R’ Nechunyah ben HaKannah would pray, upon entering and leaving the study hall, a short prayer. They said to him: What place is there for this prayer? He said to them: When I enter [the study hall], I pray that a mishap not come about through me, and when I exit I give thanks for my lot.

Rabban Gamliel says: Every day a person must pray the eighteen [blessings of the She-moneh Esrei]. R’ Yehoshua says: [He may recite] an abridgment of the eighteen [bless-ings]. R’ Akiva says: If his prayer is fluent in his mouth, he must pray the eighteen [bless-ings]; but if not, [he should pray] an abridgment of the eighteen.