Berakhot

[Similarly] R. Hanan said: Even if the master of dreams  says to a man that on the morrow he will die, he should not desist from prayer, for so it says, For in the multitude of dreams are vanities and also many words, but fear thou God.  Thereupon straightway, Hezekiah turned his face to the kir [wall] and prayed unto the Lord.  What is the meaning of 'kir'? — R. Simeon b. Lakish said: [He prayed] from the innermost cham bers [kiroth] of his heart, as it says, My bowels, my bowels, I writhe in pain! Kiroth [The chambers] of my heart etc.  R. Levi said: [He prayed] with reference to [another] 'kir'. He said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe! The Shunammite woman made only one little chamber [on the roof] and Thou didst restore her son to life.  How much more so then me whose ancestor  overlaid the Temple with silver and gold! Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight.  What means, 'I have done that which is good in Thy sight'? — Rab Judah says in the name of Rab: He joined the ge'ullah with the tefillah.  R. Levi said: He hid away the Book of Cures. Our Rabbis taught:  King Hezekiah did six things; of three of them they [the Rabbis] approved and of three they did not approve. Of three they approved: he hid away the Book of Cures; and they approved of it; he broke into pieces the brazen serpent,  and they approved of it; and he dragged the bones of his father [to the grave] on a bed of ropes,  and they approved of it.  Of three they did not approve: He stopped up the waters of Gihon,  and they did not approve of it; he cut off [the gold] from the doors of the Temple and sent it to the King of Assyria,  and they did not approve of it; and he intercalated the month of Nisan during Nisan,  and they did not approve of it. But did not Hezekiah accept the teaching: This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:  [this means] that this is Nisan and no other month shall be Nisan?  — He went wrong over the teaching enunciated by Samuel. For Samuel said: The year must not be declared a prolonged year on the thirtieth of Adar, since this day may possibly belong to Nisan;  and he thought: We do not pay heed to this possibility. R. Johanan said in the name of R. Jose b. Zimra: If a man makes his petition depend on his own merit, heaven makes it depend on the merit of others; and if he makes it depend on the merit of others, heaven makes it depend on his own merit. Moses made his petition depend on the merit of others, as it says, Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel Thy servants!  and Scripture made it depend on his own merit, as it says, Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach to turn back His wrath, lest He should destroy them.  Hezekiah made his petition depend on his own merit, as it is written: Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee,  and God made it depend on the merit of others, as it says, For I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake and for My servant David's sake.  And this agrees with R. Joshua b. Levi. For R. Joshua b. Levi said: What is the meaning of the verse, Behold for my peace I had great bitterness?  Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him [the message of] peace it was bitter for him. Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the roof.  Rab and Samuel differ.  One says: It was an open upper chamber, and they put a roof on it. The other says: It was a large verandah, and they divided it into two.  For him who says that it was a verandah, there is a good reason why the text says kir [wall]. But how does he who says that it was an upper chamber account for the word kir? — [It is used] because they put a roof on it [kiruah]. For him who says it was an upper chamber there is a good reason why the text uses the word 'aliyath [upper chamber]. But how does he who says it was a verandah account for the word 'aliyath? — It was the best [me'ulla]  of the rooms. And let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool and a candlestick.  Abaye (or as some say, R. Isaac) said: If one wants to benefit from the hospitality of another, he may benefit, as Elisha did;  and if he does not desire to benefit, he may refuse to do so, as Samuel the Ramathite did,  of whom we read, And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house;  and R. Johanan said: [This teaches that] wherever he travelled, his house was with him. And she said unto her husband: Behold now, I perceive that he is a holy man of God.  R. Jose b. Hanina said: You learn from this that a woman recognizes the character of a guest better than a man. 'A holy man'. How did she know this? — Rab and Samuel gave different answers. One said: Because she never saw a fly pass by his table. The other said: She spread a sheet of linen over his bed, and she never saw a nocturnal pollution on it. He is a holy [man]. R. Jose son of R. Hanina said: He is holy, but his attendant is not holy. For so it says: And Gehazi came near to thrust her away;  R. Jose son of Hanina said: He seized her by the breast. That passeth by us continually.  R. Jose son of R. Hanina said in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: If a man entertains a scholar in his house and lets him enjoy his possessions, Scripture accounts it to him as if he had sacrificed the daily burnt-offering. R. Jose son of Hanina further said in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: A man should not stand on a high place when he prays, but he should pray in a lowly place, as it says; Out of the depths have I called Thee, O Lord.  It has been taught to the same effect: A man should not stand on a chair or on a footstool or on a high place to pray, but he should pray in a lowly place, since there is no elevation before God, and so it says, 'Out of the depths have I called Thee, O Lord', and it also says, A prayer of the afflicted, when he fainteth. R. Jose son of R. Hanina also said in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: When one prays, he should place his feet in proper position,  as it says, And their feet were straight feet. R. Jose son of R. Hanina also said in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: What is the meaning of the verse, Ye shall not eat with the blood?  Do not eat before ye have prayed for your blood.  R. Isaac said in the name of R. Johanan, who had it from R. Jose son of R. Hanina in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: If one eats and drinks and then says his prayers, of him the Scripture says, And hast cast Me behind thy back.  Read not gaweka [thy back], but geeka [thy pride]. Says the Holy One, blessed be He: After  this one has exalted himself, he comes and accepts the kingdom of heaven! R. JOSHUA SAYS: UNTIL THE THIRD HOUR. Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: The halachah is as stated by R. Joshua. HE WHO RECITES THE SHEMA' LATER LOSES NOTHING. R. Hisda said in the name of Mar 'Ukba: Provided he does not say the benediction of 'Who formest the light'.  An objection was raised from the statement: He who recites the Shema' later loses nothing; he is like one reading in the Torah, but he says two blessings before it and one after. Is not this a refutation of R. Hisda? It is [indeed] a refutation. Some there are who say: R. Hisda said in the name of Mar 'Ukba: What is the meaning of HE LOSES NOTHING? He does not lose the benedictions. It has been taught to the same effect: He who says the Shema' later loses nothing, being like one who reads from the Torah, but he says two blessings before and one after. R. Mani said: He who recites the Shema' in its proper time is greater than he who studies the Torah.  For since it says, HE WHO SAYS LATER LOSES NOTHING, BEING LIKE A MAN WHO READS IN THE TORAH, we may conclude that one who recites the Shema' at its proper time is superior. MISHNAH. BETH SHAMMAI SAY: IN THE EVENING EVERY MAN SHOULD RECLINE AND RECITE [THE SHEMA'], AND IN THE MORNING HE SHOULD STAND, AS IT SAYS, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP.  BETH HILLEL, HOWEVER, SAY THAT EVERY MAN SHOULD RECITE IN HIS OWN WAY, AS IT SAYS, AND WHEN THOU WALKEST BY THE WAY.  WHY THEN IS IT SAID, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP? [THIS MEANS], AT THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE LIE DOWN AND AT THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE RISE UP. R. TARFON SAID: I WAS ONCE WALKING BY THE WAY AND I RECLINED TO RECITE THE SHEMA' IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY BETH SHAMMAI, AND I INCURRED DANGER FROM ROBBERS. THEY SAID TO HIM: YOU DESERVED TO COME TO HARM, BECAUSE YOU ACTED AGAINST THE OPINION OF BETH HILLEL.