In yesterday's Daf, we ended with a new Mishnah discussing from which commandments mourners were exempt. Today, we will spend much of the page debating what the dead know or…
Year: 2020
I Was Tricked – Berakhot 17
I ended my post on Berakhot 16 by noting how much I loved Rav Safra's personal prayer for peace because of its simplicity and conclusiveness. I should have turned the…
Labor Relations and the Talmud – Berakhot 16
In yesterday’s Daf, I was disturbed by the Rabbis’ beliefs about the disabled. Today, we learn something of the Rabbi’s beliefs about labor relations, whether those are a person working…
The Unasked Question – Berakhot 15
I love reading history. I love finding continuities with the past that echo through our lives today. I particularly love to find the antecedents for something we find natural today,…
Interruptions – Berakhot 14
A central concern of the Talmud is to analogize the prayer service to the Temple sacrifices elucidated in the bible. Once the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and the Jews…
An Apology – Berakhot 13
I want to apologize for falling behind this week. I am trying to maintain the pace of the Daf Yomi, but this week life intervened. I plan to use the…
The Shema and Its Blessings – Berakhot 12
Today's Daf picks right back up with yesterday's debate about whether both blessings before the Shema are required to fulfill one commandment or whether they are independent commandments. Ultimately, no…
Respectful Debate – Berakhot 11
Throughout the Mishna there are debates between two rival schools - The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel. In the majority of cases, Shammai would take a more…
Me Too and the Talmud – Berakhot 10
Women come to the fore in today's Daf - not as objects to be regulated, not as objects of desire, not as mothers, but as scholars and heroic confederates. For…
A Hard Verse – Berakhot 9
Some verses in the bible are hard for us to relate because of the content. I always cringe when I read that people with disabilities are not allowed to serve…