Chapter IV

Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, by D. A. Sola and M. J. Raphall, [1843], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER IV.

§ 1. The morning prayer [may be said] until noon. R. Jehudah saith, "until the fourth hour." The ‏מנחה‎ prayer until the evening. R. Jehudah saith, "until [the expiration] of half the time [appointed for] the ‏מנחה‎ sacrifice. The evening prayer [is not limited] to any fixed time, and the ‏מוסף‎ [additional prayer] [may be said] all day. R. Jehudah saith, "until the seventh hour [only]."

§ 2. R. Nehooniah ben Hakanah used to pronounce a short prayer when he entered the Beth Hamedrash [College], and again

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when he left it. They [the sages] asked him, "What occasion [authority] is there for this prayer?" He answered them, "When I enter, I pray that no cause of offence may arise through me; and when I quit, I return thanks for my vocation [as a teacher of the law]."

§ 3. Rabbon Gamaliel saith, "Man must daily say the eighteen benedictions." R. Joshua saith, "a compendium of the eighteen [benedictions]." R. Akivah saith, "If the ‏תפלה‎ is fluent in a man's mouth, he says the eighteen [benedictions]; if not, he only says a compendium of the eighteen [benedictions]."

§ 4. R. Eleazar saith, "If a man turns his prayers into a fixed charge [or burthen] they cease to be humble supplications." R. Joshua saith, "If a man travels in dangerous places, let him say this short prayer, 'Save, O Lord, thy people, the remnant of Israel; at every stage of their journeying, ¹ let their wants be present before thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearest prayers.'"

§ 5. If a man rides on an ass, he must dismount: if he cannot dismount, he turns his face towards the Sanctum Sanctorum; and if he cannot turn his face, he is to direct his mind to that most holy place.

§ 6. If he is seated in a ship, or in a cart, or in a waggon [on a raft], he directs his mind to the Sanctum Sanctorum.

§ 7. R. Eleazar saith, the ‏מוסף‎ [additional prayer], is only to be read in a public congregation. But the sages say, "Whether there be [a congregation] or not, [this prayer must be read]." R. Jehudah said, in the name [on the authority] of R. Eleazar, "In all places where there is a public congregation, single individuals are exempt from praying ‏מוסף‎."

Footnotes

6:1 The expression in the original, ‏בכל פרשת העבור‎, is very obscure, and has been variously rendered. According to some, it means "at every cross-road." According to others, "even when they [Israel] turn away and transgress." The translation we have adopted seems most in accordance with the context.