Beth Shammai dit: [Si quelqu'un mangeait le sabbat après-midi et qu'il faisait noir, et qu'il n'avait pas encore fini son repas et qu'il avait assez de vin pour une seule tasse] (l'ordre de bénédiction est :) bougie, grâce, épices et havdalah. Beth Hillel dit: bougie, épices, grâce et havdalah. [Tous conviennent que la havdala est la dernière, le départ du jour (du sabbat) étant retardé, afin qu'il ne lui paraisse pas un fardeau. Ils ne diffèrent que par rapport à la bougie et aux épices, dit Beth Shammai: bougie, grâce, puis épices; et Beth Hillel disant que bougie et épices vont de pair, pour les bénédictions que nous pouvons faire, qui ne donnent pas l'impression de fardeau, comme la bougie et les épices, nous récitons devant la grâce. Beth Shammai dit: "Qui a créé la lumière du feu." [«qui a créé», dans le passé; et non «qui crée», ce qui implique l'avenir. "la lumière du feu", et non "les lumières du feu", il n'y a qu'une seule lumière dans la bougie.] Et Beth Hillel dit: "Qui crée" [le passé aussi, étant sous-entendu] "les lumières de le feu "[de nombreuses nuances se trouvent dans la flamme: rouge, blanc et verdâtre.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
נר ומזון – He who ate on Shabbat after [reciting] the Minha/Afternoon Service, and it became dark and he had not yet completed his meal and he doesn’t have more than a cup’s worth of wine, the School of Shammai states: [One recites the blessings for] the Candle, the Meal, the spices and the Havdalah prayer, since everyone [holds] that Havdalah [is recited] at the end, so that when one “leaves” a day, we do it as late [as possible] in order that it (the Sabbath) would not seem to him like a burden. They (the Schools of Hillel and Shammai) did not disagree other than on the Candle and on the Spices, for the School of Shammai holds [that we recite the blessings in the following order]: Candle, the Meal, and afterwards the Spices. And the School of Hillel says [that we recite the blessings in the following order]: The Candle, and the Spices, since both the Candle and Spices are mutually blessings that we can do and they do not appear as a burden, such as the Candle and Spices [which are recited] prior to ברכת המזון
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Introduction
In this mishnah Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel debate the order of the various blessings recited as part of the Havdalah, the set of blessings that separates Shabbat or a holiday from the day that follows. The specific situation under discussion is a case where people were eating a meal on Saturday night at nightfall and they wanted to combine Birkat Hamazon and Havdalah and say them both over the same cup of wine.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
בית שמאין אומרים שברא מאור האש – Who created, which implies in the past, and not “who creates,” which implies in the future.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Bet Shammai says: [the proper order is] candle, [Birkat Ha]Mazon, spices, and Havdalah. But Bet Hillel says: candle, spices, [Birkat Ha]Mazon, and Havdalah. Bet Shammai holds that the candle’s blessing comes first because as soon as the candle is lit they immediately benefit from the candle’s light. They then do Birkat Hamazon because they has already finished eating. Finally they bless over the spices and Havdalah. Bet Hillel holds that since the candle and spices are both short blessings, they go together. In other words, he moves the blessing over the spices up to join it with the blessing over the candle. He then recites Birkat Hamazon and Havdalah.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
מאור האש – and not the “lights of fire” since one “light” is found in a fire.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Bet Shammai says [the blessing over the candle concludes with the words], “Who created the light of the fire.” But Bet Hillel says: “Who creates the lights of the fire.” This debate about the wording of the blessing over the candle is actually a deep theological debate. According to Bet Shammai we bless over the original light that God created in the beginning of the world. We are thanking God for something that happened in the past, for an act that was long ago completed. This is close, perhaps, to an Aristotelian conception of God as the prime mover. God created fire and henceforth, all fire stems from that original fire. In contrast, Bet Hillel says that we thank God for continuously creating fire. God is still acting as a creator in continuing the normal functioning of the world.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
ובית הלל אומרים בורא – which also implies in the past
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
מאורי האש – There are many colors in the flame: red, white and greenish.
