The masechet-berachot tag has no wiki summary.
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“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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
