Zeira; R' Ḥiyya; Rav
This is the first part of a three-part series. The outline follows.
On poetry in the talmud, see my previous pieces here and here. In that latter piece, I cite a poem that appears immediately after the ones discussed here.
Outline
Prayers:
R' Elazar
R' Yoḥanan
R' Zeira
R' Ḥiyya
Rav
R' Yehuda HaNasi
Rav Safra
R' Alexandri
Rava
Mar, son of Ravina
Rav Sheshet
Additional passages recited by the Sages on different occasions:
R' Yoḥanan
R' Meir
Rabbis of Yavne (רבנן דיבנה)
Abaye
Rava
Rav
Intro
The Talmud recounts the personal prayers recited by various sages after their main prayers. All are amoraim, except for R’ Meir. This is an unusual aggadic passage, where few biblical verses are cited.1
Every section starts with the same formula:
רבי פלוני, בתר דמסיים צלותיה, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו,
[...]
After R’ X concluded his prayer,2 he said the following additional prayer:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
[...]
On this genre of Hebrew prayer, see יהי רצון – ויקיפדיה.
Many of these use the rhetorical technique of anaphora: a literary and rhetorical device where successive sentences or clauses begin with the same word or group of words.
R' Elazar prayed for love, brotherhood, peace, success, and spiritual contentment. (Rhetorical style: anaphoric; every line starts with a second-person singular verb, seven lines.)
R' Yoḥanan asked for God’s mercy, kindness, and humility in response to the community’s shame and plight. (Poetic style: every line starts with a second-person singular verb, seven lines.)
R' Zeira sought not to sin or disgrace his ancestors. (As previous, this is anaphoric: every line starts with a first-person plural verb, three lines.)
R' Ḥiyya prayed for devotion to Torah and good health.
Rav requested a long, peaceful, and virtuous life filled with love of Torah and freedom. (Format: Each line begins with "חיים של - a life of..." and there are nine lines in total. Additionally, each successive line is longer than the previous one, forming a "pyramid" structure..)
R' Yehuda HaNasi sought protection from arrogance, evil people, and misfortune. (style: starts with “save us”, then each line says “מפלוני רע” - " from bad/evil X...” ten lines. The rhetorical style, where each line ends with the same word, is known as epistrophe. Epistrophe is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive clauses or sentences. Here, the word "רע" (evil or bad) is repeated at the end of each line. )
Rav Safra prayed for peace among the heavenly beings and earthly sages, and for sincere Torah study.
R' Alexandri asked to be placed in a well-lit place (likely metaphorically speaking), free from fear and suffering.
Rava expressed his humility before God, seeking forgiveness and mercy without suffering.
Mar son of Ravina requested protection from evil, integrity in speech, and success in Torah study. (Poetic style: in the middle, lists four “evils” - רע - including “a bad woman”. On the talmudic trope of “the bad woman”, see my previous piece.)
Rav Sheshet prayed that his fasting be accepted as atonement in place of sacrificial offerings.
Additional passages recited by the Sages on different occasions:
R' Yoḥanan reflected on the inevitability of death and the importance of living a life of Torah, good reputation, and fulfillment of God’s will.
R' Meir emphasized diligent Torah study, fear of God, and purity.
The Sages of Yavne (רבנן דיבנה) highlighted the equal value of all work when done with devotion to Heaven.
Abaye advised good relations with others, including non-Jews. (Poetic style: lists four types of people that one should strive for good relations with.)
Rava warned against arrogance in Torah study, emphasizing repentance, good deeds, and proper respect for others. (Poetic style: lists four types of people one should continue to respect even after gaining much Torah knowledge.)
Rav contrasted the World-to-Come with this world, describing it as a place of spiritual fulfillment without the earthly needs and conflicts. (Poetic style: lists seven things that don’t exist in the World-to-Come, and three that do.)
The Passage
R' Elazar
רבי אלעזר, בתר דמסיים צלותיה, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו,
שתשכן בפורינו אהבה, ואחוה, ושלום, וריעות.
ותרבה גבולנו בתלמידים,
ותצליח סופנו אחרית ותקוה.
ותשים חלקנו בגן עדן,
ותקננו בחבר טוב ויצר טוב בעולמך.
ונשכים ונמצא יחול לבבנו ליראה את שמך,
ותבא לפניך קורת נפשנו לטובה״.
The Gemara describes how after R' Elazar concluded his prayer, he said the following additional prayer:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
to cause to dwell in our lot: love, brotherhood, peace and friendship.
And may You make our borders rich in disciples
and cause us to ultimately succeed, that we will have a good end and hope.
And may You set our portion in the Garden of Eden,
and may You establish for us a good companion and a good inclination in Your world.
And may we rise early and find the aspiration of our hearts to fear Your name,
and may the satisfaction of our souls come before You, i.e., may You hear our prayers that we may have spiritual contentment in this world for the best.
R' Yoḥanan
רבי יוחנן, בתר דמסיים צלותיה, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו,
שתציץ בבשתנו,
ותביט ברעתנו,
ותתלבש ברחמיך,
ותתכסה בעזך,
ותתעטף בחסידותך,
ותתאזר בחנינותך,
ותבא לפניך מדת טובך וענותנותך״.
Similarly, the Gemara recounts that after R' Yoḥanan concluded his prayer, he said the following additional prayer:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
that You look upon our shame
and behold our plight,
that You clothe Yourself in Your mercy,
and cover Yourself with Your might,
that You wrap Yourself in Your loving-kindness,
and gird Yourself with Your grace,
and may Your attributes of goodness and humility come before You.
R' Zeira
רבי זירא, בתר דמסיים צלותיה, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו,
שלא נחטא
ולא נבוש
ולא נכלם מאבותינו״.
Similarly, after R' Zeira concluded his prayers he said the following additional prayer:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
that we not sin
or shame ourselves,
and that we not disgrace ourselves before our forefathers,
in the sense that our actions should not disgrace the actions of our forefathers.
R' Ḥiyya
רבי חייא, בתר דמצלי, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו,
שתהא תורתך אומנותנו,
ואל ידוה לבנו,
ואל יחשכו עינינו״.
After R' Ḥiyya prayed he said the following:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
that Your Torah should be our vocation,
and may our heart not become faint
nor our eyes dim.
Rav
רב, בתר צלותיה, אמר הכי:
״יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו
שתתן לנו
חיים ארוכים,
חיים של שלום,
חיים של טובה,
חיים של ברכה,
חיים של פרנסה,
חיים של חלוץ עצמות,
חיים שיש בהם יראת חטא,
חיים שאין בהם בושה וכלימה,
חיים של עושר וכבוד,
חיים שתהא בנו אהבת תורה ויראת שמים,
חיים שתמלא לנו את כל משאלות לבנו לטובה״.
After his prayer, Rav said the following:
May it be Your will, Lord our God,
that You grant us
long life,
a life of peace,
a life of goodness,
a life of blessing,
a life of sustenance,
a life of freedom of movement from place to place, where we are not tied to one place,
a life of dread of sin,
a life without shame and disgrace,
a life of wealth and honor,
a life in which we have love of Torah and reverence for Heaven,
a life in which You fulfill all the desires of our heart for good.
Interestingly, and somewhat unusually, the Steinsaltz translation offers better formatting for the poetry by dividing it into multiple lines. However, there is still significant room for improvement in this splitting, which I have addressed in this series.