10b. א"ר חנן אפי' בעל החלומות אומר לו לאדם למחר הוא מת אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים שנאמר (קהלת ה, ו) כי ברוב חלומות והבלים ודברים הרבה כי את האלהים ירא,מיד (ישעיהו לח, ב) ויסב חזקיהו פניו אל הקיר ויתפלל אל ה',מאי קיר אמר רשב"ל מקירות לבו שנא' (ירמיהו ד, יט) מעי מעי אוחילה קירות לבי וגו',ר' לוי אמר על עסקי הקיר אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ומה שונמית שלא עשתה אלא קיר אחת קטנה החיית את בנה אבי אבא שחפה את ההיכל כולו בכסף ובזהב על אחת כמה וכמה (ישעיהו לח, ג) זכר נא את אשר התהלכתי לפניך באמת ובלב שלם והטוב בעיניך עשיתי,מאי והטוב בעיניך עשיתי א"ר יהודה אמר רב שסמך גאולה לתפלה ר' לוי אמר שגנז ספר רפואות,תנו רבנן ששה דברים עשה חזקיהו המלך על ג' הודו לו ועל ג' לא הודו לו,על ג' הודו לו גנז ספר רפואות והודו לו כתת נחש הנחשת והודו לו גירר עצמות אביו על מטה של חבלים והודו לו,ועל ג' לא הודו לו סתם מי גיחון ולא הודו לו קצץ דלתות היכל ושגרם למלך אשור ולא הודו לו עבר ניסן בניסן ולא הודו לו,ומי לית ליה לחזקיהו (שמות יב, ב) החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים זה ניסן ואין אחר ניסן,אלא טעה בדשמואל דאמר שמואל אין מעברין את השנה ביום שלשים של אדר הואיל וראוי לקובעו ניסן סבר הואיל וראוי לא אמרינן:,א"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי בן זמרא כל התולה בזכות עצמו תולין לו בזכות אחרים וכל התולה בזכות אחרים תולין לו בזכות עצמו,משה תלה בזכות אחרים שנא' (שמות לב, יג) זכור לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל עבדיך תלו לו בזכות עצמו שנאמר (תהלים קו, כג) ויאמר להשמידם לולי משה בחירו עמד בפרץ לפניו להשיב חמתו מהשחית,חזקיהו תלה בזכות עצמו דכתיב זכר נא את אשר התהלכתי לפניך תלו לו בזכות אחרים שנא' (מלכים ב יט, לד) וגנותי אל העיר הזאת להושיעה למעני ולמען דוד עבדי והיינו דריב"ל דאמר ריב"ל מאי דכתיב (ישעיהו לח, יז) הנה לשלום מר לי מר אפי' בשעה ששיגר לו הקב"ה שלום מר הוא לו:,(מלכים ב ד, י) נעשה נא עליית קיר קטנה,רב ושמואל חד אמר עלייה פרועה היתה וקירוה וחד אמר אכסדרה גדולה היתה וחלקוה לשנים,בשלמא למ"ד אכסדרה היינו דכתיב קיר אלא למ"ד עלייה מאי קיר,שקירוה,בשלמא למ"ד עלייה היינו דכתיב עליית אלא למ"ד אכסדרה מאי עליית,מעולה שבבתים.,ונשים לו שם מטה ושולחן וכסא ומנורה,אמר אביי ואיתימא ר' יצחק הרוצה להנות יהנה כאלישע ושאינו רוצה להנות אל יהנה כשמואל הרמתי שנאמר (שמואל א ז, יז) ותשובתו הרמתה כי שם ביתו וא"ר יוחנן שכל מקום שהלך שם ביתו עמו.,(מלכים ב ד, ט) ותאמר אל אישה הנה נא ידעתי כי איש אלהים קדוש הוא א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא מכאן שהאשה מכרת באורחין יותר מן האיש,קדוש הוא מנא ידעה רב ושמואל חד אמר שלא ראתה זבוב עובר על שולחנו וחד אמר סדין של פשתן הציעה על מטתו ולא ראתה קרי עליו,קדוש הוא א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא הוא קדוש ומשרתו אינו קדוש (שנא') (מלכים ב ד, כז) ויגש גיחזי להדפה א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא שאחזה בהוד יפיה.,עובר עלינו תמיד א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא משום רבי אליעזר בן יעקב כל המארח תלמיד חכם בתוך ביתו ומהנהו מנכסיו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו מקריב תמידין.,וא"ר יוסי בר' חנינא משום ראב"י אל יעמוד אדם במקום גבוה ויתפלל אלא במקום נמוך ויתפלל שנא' (תהלים קל, א) ממעמקים קראתיך ה',תניא נמי הכי לא יעמוד אדם לא על גבי כסא ולא ע"ג שרפרף ולא במקום גבוה ויתפלל אלא במקום נמוך ויתפלל לפי שאין גבהות לפני המקום שנאמר ממעמקים קראתיך ה' וכתיב (תהלים קב, א) תפלה לעני כי יעטוף.,וא"ר יוסי בר' חנינא משום ראב"י המתפלל צריך שיכוין את רגליו שנא' (יחזקאל א, ז) ורגליהם רגל ישרה,(א"ר יצחק א"ר יוחנן) וא"ר יוסי בר' חנינא משום ראב"י מאי דכתיב (ויקרא יט, כו) לא תאכלו על הדם לא תאכלו קודם שתתפללו על דמכם,(א"ד) א"ר יצחק א"ר יוחנן א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא משום ראב"י כל האוכל ושותה ואח"כ מתפלל עליו הכתוב אומר (מלכים א יד, ט) ואותי השלכת אחרי גויך אל תקרי גויך אלא גאיך אמר הקב"ה לאחר שנתגאה זה קבל עליו מלכות שמים:,ר' יהושע אומר עד ג' שעות: אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל הלכה כרבי יהושע:,הקורא מכאן ואילך לא הפסיד:,אמר רב חסדא אמר מר עוקבא ובלבד שלא יאמר יוצר אור,מיתיבי הקורא מכאן ואילך לא הפסיד כאדם שהוא קורא בתורה אבל מברך הוא שתים לפניה ואחת לאחריה תיובתא דרב חסדא תיובתא,איכא דאמרי אמר רב חסדא אמר מר עוקבא מאי לא הפסיד שלא הפסיד ברכות תניא נמי הכי הקורא מכאן ואילך לא הפסיד כאדם שקורא בתורה אבל מברך הוא שתים לפניה ואחת לאחריה,א"ר מני גדול הקורא ק"ש בעונתה יותר מהעוסק בתורה מדקתני הקורא מכאן ואילך לא הפסיד כאדם הקורא בתורה מכלל דקורא בעונתה עדיף:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big בית שמאי אומרים בערב כל אדם יטה ויקרא ובבקר יעמוד שנאמר (דברים ו, ז) ובשכבך ובקומך,ובית הלל אומרים כל אדם קורא כדרכו שנאמר ובלכתך בדרך,אם כן למה נאמר ובשכבך ובקומך בשעה שבני אדם שוכבים ובשעה שבני אדם עומדים,א"ר טרפון אני הייתי בא בדרך והטתי לקרות כדברי ב"ש וסכנתי בעצמי מפני הלסטים,אמרו לו כדי היית לחוב בעצמך שעברת על דברי ב"ה: | 10b. Similarly, bRabbi Ḥa said: Even if the master of dreams,in a true dream, an angel ( iMa’ayan HaBerakhot /i) btells a person that tomorrow he will die, he should not prevent himself frompraying for bmercy, as it is stated: “For in the multitude of dreams and vanities there are many words; but fear God”(Ecclesiastes 5:6). Although the dream may seem real to him, that is not necessarily the case, and one must place his trust in God.,Having heard Isaiah’s harsh prophecy, bimmediately “Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the Lord”(Isaiah 38:2).,The Gemara asks: bWhat ismeant by the word b“wall [ ikir /i]”in this context? Why did Hezekiah turn his face to a wall? bRabbi Shimon ben Lakish said:This symbolically alludes to the fact that Hezekiah prayed to God bfrom the chambers [ ikirot /i] of his heart, as it is statedelsewhere: b“My anguish, my anguish, I am in pain. The chambers of my heart.My heart moans within me” (Jeremiah 4:19)., bRabbi Levi said:Hezekiah intended to evoke bmattersrelating bto a wall,and bhe said beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, and if the woman from Shunem, who made only a single small wallon the roof for the prophet Elisha, and byou revived her son, all the more soshould you bring life to the descendant of bmy father’s father,King Solomon, bwho covered the entireTemple bSanctuary with silver and gold.In his prayer, Hezekiah said: “Please, Lord, bplease remember that I walked before You in truth, and with a complete heart, and what was good in Your eyes I did.And Hezekiah wept sore” (Isaiah 38:3).,The Gemara asks: To bwhatspecific action was he referring when he said: b“And what was good in your sight I did”?Various opinions are offered: Mentioning Hezekiah’s merits, bRav Yehuda said in the name of Rav that he juxtaposed redemption and prayerat sunrise instead of sleeping late, as was the custom of most kings ( iIyyun Ya’akov /i). bRabbi Levi said: He suppressed the Book of Remediesupon which everyone relied., bThe Sages taught: King Hezekiah performed sixinnovative bactions. With regard to threethe Sages bagreed with him, and with regard to three they did not agree with him. /b, bWith regard to threeactions the Sages bagreed with him: br bHe suppressed the Book of Remedies, and they agreed with him. br bHe ground the copper snakethrough which miracles were performed for Israel (Numbers 21:9), destroying it because it had been used in idol worship (II Kings 18:4), band they agreed with him. br bHe dragged the bones of hisevil bfather,King Ahaz, bon a bed of ropes;meaning he did not accord his father a funeral fit for a king (II Chronicles 28:27), band they agreed with him. /b,Yet, bwith regard to threeother innovations, the Sages of his generation bdid not agree with him: br bHe stopped up the waters of the Gihon,the Pool of Siloam, diverting its water into the city by means of a tunnel (II Chronicles 32:30), band they did not agree with him. br bHe cut off the doors of the Sanctuary and sent them to the king of Assyria(II Kings 18:16), band they did not agree with him. br bHe intercalated Nisan in Nisan,creating a leap year by adding an extra month during the month of Nisan. That intercalation must be performed before the end of Adar (II Chronicles 30:2).,With regard to his intercalation of Nisan, the Gemara asks: bDid Hezekiah notaccept the ihalakha /i: b“This month will be for you the first of the months;it shall be the first for you of the months of the year” (Exodus 12:2)? By inference, bthisfirst month bis Nisan, and no othermonth bis Nisan.How could Hezekiah add an additional Nisan in violation of Torah law?,The Gemara answers that the scenario was different. bRather, Hezekiah erred with regard tothe halakhic opinion ascribed in later generations to bShmuel,as bShmuel said: One may not intercalate the year on the thirtieth day of Adar, since it is fit to establish itas the New Moon of bNisan.On the thirtieth day of each month, those who witnessed the new moon would come and testify before the court, which, based on their testimony, would declare that day the first day of the next month. Therefore, one may not declare a leap year on the thirtieth day of Adar, as it could potentially become the first of Nisan. Therefore, the Sages of Hezekiah’s generation did not agree with his decision to intercalate the year on the thirtieth of Adar. Hezekiah bheldthat bwe do not say: Sincethat day bis fit to establish itas the New Moon is reason enough to refrain from intercalation of the year.,Stemming from the analysis of Hezekiah’s prayer, bRabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: Anyone who baseshis prayer or request bupon his own merit,when God answers his prayer, bit is based upon the merit of others. And anyone whomodestly bbaseshis prayer or request bupon the merit of others,when God answers his prayer, bit is based upon his own merit. /b,The Gemara cites proof from Moses. When he prayed to God for forgiveness after the incident of the Golden Calf, bhe basedhis request bupon the merit of others, as it is stated: “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel your servants,to whom You swore upon Yourself, and told them: I will increase your descendants like the stars of the heavens, and all of this land of which I have spoken, I will give to your descendants and they will inherit it forever” (Exodus 32:13). Yet when this story is related, God’s forgiveness of Israel bis based upon Moses’ own merit, as it is stated: “And He said He would destroy them, had Moses, His chosen, not stood before Him in the breach to turn back His destructive fury, lest He should destroy them”(Psalms 106:23)., bHezekiah,however, bbasedhis request bupon his own merit, as it is written: “Please, remember that I walked before You”(Isaiah 38:3). When God answered his prayers, bit was based upon the merit of otherswith no mention made of Hezekiah’s own merit, bas it is stated: “And I will protect this city to save it, for My sake and for the sake of David, My servant”(II Kings 19:34). bAnd that is what Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levisaid. bAs Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: What isthe meaning of bthat which is written: “Behold, for my peace I had great bitterness;but You have, in love to my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption; for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back” (Isaiah 38:17)? This verse teaches that beven when the Holy One, Blessed be He, sent him peaceand told him that he would recover from his illness, bit was bitter for him,because God did not take his merit into consideration.,Having mentioned the chamber on the roof built for Elisha by the woman from Shunem, the Gemara now describes the entire event. The woman from Shunem suggested to her husband: b“Let us make, I pray thee, a small chamber on the roof,and let us place a bed, table, stool and candlestick for him there, and it will be, when he comes to us, that he will turn in there” (II Kings 4:10)., bRav and Shmuelargued over the meaning of small chamber. bOneof them bsaid: They had an uncovered second storyon their roof, bover which they built a ceiling;and boneof them bsaid: There was an enclosed veranda [ iakhsadra /i] and they divided it in half. /b,The Gemara comments: bGranted, according to the one who said that it was an enclosed verandawhich they divided in two, it makes sense bthatthe term bwall [ ikir /i] was written. However, according to the one who said that they had anopen bsecond story, what isthe meaning of bwall? /b,The Gemara responds: The one who said that they had an uncovered second story interprets ikirnot as wall but as ceiling meaning that they bbuilt a ceiling[ ikirui /i] over it.,On the other hand, bgranted, according to the one who said that they had anuncovered bsecond story,it makes sense bthatthe term bsecond story[ialiyat /i] was written. But according to the one who saidthat it was ban enclosed veranda, what isthe meaning of the term bsecond story? /b,The Gemara responds: The one who said that it was an enclosed veranda interprets ialiyatnot as second story, but bas the most outstanding [ ime’ula /i] of the rooms. /b,Incidental to this discussion, the Gemara analyzes the statement made by the woman from Shunem to her husband with regard to the provisions that they would place in the room for Elisha: b“And let us place a bed, table, stool and candlestick for him there.” /b, bAbaye, and some say Rabbi Yitzḥak, said:A great man bwho seeks to enjoythe contributions of those who seek to honor him bmay enjoythose gifts, bas Elishaenjoyed gifts given him by the woman from Shunem, among others. bAnd one who does not seek to enjoythese gifts bshould not enjoy them, aswas the practice of the prophet bSamuel from Rama,who would not accept gifts from anyone at all. From where do we know that this was Samuel’s custom? bAs it is stated: “And he returned to Rama, for there was his house,and there he judged Israel, and he built an altar to the Lord” (I Samuel 7:17). bAndsimilarly, bRabbi Yoḥa said: Every place whereSamuel bwent, his house was with him,so he would have everything that he needed and not be forced to benefit from public contributions. One may opt to conduct himself in accordance with either of these paths.,Regarding the woman from Shunem: b“And she said to her husband: Behold now, I perceive that he is a holy man of Godwho passes by us continually” (II Kings 4:9). bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: From here,where the woman from Shunem perceived the prophet’s greatness before her husband did, derive bthat a woman recognizesthe character of her bguests more than a mandoes.,The Gemara notes that the woman from Shunem said that b“he is holy.”The Gemara asks: bFrom where did she knowthat he was holy? bRav and Shmueldisagreed over this. bOneof them bsaid: She never saw a fly pass over his table; and the other said: She spread awhite blinen sheet on his bed,and despite that even the smallest stain is visible on white linen, and nocturnal seminal emissions are not uncommon, bshe never sawthe residue of ba seminal emission on it. /b,With regard to the verse: b“He is holy,” Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said:The woman from Shunem intimated that: bHe is holy,but bhis attendant,Geihazi, bis not holy,as she saw no indication of holiness in him ( iIyyun Ya’akov /i). Here too, she correctly perceived the character of her guest, bas it islater bstated: “And Geihazi approached her to push her away [ ilehodfa /i]”(II Kings 4:27). And bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: He grabbed her by the majesty of her beauty [ ihod yofya /i],meaning that when he pushed her he grabbed her breasts in a licentious manner.,With regard to the phrasing of the verse: “He is a holy man of God bwho passes by us continually,” Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov:From this verse we derive that bone who hosts a Torah scholar in his home and lets him enjoy his possessions, the verse ascribes to himcredit bas if he is sacrificing the daily [ itamid /i] offering,as the verse states: “Passes by us continually [ itamid /i].”,With regard to the ihalakhotof prayer, bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov: A person should not stand in a high place and pray; rather,he should stand bin a low place and pray, as it is stated: “I called to You, Lord, from the depths”(Psalms 130:1)., bThat was also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne should neither stand upon a chair nor upon a stool, nor in a high place and pray. Rather,one should stand bin a low place and pray, for there is no haughtiness before God. As it is stated: “I called to You, Lord, from the depths” and it is written: “A prayer for the impoverished, when he is faintand pours out his complaint before God” (Psalms 102:1). It is appropriate to feel impoverished when praying and make one’s requests humbly., bAnd Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov: When praying, one should align his feetnext to each other, as a single foot, in order to model oneself after the angels, with regard to whom bit is stated: “And their feet were a straight foot”(Ezekiel 1:7)., bRabbi Yitzḥak saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said and Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov: What isthe meaning of bthat which is written: “You shall not eat with the blood”(Leviticus 19:26)? bYou may not eat before you pray for your blood.One may not eat before he prays., bOthers saythat bRabbi Yitzḥak saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa saidthat bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov: One who eats and drinks and later prays, about him the verse statesthe rebuke of the prophet in the name of God: b“And Me you have cast behind your back”(I Kings 14:9). One who sees to his own bodily needs by eating and drinking before prayer casts God aside, according his arrogance and ego priority over God (Maharsha). Indeed, bdo not read your back [ igavekha /i]; rather, your pride [ ige’ekha /i]. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: After thisone bhas become arrogantand engaged in satisfying his own needs, bheonly then baccepted upon himself the kingdom of Heaven. /b,We learned in the mishna that bRabbi Yehoshua says:One may recite the morning iShema buntil three hoursof the day. bRav Yehuda saidthat bShmuel said: The ihalakhais in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Yehoshua. /b,We also learned in the mishna that bone who recites iShema bfrom that time onward loses nothing;although he does not fulfill the mitzva of reciting of iShemaat its appointed time, bhe isnevertheless considered like one who reads the Torah, and is rewarded accordingly.,With regard to this ruling, bRav Ḥisda saidthat bMar Ukva said:This only applies bprovided one does not recite: Who forms light [ iyotzer or /i],or the rest of the blessings recited along with iShema /i, as they pertain only to the fulfillment of the mitzva of reciting of the morning iShema /i; after the third hour, they are inappropriate.,The Gemara braises an objection toRav Ḥisda’s statement from a ibaraita /i: bOne who recites iShema bfrom that time onward loses nothing, and is considered like one who reads Torah, but he recites two blessings beforehand and oneblessing bthereafter. /bThis directly contradicts Rav Ḥisda’s statement, and the Gemara notes: Indeed, bthe refutationof the statement bof Rav Ḥisda is aconclusive brefutation,and Rav Ḥisda’s opinion is rejected in favor of that of the ibaraita /i., bSome say that Rav Ḥisda saidthat bMar Ukva saidthe opposite: bWhat isthe meaning of: bLoses nothing,in the mishna? This means that one who recites iShemaafter the third hour bdoes not losethe opportunity to recite bthe blessingsand is permitted to recite them although the time for the recitation of iShemahas passed. bThat was also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne who recites iShema bafter this time loses nothing, and is considered like one who reads the Torah, but he recites two blessings beforehand and one thereafter. /b,With regard to our mishna, bRabbi Mani said: Greater is one who recites iShemaat itsappropriate btime than one who engages in Torahstudy. A proof is cited based on bwhat was taughtin the mishna: bOne who recites iShema bafter this time loses nothing and isconsidered blike one who reads the Torah.This is proven bby inference,since bone who recites iShema bat itsappointed btime is greaterthan one who does not, and one who does not is equal to one who reads the Torah, when one recites iShemaat its appointed time he fulfills two mitzvot, that of Torah study and that of the recitation of iShema /i., strongMISHNA: /strong Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disputed the proper way to recite iShema /i. bBeit Shammai say:One should recite iShemain the manner indicated in the text of iShemaitself. Therefore, bin the evening every person must reclineon his side and recite iShema /i, in fulfillment of the verse: “When you lie down,” band in the morning he must standand recite iShema /i, in fulfillment of the verse: When you rise, bas it is stated: “When you lie down, and when you rise.” /b, bAnd Beit Hillel say: Every person recites iShema bas he is,and he may do so in whatever position is most comfortable for him, both day and night, bas it is stated: “And when you walk along the way,”when one is neither standing nor reclining ( iMe’iri /i)., bIf so,according to Beit Hillel, bwhy was it stated: “When you lie down, and when you rise”?This is merely to denote time; bat the time when people lie down and the time when people rise. /b,With regard to this ihalakha /i, bRabbi Tarfon said:Once, bI was coming on the roadwhen I stopped and breclined to recite iShema bin accordance with the statement of Beit Shammai.Although Rabbi Tarfon was a disciple of Beit Hillel, he thought that fulfilling the mitzva in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai would be a more meticulous fulfillment of the mitzva, acceptable to all opinions. Yet in so doing, bI endangered myself due to the highwaymen [ ilistim /i]who accost travelers.,The Sages bsaid to him: You deservedto be in a position where you were bliableto pay bwith your life, as you transgressed the statement of Beit Hillel.This statement will be explained in the Gemara. |