Bayit ḥadash (New House): On Bowing during Prayer

103

“He goes back four cubits etc.”

This implies that he must move backwards, but not forwards or to the sides. [ . . . ] It seems that this action was instituted by the sages only for an individual praying at home, since he has the option of walking backwards. However, if one is praying in a congregation, where he cannot move backwards and push all those standing behind him out of their places—and where he generally is unable to go backwards, because of the benches and chairs in the synagogue—it is not necessary for him to do so. [ . . . ]

127

“When the prayer leader reaches the blessing of thanksgiving, [the congregation bows with him] etc.” [ . . . ]

The Rambam [Maimonides] writes that one should not bow down too much. This is what he states in chapter nine of the Laws of Prayer [halakhah 4]: “And when the prayer leader reaches thanksgiving (modim) and bows down, all the people should bow down a little; they should not bow down too much. And they recite the blessing of thanksgiving, etc.” He clearly implies that the prayer leader bows properly whereas all the people bow down only a little. It seems that the reason is because the congregation are not obligated to bow at this stage of the service, and they bow solely in order that they should not appear to be denying the One to whom the prayer leader is bowing, and therefore the sages warned that one should bow only a little so that it should be clear that this bowing is not a full obligation but merely so that they should not look like heretics. [ . . . ]

The Bet Yosef [Joseph Karo] writes that the Rambam learned this law from the Jerusalem Talmud. After its ruling that “all must bow with the prayer leader at the blessing of thanksgiving,” it proceeds to state: “and what do they say? ‘We give thanks to You, Master of all beings, etc.’ It was taught: But one should not bow down too much.” It can be inferred from the context that the instruction that “one should not bow down too much” was stated in reference to the law that all bow down with the prayer leader at the blessing of thanksgiving, and the reason for this ruling is as I explained above.

The Master then comments that this does not appear to be correct, as afterwards the Jerusalem Talmud relates an incident involving a certain individual who bowed too much and R. Yoḥanan removed him from his post, which implies that this law is referring to the prayer leader. However, this claim is puzzling, as logic decrees the opposite. Since the prayer leader is in the middle of the Amidah, he should bow properly, whereas all the rest, who bow down merely because the prayer leader is bowing, should only have to bow a little, as stated above. I therefore suggested that the incident involved a prayer leader who was bowing to a greater extent than that required by the letter of the law, as such a person looks like he is showing off [his great piety]. This restriction applies only to the prayer leader, as he is showing off in public, and thereby presenting himself as more important than the rest of the congregation. It is for this reason that he was removed from his position as prayer leader. However, if a regular congregant bowed more than required by law, there is no need to be particular about this action due to the possibility that he was showing off. Rather, he is judged favorably: [perhaps] he is not familiar with the law of bowing or he didn’t manage to perform his bowing in the required manner. By contrast, in the case of a prayer leader, who must be diligent and careful regarding the laws of prayer, we assume that he bowed in that manner in order to show off.

However, there is yet another problem with the Master’s opinion and interpretation. For if the incident cited in the Jerusalem Talmud involved a prayer leader, what was the difference between his bowing at the blessing of thanksgiving and his bowing at the blessing of the patriarchs?¹ It can be assumed that at the blessing of the patriarchs he also bowed too much, and there is no difference between the blessing of the patriarchs from the blessing of thanksgiving in this regard. Why, then, wasn’t he immediately removed from his post when he bowed at the blessing of the patriarchs? [ . . . ] It is therefore clear that this story is referring to an ordinary member of the congregation who bowed too much when he bowed together with the prayer leader at the blessing of thanksgiving, and when it states that “R. Yoḥanan removed him,” it means that this individual was standing near him, and when R. Yoḥanan saw him bowing too much he objected to such behavior by physically pushing him and removing him from his spot, thereby preventing him from performing such an exaggerated bowing. [ . . . ]

It would seem that according to the Rambam, if one is praying the Amidah—during which one must bow at the beginning and end of the blessing of the patriarchs, and likewise at the beginning and end of the blessing of thanksgiving—he is permitted to bow to a greater extent than required, and this applies both to the prayer leader and to a regular congregant. However, the Sefer mitsvot gadol [by Moses of Coucy; 1247] and the Sefer mitsvot katan [by Isaac of Corbeil; 1277] in the “Laws of Prayer,” after dealing with the laws of bowing for the blessing of the patriarchs and the blessing of thanksgiving, write simply: “One should not bow too much.” This indicates that even though it can be inferred from the Jerusalem Talmud that this law refers only to the people bowing at the thanksgiving blessing together with the prayer leader, in their opinion, it is nevertheless derived from this case that the same applies to the individual bowings at the blessings of the patriarchs and thanksgiving. For the sages specified a limit to one’s bowing, that one should bend until he could see an issar coin on the ground opposite his heart, or until all the vertebrae in his spine protrude [b. Berakhot 28b] [ . . . ]. Accordingly, no bowings should go beyond this limit imposed by the sages. The reason is as stated in the notes of the Sefer mitsvot gedolot [11:90]: “This is to prevent one’s eyes from seeing his private parts.” The Hagahot Asheri [by Israel of Krems, early fifteenth century], at the end of the fourth chapter of Berakhot [section 21] writes as follows: “regarding bowing, once one has bent his head and displayed himself as bowing, that is enough. However, it is preferable to make the effort to bow more than that, although one should not bend down so far that his mouth is on the same level as his belt.” His ruling, which is based on the opinion of the Or Zaru‘a [Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (ca. 1200–ca. 1270); I:92], is derived from the same reasoning as my explanation, that one should not bow more than the limit of the sages.

Consequently, it would seem that this is the opinion of the Rambam as well, that in the blessings of the patriarchs and thanksgiving one should not bow further than the limit he stated in chapter five of the Laws of Prayer [in the Mishneh Torah, halakhah 12] which is “until [all the vertebrae in his spine] protrude.” As for why the Rambam does not say this explicitly, it is well known that his method is to write only that which is expressly stated in the Gemara, and this law appears only in the Jerusalem Talmud with regard to the bowing of all the people together with the prayer leader at the blessing of thanksgiving. Another possible reason why one may not bow more than the prescribed limit, which is mentioned by the Bet Yosef, is that we are concerned about the appearance of showing off, as stated by Tosafot [a set of medieval glosses on the Talmud] at the end of the fifth chapter of Berakhot [34a].

The accepted ruling is that at the beginning and end of the blessings of the patriarchs and thanksgiving, and likewise at the bowings one performs when taking three steps backwards [upon completion of the Amidah], one may extend his bowing until he could see an issar coin on the ground opposite his heart or until all the vertebrae in his spine protrude, but not beyond this limit. However, when bowing together with the prayer leader at the thanksgiving blessing, one should bow only a little—an inclination of the head, but no more. [ . . . ]

It can be inferred that the law of all bowings is the same, i.e., in all cases one must bow until [all the vertebrae in his spine] protrude or until he could see an issar coin opposite his heart, and that one should not bow too much. This ruling does not apply to the bowings with the prayer leader at the thanksgiving blessing. Rather, it is the law for all five bowings one must perform during the Amidah, that one may extend his bowing up to the limit imposed by the sages, which is until he could see an issar opposite his heart or until [all the vertebrae in his spine] protrude, but no more. By contrast, when one bows together with the prayer leader at the thanksgiving blessing, he should bow only a little, with a slight nod of the head but not more than that, as I stated above, nota bene.

Other works by Sirkes: Meshiv nefesh (1616); Shut ha-Baḥ ha-ḥadashot (posthumous, 1785); Hagahot ha-Baḥ ‘al kol ha-shas (posthumous, 1824).