Berachot 55: Hemorrhoids, Fat Faces, Dream Interpretation

The Gemara continues to discuss our last Mishna.  Proofs are provided for each of the halachot which were not time based but instead were recited over experiences and events.  

Rav Yehuda had praised one who prolongs one's time in the bathroom, but the Gemara notes that this is one of the ten things that bring on hemorrhoids.  The other nine are eating the leaves of bulrushes, grape leaves, tendrils of grapevines, the palate and tongue of an animal, the spine of a fish, a salty fish that is not folly cooked, drinking wine dregs, wiping oneself with lime and clay, wiping oneself with a stone that was used by another person already.  This is resolved by understanding that it is only one who prolongs one's time in the bathroom and also suspends oneself.  

Still on the topic of bathroom habits, we are also told the story of Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi El'ai: a woman told him that his face was fat and full like those of pig farmers and those who do not work hard but make lots of money.  That was a compliment.  He said that he did not do those jobs but that his face was pleasant because he looked in every one of the twenty-four mirrors in the bathrooms between his walk to the study hall from home.  


Three things require begging for mercy: a good king, a good year, and a good dream.  
Rabbi Yochanan said that three things were proclaimed by G-d G-dself: Famine, plenty and a good leader.  


Rav Chisda said that a dream is better than a dream during a fast, and we must interpret our dreams.  Also, a bad dream is best because it causes us to feel remorse and then to repent while a bad dream leaves us sad and a good dream leave us joyful.  The rabbis seem to agree that G-d send us our dreams.  Not all parts of dreams will be fulfilled, as Joseph's dream of eleven stars bowing down to him could not happen because the moon, Joseph's mother, had already died.  Rav Huna teaches that good people have bbad dreams and wicked people are shown good dreams.  


The Gemara If we are concerned about a dream, one should bring three people and tell them tha, "I saw a good dream" and they should respond, "It is good and let it be good, may G-d make it good" . They should say seven times that it will be good, and then they recite nine verses.  Three are about transformation from bad to good, three are about redemption, and three are about peace.  


One who fears the evil eye when entering a city should hold the thumb of one's right hand in one's left hand and vice versa while reciting, "I, so and so child of so and so, come from the descendants of Joseph, over whom the evil eye has no dominion", followed by a verse from Genesis (49:22).  If he is concerned about his own evil eye because it might damage others, he should look at the side of his left nostril.  


One who is sick should not reveal it on the first day of the illness to protect oneself from bad luck.  When Rava was ill his servant would announce on the second day of illness, so that those who like him will pray for him and those who hate him will rejoice over his distress.  Proverbs (24:17-18).  teaches that we should not rejoice when our enemy falls because it could upset G-d who would turn away his wrath from that person. 
Shmuel would say that both his good and bad dreams were false statements


We are told the story of Rabbi Elazar, who went to the twenty-four dream interpreters in Jerusalem and each interpreted  his dream in accordance with the "mouth of the interpreter".  This is taken to mean that our dreams might follow what we've eaten or said; that we are required to repent for something.


Our daf also speaks about the Pharaoh's famous dreams and about 


Finally, the rabbis discuss whether or not our dreams reveal the thoughts of our hearts.  Rava says that dreams are thoughts that enter a person's mind rather than things we can't see.  The examples stated include a golden palm tree and an elephant going through the eye of a needle.

Berachot 54: Blessings Over Events and Experiences

Today's daf begins Perek VIII.  It begins with a Mishna that includes all of our other Mishnayot and blessings and halachot that are not time bound.  Instead they are based on events and experiences.  These include blessings beginning with "Blessed" and ending with the notes below.

• where miracles happened in Israel (same)
• places where idolatry has been eradicated (same)
• thunder, winds and lightening... Whose strength and power fill the world
• special mountains, hills, seas, rivers, deserts: ... Author of creation
• rain and good tidings: ...Who is good and Who does good
• bad tidings: ... the true judge
• building a new house or bought new vessels: Who has given us life, sustained us and brought us to this time
• one who cries out over something that already happened is a vain prayer, there is no blessing for it is a vain prayer (ex. wishing one had had a male child)
• entering a large city: ... enter in peace; ... leave in peace
• thanks for the past and cries out in prayer for the future

A general principle: One is obligated to recite a blessing for the bad just as one recites a blessing for the good, as proven by Deuteronomy (6:5): And you shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, all your soul, all your might".  Heart refers to good and evil inclinations.  Soul revers to whether or not G-d takes one's soul.  Might means with all of our money, or with all measures that G-d has given us.

Some Temple related halachot, laws:

• we cannot act irreverently by the eastern gate of the Temple Mount which is across from the Holy of Holies
• We may not enter the Temple Mount with a staff, shoes, money belt or dust on our feet
• We cannot use the Temple as a shortcut or as an a fortiori inference, or spit on the Temple Mount
• at the end of all blessings in the Temple one says "Blessed are You, Lord G-d of Israel until ha'olam, everlasting or the world.  When the Sadducees declared that there was no World to Come, the Sages rephrased their prayer to say "from ha'olam to ha'olam".  Although I do not believe in a World-to-Come, I had never heard this reasoning behind these words.

A few more instructions:

• Greetings should mention the name of G-d
• "We may not despise our mothers when they are old" means that we should continue to uphold our customs
• "It is time to work for the Lord; they have made void Your Torah" means that we should sometimes go against biblical precepts to perform G-d's will, including greeting another person
• "Make void Your Torah" means that we might need to go against biblical precepts for the sake of upholding Torah

The Gemara discusses some of the miracles that have been done for us.  One of those is crossing the streams of Arnon.  We are told a story about that place, and we are told that it was the site of the hailstones of Elgavish where we are to bless that place.  We are also reminded of Lot and his wife.  We recite a blessing on the tragedy of her death:  Blessed... the true Judge.  Interestingly, over Lot we say "Blessed... Who remembers the righteous".   It is hard to think of Lot as righteous knowing about his relationship with his daughters.

Our Gemara then offers several proof texts behind the required blessings over seafarers, those who walk in the desert, one who was ill and recovered,  and one who was incarcerated in prison.  The rabbis decide which prayers to recite.  Rav Yehuda notes that three require protection from harm: a sick person, a bridegroom and a bride.  In a baraita, it is said that the three are a sick person, a woman in childbirth, a bridegroom and a pride.  Others include a mourner.  Even others include Torah scholars at night.  We are not to prolong our prayers, our mealtimes, or our time in bathrooms.   

Berachot 53: Blessings Over Light, Fragrance, Eating, Handwashing...

The rabbis ask whether or not we are permitted to say blessings over things that are not ordinarily permitted.  For example, over a candle wit on Shabbat for a woman giving birth or a very ill person - can we recite a blessing during havdala?  Lights that were lit by Gentiles for Jews, or by Gentiles for other Gentiles on Shabbat?  One who carried a flame from the private to the public domain on Shabbat?

How might these rules change if the city has a minority or a majority of Jews?  What if the town is half Gentiles and half Jews?  And what if one sees a huge fire (of course this is described in specific terms: that looks as large as the fire of a furnace"). The rabbis note that some of these blessings are said at the beginning of an action and some are said at the end.  This distinction allows contradicting rulings to be held simultaneously.  

When people are seated in the study hall and they say havdala with fire, Beit Shammai say that each individual recites a blessing for themselves.  Beit Hillel say that one person recites on behalf of everyone and all answer "amen".  Beit Hillel's proof comes from Proverbs (14:28) where "The splendour of the King is in the multitude of the people".  Beit Shammai's proof is that the recitation by many would lead to less study in the study hall.  We learn about other instances where one cannot interrupt studying - by saying "good health" when someone sneezes.

The rabbis consider whether or not we can say blessings over fragrances.  If we walk in and out of a fragrance store many times, do we say a blessing each time?  And what are we using the fragrance for - it is incense for witchcraft? Is it perfume for clothing?  

Are wAre we permitted to recite the blessing over the candle at any time or not util we derive benefit from its light?  How do we measure benefit?  And must we benefit from the light, or simply see the light?  Or both?  The rabbis consider what we might be able to make out in the light - for example, should we be able to to distinguish between a weight used in Tiberias and a weight used in Tzippori, which were slightly different?

We learn a story about two students who eat without reciting a blessing.  One did so by accident and returned to where he ate and found a purse of gold - like Beit Shammai suggests.  The other did so purposefully and went along with Beit Hillel's opinion (which were the same as those of Beit Shammai) and he was eaten by a lion.  Another story - Rabbi bar bar Chana forgot to recite a blessing after eating with a travelling caravan.  Should he tell them the truth and face their belief that one can recite a blessing to G-d anywhere?  Or should he say "I forgot a golden dove" while they wait for him to find it?  He recited a blessing and found a golden dove.  The Gemara likens the people of Israel to a dove. 

The rabbis then discuss how long we may say a blessing after eating.  Perhaps as long as it takes to digest?  And is that the time it takes to walk four mil?  Or the time it takes to be hungry or thirsty again?   

Our daf ends with questions about answering amen after blessings for schoolchildren.  When learning, it is not necessary to say amen.  Similarly, Rabbbi Zilai, Rabbi Zivai and Rav Acha say when one does not have oil to cleanse one's hands after eating, one does not say the Birkat Hamazon.  Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says that Rav Yehuda said that Rav said (or some say it was taught in a baraita) that we must wash our hands before the meal... and these are the final waters... for holy, this is oil that ones spreads on one's hands... this is the Birkat Hamazon blessing".   

Berachot 52: The Implications of Beit Shammai or Beit Hillel's Opinions

We continue to discuss yesterday's new Mishna.  The rabbis question whether we should side with Beit Hillel's opinion or Beit Shammai's arguments in yesterday's daf.  We know that unattributed Mishnayot are attributed to Rabbi Meir.  We also know that Beit Hillel tends to be more lenient while in this yesterday's debates, Beit Shammai was more lenient.  

The rabbis discuss whether or not the cup of wine is valid after wine has been removed.  What if the cup contained less than the minimum amount of wine required?  This conversation leads them into a debate about vessels and ritual impurity.  What if one touched a creeping animal with one's hands and then touched the cup to say the Grace after Meals?  Will one transfer that ritual impurity to the cup?  One's hands would take on the status of second degree ritual impurity.  If the outside, rim and handles are ritually impure, the inside and liquid can continue to be ritually pure.  The rabbis consider a drop of liquid that might fall from the inside of a ritually impure vessel, too.

After washing one's hands, one dries them on a towel.  The rabbi wonder whether the towel is placed on the table or on a seat cushion.  As it is wet, the towel could become ritually impure from the cushion and then transfer ritual impurity to anyone else who touches it.  What about placing the towel on the table?  If the table has second degree ritual impurity, anything that touches the table will become ritually impure.  

Crumbs that are smaller than an olive bulk are not considered to be actual food, and so we do not waste them if we sweep them away.  In their further discussions, the rabbis agree that the meaning of bara and boreh, are both created.  Perhaps the argument between Beit Hillel is between whether there are lights of the fire (Hillel) or light of the fire (Shammai).  

Could spices of Gentiles be restricted because those spices might have been intended for use with idolatry? 

Berachot 51: Food Trivia; Yalta, Women & Wine Blessings; Hillel, Shammai & Order of Blessings

Today's daf shares several dos and don'ts regarding the wine and foods, both in their blessings and in their other uses. 

Some examples:

• we can draw wine through piped for a bride and groom
• we may toast roasted grain and nuts in front of them in the summer but not in the rainy season because we can find them and eat them in the sunny season
• if we forget to say the blessing over food, we move the food to the other side of our mouths and then say the appropriate prayer
• if a food item becomes disgusting we must spit it out because Psalms (71:8) teaches that "My mouth will be filled with Your praise"
• should one who does not say a blessing over food return and eat that food but with a blessing the second time?
• should one eat garlic without a blessing and then return to have more odour just to ensure that there is a blessing
• asparagus, wine or other alcohol eaten first thing in the morning is good for the heart, eyes and intestines
• drunkeness is harmful for the entire body
• avoiding ritual impurity in the morning keeps a band of demons or a band of angels of destruction from waiting for us
• after leaving a graveyard, one should jump four cubits, cross a river if one is there, turn back one's face and say "And the Lord said to the Satan, the Lord rebukes you, Satan..." (Zechariah 3:2)

Today's daf also includes arguments about women's worth as creators and as people worthy of drinking from the cup of wine in Grace after Meals.  Rabbi Yochanan says that a woman's body is blessed only from the fruit of a man's body because of Deuteronomy (7:13): "He will bless the fruit of her body" was not stated.  Rabbi Natan says that G-d will bless the fruit of a man's body rather than a woman's body.  

Yalta, the daughter of the Exhilarch and the wife of Ulla refused to allow her to drink from the cup of blessing.  She was raging, entered the wine-storage and broke four hundred barrels of wine.  Rav Nachman said to Ulla that the Master should send her another cup.  Ulla sent Yalt a different cup with a message saying that all of the wine in this barrel is wine of blessing.  Instead of agreeing that this wine was as good as the last cup, Yalta said that from travelling peddlers like Ulla (who travelled from Babylonia to Jerusalem and back) come meaningless words and from rags come lice.  

In a new Mishna at the start of Perek VIII we are told about more disputes between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel:  Beit Shammai say:

• one recites a blessing over the sanctification of the day and then the wine
• one washes one's hands and then mixes water and wine in the cup
• blessing over the candles, Grace after Meals, spices, then havdala
• "Who bora, created the light of fire"
• one recites a blessing over the wine and then over the food, then Grace after Meals
• one sweeps the meal area and then washes his hands before saying the Grace after Meals

Beit Hillel say:

• one recites a blessing over the wine first and then a blessing over the day
• one mixes water with the wine in the cup and then washes one's hands
• one washes one's hands and then sweeps the floor where the meal was eaten
• blessings are said over candles, spices, Grace after Meals, and then havdala
• "Who boreh, creates the the light of fire"
• One recites a blessing over the food and then the wine

We also learn that one answers amen after a Jew who recites a blessing even without hearing the entire blessing.  At this point, the Gemara begins to examine these statements from our Mishna.

Berachot 50: The Importance of Bread, Splitting or Joining Two Groups

Briefly:

If we have a group of at least ten people in a zimmun, we do not wish to split the prayers to stay Grace after Meals.  If we do that, we cannot invokes G-d name, and it is a privilege to invoke G-d's name.  Even if we have fewer than ten people together, they can be split into smaller groups to bench, for non of those groups will invoke him.  An interesting aside.

Wwe learn about bread and wine. Four things that we learn about respect for bread:

• we cannot let bread be ruined by the blood from raw meat
• we cannot let bread be ruined by wine that has spilled
• we cannot throw bread
• we cannot use a plate to hold up bread

Bread is associated with our corporeal wellness and our groundedness.  Indeed, we bless "bread from the earth".  It is essential.  The rules about suggest that bread cannot be made unkosher, unappetizing, or treated irreverently.  

A new Mishna teaches that three, four or five people who eat together are not permitted to divide and recite Grace after Meals individually.  If the group is between six and ten people, they can be split into two groups, each reciting its own zimmun.  Between ten and twenty men cannot split up because both groups would have to say exactly the same zimmun.  As long as the members of two groups can see each other, they are permitted to join groups together.  Further, Rabbi Eliezer says that water is added to wine before the wine is blessed.  This is because undiluted wine is not appetizing.

We learn that what is blessed is intended to be both equitable and pleasant.  

Berachot 48: Eating Before Grace after Meals; Origins of that Blessing

We are told a story about King Yannai and the queen who ate bread together.  They needed another man to recite the blessing on their behalf.  She said "Swear to me that I bring such a man, you will not harass him".  He swore and she brought her brother Shimon ben Shatach.  She sat him between their thrones and the king said, "Do you see how much honour I am according you?"  Shimon responded that the Torah in fact honours him, as in Proverbs (4:8), "Extol her and she will exalt you; she will bring you to honour when you embrace her."  The king said, "You see?  He does not accept authority".  

They gave Shimon a cup of wine.  He drank that cup as his meal and then said the Grace after Meals over the second cup of wine.  In fact, the rabbis agree that this was done incorrectly; we need to eat at least an olive-bulk of grain as a meal.  The rabbis discuss the difference between blessings over one's own meal and blessings for the many.  When saying the Grace after Meals for others, an olive-bulk of grain must be eaten first.  

The rabbis share the origins of the four blessings of the Grace after Meals:

• Moses instituted the blessing of "Who feeds all" to say thank you for manna
• Joshua instituted the blessing "of the land" when they entered HaAretz
• David instituted "Who builds Jerusalem... on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city" as he conquered the city, and Solomon instituted "Who built Jerusalem... on the great and Holy Temple" because he built the Temple
• The blessing "Who is good and does good at Yavne" referred to the Jews killed in Beitar at the end of the bar Kocheva rebellion.  "Who is good" thanked G-d for stopping the corpses from decomposition, and "and does good" thanked G-d for bringing them to burial
• On Shabbat, we begin and end the third blessing with consolation and we acknowledge the sanctity of the day while mentioning Shabbat in the middle.  

The rabbis discuss proof texts behind the belief that the Grace after Meals is taken from the Torah.  The blessing may have been taken from statements that refer to blessings before eating.  It is suggested that eating is a temporal activity.  At this point the rabbis comment on why the young women speak expansively while conversing Saul.  The Gemara states that it is because women are chatterboxes. Shmuel suggests that it is actually to prolong their time staring at Saul, who was said to be "an excellent young man; no other Israelite was better than him; he was taller that the people from the shoulders up". (I Samuel 9:2)

Perhaps this is the first mention of the joke about Jewish men being short.

Berachot 47: Who is Part of a Zimmun, pt. 2

Our daf opens with stories about how rabbis honour each other.  When does one rabbi allow another rabbi to be "first"?  On a journey, or just at a doorway? Or at a doorway with a mezuza?  Does the person breaking bread have to eat his bread before others can begin their meals?  Does one who breaks bread have to wait to actually break the bread until everyone else has said "amen"?

This leads the rabbis to a conversation about how to respond to blessings:

• a chatufa, abbreviated amen, where the the first syllable is not said properly
• a ketufa, truncated amen, where the second syllable is not said properly
• a yetoma, orphaned amen, where the respondent is is unaware of the blessing one is responding to
• one should not say a blessing quickly and/or indifferently 

Ben Azzai says that an orphaned amen leads to orphaned children, an abbreviated amen leads to incomplete lifetime, and an extended amen will extend one's days - though one should not exaggerated one's amen.  

The rabbis return to their discussion regarding blessings at zimmunim.  They share circumstances where we are made to think about whether the greatest person recites the blessing even if he arrived at the end of the meal.  They share a story about a rabbi joins two others at the end of their meal and it is determined that if more food were served, the first two rabbis would eat it, and so the meal has not been completed when the third rabbi joins in.

Is demai permitted or not?  We learn that rabbis disagree about whether demai, doubtfully tithed produce, is permitted to soldiers and those who are poor.  The rabbis question blessings regarding eating tithed food and for consecrated or second tithed food after the additional one fifth has been added, as well.

Kutim might be permitted to join zimmunim because some said that a kuti was arguably more observant than an am ha'aretz, an ordinary person, regarding Torah law.  The rabbis discuss the characteristics of an am ha'aretz.  Several rabbis share their definitions:

• one who does not recite the Shema in the evening or morning
• one who does not wear tefillin
• one who does not have ritual fringes 
• one who does not have a mezuza
• one who has children but does not want them to study Torah and does not raise them to engage in study
• one who read the Torah and studied Mishna but did not learn from Torah scholars

The rabbis continue to discuss why others are not included in a zimmun.

Rabbi Yose suggests that a minor lying in a cradle is included in a zimmun.  How can this be?  He may only be an adjunct to a minyan.  Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that nine Jews and a slave can form a zimmun of ten.  Rabbi Eliezer did not have a quorum of ten at his synagogue and he liberated his slave to complete the minyan.  The rabbis say that this teaches us that a slave not yet freed cannot be part of a minyan.  The rabbis discuss the possibility that a mitzvah came through a  transgression.  The Gemara says that a mitzva that benefits the many is a valid reason to transgress a positive mitzvah.

Our daf ends with a discussion of nine joining to become ten.  Finally, the rabbis consider how a mature minor, one under twelve but displaying signs of puberty - two pubic hairs  - might be included in a zimmun.  

Berachot 46: Good Manners, Protocols and Laws When Saying Grace after Meals

After a conversation, we learn that the host breaks bread and a guest recites Grace after Meals.  The Gemara discusses what is recited included in the Grace after Meals and after which blessing it stops.  The rabbis argue about whether there are two/three blessings or whether there are four/five blessings. They consider who might be permitted to say fewer blessings, like labourers, but the Grace after Meals is required by Torah.  All of these blessings that are discussed are the same blessings that we recite today.  

Our attention is drawn to blessings that begin with "Blessed" but do not end with "blessed" or vice versa.  And if we stop during the Grace after Meals so that one can join in, we go back to the place where we stopped; the beginning of the second verse.  

The Exilarch, the prosperous head of a city, tells Rav Sheshet that the Persian people had more refined manners than the Jewish people.  He describes how the first, second and third most "important" guests in a zimmun recline together - who sits in which divan in what order.  Rav Sheshet explains that the Persians tradition is less practical.  The Exilarch notes that the Persians would communicate through hand gestures.  Further, they began their before-the-meal hand washing with the greatest ranking person  They began their after-the-meal hand washing with the lowest ranking person.  This is explained with conversations about who is made to wait for whom; who is served food at which times.

Our daf ends with a humorous story about who washes his hands first at the end of the meal leading the Grace after Meals.  Rav was trembling in fear when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi asked him to stand and wash his hands after a zimmun with Rabbi Chiyya.  Rav was very relieved to learn that he was being asked to prepare for reciting the Grace after Meals.

Berachot 45: Obligations of a Zimmun, a Communal Meal

Perek VII begins with this new Mishna: When do we recite Grace After Meals after a zimmun, a communal meal?   First, we have to determine who those three people are.  As long as any one of these did the following things, they are obligated to say Grace after Meals:

• one of them ate demai, doubtfully tithed produce
• one of them ate from a first tithe from which its teruma was already taken
• one of them ate from second tithe and consecrated food that were redeemed and therefore permitted
• a kuti, Samaritan, who ate with two others at a meal
• even the waiter at the meal ate at least an olive-bulk from the meal

The following are not obligated to recite Grace after Meals after eating in a group of three:

• one who ate tevel, utithed produce
• one who ate first tithe from which its teruma was not separated
• one who ate from second tithe and consecrated food that were not redeemed
• the waiter who did not eat an olive-bulk
• the gentile who ate with two Jews
• women, slaves and minors
• those who ate less than an olive-bulk at the zimmun
• Rabbi Yehuda suggests that one who ate less than an egg-bulk obligates reciting the Grace after Meals

The Gemara is a recording of the rabbis reasoning regarding each of these opinions.  Several proofs are presented.  The rabbis question, in particular, wehther or not two people might form a zimmun.  Part of the answer to that question is dependent on whether people create their zimmun as an option or as an obligation.  For example, the rabbis question whether a waiter might need permission to join in a couple eating together to create a zimmun with them. 

We learn that women form a zimmun for themselves and slaves form a zimmun for themselves, but women, slaves and minors are not to form a zimmun even if they want to do so.  We are reminded that one hundred women are considered the equivalent of two men because they do not count in a minyan.  However, women are permitted to form a zimmun because they are three individual minds which enables the collective to praise G-d.  Women and slaves cannot combine in a zimmun together only because the Rabbis admit that they are worried about the opportunity for promiscuity. 

The rabbis have a long conversation about what to do if one person in the zimmun leaves for the marketplace before saying the Grace after Meals.  Moving into this conversation, the rabbis discuss what should happen when there is not a zimmun, which is an obligation.  People should call others to join them in order to create a zimmun and praise G-d together.  What about saying "amen" after others pray?  The rabbis discuss how G-d is blessed and whether or not it is permitted to say "amen" after one's own prayer.   

Berachot 44: Which Foods Are Good For Us?

Today's daf reminds us that society has always been obsessed with which foods are "healthy" and which foods are "not good for us".  It begins with a new Mishna regarding bread and other foods.  The rabbis ask whether there might be a situation where salt is considered to be a primary "food", trumping bread.  We learn that fruit of Genosar, a place that was known to have wonderful soils and climates, is considered so sweet and sticky that we must consume salt with it, like that in sardines, to modify its flavour.  

It seems that the consumption of these fruits might be concerning for many of our rabbis.  in the end, these fruits might keep people awake or instil a sort of confusion or drunkenness. 

Rav teaches us that a meal without salt is not truly a meal.  Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba quotes Rabbi Yochanan in saying that there is no meal without hot food (meaning gravy, says Rashi).

A new Mishna begins with Rabban Gamliel teaching that when we eat grapes, figs and pomegranates (from the seven species), we recite the three blessings of the Grace After Meals as we would after eating bread.  The rabbis said that we are only required to recite one blessing in shortened form from the Grace After Meals.  Rabbi Akiva says that those three blessings need not be restricted to bread.  Instead, they can be used with boiled vegetables if this are one's primary substance.   Further, we are told that one who drinks water should say "by Whose work all things came to be".  Rabbi Tarfon suggests that we say, "Wh creates the many forms of life and their needs".

The rabbis disagree about which blessings should be siad over which foods.  It is suggested that Rav taught us to say "in Whose name all things came to be" before egg or meat and "Who creates the many forms of life" after eating.  But if one eats vegetables as one's meal, then there is no second prayer.  Rav Ashi believes that to be careful, he should recite blessings before and after all things, even drinking water.  

The rabbis turn to the values and dangers of consuming different foods.  Some of what we learn includes:

• a lightly cooked egg is superior to much more wheat
• a cabbage stalk when cooked is a primary substance
• spleen is beneficial to the teeth and damaging to the intestines
• this should be chewed and spit out
• leeks are beneficial to the intestines and harmful to the teeth
• this should be chewed and spit out
• all raw vegetables turn ones face pale
• only if eaten after blood letting; a more substantial food should be eaten at that time
• one cannot eat vegetables before four hours of the day because of the smell of their breath (Rabbi Yitzchak)
• anything not yet grown will stunt our growth
• including a small lamb but once it had reached one quarter of its growth, it is fine to eat
• eating a full grown creature whole restores the soul, for example eating a whole, grown fish
• anything close to the soul restores the soul
• meaning the neck, for that is where the animal was blessed at its slaughter
• cabbage is for nourishment
• beets are for healing
• turnips is harmful
• if eaten without meat, or perhaps without wood (not properly cooked), or perhaps without wine
• eating a small salted fish can kill, especially seven, seventeen, twenty-seven or twenty-three days after having been salted
• drinking beer after eating the salted fish will help
• roasting the fish will help
• one says a blessing before and after drinking water 
• unless one is choking on meat, in which case no blessing is required

Berachot 43: Blessings for the Elite &Torah Scholars, and What Disgraces Torah Scholars

When we sit with a group to eat, our blessings change.  Especially when we recline.  What does reclining mean?  Our notes teach that in Talmudic times, those who were wealthy were known to eat while lying back, conversing with others.  Of course this was only afforded to the most privileged men.  Blessings are different when drinking wine while sitting and reclining, too.  The rabbis discuss when one blessing is said on behalf of the group and when each person must say one's own blessing over wine and/or bread.

Rabbi Yochanan walks through the rituals of hand washing, blessings over wine and bread.  The rabbis consider who is to say which prayers; is the first person to wash their hands also the one to recite the Grace over Meals?  When one intends to eat, does one also intend to smell the fragrance of bread?  What is the prayer that is said over incense?  And other fragrances?

Hosea (14:7) teaches us that the young men of Israel will smell as fragrant as Lebanon.  Further the rabbis discuss the individual paths and work that makes each of us satisfied.  Rav Zutra bar Tovia quotes Rav in saying that we are safer at night when we walk together with a torch and the moonlight; perhaps with another person to hold the torch and another as witness.  And it is better to be burned than humiliate another person. 

On the topic of humiliation, we are told that Rav Pappa blessed myrtle before oil even though it was decided by Rabban Gamliel that Beit Shammai's ruling (that oil is blessed first as it is one of the seven species) was correct.  Rava says, do you not agree with the Gamliel, which allowed Rav Pappa to dispute Rabban Gamliel's view without causing any humiliation.  Instead, Rav Pappa argues that the ruling went along with Beit Hillel.  This was not true. There is no recording of a response from Rava, which is interpreted by later scholars to prove that (a) Rav Pappa was not the most brilliant Torah scholar but was able to participate because of his financial contributions, and (b) it is paramount to avoid humiliation of another human being.

Incidentally, here are the six things that might disgrace a Torah scholar and must not be done: going out to the marketplace while fragranced, go into the marketplace alone at night, wear patched shoes, converse with a woman in the marketplace, recline and eat with a group of ignoramuses, be the last to enter the study hall, and possible walk with long strides or stand tall.  Each of these is explained by suggesting that witnesses to these behaviours might assume that the Torah scholar is behaving without modesty and humility; with laziness.  As role models, such behaviours are forbidden to Torah scholars.

Our Sages seem to be equally concerned with how they are perceived and with how people should be treated. 

Berachot 41: Priority of Blessings

Briefly:

Our daf covers several questions, especially regarding the seven species of HaAretz: wheat, barley, olives, pomegranates, dates, vines and figs.  In addition to being used as primary foods in some circumstances, they are used as measures.  For example, pomegranate seeds, barley and olive bulks are all used regularly as ways of measuring other items. When blessing these foods, however, there are other factors to consider, including which food is considered to be the primary part of our meal and which is secondary - or flavouring.

The rabbis continue to debate.  In which order should blessings be said over food?  Rav Pappa states a halacha that seems to be agreed upon: If one's meal is bread with other items, the hamotzi prayer is said because bread is the staple of the meal.  If fruit or other incidental items are eaten during the meal, a blessing is said over them before they are eaten but not after they are eaten.  If fruit or other incidental items are served later, perhaps as dessert after the Grace After Meals, then a blessing is said both before and after they are eaten.

Berachot 40: Including G-d's Name, Blessings in Secular Languages

A new Mishna teaches us that a general prayer can cover the details of a specific prayer.  However, a speciifc prayer cannot be used to bless in a larger context.  It shares an example.  

We meet our obligation when we say "boray pre ha'adama," Who created fruit of the earth, when blessing the fruit of the tree.  Ha'etz, a tree, has its own blessing but it is also of the earth.  We do not meet our obligation when we say "boray pre ha'etz," Who created fruit of the tree, over fruit of the earth.  This is because fruits of the earth might not be fruits of the tree at all; for example, a potato is a fruit of the earth but not a fruit of the tree.  Finally, it is acceptable to say "sh'hakol nidviray bidvoro", by whose word all things came to be, over any food item.

The rabbis discuss some of the more detailed questions that might arise when applying these laws.  They consider which prayer might be said in different situations, how the blessings over wine and bread might fit into this hierarchy of blessing, where the name of G-d must be named in every blessing, and the required words in every blessing.

The Gemara notes that blessings can be said in any secular language, as long as the translation is direct and accurate.  The rabbis also discuss other prayers, like the Shema, the Amida, the Grace After Meals?  

We learn a second Mishna.  It teaches that a foot that does not grow from the ground, vinegar, novelot, spoiled dates and locusts are blessed by saying "by whose word all things came to be".  Rabbi Yehuda says that any food that results from a curse should not be blessed.  Further, if one is about to eat many foods, the first blessing goes to one of the seven species for which HaAretz was praised.  The rabbis disagree, saying that one can recite the first blessing over whichever food one chooses.

The Gemara discusses which foods are included in which blessings.  They also note that if we vow not to eat fruit of the ground, mushrooms and truffles are included in that vow.  

What about foods that are questionably edible?  We veer into a conversation about foods that might or might not be blessed.  This leads the rabbis to a discussion of demai, food that may or may not have been tithed.  If the demai is ownerless, it need not be tithed.  At the end of our daf, the rabbis introduce a new debate about the joining of several piles of grains that are of differing status.

Berachot 39: How Much Food Must be Eaten for Blessing/Punishment, Breaking Bread

When we eat food that is prohibited by Torah or rabbinic law, we must eat at least a medium olive bulk (or one-half or one-third of an egg bulk, say some) to meet the requirement for punishment.  When we eat a food required by Torah, we must eat at least one-half of an egg bulk.  Steinsaltz gives the example of eating matzah on Pesach.  When we eat a food required by rabbinic law, for example, parsley on Pesach at the seder table, we must eat at least one-third of an egg bulk.

We have learned that we bless first what is more specific and thus more significant when we are eating more than one food at once.  A story is told of two students, one who hurriedly recites the wrong blessing first to eat his preferred food and the second who ridicules the first.  Bar Kapara is angry with both of them for their transgressions and it is said that neither of them lived through the year.  

The rabbis have a long conversation about the health benefits or dangers of different foods, mostly vegetables.  Some are considered to be more nutritious and thus more worthy of blessing and eating first.  The largest, most nourishing, most valuable, most tasty vegetable takes precedence both in blessing and in separating teruma, tithes for the priests.

The end of our daf is devoted to a discussion about breaking bread, particularly on Shabbat, but also on ordinary days and during Pesach when we break matzah.  The rabbis share their very different traditions regarding when one should recite the blessing versus when one breaks bread.  Further, they describe how the two loaves on Shabbat should be lifted, how they might be adjusted, whether one or both should be cut, whether a large or small piece should be taken, and other related questions.  Every opinion is shared with relevant proof texts or minhagim, customs.  

Berachot 38: HaMotzi, Vegetable Preparation

Today's daf goes into some of the detailed reasons that we recite specific blessings over certain foods.  For example, what blessing do we say over date honey as opposed to dates themselves?  What do we say over shetita, roasted barley where honey or vinegar is added?  Sometimes rabbis wonder if we should say sh'hakol h'hiya bidvaro, by Whose word all things came to be, or boreh miney m'zonot, Who creates various kinds of nourishment.  To settle this type of argument, rabbis suggest that both are accurate in different situations.  

The rabbis discuss hamotzi, the blessing over bread.  Hamotzi is taken to mean brought forth, and that is connected to the Jewish people being brought forth out of Egypt as much as it speaks of bread being brought forth from the ground.  Rabbi Zeira calls on Rav Zevid, brother of Rabbi Shemuel bar Rav Zevid, an expert on the halachot of blessings.  He says motzi rather than hamotzi over the bread.  Does this solve whether we use the blessing as a verb, of the past, or as an adjective free of any time or place?  The rabbis concur that it should not matter.  And that we are to say hamotzi moving forward.

Does preparation of vegetables change the blessings that we recite over them?  Are boiled vegetables fundamentally different that broiled or fresh vegetables?  We are to say "Who blesses fruit of the earth" as vegetables are considered to be similar to bread.  Or perhaps we are to say "by Whose word all things came to be".  And what about pickled vegetables or pitted olives?  Have these foods changed fundamentally from their fresh states?

Today's daf is a reminder of how much thought has gone into each small halacha.  These laws are tenacious. They continue until today.  One of the main reasons that I enjoy learning Talmud is to understand where our laws originated; how they came to be.  And today's daf demonstrates the answer: through debate, discussion, more debate, and final decisions that often are ritualized and repeated for millennia.  

Berachot 37: Prayers Over Grains; Halacha Follows the Opinion of the Many

Today we continue yesterday's discussion about which blessings we say over grains and when we say those blessings.  The rabbis consider five grains to be fundamental.  Wheat, millet and rice are discussed first.  We witness the rabbis' debates about which blessings should be said over the consumption of which grains.  Of course, this brings up the question of how we eat grains differently on Pesach.  The rabbis determine that these three grains certainly will rise under the right circumstances.

In some circumstances one is required to say blessings both before and after consuming these grains.  At other times one should say three abridged blessings from the birkat hamazon, the grace after meals.  We are told that Tosefta state a principal: Rabban Gamliel teaches that over any of the seven grains and fruits for which Israel is praised, one should recite those three abridged prayers from the birkat hamazon.  The rabbis say that only one prayer from those three is required.  

Rabbi Akiva says the one abridged prayer after he and Rabban Gamliel eat dates.  Rabban Gamliel becomes upset, asking Akiva why he continually sticks his head into the debate.  Rabbi Akiva reminded Gamliel gently that in fact there is a principle taught by Gamliel himself: the halacha is accordance with the many.

The rabbis also discuss manufacturing, whether that ends in bread or another edible preparation of grains.  They might be in pieces, in parts, in crumbs or in "Indian bread", which seems to be a mixture of water a bread.  The rabbis discuss how grains are ground, soaked, boiled or broiled, baked or otherwise prepared.  Any part of this process might change the status of the grain and thus the prayers that we recite.

Berachot 36: Blessings Before Putting Eating/Drinking; Chewing on Yom Kippur

Berachot 35, also the start of Perek VI, begins with a new Mishna. It teaches us about what we say before we eat and drink. We are told that we begin with "Baruch Ata HaShem, Elochenu Melech HaOlam" and then end with different prayers depending on what we put into our mouths:

For fruit from trees, we say "Who creates fruit of the tree"; for wine alone, we say, "Who creates fruit of the vine". For fruit of the ground, we say "Who creates fruit of the ground"; for bread specifically, we say "Who creates bread from the earth". For herbs and leafy vegetable Rabbi Yehuda tells us to say "Who creates fruit of the ground", but because of their different qualities we might say "Who creates various kinds of herbs".

In today's daf, we learn more about when and how to say different prayers. With a food that has several ingredients, we bless the primary food. Over things that we have difficulty classifying, we say, "By whose Word all things came to be".

The rabbis consider whether or not we take pleasure from what we put into our mouths. Medicines follow different rules that foods. Further, people prepare or pick a food thinking about its softened, pleasurable qualities rather than its hard and unappetizing presence.

The rabbis speak of the halachot of orla, where we do not eat the fruit from trees over their first three years. Uncertain orla is not permitted inside of Israel, while it is permitted outside of HaAretz. There is a general rule that one should act in accordance with the lenient opinion in a dispute when that argument is within Israel. Thus Rabbi Akiva's lenient rules are observed over those of Rabbi Eliezer. However, when Beit Shammai share an opinion where Beit Hillel disagree, their opinion is considered as if it was not in the Mishna at all and is completely disregarded.

Rava states that there are things that we chew that do not require blessings at all. To push his point, Rava notes that we do not say blessings over the peppers or ginger that we are permitted to chew on even during Yom Kippur. Eating extremely sharp spices is not considered to be eating food.

To chew something on Yom Kippur is unimaginable today. However, we know that the rabbis have changed their interpretations of some halachot over the millennia. Yom Kippur would be a much more tolerable experience if we were permitted to chew on dried ginger, for example.

Berachot 34: Powers of Prayer

We learn two new Mishnayot today about the communal prayer leader. The first teaches several lessons:

• If one says "May the good bless You", this is a path of heresy as it implies a wicked god also exists
• one who passes in front of the ark and errs must be replaced immediately without a refusal based in courtesy
• If the Amida prayer is interrupted in such an error, the replacement begins from the start of the blessing in which the error happened
• One who errs should not say "amen" after the priestly blessing because of possible confusion
• If the communal leader is the only priest, he should not lift his hands to bless the congregation
• If he is sure that he can lift his hands and resume the priestly prayer without becoming confused he is allowed to recite the blessing
• The rabbis consider one who refuses to take on the role of communal prayer leader. He should be asked three times, just like one who asks to convert is refused three times. First he should refuse, and then "vacillate like a wick that has caught flame but is not yet burning", and then he should stretch his legs and descend before the ark.

The Gemara notes that the Sages taught in a baraita that there are three things that are harmful in excess but beneficial when used sparingly: leavening in dough, salt in a cooked dis and refusal for the sake of propriety.

The rabbis consider where one should begin prayers again after erring depending on where s/he is in the Amida blessing. Rav Huna suggests that the middle blessings are all like one blessing. Rav Yehuda quotes Rabbi Chanina in stating that the first three blessings are like a servant arranging praise before a master, the middle blessings are like a servant who requests a reward from a master, and the final three blessings are like a servant who has already received a reward from a master.

The middle blessings may have no official order. How will we know if we have erred, asked Rav Asi?  Several rabbis share their opinions about when blessings should be repeated. We are told that the once a student served as prayer leader for Rabbi Eliezer. Other students complained that the leader was excessively prolonging his prayer. Rabbi Eliezer reminded them that Moses our reacher "prostrated [myself] before the Lord for the forty days and forty nights" (Deuteronomy 9:25). Thus there is no limitation on how long our prayer should be.

Another student abbreviated his prayer. The other students protested that his prayer was too brief. Rabbi Eliezer said, "Is he abbreviating his prayer any more than Moshe rabbeinu?" When his sister Miriam had leprosy, Moses cried out saying, "Please, G-d, heal her, please" (Numbers 12:13). Thus the student was permitted to pray briefly. Further, we take from this prayer that we need not say a person's name when praying on his/her behalf.

We learn from a Tosefta that we bow over the first blessing over the patriarchs (and matriarchs) at the start and end;, and in modeh/a ani lach, the thanksgiving prayer at its start and end. But is this only for common people? Should a High Priest bow at the end of every blessing? Should a king bow at the beginning and end of every blessing? This leads us into a discussion about bowing in general. We learn, for example, that Batsheva vatikod, bowed, with her face to the ground (I Kings 1:31). Rav Chiyya son of Rav Huna said that he saw Abaye and Rava only leaning their heads when they bowed.

A new Mishna tells us that making a mistake while praying is a bad omen. If that person is the communal prayer leader, it is bad omen for the ones who sent him (we will learn more about this when we learn about the responsibilities of agents or others who are complicit with a transgression). Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa would pray for the sick and then would say "This one hall recover and this one shall die". People would ask how they knew, and he answered that if his prayer is fluent in his mouth, it has been accepted. If not, he knows that the prayer has been rejected.

The Gemara wonders which blessings are translated into bad omens if errors are made in their recitation. Rabbi Chiya said that Rav Safra said in the name of a Sage in the school of Rabbi Yehuda NaNasi that it is the first blessing - the blessing over our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Others teach that a baraita referred to failing to focus one's heart in all of the blessings, or at least one of the blessings, as a bad omen.

The rabbis move into a discussion about the World-to-Come. One can marry one's daughter to a Torah scholar or one who gives his money for a Torah scholar or one who conducts business for a Torah scholar because he values wisdom, but there is no guarantee of a prize for Torah scholars. The proof used is in Isaiah (64:3), where no eye has seen it, G-d, aside from You.

Two incidents are shared regarding Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa's prayer. In the first, Rabban Gamliel's son was ill. Chanina prayed in for the youth from the roof of his house after he saw Rabban Gamliel's messengers approaching. When he came down to greet the messengers, he told them that they should return because the fever had already left the youth. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa explained that he was not a prophet nor the son of a prophet but he knew that if his prayer was fluent in his mouth, without error, the prayer would be excepted. The messengers wrote these words along with the time that it happened. On their return to Rabban Gamliel, all learned that the youth's fever had broken at the same exact time that Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa had prayed.

The second incident tells that Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa went to study Torah with Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai when Rabbi Yochanan's son beame ill. To pray for the youth, Chanina put his head between his knees; the boy was healed. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's wife asked, "Is Chanina greater than you?", and Yochanan replied that Chanina was like a servant before the King, who can enter at any time, while Yochanan was like a minister before the King who could only enter when invited and make requests about specific matters.

A few more points:

• Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba quoted Rabbi Yochanan as saying that one may only pray in a house with windows so that one can see the heavens and focus one's heart. The proof is taken from Daniel (6:21) where "in his attic there were open windows facing Jerusalem"
• Rav Kahana said that it was rude to pray in a field
• Rav Kahana said that it was rude to specify one's transgression, based on Psalms (32:1), "Happy is he whose iniquity is forgiven, whose transgression is covered over". In that way one's shame will help to forgive him.

Today's daf covers quite a bit of material regarding how we might pray, what it could achieve, and where the rabbis believed that we have power over our small lives. Even the smallest errors in our prayer can lead to life or death consequences, our rabbis seem to believe. Intention is not as important as what actually comes out of our mouths. 

Rather than interpreting this as a reductive reading of the Torah, I would choose to see today's daf a proof of our rabbis need to feel in control of their lives. If they could control their circumstances with prayer, then they could only blame themselves when prayers were not answered. This serves the purpose of continuing to understand G-d as the supreme ruler who cannot be questioned while we must continue to adhere to rabbinic laws regarding our behaviour and composure. 

Berachot 33: Making Changes to Prayer; The Amida and Havdala

Some lessons from today's daf before we begin a new Mishna:

• we do not stop our prayer if a snake wraps around our ankles because disturbing the snake might make it bite us
• we interrupt our prayer if a scorpion is approaching us because we can avoid being stung
• Tosefta teaches that we cannot testify that we have seen a person die if we only see that person fall into a lion's pit
• We can testify that we saw a person die if we have seen that person fall into a pit of snakes and scorpions
• We can interrupt our prayers if an ox is moving toward us - this is related to Rav Hoshaya's teaching that
• we move fifty cubits from a shor tam, an innocuous ox who has not caused damages with the intent to injure
• we move beyond earshot from a shor muad, a forewarned ox where the owner was warned that his ox has already gored three times
• An aggadah:
• People were being hurt by an arvad, either a large snake or reptile, and so they turned to Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa for help
• He put his heel over the hole where the arvad lived and then the arvad died
• Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa carried the arvad over his shoulder to the study hall 
• He taught that snakes don't kill people, transgressions kill people, ie. R. Chanina was free of transgression
• The Sages responded: Woe to the person who was attached by an arvad and woe to the arvad that was attached by Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa

The new Mishna teaches about how we say the Amida prayer:

• We mention the strength of the rains
• In the second blessing about the revival of the dead, we say that G-d makes the wind blow and the rain fall 
• The request for rain is "And grant dew and rain as a blessing" in the ninth blessing of the years
• In the havdala, the prayer of distinction between the holy and the profane, we say "Who graciously grants knowledge" in the fourth blessing
• Rabbi Akiva adds that havdala is recited as an independent fourth blessing
• Rabbi Eliezer says that it is recited in the seventeenth blessing of the Amida prayer, which is the blessing of thanksgiving

The rabbis make connections between each point in our Mishna and other related texts.  For example, Rav Yosef says that rain is an essential part of sustenance, and so it is part of our prayer requesting bountiful sustenance.  And Rav Yosef also says that wisdom is required to distinguish between two separate entities and thus the blessing of wisdom is connected with the havdala.  And the rabbis say that havdala separates the sacred and the profane and thus it is part of the blessing of weekdays; "Who graciously grants knowledge" is the first blessing recited only during the week.

Much of the rabbis conversations focus specifically on the havdala prayer.  They name a number of different errors that we might make and how to address what we have done.  

We learn a second Mishna in today's daf.  It teaches us about prayer leaders who introduce new prayers.  In Deuteronomy (22:6-7) we are told that G-d's mercy is given to a mother bird who should not be permitted to watch her chicks or eggs be taken away.  Similarly we ask for G-d's mercy on us and to one who says "May Your name be mentioned with the good" and one who says "We give thanks, we give thanks".  This is interpreted to mean that when one changes prayer at all, s/he should be silenced.  Or, perhaps, we do not silence that person, but we find it reprehensible.

The Gemara explains the reasoning behind the Mishna: if we say something twice, it could seem as though we are praying to two different authorities.  And we cannot only thank G-d for the good.  That rabbis wish to ensure that we do not say or do anything that can be interpreted as demeaning to G-d.  There is no trust in future generations' abilities to discern between what is praise and what is heresy.  

What is most interesting to me is that even with these halachot, these laws and discussions that have lasted thousands of years, we continue to adapt prayers.  Beyond simple words being added and removed, entire prayers have been added and removed.  This is true when considering new prayers, of course.  But it is even true of the Amidah.  We recognize the words mentioned in the Talmud, and we know that we have added words, like "and the entire world" and feminized language.  In my mind, the combination of respect for tradition and openness to progressive change in prayer is one of the reasons that Judaism continues to thrive.

Berachot 32: Moshe's Model of How to Pray

Very briefly:

The rabbis continue to discuss how different people use prayer.  Most of today's daf focuses on Moshe rabbeinu and his courage.  He uses G-d's past promises to slyly beg G-d to support the Jewish people after we build the golden calf only forty days after Mount Sinai.  

We learn that if our prayers are not answered, we should pray again.  

The rabbis offer us another description of how we can pray most effectively.

Berachot 31: Conclusive Halacha; Hannah

The rabbis speak about when we bring sadness into happy occasions and when we bring happiness into sad occasions.  They note that halacha regarding how we pray should not distract us from our prayer.  Conclusive halachot are discussed.  They leave no room for further deliberation; they will not distract one from prayer.  The rabbis then give examples of conclusive halachot. 

Here we are introduced to the halachot regarding menstruation for the first time.  A woman is niddah, ritually impure, for seven days following the start of her period.  On the evening of the eight day she immerses in a spring or ritual bath. Torah law allows this even if she had been bleeding for the entire seven day period.  The Talmud states a stringency based on the women themselves: women insisted on waiting an extra seven days after the bleeding stops.  Until that immersion, any person or object she touches or anyone who carries her is ritually impure.   A man who has intercourse with a woman who is menstruating becomes ritually impure for seven days.  A woman is a zava if she has a flow of menstrual blood when she is not supposed to bleed during her cycle.  After two days of blood she just watches; after three days of blood she is subject to the laws of a zava, which include imparting ritual impurity like a male zav and bringing a sacrifice when she is again ritually pure. A man who has sex with a zava imparts ritual impurity as well.   

The Sages follow another train of thought: one may neither stand to pray from an atmosphere of sorrow, laziness, laughter, conversation, frivolity, purposeless matters. We should pray from an atmosphere of the joy of a mitzvah.  

When we leave a conversation, we should leave so that we are remembered in a positive way.  In the Tosefta we learn that Daniel's prayer ways said three times each day, which teaches that prayer is said a t fixed times.  David taught that these prayers are said at evening and morning and noon (Psalms 55:18).  WE learn to pray in our hearts while moving our lips from Hannah's prayer in I Samuel (1:13).

Several other examples are provided of conclusive halachot.  We learn about how we are supposed to do things based on how our ancestors have done things.  Hannah is given much attention throughout today's daf.  Her words, the way that she addresses G-d as the Holy One, Blessed be He, Master of the Universe - she was the first person to use that phrase.  

The rabbis describe what Hannah said to G-d as she prayed and how she challenged G-d with her words and her ideas.  She describes her body as made by G-d to have a child; she is grateful for the child that she receives, not wanting him to be "fair" which is considered to be a positive thing, or to be too short, which is considered to be a negative thing.  

It is interesting that the rabbis choose to focus their conversation on Hannah.  Most of their conversations are based on men's actions and words.  It is significant that Hannah is seen as powerful enough to warrant that attention.

Berachot 30: More on How to Pray

The rabbis discuss the traveller's prayer; when and where and how it can be used.  We had learned in our Mishna that one who was riding on a donkey should dismount to pray, but might pray while riding if absolutely necessary while focusing his/her heart toward Jerusalem's Holy of Holies.  Staying on the donkey while praying might be distracting, the rabbis worry. 

Proofs are provided for each of the circumstances mentioned in our Mishna.  One who is blind is permitted to simply turn his/her heart toward Jerusalem.  If we are in the diaspora we face Jerusalem; if we are in HaAretz we should pray toward Jerusalem.  If we are in Jerusalem we pray toward the Temple and if we are in the Temple we should turn toward the Holy of Holies.  If we are in the Holy of Holies we should focus our hears on the seat of the ark-cover and if we are standing behind the seat of the ark-cover we should turn and face it regardless of the direction we are facing. 

A new Mishna teaches us that Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says that the additional prayer is only recited in a chever ir, a city with a quorum of ten.The rabbis say that a chever ir is not necessary for prayer.  Further, we are exempt from saying the additional prayer if there is a chever ir. 

We begin Perek V with another new Mishna which teaches: One may only stand and begin to pray if their husbands grant permission.  Earlier generations of pious men and women would wait only for one hour.  the point is that they should focus =their minds on Heaven.  Even if a King greets him/her, he should not respond to him, and even if a snake is wrapped on his head, the prayer should not be interrupted.

The Gemara wonders why prayer should be said in an atmosphere of gravity.  Perhaps it is Channah, for she wept while she prayed (I Samuel 1:10).  But her heart was embittered.  Perhaps we should simply pray with reverence, like King David (Psalms 5:8).  Then again, the rabbis say that David would afflict himself in prayer because of his transgressions with Batsheva, and he is not a role model for the rest of us.

Rav Yehuda would adorn himself and then pray because he believed that we approach the King in our most beautiful clothing.  The rabbis ask about rejoicing and trembling.  They suggest that true rejoicing should include trembling, for we do not restrain ourselves. 

Berachot 29: When We Require Abbreviated Prayers, The Thirteen Middle Prayers

At the end of Berachot 28, we learned a new Mishna that stated different opinions about how the Amidah should be said, whether and why it might be abridged, and how one should attempt to face the Temple - or at least put one's heart in the direction of the Temple - while praying.

The rabbis question how a wicked person could become righteous and how a wise person could become wicked. 

The rabbis consider what it means to abridge our eighteen required prayers of the Amida.  They choose thirteen prayers in the middle:

Grant us understanding, Lord our G-d, to know Your ways,

and sensitize our hearts so that we may revere You,

and forgive us so that we may be redeemed,

and keep us far from our suffering,

and satisfy us with the pastures of Your land,

and at her our scattered people from the four corners of the earth,

and those who go astray shall be judged according to Your will,

and raise Your hand against the wicked,

and may the righteous rejoice in the rebuilding of Your city,

and the restoration of Your Sanctuary,

and in the flourishing of Your servant David,

and in establishing a light for Your Messiah, son of Yishai.

Before we call, may You answer.

Blessed are You, Lord, Who listens to prayer.

The rabbis argue about when and why these prayers might be said.  They also speak of when and why these prayers might not be said.  In particular, they focus on the first prayer and the last prayer and what they might imply.

In amud (b), the rabbis discuss different errors in ritual prayer and how those might be addressed.  For example, if one moves their feet before permitted, what is the requisite consequence?  

At the end of our daf, the rabbis consider one who is travelling and thus faces dangerous circumstances that require an abbreviated prayer.  Because G-d "listens to prayer", we can be more confident in our safety.