Berachot

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Berachot resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Brachot 29: The Changing Nature of Prayer

Rabbi Jay Kelman

It is hard to think of a mitzvah that has undergone as much change over time as that of prayer. Originally, prayer was a spontaneous pouring out of one’s heart before G-d. One prayed when, what, how and for however long one may have wanted.…
Article

Brachot 28: Saving Judaism

Rabbi Jay Kelman

It is fair to say that, if not for the leadership of Rav Yochanan ben Zakkai, you would not be reading these words. Judaism as we know it today could not have survived without his great foresight.    It was he who steered the Jewish…
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Daf Yomi: Brachot 32

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Class

Brachot 28: The Education of Rabban Gamliel

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The years following the destruction of the Temple were fraught with great danger and uncertainty. The infighting that had so weakened the Jewish people threatened to completely tear them apart. Hundreds of thousands were killed or exiled, with the…
Article

Brachot 26: Prayer is Mercy

Rabbi Jay Kelman

As we transition from the third to the fourth chapter of masechet Brachot, our focus shifts from the mitzvah of kriat shema to that of tefillah or, more accurately, the amidah. That which we say before the amidah—…
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Scholar in Residence: Michelle Cohen Farber

Michelle Cohen Farber

Shiur after Kiddush (aprrox 11:20am) The Importance of Community: Laws of Zimmun in Berakhot Daf 50 and Reflections on the Siyum HaShas for Women Sponsored by Steve Jacobs and Family in observance of the yahrzeit of his father Moshe Jacobs,…
Program

Brachot 21: Before and After

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Shehechiyanu vekemanu vhegeyanu lazman hazeh. It was when daf yomi last reached Brachot 27 that I wrote my first “Daily Daf”. For the past seven and a half years it has been a tremendous privilege to share my thoughts on the daf. I…
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Brachot 21: What Did I Say

Rabbi Jay Kelman

One of the things I love about the Gemara is how realistic and human it is—how it portrays people, rabbis and laypeople alike, in all their complexity, never shying away from pointing out their foibles. “Rav Yehuda said: One who is…
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Brachot 17: Do You Know What I Know

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“A jewel in the mouth of Rava. The purpose of chochmah, wisdom, is teshuva and maasim tovim, good deeds”(Brachot 17a). Knowledge that increases one’s knowlege and nothing else is worth little, is largely a…
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Brachot 12: The Heretics and The Ten Commandments

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“The appointed one [assistant kohen gadol] said to them [the priests in the Temple]: ‘Recite a single blessing.’ They recited a blessing, and read the aseret hadibrot, Shema, veHaya im Shamoa and …
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