The masechet-berachot tag has no wiki summary.
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Purpose of Suffering
The Talmud in Berachos 5a says: "Rava said: If a man sees suffering coming on him, let him examine his ways..."
does this mean the suffering is to atone for his sin or does it mean the suffering is ...
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How do we translate חַטָּאִים?
Isaiah 1 (28): And destruction shall come over rebels and sinners
together, and those who forsake the Lord shall perish. כח.
וְשֶׁבֶר פֹּשְׁעִים וְחַטָּאִים יַחְדָּו וְעֹזְבֵי יְהֹוָה ...
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Mishna, Brakhot 2a: When the kohanim enter…where?
Mishna, Brakhot 2a
מאימתי קורין את שמע בערבין משעה שהכהנים נכנסים לאכול בתרומתן
What is the author implying as the direct object of the verb נכנסים? In other words, from the hour that the kohanim ...
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Meaning of dreams with some kinds of animals
The gemara in berachot says: "All kinds of beasts are a good sign in a dream, except the elephant, the monkey and the long-tailed ape" (57b).
Why is a dream with an elephant, a monkey or a long-tailed ...
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'Aliyah an Isur 'Aseh? Even today?
The Gemara (Bab. Ber. 24b*) quotes R' Yehudah as saying that anyone who leaves Bavel to go to Israel violates an Isur 'Aseh (a violation of the parameters of a positive commandment), because the Navi ...
1
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1answer
69 views
Two Brachos before shema and one after in the morning, and two before and after in the evening
In the first Gemara of Brachos, the gemara quotes a 'seifa' that says:
THE MORNING SHEMA IS PRECEDED BY TWO BRACHOS AND FOLLOWED BY ONE. THE EVENING SHEMA IS PRECEDED BY TWO BRACHOS AND FOLLOWED BY ...
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Why does Jewish law and tradition specify times for saying Shema?
This question is asked at a very basic level, not deeply aware of Judaism or the process of Jewish law. I'm not Jewish so it isn't directly applicable to me, but it helps me to ask a broader question ...
3
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Which kings stay in bed to the third hour of the day?
It says in the Gemara that we can say Shma until the third hour since that's when kings get up.
What kings are we talking about? Jewish kings weren't around until much later, so Sof Zman Krias Shema ...
4
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1answer
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Brachos Daf 2a - What does Creation have to do with Krias Shema?
The Gemorah in Brachos Daf 2a asks two questions right away after
learning the Mishnah. The second is: Why is it that the Mishnah
taught about the time at night for Krias Shema first - really we
...
3
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1answer
123 views
Are we supposed to say “go…” when parting from the dead?
The g'mara on B'rachot 64a quotes R. Avin Halevi as saying that when we depart from a person we should say "go to peace" (like Yitro to Moshe), not "go in peace" (like David to Avshalom), but that ...
6
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118 views
“Hit him with a hammer until he pays attention!” Literally?
Abaye makes a rather harsh judgment on someone who is unattentive in prayer (Ber. 34a): Hit him with a hammer until he pays attention!
Is this meant to be taken as Halachah? Or is it just meant to ...
0
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1answer
41 views
Help parsing the Midrashim of ר׳ חנינא from בר׳ ל״ג ב׳
Can anyone offer help parsing the Midrashim of ר׳ חנינא from בר׳ ל״ג ב?
He seems to quote himself in third person a couple of times:
״ואמר ר׳ חנינא הכל...והא אמר ר׳ חנינא משום ר׳ שמעון בן יוחי אין ...
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A Mashal of HaShem as a crazy king and Moshe as His weak-kneed friend?
The Gemara (Ber. 32a) quotes R' El'azar that when HaShem wanted to destroy Bnei Yisrael and Moshe intervened, it is comparable to a king who beat his son terribly, and the king's friend was at his ...
1
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1answer
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Was Tevi a slave at death or not?
The gemarah (bava kama 74b) indicates that Rebbi Gamliel's slave, Tevi was given his freedom after his master blinded him in one eye. However, the gemarah elsewhere (Brachos 16b) indicates that Rebbi ...
2
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1answer
117 views
Ma'ariv is obligatory?
Berachoth (4b) states conclusively that Ma'ariv is compulsory (לאפוקי ממאן דאמר ... רשות; קמ״ל דחובה). But one of the accepted premises when comparing Ma'ariv to other Tefilloth is that Ma'ariv is ...
4
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1answer
83 views
Who established the Shema?
The Gemara in Berachos 12b says "They sought to establish [various passages] in the Shema" and "they establish[ed] the passage of tzitzis in the Shema" (Artscroll trans.)
I had thought that the ...
3
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1answer
112 views
Why don't translations of Tehilim 119 translate נשף like the Gemara?
The Gemara on Berachos 3b asserts that נשף can mean either "dawn" or "evening", and cites Tehilim 119:147 as an instance of "evening".
However, every translation I have seen of this verse - the ...
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1answer
63 views
Three reasons not to enter ruins (Berachoth 3a)
In Berachoth (3a) a Beraitha states that there are 3 reasons not to enter ruins - that it is unseemly, that walls might collapse, and that unsavory characters might lie in wait and harm the person. ...
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1answer
93 views
Kohanim on first shift can't say Shema'?
The first Mishnah in Berachoth quotes R' Eli'ezer's opinion that the time for reciting Shema' in the evening extends only until the end of the first shift (the Kohanim would serve in the Beith ...
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2answers
110 views
Do you have to pay if you damage someone in order to stop them from sinning?
There is a story in Brachos where R' Ada bar Ahava ripped a Karbalta (a red non-tznius garment) off a woman, and then discovered that she was not Jewish. He then was fined for that act 400 zuz. He ...
6
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1answer
79 views
Why don't we say Hagomel after driving through a desert?
The Gemara says that four have to say Hagomel:
One who went overseas
One who went into a desert.
One who was [deathly] ill.
One who was in prison [on a capital crime].
Everyone (to the best of my ...
6
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1answer
107 views
How was Rabbi Yochanan allowed to walk with his son's bone?
It says in Brachos 5B that R' Yochanan used to show people his tenth son's bone (all of his children passed away, and he used to carry a bone of his tenth child).
How was he allowed to not bury this ...
6
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1answer
110 views
Shimi Ben Geira was Shlomo's Teacher?
The Talmud (Berachot 8A) seems to indicate that Shimi Ben Geira was King Shlomo's teacher:
ואמר רבי חייא בר אמי משמיה דעולא לעולם ידור אדם במקום רבו שכל זמן ששמעי בן גרא קיים לא נשא שלמה את בת ...
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1answer
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Was King David the head of the Sanhedrin?
It's widely assumed that Dovid HaMelech was the head of the Sanhedrin; see, for example, Kesef Mishneh in the beginning of Rambam's introduction to Yad HaChazaka. However, the Gemara in Berachos 4a ...
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Sharp sword on the throat
The Gemara says Berachot 10a
אפי' חרב חדה מונחת על צוארו של אדם אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים
Even if a sharp sword is resting on one's thought he shouldn't hold back from (asking for) mercy."
Why ...
