Study Berakhot folio 24B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
and if he was stung by a louse, he may feel for it and remove it with his garment, but he would not wrap himself in his prayer shawl if it fell during prayer. And when he would yawn he would place his hand on his chin so that his open mouth would not be visible.
The Talmud raises an objection based on a baraita: One who sounds his voice during his Amida prayer is among those of little faith, as he seems to believe that YHWH cannot hear his prayer when it is uttered silently. One who raises his voice during prayer is considered to be among the false prophet
Furthermore, one who belches and yawns while praying is surely among the uncouth. One who sneezes during his prayer, for him it is a bad omen. And some say: It is clear that he is repulsive. Also, one who spits during prayer, it is tantamount to spitting in the face of the king. In light of all th
The Talmud explains: Granted, with regard to one who belches and yawns, it is not difficult: Here, in the case where R' Yehuda HaNasi did so, it was involuntary and therefore permissible; here, where it is considered uncouth, is in a case where it is deliberate. However, the contradiction betwee
The Talmud responds: The contradiction between sneezing in one case and sneezing in the other case is also not difficult: Here, in the case of R' Yehuda HaNasi, it is referring to sneezing from above, his nose; here, where it is a bad omen, is referring to sneezing from below, flatulence. As Rav