Berachot

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Berachot resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Brachot 2: Who's on First

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“From when may one recite the kriat shema in the evening? From the time the kohanim enter to eat their terumah until the end of the first watch; these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer” (Brachot 2a). It might be coincidental…
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Brachot: A New Cycle Begins

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Rashi begins his commentary to Chumash asking why the Torah begins with the story of creation and not with the first mitzva given to the Jewish people, that of establishing a calendar. Put slightly differently, Rashi wonders why do we begin…
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Brachot 61: For a Worthy Cause

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The story of the martyrdom of Rabbi Akiva is well known. Defying the orders of the Roman government not to engage in Torah study, Rabbi Akiva literally had his flesh ripped off with steel combs – yet was relieved to fulfill the command to love G-d…
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Brachot 59: What a Blessing

Rabbi Jay Kelman

One of the most well known blessings is that of dayan haemet, the blessing said upon the death of an immediate relative accepting G-d as the true judge. It is a statement of great faith in G-d, Who “gives life and takes it away—let…
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Brachot 55: Turning Dreams into Reality

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The Talmud spends quite a number of pages discussing dreams. Taking their cue from the Bible itself, they put great stock in the significance of our dreams. They understood that our thoughts during the day have great impact upon our dreams, and knew…
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Brachot 50: Gratitude

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“From the blessings of man, we see if he is a scholar or not” (Brachot 50a). How, and more importantly, whom one blesses tells us much about a person. How we word our blessings was of great interest to our Sages; after all, before…
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Brachot 47b: We Are All Am Ha'aratzim

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The term am ha'aretz has come to mean an ignorant Jew, and is generally used in a pejorative manner. However, in Talmudic literature, an ignorant Jew was referred to as the hebrew word bor, an empty pit; likely related to the English "boor…
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Brachot 43b: A Shameful Smell

Rabbi Jay Kelman

A common feature of Talmudic editing is to group together a series of statements made by the same person. Generally, it is that person making a statement in the name of someone else - itself a common feature of the Talmud, with its emphasis on…
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Brachot 43: Love of Zion

Rabbi Jay Kelman

We human beings are naturally biased. Products of our environment, we are influenced by our cultural milieu, by our background, our life experiences, people we come in contact with—all contributing to help shape our perspective on life’s important…
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Brachot 40: Getting It Wrong!

Rabbi Jay Kelman

A striking feature of Talmud study is how it seamlessly moves from subject to subject; and how, almost out of the blue, one finds oneself discussing something that seems totally disconnected from the original discussion. The Mishnah (Brachot 40a)…
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