Dear students[1]
“The Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly) established for Bnei Yisrael blessings, prayers, Kedushot, and Havdalot.”
There are many discussions in the Talmud in which the Sages explain the concepts of prayer. Much of their discussions appear in Masechet Berachot, but a large portion are also scattered throughout other tractates as well.
This is my edition of Sefer Mekorot — the source book for my Beurei HaTefillah classes. As before, here we have reproduced a number of pages from various tractates. We have also added several pages of Halachot from the Mishneh Torah of the Rambam. My students at Yeshivat Rambam can find within this book, without great effort, many Talmudic sugyot[2] to enlighten their eyes with a deeper understanding of the Service of the Heart. With it, they can study the historical background, the Halachic philosophy and the order of prayers for week days, Shabatot, and holidays.
We hope later, after you, our students graduate — that this small book will also awaken the desire to set aside time to further their learning of Tefillot from the Rishonim,[3] from the Poskim,[4] and by using commentaries on the Siddur to understand the development of the structure, ideas, laws, and customs of Tefillah — discussions that deal with the Service of the Heart. Certainly there is added importance to knowing the original sources about Tefillah in the Talmud.[5] As the Sages said, “Letters make one wise.”[6]
May it be in the coming years, that this book should bring the hearts of our students closer to their Father in Heaven.
Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth
Tamuz 5741/ July 1981
[1] Translated from rabbi Wohlgemuth’s Hebrew original text.
[2] A sugya (plural sugyot) is a passage from the Gemara discussing Mishna. A sugya will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a specific issue. These debates and exchanges form the building-blocks of the Gemara.
[3] Rishonim ("the first ones") were the leading rabbis and poskim who lived during the 11th to 15th centuries.
[4] In Jewish Law, a Posek is the term for a legal scholar who determines the position of Halakha in cases of Jewish Law where previous authorities are inconclusive, or in those situations where no clear halakhic precedent exists.
[5] Translator’s comment — I am not exactly sure what Rabbi Wohlgemuth was trying to say. Perhaps — “Even though students can do their own independent study, they should first be familiar with the primary sources in the Talmud.”
[6] Although the source of this phrase is unknown, it was often attributed to the Sages. It's meaning being that one gains insight by studying the primary source of a teaching in its original text.