Amen, amen! - Brakhot 53b

Rabbi Yosi says: Greater is he who answers 'amen' than he who says the blessing. Said Rabbi Nehorai to him: By heaven it is so! The proof is that while the common soldiers go down and open the battle, it is the mighty ones who go down to win it!

Another chapter is finished, leaving just one to go before the end of our first masechet (let's have a seudah!). But I was struck by the debate on 53b about whether it's better to lead the blessing or say amen. While Rav and Rav Huna urge their children to just grab the cup and say birkat hamazon, Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Nehorai provide an interesting counterpoint, with an unusual image.

The person leading the beracha, according to this metaphor, are like the front line of an attack, leading a foray. This requires courage and determination certainly, but it may also be a little foolhardy, leaving you in a vulnerable position. Without the giborim, the mighty ones, to reinforce your position, the war would never be one.

As a community leader and future rabbi, as well as being someone who prefers leading services to joining them, this idea is both challenging and inspiring. I am far more likely to be the one grabbing the cup and saying the blessing, getting up on the bimah and leading the davening, but Rabbi Nehorai reminds me of a few key facts:

             -A leader with no community will not succeed. The community are our reinforcements, our giborim, as we go to war.

             -Not only is there no shame in just saying amen, in fact by supporting the community atmosphere, you are contributing to a vital job. Your presence, with your participation, qualifies you as a mighty warrior.

As you go into Yom Kippur, and get ready to wage war against our sins, remember the teaching of Rabbi Nehorai - and look to your giborim for support.

The early bird IS the worm - brakhot 5

As someone who often davens and then leaves Shul early out of impatience for a long service, I was ashamed to see the following: if two people enter a beit kinesset to pray and one finishes first and he doesn't wait for his friend before leaving, his prayer is torn up in his face.

Oh boy - I'm in trouble.