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The Gemara seeks the source for the Mishnah’s ruling that three people who eat bread together are obligated to join in a zimun:
- Rav Assi cites the pasuk גדלו לה' אתי ונרממה שמו יחדיו – Declare (plural) the greatness of Hashem with me and let us exalt His name together.
- R’ Abahu cites the pasuk כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גדל לאלקינו – When I call out the Name of Hashem, ascribe (plural) greatness to our G-d.
- The verses describe one person talking to more than one person, implying a minimum of three.
The Gemara inquires whether two people who eat together are permitted to make a zimun, even if they are not obligated to.
- Rav holds that two people are permitted to make a zimun, but R’ Yochanan holds they are not. The verse of גדלו implies that two additional people are called to form the quorum, but two people alone lack the requisite number of דעות (minds) to form a zimun.
When three people eat bread together and two of them finish while the other is still eating, the third is expected to interrupt his meal to join in the zimun. But when only one of them finishes first, the other two are not obligated to interrupt their meal to make a zimun on his behalf.
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