Study Berakhot folio 50A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
אף ״ברכו״, ומכל מקום ״נברך״ עדיף, דאמר רב אדא בר אהבה, אמרי בי רב, תנינא: ששה נחלקין עד עשרה.
He may even say: Bless; nevertheless: Let us bless, is preferable as Rav Adda bar Ahava said that they said in the school of Rav: We learned: A group of 6 to 10 people may divide into two groups, each forming its own zimmun. However, a group of 10, which invokes God’s name in the zimmun, may not divide into two groups as that would negate the opportunity to invoke God’s name.
אי אמרת בשלמא ״נברך״ עדיף — משום הכי נחלקין, אלא אי אמרת ״ברכו״ עדיף — אמאי נחלקין! אלא לאו שמע מינה ״נברך״ עדיף. שמע מינה.
The Talmud proceeds: Granted, if you say: Let us bless is preferable, that is why 6 people who ate together may divide into two groups. However, if you say: Bless is preferable, why are they permitted to divide into two groups? Neither group would be able to say: Bless. Rather, mustn’t one conclude from this: Let us bless is preferable as the one reciting the zimmun does not exclude himself from the group? The Talmud sums up the discussion: Indeed, conclude from this that that is the case.
תניא נמי הכי: בין שאמר ״ברכו״ בין שאמר ״נברך״ — אין תופסין אותו על כך, והנקדנין תופסין אותו על כך. ומברכותיו של אדם ניכר אם תלמיד חכם הוא אם לאו. כיצד? רבי אומר: ״ובטובו״ — הרי זה תלמיד חכם, ״ומטובו״ — הרי זה בור.
That was also taught in the Tosefta: Both if he said: Bless, and if he said: Let us bless, we do not reprimand him for doing so; and the punctilious reprimand him for doing so. And the Talmud says: As a rule, from the style of one’s blessings it is obvious whether or not he is a Torah scholar. How so? For example: R' Yehuda HaNasi says: In a zimmun, one who recites: Blessed be the One from Whose food we have eaten and by Whose goodness we live, he is a Torah scholar. However, one who recites: Blessed be the One from Whose food we have eaten and from Whose goodness we live, he is an am ha'aretz, as that expression insinuates that only some of God’s goodness was bestowed upon him, which is tantamount to a denial of God’s loving-kindness.
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.