למימרא דמברך עדיף ממאן דעני אמן והתניא ר' יוסי אומר גדול העונה אמן יותר מן המברך א"ל ר' נהוראי השמים כן הוא תדע שהרי גוליירין יורדין ומתגרין [במלחמה] וגבורים יורדין ומנצחין תנאי היא דתניא אחד המברך ואחד העונה אמן במשמע אלא שממהרין למברך יותר מן העונה אמן
The Gemara asks: Is that to say that one who recites a blessing is preferable to one who answers amen? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei says: The reward of the one who answers amen is greater than the reward of the one who recites the blessing?
Rabbi Nehorai said to him: By Heavens, an oath in the name of God, it is so. Know that this is true, as the military assistants [gulyarin]descend to the battlefield and initiate the war and the mighty descend and prevail. The amen that follows a blessing is compared to the mighty who join the war after the assistants, illustrating that answering amen is more significant than reciting the initial blessing.
Context: The rabbis believed that saying, "amen" to someone else's blessing was equivalent to saying the blessing for yourself. For example, we are all commanded to bless bread before we eat it. However, only one person needs to recite the haMotzi blessing on behalf of the group. Everyone else can answer, "amen" and they too have fulfilled the commandment of blessing bread before they eat it. That is why we don't have to listen to each individual make the blessing before a group eats bread together.
This text is exploring whether there is a greater reward for reciting a blessing or saying, "amen". The reward isn't defined, but it probably has to do with being meritorious in God's eyes.
Make an argument for why it's more important to say your own blessing than it is to answer amen to someone else's blessing.
Now make an argument for why it's more important to answer amen to someone else's blessing than it is to say your own blessing.
(ב) הַשּׁוֹמֵעַ אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל מְבָרֵךְ אַחַת מִכָּל הַבְּרָכוֹת, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמַע כֻּלָּהּ מִתְּחִלָּתָהּ וְעַד סוֹפָהּ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ חַיָּב בְּאוֹתָהּ בְּרָכָה, חַיָּב לַעֲנוֹת אַחֲרָיו אָמֵן; אֲבָל אִם הָיָה הַמְבָרֵךְ אֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס אוֹ כּוּתִי אוֹ תִּינוֹק, אוֹ הָיָה גָּדוֹל וְשִׁנָּה מִמַּטְבֵּעַ הַבְּרָכוֹת, אֵין עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו אָמֵן. הַגָּה: וְעוֹנִין אָמֵן אַחַר עַכּוּ''ם, אִם שָׁמַע כָּל הַבְּרָכָה מִפִּיו (הר''י פֶּרֶק אֵלּוּ דְּבָרִים).
Shulchan Arukh-If a Jew hears someone say part of a blessing, even if he didn't hear the entire blessing from the beginning to the end and he is not bound by that bracha, he still has to say Amen...
Rema - you even say Amen after a Gentile makes a blessing!
Context: The Shulchan Aruch is exploring different scenarios about answering, "amen" to someone else's blessing. Should we say, "amen" if you walk in late and hear only part of a blessing? Should we answer, "amen" to a blessing on a commandment that you are not obligated to fulfill? In the Shulchan Aruch's time, women were not obligated to many commandments that were incumbent upon men. For example, should a women answer, "amen" if she hears a man saying the blessing over wrapping tefillin.
Why do you think the Shulchan Aruch concludes we should answer, "amen" to blessings we don't hear from the beginning and blessings we are not ourselves obligated to fulfill?
More Context: The Shulchan Aruch is a legal code and was written for the Sephardic community. The Rema is the Ashkenazic commentary that accompanies the Shulchan Aruch's rulings. Shulchan Aruch means "set table". Another humorous name for the Rema is "Mapa" which means "table cloth"!
The Rema is a 16th century text. Does it surprise you that the Rema says Jews should answer, "amen" to the blessings of a gentile. What do you think his motivation was for this ruling? Why do you think it's important to answer, "amen" to a gentile's blessing today?
The people saying Amen to the curses, was their declaring their belief in the the Torah as the ultimate guide to creating the values of a moral society. This was also a declaration of Gd's sovereignty over the world.
The people ratified this, by saying Kel Melech Neeman - Gd would punish those who brought immorality into society through their behaviour.