Berakhot 5

Mishnah Berakhot 5:1

One should not stand up to say Tefillah except in a reverent state of mind. The pious men of old used to wait an hour before praying in order that they might direct their thoughts to God. Even if a king greets him [while praying] he should not answer him: even if a snake is wound round his heel he should not stop.

אֵין עוֹמְדִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ כֹּבֶד רֹאשׁ. חֲסִידִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הָיוּ שׁוֹהִים שָׁעָה אַחַת וּמִתְפַּלְּלִים, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּכַוְּנוּ אֶת לִבָּם לַמָּקוֹם. אֲפִלּוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ שׁוֹאֵל בִּשְׁלוֹמוֹ, לֹא יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ. וַאֲפִלּוּ נָחָשׁ כָּרוּךְ עַל עֲקֵבוֹ, לֹא יַפְסִיק:

Babylonian Talmud, Folio 30b–33a

Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 5:1

Mishnah Berakhot 5:2

They mention [God’s] power to bring rain in the blessing for the resurrection of the dead. And they ask for rain in the blessing for [fruitful] years. And havdalah in “Who grant knowledge.” Rabbi Akiva says: he says it as a fourth blessing by itself. Rabbi Eliezer says: in the thanksgiving blessing.

מַזְכִּירִין גְּבוּרוֹת גְּשָׁמִים בִּתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים, וְשׁוֹאֲלִין הַגְּשָׁמִים בְּבִרְכַּת הַשָּׁנִים, וְהַבְדָּלָה בְּחוֹנֵן הַדָּעַת. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אוֹמְרָהּ בְּרָכָה רְבִיעִית בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, בְּהוֹדָאָה:

Babylonian Talmud, Folio 33a–33b

Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 5:2

Mishnah Berakhot 5:3

The one who says, “On a bird’s nest may Your mercy be extended,” [or] “For good may Your name be blessed” or “We give thanks, we give thanks,” they silence him. One who was passing before the ark and made a mistake, another should pass in his place, and he should not be as one who refuses at that moment. Where does he begin? At the beginning of the blessing in which the other made a mistake.

הָאוֹמֵר עַל קַן צִפּוֹר יַגִּיעוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ, וְעַל טוֹב יִזָּכֵר שְׁמֶךָ, מוֹדִים מוֹדִים, מְשַׁתְּקִין אוֹתוֹ. הָעוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה וְטָעָה, יַעֲבֹר אַחֵר תַּחְתָּיו, וְלֹא יְהֵא סָרְבָן בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה. מִנַּיִן הוּא מַתְחִיל, מִתְּחִלַּת הַבְּרָכָה שֶׁטָּעָה בָהּ:

Babylonian Talmud, Folio 33b–34a

Babylonian Talmud, Folio 34a–34b (on Mishnah 5:3–4)

Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 5:3

Mishnah Berakhot 5:4

The one who passes before the ark should not respond Amen after [the blessings of] the priests because this might confuse him. If there is no priest there except himself, he should not raise his hands [to recite the priestly blessing], but if he is confident that he can raise his hands and go back to his place in his prayer, he is permitted to do so.

הָעוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה, לֹא יַעֲנֶה אַחַר הַכֹּהֲנִים אָמֵן, מִפְּנֵי הַטֵּרוּף. וְאִם אֵין שָׁם כֹּהֵן אֶלָּא הוּא, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. וְאִם הַבְטָחָתוֹ שֶׁהוּא נוֹשֵׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו וְחוֹזֵר לִתְפִלָּתוֹ, רַשַּׁאי:

The Babylonian Talmud discusses this mishnah with 5:3 above.

Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 5:4

Mishnah Berakhot 5:5

One who is praying and makes a mistake, it is a bad sign for him. And if he is the messenger of the congregation (the prayer leader) it is a bad sign for those who have sent him, because one’s messenger is equivalent to one’s self. They said about Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa that he used to pray for the sick and say, “This one will die, this one will live.” They said to him: “How do you know?” He replied: “If my prayer comes out fluently, I know that he is accepted, but if not, then I know that he is rejected.”

הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל וְטָעָה, סִימָן רַע לוֹ. וְאִם שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר הוּא, סִימָן רַע לְשׁוֹלְחָיו, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁשְּׁלוּחוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם כְּמוֹתוֹ. אָמְרוּ עָלָיו עַל רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶן דּוֹסָא, כְּשֶׁהָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל עַל הַחוֹלִים וְאוֹמֵר, זֶה חַי וְזֶה מֵת. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, מִנַּיִן אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ. אָמַר לָהֶם, אִם שְׁגוּרָה תְפִלָּתִי בְּפִי, יוֹדֵעַ אֲנִי שֶׁהוּא מְקֻבָּל. וְאִם לָאו, יוֹדֵעַ אֲנִי שֶׁהוּא מְטֹרָף:

Babylonian Talmud, Folio 34b

Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 5:5

The Mishnah: English translation: Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Conservative Yeshiva), via Sefaria, licensed CC BY; changes made (line breaks, spacing, a typo, and Kulp's study notes removed from five mishnayot). Hebrew: Torat Emet 357, public domain; Bikkurim chapter 4 from Dan Be'eri's edition of the Kaufmann manuscript, public domain.

The Jerusalem Talmud: English translation and Hebrew/Aramaic text: Heinrich W. Guggenheimer, The Jerusalem Talmud: Edition, Translation, and Commentary (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999-2015), via Sefaria, licensed CC BY 4.0; changes made (his footnotes and the page markers removed).

The Babylonian Talmud: English: Berakhot, A. Cohen, The Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Berakot (Cambridge University Press, 1921), public domain; Sukkah and Megillah, Daf Shevui (Conservative Yeshiva), CC0; Ta'anit, Henry Malter, The Treatise Ta'anit of the Babylonian Talmud (Jewish Publication Society, 1928), public domain; Chagigah, A. W. Streane, A Translation of the Treatise Chagigah from the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge University Press, 1891), public domain; Makkot, Sefaria Community Translation, CC0. Hebrew and Aramaic: Ta'anit, Malter's critical text (1928, public domain; his notes not reproduced); the others, Wikisource Talmud Bavli (Vilna edition), via Sefaria, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 (this site's cleaned copy of that text is shared under the same license); changes made (markup and images removed).