“From when may one recite the kriat shema in the evening? From the time the kohanim enter to eat their terumah until the end of the…
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Brachot: A New Cycle Begins
Rashi begins his commentary to Chumash asking why the Torah begins with the story of creation and not with the first mitzva given to the Jewish…
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Brachot 61: For a Worthy Cause
The story of the martyrdom of Rabbi Akiva is well known. Defying the orders of the Roman government not to engage in Torah study, Rabbi Akiva…
Brachot 59: What a Blessing
One of the most well known blessings is that of dayan haemet, the blessing said upon the death of an immediate relative accepting G-d as the…
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Brachot 55: Turning Dreams into Reality
The Talmud spends quite a number of pages discussing dreams. Taking their cue from the Bible itself, they put great stock in the significance of our…
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Brachot 50: Gratitude
“From the blessings of man, we see if he is a scholar or not” (Brachot 50a). How, and more importantly, whom one blesses tells us much…
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Brachot 47b: We Are All Am Ha'aratzim
The term am ha'aretz has come to mean an ignorant Jew, and is generally used in a pejorative manner. However, in Talmudic literature, an ignorant…
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Brachot 43b: A Shameful Smell
A common feature of Talmudic editing is to group together a series of statements made by the same person. Generally, it is that person making a…
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Brachot 43: Love of Zion
We human beings are naturally biased. Products of our environment, we are influenced by our cultural milieu, by our background, our life experiences…
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Brachot 40: Getting It Wrong!
A striking feature of Talmud study is how it seamlessly moves from subject to subject; and how, almost out of the blue, one finds oneself discussing…
Brachot 39: Eat First, Ask Later
Jewish law prescribes not only that we make a blessing on food, but that we do so in the correct sequence. Thus, to cite a very basic example, we…
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Brachot 38b: Practice, Practice, Practice!
As the Talmud is, at its core, an oral tradition—with the words before us a summary of “classroom”” discussion—it is…
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Brachot 35: No, Thank You!
The opening Mishnah of the sixth chapter of Brachot discusses the various blessings one makes on different types of food. The Talmud attempts, but is…
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Brachot 34a: Respect for the Congregation
In Talmudic times, the norm was that the chazzan literally prayed on behalf of the congregation. The people would listen and answer "amen," thus…
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Brachot 32a: Forcing G-d to Forgive
One of the exciting aspects of Talmud study is the range of ideas presented, and the openness to expressing radical ideas—including those…
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Brachot 31: Where to Pray
The Talmud spends a good deal of time discussing the proper frame of mind for prayer. In a rather obvious remark (yet, much easier said than done),…
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Brachot 27: Too Close for Comfort?
The Gemara (Brachot 27a), in discussing the propriety of making an “early Shabbat”, records that Rav Yirmiya davened just behind his…
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Daf Yomi Thoughts: Going for Gold
"Mei’emati korin et hashema b’arvit, from what time may one begin reciting the evening shema?" So begins the Talmud Bavli, the…