My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit.
To those who curse me let my soul be silent
and may my soul be like dust to all.
Open my heart to Your Torah,
and may my soul pursue your mitzvot.
And save me from a bad mishap, from the evil inclination,
from a bad woman, and from all evils that suddenly come upon the world.
And all who plan evil against me,
swiftly thwart their counsel, and frustrate their plans.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
This personal prayer is placed at the end of the Amidah. Within the Talmud, this series of blessings is usually referred to as Tefillah, Prayer. On folio 17A of Tractate Brachot, many personal prayers are preserved. This is the one chosen for inclusion in most prayer books.
The only edit made is that this section:
And save me from a bad mishap, from the evil inclination,
from a bad woman, and from all evils that suddenly come upon the world.
And all who plan evil against me,
Was shortened to:
As for all who plan evil against me,
1. Does Mar son of Ravina's prayer resonate with you? Why or why not?
2. Do you have any questions about the text?
This is a foundational text, explaining the rabbinic approach to Judaism. It is quite dense and there are multiple valid interpretations of what is happening.
1. Why didn't Rabbi Joshua want to acknowledge that Rabbi Eliezer's opinion was correct?
2. When is it important to be accurate and when it is important to make decisions that are best for the community?
Questions from AJWS Source Sheet
(א) משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:
(1) Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.
This is known as "The Chain of Transmission." It is a fundamental statement of how the rabbis envisioned their direct connection to Moses. It is also a justification of the expansion of Jewish law, to account for the lack of a Temple in which to sacrifice and to create ideals for living within an ever-changing society (Halakha).
1. Does this resonate with you?
2. How would you describe the chain of transmission of Jewish knowledge?
3. What role does authority play in your Jewish life?