Tractate Berakhot of the Talmud of Eret—-Israel: 0017

1:
At the end of the previous shiur we saw that Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi applied the prohibition of adding anything at all after Emet ve-Yatziv (the benediction after the Shema) only to the morning service. The continuation, in today's shiur, investigates and explains this view of Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi (which is accepted halakhah).

2:
Rabbi Abba bar-Yirmiyah explains that there are three 'follow-ons': that is to say that there are three instances where two actions must come one after the other without a break between them. The three instances are:

1. When someone brings a sacrifice (in the Bet Mikdash), immediately after they have laid their hands on the animal's head the attendant priest must slaughter it, with no interruption between the two actions. This is learned from the juxtaposition of the two actions in one verse in the Torah (Leviticus 1:4-5): "He [the sacrificer] shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, that it may be acceptable in his behalf, in expiation for him, and the bull shall be slaughtered before God…"
2. When someone performs a ritual washing of the hands (before eating bread, for example) the washing must be followed immediately, without interruption, by the benediction al n^etilat yadayyim. (This means that the benediction accompanies the washing, not the drying of the hands.) This is learned from a verse in the Book of Psalms (134:2): "Raise your hands in sanctity and [immediately] bless God."
3. The benediction that concludes Emet ve-Yatziv, which is called Ge'ulah, must be followed immediately by the Amidah. This is learned from the juxtaposition of the last verse of Psalm 19 and the beginning of Psalm 20: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, God, my rock and my redeemer… May God answer you in time of trouble…"

3:
Clearly it is only the last of these three instances that concerns our present discussion. The recitation of Shema in the morning consists of the three paragraphs of the Shema, preceded by two benedictions and followed by one benediction. (In the evening the Shema is followed by two benedictions.) The benediction which follows the Shema begins with the words Emet ve-Yatziv and concludes with these words: "Blessed are You, God, Rock of Israel and his Redeemer." (This was the custom of Eretz-Israel; in Babylon the benediction ended with the words "Who Redeemed Israel".) According to the teaching of Rabbi Abba bar-Yirmiyah these words must be followed immediately by the beginning of the Amidah, with no interruption of any kind. The 'proof-text' offered by Rabbi Abba bar-Yirmiyah only makes sense according to the custom of Eretz-Israel: The Shema and its benedictions are "the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart" and the Amidah represents our petitions to God which we hope and pray will be answered. The last verse of Psalm 19 ends with the words "my rock and my redeemer", which parallel the last words of the Shema benediction, "Rock of Israel and his Redeemer." This is followed immediately by Psalm 20 which begins "May God answer you".

4:
Rabbi Yosé now brings the benefits that will accrue to anybody who fulfills these three requirements. When the slaughter of the animal follows on immediately after the laying on of hands that no impediment will invalidate the offering is guaranteed. When someone recites the benediction immediately after washing his or her hands "Satan will not prosecute during that meal". When someone recites the Amidah immediately after the last benediction of the Shema "Satan will not prosecute all that day." This, presumably, means that the worshipper will suffer no mishap all day.

5:
This last statement is challenged by Rabbi Ze'ira. He reports that on one occasion, a day upon which he had recited the Amidah immediately after the Ge'ulah benediction, he was caught by some troopers and forced to take myrtle branches to the palace. During the time that the Romans and Byzantines ruled Eretz-Israel it was quite regular for soldiers or police to stop citizens and to force them to carry loads from one place to another. The term used by Rabbi Ze'ira is αγγαρεια, which was simply transliterated into Aramaic. The dictionary defines the word as forced labour, service, especially seizure for public services or works. Rabbi Ze'ira looked upon this as a mishap. His colleagues responded that most people would be delighted to be asked to take branches of myrtle and see the palace!

6:
Rabbi Ami explains the concept with a homily. The Shema is likened to someone knocking at the door; the Amidah is telling the person who opens the door what it is that you want. This is like "the friend of a king who comes and knocks on the king's door; the king comes to see what he wants and finds that he [the friend] has gone away: so he [the king] goes away too" and the request cannot be granted.