Tractate Berakhot of the Talmud of Eret—-Israel: 0009

תרין אמורין — two amoraïm (but it is not certain which of them said what)
מאן דאמר — the one who said
מה טעמא — what is the biblical basis for this claim?

1:
At this point the Gemara suddenly breaks off the discussion concerning twilight and dawn and interjects a brief discussion concerning the liturgy! Two issues are dealt with in this discussion: the recitation of the Amidah and the Priestly benediction.

2:
The fact that when one recites the Amidah one must stand with one's feet together is an accepted fact, undisputed in the Gemara. What is the subject of discussion is why is this the case? What is the etiology of this custom, to recite the Amidah while standing with one's feet together? (Almost invariably, when the sages refer to 'prayer' they are referring specifically to the Amidah, which is recited three times every day, sometimes four times and quite rarely five times.)

3:
Two sages debate the origin of this custom, Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Simon. (We should note here that the name of Rabbi Simon is not the Hebrew name "Shim'on" but the Hellenic name "Simon", pronounced Seemon.) One of these sages suggests that the basis of the custom is to be found in the customs and mannerisms of the priests in the Bet Mikdash, while the other holds that the custom derives from emulating the angels in heaven who are envisaged as being in eternal attendance upon the divine throne.

4:
The Torah [Exodus 20:23] warns:

Whatever the original intention of the verse may have been the sages understood the verse literally: the approach to the main altar in the priestly court in the Bet Mikdash — the one upon which the sacrificial victims were incinerated — was not by a flight of steps but by a ramp. The priests were supposed to ascend this ramp in a mincing manner, taking very small steps, not large strides. Each step involved bringing the heel of one foot parallel to the big toe of the other. This manner of walking, more or less keeping the feet together, is seen here as the origin of the custom of standing with the feet together to recite the Amidah. To this day this is the accepted manner of taking three steps back at the completion of the Amidah — heel-to-toe. (See, for example, Mishnah Berurah on Shulḥan Arukh Oraḥ Ḥayyim 123, note 14.)

5:
The other Amora is of the opinion that the custom derives from the way that scripture describes the posture of the angels:

Before we investigate the meaning of this verse, as understood by the sages, we should perhaps look at the names of some of the sages mentioned in this passage. We have already noted Simon as being a Greek name. The name of Rabbi Ḥanina's father is also Greek: André. (Andros in Greek is 'a man'; Anglicized as Andrew.) The name of Rabbi Shemu'el's father is even more strange: 'soter' means 'saviour', but it may have been an abbreviation for the more common 'soter lathyros' which means 'chickpea' or 'garbanzo bean' in Greek. At any rate, the Hellenistic influence on the culture and nomenclature of Eretz-Israel at this time is very clear.

6:
Let us return to our explanation of the straight leg of the angels. Rabbi Shemu'el bar-Soter explains Ezekiel's vision as implying that the angels are humanoid but have no joints in their legs (no knees, no ankles). The Gemara says that he learns this from another verse:

Rabbi Shemu'el interprets the description 'standing' literally: standing, meaning unable to move. Just as the angels in heaven must stand and wait upon God so must the Jew stand perfectly still, feet together, when reciting the Amidah. (Rashi, on Daniel 7:16, repeats this explanation.)

7:
We now come to the second liturgical discussion. The first was concerned with the Amidah, the second is concerned with the priestly blessing. In the Torah [Numbers 6:23-27] requires the priests, kohanim, to invoke God's blessing on the people of Israel:

The priests fulfill this mitzvah by ascending the dukhan (platform) each day during the morning service and reciting this three-fold benediction. On days when there is an additional service, Musaf (Shabbat, Yom Tov and Rosh Hodesh) the mitzvah is performed during Musaf as well. On fast days it is performed during the Afternoon service too, and it is also performed during Ne'ilah on Yom Kippur. At least, this is how the mitzvah should be done. And this is how it is most generally observed in Eretz-Israel today. In the diaspora it became the custom to perform this mitzvah only during Musaf on Yom Tov.

8:
The blessing is recited during the cantor's repetition of the Amidah, prior to the last of the eighteen blessings of the Amidah. Rabbi Huna says that while the priests are pronouncing the blessings the congregation should quietly recite verses from the bible. During the Shaḥarit Amidah the verses should come from Psalm 103, verses 20-22. While the priests are reciting the first of the three benedictions one should say

During the second of the three benedictions one should say

And during the last of the three benedictions one should say

When the priests perform this mitzvah during the Musaf service a different set of verses is to be used [Psalm 134].

During the first benediction one should say

During the second benediction one should say

And during the third benediction one should say

9:
On those occasions when the priests perform the mitzvah more times the same verses should be used: during the Afternoon service (Minḥah) use the verses from Psalm 103 and during the Concluding Service (Ne'ilah) use the verses from Psalm 134.

10:
If anyone can explain to me how this passage relates to the previous discussion I would be very grateful, because I haven't the faintest idea!