Pesachim 103

ורבה אמר יהנק ולוי אמר קניה ורבנן אמרי קינה מר בריה דרבנא אמר נקיה מרתא אמר משמיה דרבי יהושע ניהק

And Rabba said that the correct order is yod, heh, nun, kuf: Wine [yayin], havdala, candle [ner], and kiddush. And Levi said the order is kuf, nun, yod, heh: Kiddush, candle [ner], wine [yayin], and havdala. And the Rabbis say the order is kuf, yod, nun, heh: kiddush, wine [yayin], candle [ner], and havdala. Mar, son of Rabbana, said the order is nun, kuf, yod, heh: Candle [ner], kiddush, wine [yayin], and havdala. The Sage named Marta said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua that the proper order is nun, yod, heh, kuf: Candle [ner], wine [yayin], havdala, and kiddush.

שלח ליה אבוה דשמואל לרבי ילמדנו רבינו סדר הבדלות היאך שלח ליה כך אמר רבי ישמעאל בר רבי יוסי שאמר משום אביו שאמר משום רבי יהושע בן חנניה נהיק

With regard to this issue, the father of Shmuel, Abba ben Abba, sent a letter to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: Teach us, our Rabbi. How should one recite the order of havdala when a Festival occurs after Shabbat? Rabbi sent him the following response: This is what Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said, who said it in the name of his father, who himself said it in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: The proper order of the blessings is nun, heh, yod, kuf: Candle [ner], havdala, wine [yayin], and kiddush.

אמר רבי חנינא משל דרבי יהושע בן חנניה למלך שיוצא ואפרכוס נכנס מלווין את המלך ואחר כך יוצאים לקראת אפרכוס

Rabbi Ḥanina said that the following parable serves to explain the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: This is comparable to a king who is exiting a city and a governor is entering. Etiquette dictates that the inhabitants of the city first escort the king out of the city to take leave of him in a dignified fashion, and afterward they go out to greet the governor. Similarly, one should first recite havdala, to take leave of Shabbat, and only then recite kiddush over the Festival, whose sanctity is lesser than that of Shabbat.

מאי הוי עלה אביי אמר יקזנה ורבא אמר יקנהז והילכתא כרבא

The Gemara asks: What halakhic conclusion was reached about this matter? What is the proper order of the blessings? The amora’im accept Rav’s opinion that one should recite kiddush before havdala; however, they disagree about the blessing of time, which is generally relevant in such cases and which Rav did not address. Abaye said that the proper order is yod, kuf, zayin, nun, heh: The blessing over wine [yayin], kiddush, the blessing for time [zeman], the blessing over the candle [ner], and havdala. And Rava said the order is yod, kuf, nun, heh, zayin: Wine [yayin], kiddush, candle [ner], havdala, and time [zeman]. The Gemara concludes: And the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rava.

רב הונא בר יהודה איקלע לבי רבא אייתו לקמייהו מאור ובשמים בריך רבא אבשמים ברישא והדר אמאור אמר ליה והא בין בית שמאי ובין בית הילל מאור ברישא והדר אבשמים

With regard to this issue of havdala, the Gemara relates that Rav Huna bar Yehuda happened to come to the house of Rava. After Shabbat, they brought before them a light and spices. Rava recited the blessing over the spices first and then the blessing over the light. Rav Huna bar Yehuda said to him: But both Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, who dispute the order of the blessings at havdala, agree that the blessing over light is first, and only then comes the blessing over the spices.

ומאי היא דתנן בית שמאי אומרים נר ומזון בשמים והבדלה ובית הילל אומרים נר ובשמים ומזון והבדלה

And what is this; what is the source that this is the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel? As we learned in a mishna: Beit Shammai say that with regard to one who is required to say Grace after Meals and havdala, and he has only one cup of wine, the proper order of the blessings is: The blessing over the candle, and the blessing of Grace After Meals, followed by the blessing over the spices, and finally havdala. And Beit Hillel say: The blessing over the candle comes first, and then the blessing over the spices, and afterward the blessing of Grace After Meals, and last is havdala. Both Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel agree that the blessing over the candle is recited before blessing over the spices.

עני רבא בתריה ואמר זו דברי רבי מאיר אבל רבי יהודה אומר לא נחלקו בית שמאי ובית הילל על המזון שהוא בתחלה ועל הבדלה שהיא בסוף

Rava answered after him and said: This mishna is the statement of Rabbi Meir. However, Rabbi Yehuda says: Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel did not disagree over Grace After Meals, as everyone concurs that it is recited first, nor did they disagree over the blessing over the spices, as it is recited last.

על מה נחלקו על המאור ועל הבשמים בית שמאי אומרים מאור ואחר כך בשמים ובית הילל אומרים בשמים ואחר כך מאור ואמר רבי יוחנן נהגו העם כבית הילל ואליבא דרבי יהודה:

With regard to what did they disagree? They disagreed over the blessings recited in the middle of havdala, i.e., the blessings over light and over the spices. Beit Shammai say: Light first, and spices thereafter; and Beit Hillel say: Spices first, and light thereafter. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The people were accustomed to conduct themselves in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel, according to the interpretation of Rabbi Yehuda. Rava acted as dictated by this custom.

רב יעקב בר אבא איקלע לבי רבא חזיה דבריך בורא פרי הגפן אכסא קמא והדר בריך אכסא דברכתא ואישתי אמר ליה למה לך כולי האי הא בריך לן מר חדא זימנא אמר ליה כי הוינן בי ריש גלותא הכי עבדינן

The Gemara relates another incident with regard to establishing meals and reciting blessings. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba happened to come to Rava’s house for a Shabbat meal. He saw that Rava recited the blessing: Who creates the fruit of the vine, over the first cup of wine he drank at the meal, and then he recited the same blessing upon the cup of wine he used for the blessing of Grace after Meals and drank it. He said to him: Why do you have to say all this, i.e., why is it necessary to recite a second blessing? The Master has recited a blessing for us once already, at the beginning of the meal, and thereby exempted us from a blessing on all the wine drunk during the meal. Rava said to him: When we were in the house of the Exilarch, this was our practice. It was the custom among the Sages to recite two blessings.

אמר ליה תינח בי ריש גלותא דהכי עביד דספק מייתי לן ספק לא מייתי לן הכא הא מנח כסא קמן ודעתן עילויה אמר ליה אנא עבדי כתלמידי דרב דרב ברונא ורב חננאל תלמידי דרב הוו יתבי בסעודתא

He said to him: It works out well to act this way in the house of the Exilarch, as there is uncertainty as to whether he will bring us another cup of wine to drink, or whether he will not bring us another cup. Since we are dependent upon the host and cannot anticipate in advance whether we will drink more wine, each cup requires its own blessing. Here, however, the cup is resting before us and our attention is on it, i.e., we intend to drink this wine after Grace after Meals. What need is there to recite another blessing? He said to him: I acted in accordance with the opinion of the students of Rav, as Rav Beruna and Rav Ḥananel, the students of Rav, were sitting together at a meal,

קאי עלייהו רב ייבא סבא אמרו ליה הב לן וניבריך לסוף אמרו ליה הב לן ונישתי אמר להו הכי אמר רב כיון דאמריתו הב לן וניבריך איתסרא לכו למישתי מאי טעמא דאסחיתו דעתייכו

and Rav Yeiva the Elder stood over them to serve them. They said to him: Give us a cup of wine and we will recite the blessings of Grace after Meals. Ultimately, they changed their mind and said to him: Give us a cup of wine and we will drink it. He said to them that Rav said as follows: Since you have said: Give us a cup and we will recite the blessings of Grace after Meals, it is prohibited for you to drink any more. What is the reason for this? The reason is that you have diverted your attention from drinking. Therefore, if you want to drink any more, you must recite the blessing over wine again.

אמימר ומר זוטרא ורב אשי הוו יתבי בסעודה וקאי עלייהו רב אחא בריה דרבא אמימר בריך על כל כסא וכסא ומר זוטרא בריך אכסא קמא ואכסא בתרא רב אשי בריך אכסא קמא ותו לא בריך

The Gemara relates that Ameimar, Mar Zutra, and Rav Ashi were sitting at a meal, and Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, stood over them to serve them. Ameimar recited a blessing over each and every cup of wine he drank. And Mar Zutra recited a blessing over the first cup he drank during the meal and over the last cup he drank, upon concluding Grace after Meals. Rav Ashi recited a blessing over the first cup and did not recite any further blessings over the subsequent cups he drank.

אמר להו רב אחא בר רבא אנן כמאן נעביד אמימר אמר נמלך אנא מר זוטרא אמר אנא דעבדי כתלמידי דרב

Rav Aḥa bar Rava said to them: In accordance with whose opinion should we act in this matter? We have witnessed three different courses of action. Ameimar said: I repeatedly changed my mind. In other words, the reason Ameimar recited a blessing over each cup was not because he maintains that it is always necessary to do so. Rather, he drank each cup with the intention that it should be his last. Consequently, he diverted his attention from drinking each time, and therefore he was required to recite a new blessing before he could drink again. Mar Zutra said: I acted in accordance with the opinion of the students of Rav. They maintain that one who prepares to recite Grace after Meals has completely diverted his attention from drinking, and therefore the blessing on wine that one recites during the meal does not include the wine he drinks after Grace after Meals.

ורב אשי אמר לית הילכתא כתלמידי דרב דהא יום טוב שחל להיות אחר השבת ואמר רב יקנה

And Rav Ashi said: The halakha is not in accordance with the opinion of the students of Rav. This can be proven from a ruling of Rav himself, as with regard to a Festival that occurs after Shabbat, Rav said that the order of blessings is yod, kuf, nun, heh: Wine [yayin], kiddush, candle [ner], and havdala. This shows that although one recites kiddush between the blessing over wine and havdala, it is unnecessary to recite the blessing over wine again before havdala. The same should hold true in our case: Just as kiddush is not considered an interruption between the blessing over wine and its consumption, Grace after Meals should not be considered an interruption either.

ולא היא התם עקר דעתיה ממשתיא הכא לא עקר דעתיה ממשתיא

The Gemara rejects this reasoning: And that is not so. There, when one is preparing himself to recite Grace after Meals, he has already uprooted his mind from drinking. Here, with regard to kiddush and havdala, he has not uprooted his mind from drinking.

כי מטא לאבדולי קם שמעיה ואדליק אבוקה משרגא אמר ליה למה לך כולי האי הא מנחא שרגא אמר ליה שמעא מדעתיה דנפשיה קא עביד אמר ליה אי לא שמיע ליה מיניה דמר לא הוה עביד אמר ליה לא סבר ליה מר אבוקה להבדלה מצוה מן המובחר

After discussing the opinion of the students of Rav, the Gemara returns to the story of Rav Ya’akov bar Abba’s visit to Rava. When the time came to recite havdala, Rava’s attendant got up and lit a torch from a candle. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: Why do you need all this? The candle was present, and you could have recited the blessing over the light of the candle itself. Rava said to him: The attendant did this on his own accord, without consulting me. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: If he had not heard it from the Master he would not have done it on his own; he must have been following your opinion on this matter. Rava said to him: Does the Master not maintain that using a torch for havdala is the optimal manner in which to fulfill the mitzva? It is for this reason that the attendant lit a torch for havdala.

פתח ואמר המבדיל בין קודש לחול בין אור לחשך בין ישראל לעמים בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה אמר ליה למה לך כולי האי והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב המבדיל בין קודש לחול זו היא הבדלתו של רבי יהודה הנשיא

Rava began his recitation of havdala and said: Who distinguishes between sacred and profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: Why do you need all this? Didn’t Rav Yehuda say that Rav said with regard to the statement: Who distinguishes between sacred and profane, that this alone is the havdala of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi? Why is this plain statement not enough for you?

אמר ליה אנא כהא סבירא לי דאמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי אושעיא הפוחת לא יפחות משלש והמוסיף לא יוסיף על שבע אמר ליה

He said to him: I maintain in accordance with this statement that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Oshaya said: One who decreases the number of distinctions in the text of the havdala should not decrease them to less than three, and one who increases the number of distinctions should not increase them to more than seven. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: