Origins of the Berachot

The man bowed low in homage to the LORD and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by the LORD, to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

How can a young man keep his way pure?— by holding to Your word. I have turned to You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commandments. In my heart I treasure Your promise; therefore I do not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; train me in Your laws. With my lips I rehearse all the rules You proclaimed. I rejoice over the way of Your decrees as over all riches. I study Your precepts; I regard Your ways; I take delight in Your laws; I will not neglect Your word.

(10) David blessed the LORD in front of all the assemblage; David said, “Blessed are You, LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity. (11) Yours, LORD, are greatness, might, splendor, triumph, and majesty—yes, all that is in heaven and on earth; to You, LORD, belong kingship and preeminence above all. (12) Riches and honor are Yours to dispense; You have dominion over all; with You are strength and might, and it is in Your power to make anyone great and strong. (13) Now, God, we praise You and extol Your glorious name. (14) Who am I and who are my people, that we should have the means to make such a freewill offering; but all is from You, and it is Your gift that we have given to You. (15) For we are sojourners with You, mere transients like our fathers; our days on earth are like a shadow, with nothing in prospect. (16) O LORD our God, all this great mass that we have laid aside to build You a House for Your holy name is from You, and it is all Yours. (17) I know, God, that You search the heart and desire uprightness; I, with upright heart, freely offered all these things; now Your people, who are present here—I saw them joyously making freewill offerings. (18) O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, remember this to the eternal credit of the thoughts of Your people’s hearts, and make their hearts constant toward You. (19) As to my son Solomon, give him a whole heart to observe Your commandments, Your admonitions, and Your laws, and to fulfill them all, and to build this temple for which I have made provision.” (20) David said to the whole assemblage, “Now bless the LORD your God.” All the assemblage blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads low to the LORD and the king.

Regarding this, Rav Shemen, Shimon, bar Abba said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: Now, since the eighteen blessings of the Amida prayer and the other prayer formulas for prayer were instituted for Israel by the members of the Great Assembly just like all the other blessings and prayers, sanctifications and havdalot; let us see where in the Amida prayer the members of the Great Assembly instituted to recite havdala.

§ The baraita cited previously taught that the halakha against reciting a text out of order applies to the Amida prayer as well. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? As it is taught in a baraita: Shimon HaPakuli arranged the eighteen blessings of the Amida prayer before Rabban Gamliel in their fixed order in Yavne, which indicates that there is a specific order to these blessings that must not be changed. Rabbi Yoḥanan said, and some say that it was taught in a baraita: A hundred and twenty Elders, i.e., the Men of the Great Assembly, and among them several prophets, established the eighteen blessings of the Amida in their fixed order, which also shows that the order of these blessings may not be changed.

On seeds he says [the Beracha (blessing)] Borei Minei Zerayim (Who created different types of seeds), and on herbs he says [the Beracha] Borei Minei Deshaim (Who created different types of herbs), and on vegetables he says [the Beracha] Borei Pri Haadama (Who created the fruit of the ground). Rebbi Yehudah says “[on vegetables he makes the Beracha] Baruch Matzmiach Haadama Bidvaro (Blessed upon whose word the ground produces growths).” Rebbi Meir says, “even [if] he saw bread and he said ‘Blessed be the One Who created this bread, how nice this bread is,’ that is its Beracha. Even [if] he saw figs and he said ‘Blessed be the One Who created these figs, how nice they are,’ that is their Beracha.” Rebbi Yossi says, “Anyone who changes [the official text] of Berachot from what the Rabbis have coined, does not fulfill his obligation [of saying the Beracha].” Rebbi Yehudah says, “Any [type of food] that has been changed from its original form (like bread which used to be wheat or wine which used to be grapes), [if] he changed its Beracha [to the Beracha of the food in its original form], he has fulfilled his obligation [of saying the Beracha].”

Regarding blessings that do not conform to the formula instituted by the Sages, the Gemara relates that Binyamin the shepherd ate bread and afterward recited in Aramaic: Blessed is the Master of this bread. Rav said, he thereby fulfilled his obligation to recite a blessing. The Gemara objects: But didn’t Rav himself say: Any blessing that does not contain mention of God’s name is not considered a blessing? The Gemara emends the formula of his blessing. He said: Blessed is the All-Merciful, Master of this bread.