Learn Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 13 Daf 5b/6b (Koren Talmud Bavli) – Caring for Another

Wine

Rav Huna’s wine goes off becoming vinegar! The Rabbis reprimand him: Perhaps he has done something wrong to deserve such a punishment from Heaven? Rav Huna has what to answer, but realising his mistake, does Teshuvah (repentance) and God makes a miracle for him and he ends up profiting after all!

Continue reading “Learn Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 13 Daf 5b/6b (Koren Talmud Bavli) – Caring for Another”

Learn Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 12 Daf 5b (Using Koren Talmud) – Suffering and Sensitivity

Holiness and Sensitivity

Rabbi Yochanan and other Sages of the Talmud teach us lessons in suffering and sensitivity. Suffering is by no means something that any person in the world wants. In fact, it is not only that suffering is of little interest to us, but we can assume that even if afflictions of any kind bring with them some kind of reward, we want neither the suffering, nor the reward!

Continue reading “Learn Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 12 Daf 5b (Using Koren Talmud) – Suffering and Sensitivity”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 11 Daf 5a / 5b (using Koren Talmud Bavli)

Jerusalem Tower of David

What are afflictions of love? We take off from where we left in our last lesson. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (the author of the holy Zohar) teaches us that there are three gifts that God gives us – but that they all come with hardships. We learn about Rabbi Yochanan and as we are to find out later – he too encountered some great trials in his own life.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 11 Daf 5a / 5b (using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 10 Daf 5a (using Koren Talmud Bavli) – On Suffering

Ambulance

After a brief teaching discussing the issue of the Torah that Moshe received, the Gemara continues teaching that there is a great power to reading the Keriat Shema before one goes to sleep. Two unrelated issues (on the surface at the least!) but then this is the way of the Talmud – to jump from one issue to another within just a sentence.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 10 Daf 5a (using Koren Talmud Bavli) – On Suffering”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 9 Daf 4b & 5a part 1 (using Koren Talmud Bavli)

The Kotel

If the Sages said that we must join the Geulah (Redemption i.e. the blessing that follows from the recitation of the Shema and precedes the Amidah prayer) directly with the Amidah prayer then we have a problem with regards to the way the prayers were fixed. In truth, in the evening prayers we recite two blessings after the Keriat Shema.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 9 Daf 4b & 5a part 1 (using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 8 Daf 4a end & 4b part 1 (using Koren Talmud Bavli)

Fence

It seems from the wording of Tehillim that King David considered himself to be a Chassid (a pious, righteous person). Occupied with purifying women (validating that various blood markings were not to be considered impure) so that they would be permissible to their husbands and dealing with various cases of afterbirths, King David may have imagined himself to have been on the path of righteousness.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 8 Daf 4a end & 4b part 1 (using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 7 – Daf 4a (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)

Harp

How did King David know when it was midnight so that he could awaken to pray and sing songs to God? If he knew, why did he need a “Kinor” to let him know?

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 7 – Daf 4a (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 5 – Daf 3a & 3b (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)

Castle ruins

After having learned about how the Divine Presence cries over the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people into the exile, we continue with a story somewhat related to this theme of destruction…

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 5 – Daf 3a & 3b (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 4 – Daf 2b and 3a (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)

Ruins

The Gemara continues with a discussion about the time considered to be the correct one to recite the Keriat Shema in the evening. A number of opinions was already given in the previous Shiur. Our Gemara now wishes to establish which the earlier and later times are concerning the various opinions.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Lesson 4 – Daf 2b and 3a (Part 1) (Using Koren Talmud Bavli)”

Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Daf 2a/2b (Part 3) – Lesson 3 (Using the Koren Talmud Bavli)

Sunset

Continuing our lessons in Talmud, studying Tractate Brachot (Blessings), we conclude Daf 2 Amud Aleph and move on to Amud Beit. We continue the discussion regarding the recitation of the Keriat Shema in the evening. Various opinions are given from various sages each expressing the time for reciting the Keriat Shema based upon particular events in people’s lives.

Continue reading “Lessons in Talmud – Tractate Berachot – Daf 2a/2b (Part 3) – Lesson 3 (Using the Koren Talmud Bavli)”