Talmud for Berakhot 59:6
היה רוכב על החמור וכו': ת"ר היה רוכב על החמור והגיע זמן תפלה אם יש לו מי שיאחז את חמורו ירד למטה ויתפלל ואם לאו ישב במקומו ויתפלל רבי אומר בין כך ובין כך ישב במקומו ויתפלל לפי שאין דעתו מיושבת עליו
If he is riding upon an ass, he should alight and say the Tefillah. Our Rabbis have taught : If a man is riding upon an ass and the time of the Tefillah arrives, should he have somebody to hold his ass, he must alight and pray ; but if not, he sits in his place and prays. Rabbi says : In either case, he should sit in his place and pray, because his mind is unsettled.
Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot
HALAKHAH: It has been stated225Tosephta Berakot 3:18, Babli 30a (in slightly changed wording).: One who was riding on a donkey, if he has somebody to hold his donkey, he should descend and pray on the ground, otherwise he should pray where he is. Rebbi says, in any case he should pray where he is because then his mind will be at peace226This is explained in Midrash Tanḥuma, Ḥayye Śarah 1: He should not descend because he will be worried about valuables he has on the donkey or because of Gentiles.. Rebbi Judah ben Pazi in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Practice follows Rebbi227This ruling is given in the Babli in the names of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi and Rava. Since the Babylonian Rava (son of Rav Joseph bar Ḥama, the last Babylonian mentioned in the Yerushalmi) lived about 100 years after R. Joshua ben Levi, it appears that it took about 100 years for this Israeli practice to be accepted in Babylonia..
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy