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 61: For a Worthy Cause

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 literally had his flesh ripped off with steel combs – yet was relieved to fulfill the command to love G-d…
Article
Oct 5, 2012

Brachot 59: What a Blessing

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 true judge. It is a statement of great faith in G-d, Who “gives life and takes it away—let…
Article
Oct 5, 2012

Brachot 55: Turning Dreams into Reality

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 dreams. They understood that our thoughts during the day have great impact upon our dreams, and knew…
Article
Sep 30, 2012

Brachot 50: Gratitude

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“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 about a person. How we word our blessings was of great interest to our Sages; after all, before…
Article
Sep 29, 2012

Brachot 47b: We Are All Am Ha'aratzim

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 Jew was referred to as the hebrew word bor, an empty pit; likely related to the English "boor…
Article
Sep 24, 2012

Brachot 43b: A Shameful Smell

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 statement in the name of someone else - itself a common feature of the Talmud, with its emphasis on…
Article
Sep 20, 2012

Brachot 43: Love of Zion

Rabbi Jay Kelman

We human beings are naturally biased. Products of our environment, we are influenced by our cultural milieu, by our background, our life experiences, people we come in contact with—all contributing to help shape our perspective on life’s important…
Article
Sep 20, 2012

Brachot 40: Getting It Wrong!

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 something that seems totally disconnected from the original discussion. The Mishnah (Brachot 40a)…
Article
Sep 13, 2012

Brachot 39: Eat First, Ask Later

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 first make kiddush and only afterward make hamotzi. Not surprisingly, which blessing should take…
Article
Sep 12, 2012

Brachot 38b: Practice, Practice, Practice!

Rabbi Jay Kelman

As the Talmud is, at its core, an oral tradition—with the words before us a summary of “classroom”” discussion—it is not surprising that debates will occur as to what the “teacher” actually said. The Talmud…
Article
Sep 11, 2012