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Beit Midrash Prayers

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1. Mishnah (Eretz Yisrael, c. 200) Brakhot 4:2

Rabbi Nehunia ben ha-Kaneh would pray a short prayer when he
entered the house of study, and when he left it.
They said to him, What is the substance of this prayer?
He said to them, When I enter, I pray that no mistake should
occur through me, and when I leave I give thanks for my lot.
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2. Babylonian Talmud ( Persia, c. 200- 500) Brakhot 28b

Our Rabbis taught: What does one say upon entering?
May it be Your will, Lord my God, that no mistake occur
through me, that I not stumble in a matter of halakha, that my
companions will rejoice in me, that I not say that the pure is
impure or the impure pure, that my companions should not
stumble in a matter of halakha, and that I will rejoice in them.

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2a. Rashi ( R. Shlomo b. Yitzhaq, France, 1040- 1105) on
Brakhot 28b
That I not stumble in a matter of halakha, that my companions
will rejoice [that they not rejoice] at my error

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2b. Maharsha ( R. Shmuel Eliezer Edels, Poland, 1555-
1632) to Brakhot 28b
That my companions will rejoice in me Rashi understood this
as at my error It seems more reasonable to understand this
as a positive prayer, that he really prays this: that my companions
will rejoice in me because I have not stumbled, and so too that I
will rejoice in them because they have not stumbled


1. Why pray before studying? What does the content of Rabbi Nehunia ben ha-Kanehs prayer
tell us about the nature of the study which followed it?



2. How do Rashi and the Maharsha each understand what causes to rejoice? What image
of a beit midrash does each interpretation present?


III. Writing Exercise
3. What are your prayers for your learning as you study Torah shebal Peh this year and your
relationships with peers and teachers this year? Write your prayer below using the language
of a prayer like the ones above. Copy your prayer on to an index card neatly, share it with
someone you have met recently, and then hand it in.