Prayer in the Talmud: Forms and Patterns

332 Pages·1977·10.45 MB·English

by  Joseph Heinemann

JOSEPH HEINEMANN
PRAYER IN THE TALMUD
w
DE
G
STUDIA JUDAICA
FORSCHUNGEN ZUR WISSENSCHAFT
DES JUDENTUMS
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON
E. L. EHRLICH
BASEL
BAND IX
WALTER DE GRUYTER · BERLIN · NEW YORK
1977
PRAYER
IN THE TALMUD
FORMS AND PATTERNS
BY
JOSEPH HEINEMANN
WALTER DE GRUYTER · BERLIN · NEW YORK
1977
Revised version of the Hebrew original
a^masm trwnn noipna n^snn
published in 1964, 2nd edition 1966,
by the Hebrew University Press
English version
by Richard S. Sarason
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Heinemann, Joseph
Prayer in the Talmud.
(Studia judaica; Bd. 9)
A revision of the work originally published in Hebrew under
title: ha-Tefilah bi-tekufat ha-Tana'im veha-Amora'im.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Jews. Liturgy and ritual-History. 2. Prayer (Judaism) 3. Rab-
bibical literature-History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series.
BM660.H4613 1977 296.4 77-1906
ISBN 0-3-11-004289-4
CIP - Kurztitelaufnabme der Deutschen Bibliothek
Heinemann, Joseph
Prayer in the Talmud: forms and patterns. - 1. Aufl. - Berlin, New
York: de Gruyter, 1977.
(Studia Judaica; Bd. 9)
Einheitssacht: Ha-tefiiäh bi-tequfat ha-tana'im we-ha-amora'im
(engl.)
ISBN 3-11-004289-4
Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Ohne ausdrückliche Genehmigung des Verlages ist es nicht gestattet, dieses Buch
oder Teile daraus aui photomechanischem Wege (Photokopie, Mikrokopie)
zu vervielfältigen.
© 1977 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin 30
Printed in Yugoslavia
Satz und Druck: Casopisno in grafi£no podjetje Delo, Ljubljana
Einband: Wübben & Co., Berlin
PREFACE
This English version of my Hebrew book Hat-tefilläh biteqnfat hat-tannä'im
u^-ha-amôrâ'îtn, tibäh udefüsäyhä, which appeared in 1964 (the second edi-
tion, 1966, is unchanged except for some minor corrections) is not an exact
reproduction of the original. Though I had at my disposal an excellent trans-
lation of the entire book (except for Ch. X), prepared by Rabbi Richard
S. Sarason, Μ. Α., of which I made very extensive use, I have introduced
many changes into the text. Not only does an English version require, at
times, greater elaboration, while, at others, some minor, intricate matters
of Hebrew philology are better omitted, but the considerable lapse of time
since the Hebrew work was written made a revision of the entire book al-
most a necessity. Bibliographical references have been brought up-to-date;
wrong references have been corrected (to no small extent thanks to the
painstaking work of Rabbi Sarason); and I have shortened sections or ela-
borated them, wherever this seemed appropriate. Regarding some matters the
presentation itself has been changed in the light of subsequent research. Only
rarely did I have occasion to make substantive revisions in my arguments
or conclusions; one notable case being the long footnote on p. 94 f.
Throughout the book a great many specific prayers are referred to. For
the convenience of the reader who may wish to locate and study them, page
numbers are given (at least for the first few times any given prayer is men-
tioned) referring to the Daily Prayer Book, edited by Phillip Birnbaum, which
is very likely the most widely used traditional Prayerbook, containing the
Hebrew text side by side with an English translation.
To chapters II and VIII, there are appendices quoting a selection of sour-
ces. For the convenience of readers proficient in Hebrew, the original texts
have been reproduced at the end of the volume.
Jerusalem, February 1976 Joseph Heinemann

CONTENTS
Preface V
List of Abbreviations IX
Introduction 1
Chapter I: The Statutory Prayers: Their Nature, Origin and Content . . .. 13
Chapter II: The Development of Prayers and the Problem of the „Original
Text" 37
Appendix to Chapter II: The „Bönäh Yerûsâlayîm" Benediction - A Com-
parison of the Versions 69
Charper III: The Patterns of the Liturgical Beräkäh and their Origins . . .. 77
Chapter IV: The Address „You" in Prayer 104
Chapter V: Prayer in the Temple 123
Chapter VI: Piyyût-Fotms of Temple Origin 139
Chapter VII: Private and Non-Statutory Prayer 156
Chapter VIII: Law-Court Patterns in Prayer 193
Appendix to Chapter VIII: Sources 208
Chapter IX: The Fixed Statutory Prayers of the Synagogue 218
Chapter X: Prayers of Bêt Midräs Origin 251
Chapter XI: The Genres of Prayer and their Formal Characteristic 276
Appendix A: Hebrew sources to Chapter II 288
Appendix B: Hebrew sources to Chapter VIII 292
Glossary 299
Selected Bibliography 302
Index A: General 305
Index B: Prayer-Texts 311

ABBREVIATIONS
AAFJR American Academy for Jewish Research
Harvard Th. R. Harvard Theological Review
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JJS Journal of Jewish Studies
JSS Journal of Semitic Studies
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
MGWJ Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums
NF Neue Folge
RB Révue Biblique
REJ Révue des Etudes Juives
RGG Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart
OS Old Series
VT; Vet. Test. Vêtus Testamentum
ZATW Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZD GM Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft
BIRNBAUM Phillip Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book, Hebrew Publishing Company,
New York
Davidson, Thesaurus I. Davidson, Thesaurus of Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry (Hebrew),
New York 1924 (reprinted: 1970)
Elbogen, Gottesdienst Ismar Elbogen, Der jüdische Gottesdienst in seiner geschicht-
lichen Entwicklung,9 Frankfurt am Main 1931
Ginzberg, Commentary Louis Ginzberg, A Commentary on the Palestinian Talmud,
(Hebrew), New York 1941-61
Goldschmidt, Haggädäh (i960) Daniel Goldschmidt, Haggâdâh säl Päsah wHòledò-
tähä, Jerusalem 1960
Goldschmidt, Mâbô' S.D. Luzatto, Mâbô' lemahzôr benê Róma', with notes and
Introduction by D. Goldschmidt, Tel Aviv, 1964
Müller, Soferim J. Müller (ed.), Masechet Soferim, Leipzig 1878
Sedär Hibbûr Berâkôt Abraham I. Schechter, Studies in Jewish Liturgy, based on a·
Unique Manuscript..Philadelphia 1930
Tosefta Ki-Fshutah S. Lieberman, Tosefta Ki-Fshutah: A Comprehensive Commen-
tary on the Tosefta, New York 1955
χ Abbreviations
Variae Lectiones R. Rabbinovicz, Varine Lectiones in Mischnam et in Talmud Baby-
lonicum, Munich 1867 f
Zunz, D. gottesdienstlichen Vorträge L. Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der
Juden historisch entwickelt2, Frankfurt a. M., 1892
Zunz - Albeck, Had-derâsôt, L. Zunz, Had-derasôt beYisrä'el [= translation of the
above], edited and supplemented by Ch. Albeck, Jerusalem 1954