Daf Highlights

Daf Highlights

By Eran NetkinReligion & SpiritualityJudaism
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Daf Highlights episodes

  • Shabbos 2 - What is carrying on shabbos and scenarios where 2 is 4
    1. The melocho of הוצאה
    From the opening Mishna’s eight cases of passing an object between the ba’al habayis standing in
    his reshus hayachid (private domain) and the poor person standing in reshus harabim (public
    domain) we learn:
    a. One has only transgressed m’doraysa the melocho of hotza’ah (transferring) if he does the act of
    lifting )עקירה)the object from its state of rest in one domain as well as the act of placing it down
    (הנחה (in another domain.
    b. The Rabbis forbid one from doing one of the acts of עקירה or הנחה lest one come to do both
    elements of the transfer.
    2. הכנסה) Bringing in)
    Rav Ashi teaches that the Mishna’s usage of the term הוצאה) taking out) also refers to הכנסה
    (bringing in), since the Mishna includes cases of bringing in as examples of הוצאה .
    The Gemara further clarifies that the Tanna refers to any removal of an object from its place as an
    act of “taking out.”
    3. Domains
    Rava said the when the Tanna uses the word יציאות) transfers) in the Mishna he is referring to
    domains. Therefore, the Mishna is understood to mean that there are two domains where one is
    prohibited to commit four acts of transferring.
    Siman – House
    The strange house, where the owner kept passing objects back and forth to a poor person standing
    outside, featured an exit sign over the entrance and a welcome sign to the Home of Two Domains.
    Key words – 8 cases, הכנסה ,רשויות
    6 min
  • Brachos 64 - Don't force the moment, How to enjoy the Devine Presence, Biyun vs bekiyus, Go to Peace
    When the Rabbis in Bavel were looking for new leadership in the academy they asked the Rabbis
    in Eretz Yisroel which type of leader Is preferred, a “Sinai” (סיני (who has a lot of breadth in
    learning or one who uproots mountains (הרים עוקר (with his sharp analysis? The choice was
    between Rav Yosef who was a סיני and Rabba who was the הרים עוקר .
    The Rabbis answered that the סיני takes precedence because his encyclopedic knowledge will
    enable him to easily discover the solution to most problems. Rav Yosef in the end did not accept
    the position as the Gemara explains and only became head of the academy twenty-two years
    later after Rabbah’s death.
    ילכו מחיל אל חיל .2
    R’ Levi bar Chiya said that one who leaves the beis haknesses and immediately enters the beis
    hamidrash to learn will merit to greet the face of the Shechinah as its says, חיל אל מחיל ילכו"
    – "בציון אלקים אל יראה Go from multitude to multitude, appear before Hashem in Tziyon. The
    multitudes are referring to those gathered in shuls and those gathered in batei midrashim.
    Rav Chiya bar Ashi said in the name of Rav that the passuk is referring to talmidei chochomim
    have no rest in Olam Hazeh or Olam Habah. The multitudes are referring to the batei midrashim
    in Olam Habah where talmidei chochomin will continue to climb from one level to the next
    forever increasing their understanding.
    3. Talmidei chochomim bring shalom
    R’ Elazar said in the name of R’ Chanina: Talmidei chochomim increase the peace in the world as
    it says, בניך שלום ורב' ה למודי בניך וכל – And all your sons will be disciples of Hashem, and
    abundant will be the peace of your sons. Do not read it as “your sons” )בניך )but “your builders”
    )בוניך .)The passuk is teaching that it is the talmidei chochomim that build the world with their
    Torah which results in peace in the world.
    Siman – סוד - Secret
    The Daf Yomi learners secretly reviewed their encyclopedic knowledge of Masechta Berachos as
    they left the beis haknesses and immediately entered the beis hamidrash to learn, going from one
    level to the next as they learned from talmidei chochomim who bring peace to the world.
    5 min
  • Brachos 63 -Eis Laasos Lhashem, when no man, be a man
    1. Small but fundamental passuk
    Bar Kapppara asked the following question: What is a small passuk upon which all of the
    fundamentals of the Torah depend? He answered:
    ארחתך יישר והוא דעהו דרכך בכל –In all your ways you must know Him, and He will straighten
    your paths.
    Rava explained that “In all your ways” includes even one engaged in a transgression. This
    passuk teaches that there are times when Hashem’s honor demands that one perform a
    transgression.
    - (An example of this is when Eliyahu Hanavi brought offerings outside the Beis Hamikdash
    on Har HaCarmel in the incident with the prophets of Ba’al even though sacrificing
    outside of the Beis haMikdash is a Torah prohibition).
    2. Receiving Torah daily
    It was taught in a Baraisa that when the Rabbis entered Kerem beYavneh they each opened up
    their derasha with words in honor of their hosts that housed them )אכסניא בכבוד פותחין .)
    Rebbe Yehuda further opened up his derasha focusing on honoring those who learn Torah
    with the following passuk, “לעם נהיית הזה היום ישראל ושמע הסכת – “Pay heed and listen,
    Yisroel, on this day you became a nation.”
    How does one make sense of this passuk that implies that that the Torah was given on that
    day, when in fact it was given Torah forty years earlier?
    Rebbe Yehuda answers that the passuk is coming to teach you that on each an every day the
    Torah should be as dear to those that study it as on the day it was given on Har Sinai.
    3. Learning with others
    The Gemara says that the word "הסכת"teaches – בתורה ועסקו כתות כתות עשו –that one
    must form groups (asu kitos) and engage in Torah learning because the Torah is only acquired
    through learning with others.
    This is in accordance with Rebbe Yossi b’Rebbe Chaninah who said:
    1. There will be as sword against those who sit alone and learn Torah.
    2. They will become foolish and make mistakes in judgment
    3. They will also come to sin.
    Siman – Boys on Segways
    The Yeshiva Ketana boys sped to the Beis Midrash on their Segways taking every type of straight path,
    eager to learn Torah as if it was just given that day and making sure to get the most by learning in
    7 min
  • Brachos 62 - Bathroom etiquette, Spitting and using a shul as a shortcut
    1. Not wiping oneself with the right hand
    A significant part of the Daf focuses on proper and modest behaviors in the bathroom.
    A number of reasons are given as to why the right hand should be given honor and not be used for
    the base purpose of wiping oneself:
    a. The Torah was given with Hashem’s right hand as it says – למו דת אש מימינו –From His right
    hand, the fire of the Law was given.
    b. It is generally used for noble act of eating.
    c. One ties tefillin on his left arm with one’s right hand.
    d. One shows the cantillation notes of the Torah with his right hand. The hand used for a holy
    purpose should not be used for a profane one.
    2. Dishonoring clothing
    Whoever dishonors clothing in the end will not benefit from them. – אינו סוף הבגדים את המבזה כל
    .נהנה מהם
    This is learned from the incident when Dovid quietly cut off the corner of Shaul’s cloak when Shaul
    went into a cave to discreetly relieve himself. Dovid did this to demonstrate that he had been able
    to cause greater harm to Shaul but chose not to. Nevertheless, since he dishonored Shaul’s
    garment, Dovid was punished in his later years when his own garments did not provide him warmth.
    3. Taking shortcuts through a shul
    Although one is not permitted to use a shul as a shortcut, if one initially entered to daven he may
    leave through a different exit even though it will end up being a shortcut.
    Siman – Submarine captain
    The submarine captain that was famous for doing everything with his right hand with his left one
    tied behind his back, reprimanded his officers for not keeping their uniforms clean and for taking
    shortcuts through the ship’s shul.
    Key Words – right hand, clothing, shortcuts
    13 min
  • Brachos 61-How Man Looked at Creation,Money or your Life,R' Akiva and his death, Bathroom Direction
    1. How Chavah was fashioned
    There is a machlokes between Rav and Shmuel concerning how Chavah was fashioned:
    - One opinion is that man was created as a double figure, male and female, and that Hashem
    fashioned Chavah from the female figure.
    - The pasuk of בראם ונקבה זכר – He created them male and female is initially brought in
    support of this view.
    - The other opinion is that she was fashioned from the tail.
    - The pasuk of האדם מן לקח אשר הצלע את אלקים' ה ויבן – And He built the side that He had
    taken from man, seems to support this view. If the woman already existed, there would have
    been no need to build her.
    2. The concept of a בינוני
    Rabbi Yosi Haglili says that the righteous are ruled by their yetzer tov, the evil by their yetzer
    hara, and average people )בינונים )are ruled by both.
    When Abaye heard Rava say that he considered himself an average person, he said that by that
    standard, not a person in the world could be considered righteous.
    3. R’ Akiva’s response to Pappus ben Yehudah
    The Gemara relates the story of R’ Akiva’s imprisonment and subsequent execution, during
    which— with his dying breath—he proclaimed the אחדof Krias Shema.
    Before being imprisoned, as he was giving a shiur, R’ Akiva was asked by Pappus ben Yehudah if
    he feared the wicked regime, which had forbidden the teaching of Torah. R’ Akiva answered
    with a mashal of a fox trying to persuade fish to save themselves from being pursued in the
    water by coming up onto the land. The fish replied that if in the environment that supported
    their life they were afraid, shouldn’t they be even more afraid in an environment that was
    inimical to their life? Similarly, the Jewish people’s life support is Torah learning, as it says, כי
    ימיך וארך חייך הוא – For it is your life and the length of your days. Without Torah learning, we
    would be in even greater danger.
    Eventually, when Pappus was thrown into prison with R’ Akiva for a false accusation, he said,
    “Fortunate is R’ Akiva, who was apprehended on words of Torah! Woe to Pappus, who was
    apprehended on account of meaningless words!”
    Siman – A saw
    The magician successfully sawed the man into two, one half male and one half female but was booed
    as a benoini performer because he couldn’t make the fish jump out of the fishbowl.
    Key Words – Chavah, בינוני ,Pappus
    8 min
  • Brachos 60-Brachos on Good and Bad, Brachos in the Morning, Everything God does is for the best
    דיין האמת והטוב והמטיב .1
    The Gemara illustrates the meaning of making a berachah of האמת דיין) the True Judge) on a
    calamity that has the potential to have a favorable outcome, and making the berachah of הטוב
    והמטיב) Who is good and does good) on a favorable occurrence that has the potential for a
    calamitous outcome:
    - One should recite האמת דיןon his field being flooded, even though there will be a favorable
    outcome in that the accumulation of sediment will improve his land.
    - One should recite והמטיב הטובon finding an object, even though the King might hear of it and
    take it from him.
    2. The conclusion of יצר אשר
    The Gemara details the various berachos of Hamapil, Asher yatzar, Elokai neshamah and the 15
    birkas hashachar.
    - There is a machlokes regarding the concluding berachah of Asher yatzar:
    - Rav says it should be חולים רופא – Who heals the sick.
    - Objecting that this would portray everyone as sick, whereas healthy people also recite the
    berachah, Shmuel holds that the proper ending is בשר כל רופא – Who heals all flesh.
    - Rav Sheishesssays it should be לעשות מפליא – Who does wonders.
    - Rav Pappa rules to incorporate both the endings of Shmuel and Rav Sheishess, resulting in our
    text of לעשות ומפליא בשר כל רופא – Who heals all flesh and does wonders.
    כל דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד .3
    R’ Akiva said that one should always be accustomed to say עביד לטב רחמנא דעביד כל – Whatever
    the Merciful one does, He does for the best.
    The Gemara relates the story of R’ Akiva traveling and being denied lodging in a city. He said כל
    לטב רחמנא דעבידand went to sleep in a field. That night a wind blew out his lamp, a cat ate his
    rooster and a lion ate his donkey, after which he repeated לטב רחמנא דעביד כל .
    The next day R’ Akiva learned that an army had come by the previous night and captured the city
    that had denied him lodging. Had his lamp had not blown out, the soldiers would have seen him
    and captured him. Likewise, had his rooster and donkey not been eaten, the soldiers would have
    discovered him after hearing his animals make noise.
    Siman – Smiley Face Stickers
    The forever optimistic farmer who made a האמת דיין on his flooded field was putting smiley face
    stickers on his dead rooster and donkey and in his siddur next to birkas hashachar and asher yatzar.
    לטב עביד ,אשר יצר ,דיין האמת – Words Key
    6 min
  • Brachos 59-What causes earthquakes, Thunder and Lightning, Bracha of Hatov Vhametiv, Rainbow
    1. The berachah on a rainbow
    There is a dispute regarding the berachah to recite on seeing a rainbow (though one should not
    stare at it).
    - The Gemara says the berachah is הברית זוכר ברוך – Blessed [are You] … Who remembers the
    covenant.
    - R’ Yishmael the son of R’ Yochanan ben Beroka says the ending should be וקיים בבריתו נאמן
    במאמרו – Who is trustworthy in His covenant and fulfills His word.
    - Rav Pappa rules that we accommodate both views by incorporating both endings: זוכר ברוך
    במאמרו וקיים בבריתו ונאמן הברית – Blessed [are You] … Who remembers the covenant and is
    trustworthy in His covenant and fulfills His word.
    2. Birkas Hachamah
    One who sees the sun at the beginning of its 28-year cycle, when it returns to its original
    position at its creation, recites Birkas Hachamah, the blessing on the sun: בראשית עושה ברוך–
    Blessed [are You] … Who makes the work of creation.
    הטוב והמטיב .3
    One who drank wine at a meal and is then offered a superior wine makes the berachah הטוב
    והמטיב] –Blessed are You] … Who is good and does good.
    Siman – Knight in shining armor
    The knight in shining armor stood nobly at the bottom of the rainbow, as he blessed the sun after
    28 years by raising his cup of superior wine making a והמטיב טוב .
    6 min
  • Brachos 58-Brachos on Kings, strange people and animals, Sleeping with a Donkey, Constellations
    ברוך חכם הרזים .1
    One who sees a multitude of Jews (600,000) recites הרזים חכם ברוך) Blessed [are You] … Sage
    of the secrets), acknowledging that Hashem knows everyone’s secret thoughts.
    2. Rav Sheishess and the king
    The Gemara elaborates on the importance of greeting a king,(which we initially learned on daf
    ט (relating the incident of the blind Rav Sheishess, who was able to discern when the king
    passed by in his procession. When the first two troops passed by, each followed by loud noise,
    Rav Sheishess knew that the king was not yet approaching. After the third troop passed by and
    it fell silent, he knew that the king was about to pass.
    Rav Sheishess explained that he knew this from the verses (Melachim I 19:11-12) describing
    how Eliyahu discerned Hashem’s presence not in the midst of three loud noises, (great wind, an
    earthquake and a fire) but rather when there was a still, thin sound )דקה דממה קול .)He said,
    since “earthly royalty reflects Heavenly royalty,” there must be a similar chain of events when
    an earthly king appears.
    3. שהחיינו on a friend
    One who sees a friend after a lapse of thirty days recites שהחיינו ;if the lapse is twelve months,
    he says המתים מחיה ברוך) Blessed [are You] … Who resurrects the dead(.
    Siman – נח –Zookeeper
    The Zookeeper greeted his friend the king who he hadn’t seen in 30 days with a שהחיינוand
    over his procession of 600,000 a הרזים חכם ברוך ,while everyone else stood still in silence.
    Key Words – רזים ,king’s ilences, שהחיינו on friend
    7 min
  • Brachos 57 -More Interpretations of Dreams, 60th of Death, and Hell, Brachos on distraction of Bavel
    1. Visions of tefillah in dreams
    The Gemara lists dream visions that include elements of tefillah, along with their meaning:
    • One who responds "מברך רבה שמיה יהא אמן "in a dream is assured of being destined for Olam Haba.
    • One who recites Krias Shema in a dream is fit to have the Shechinah dwell upon him, except that his
    generation doesn’t merit having it happen.
    • One who dreams of laying tefillin should anticipate growing in greatness.
    2. Waking up with a passuk
    R’ Yochanan says that if one wakes up and a verse “fell into his mouth,” i.e. immediately came to mind,
    this is a type of minor prophecy.
    3. One sixtieth
    Five things are considered a sixtieth of something else:
    1. Fire is a sixtieth part of Gehinnom.
    2. Honey is a sixtieth part of the manna.
    3. Shabbos is a sixtieth part of Olam Haba.
    4. Sleep is a sixtieth part of death.
    5. A dream is a sixtieth part of prophecy.
    Siman – Pinocchio’s nose
    Pinochio’s nose began to grow when he claimed he was saying Krias Shema in his dream and then
    woke up with a passuk in his mouth, until he was reminded wood burns in fire which is a sixtieth part
    of Gehinnom.
    Key Words – tefillah in dreams, waking with passuk, one sixtieth
    8 min
  • Brachos 56 - More Dreams and Interpretations
    1.People dream about what they were thinking about
    To illustrate the teaching (on 55b) that a person dreams about what he was thinking of during
    the day )לבו מהרהרי אלא לאדם לו מראין אין ,)the Gemara cites the incident of Caesar asking R’
    Yehoshua bar R’ Chananya what he would dream of that night. R’ Yehoshua told him that he
    would dream of being pressed into service by the Persians in a degrading way. Caesar thought
    about the distressing vision all day and then dreamt of it at night.
    2. Bar Hedya, the Dream Interpreter
    The Gemara relates the story of Bar Hedya, the dream interpreter, who gave positive
    interpretations to those who paid for his services and negative ones to those who didn’t.
    Abaye and Rava shared many similar dreams and had them interpreted by Bar Hedya. Since
    Abaye paid, his dreams were always interpreted for good; Rava did not pay, and his dreams
    were interpreted for ill.
    Finally, Rava discovered—in a book owned by Bar Hedya—that “dreams go according to the
    mouth” (הפה אחר הולכין חלומות כל ,(meaning according to the way they are interpreted. Rava
    cursed him and Bar Hedya fled, eventually meeting a gruesome death at the hands of the
    Roman royal court.
    3. The meaning of a well in a dream
    The Gemara discusses the symbolic meaning of items appearing in a dream. If one dreams of a
    well:
    • R’ Chanina says he will see peace.
    • R’ Nassan says he will find Torah.
    • Rava says he will find life.
    Siman – Shusher in shul going nu nu
    The shusher in shul was going bananas trying to nu nu the guy giving nightmares to the President about
    losing the election while the dream interpreter was telling the cheapskate he was going to fall into a well.
    Key Words – nightmares, Bar Hedya, wells
    6 min

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5-10 Minute Daily De"lightful" synopsis of the Daf for Chazara and Retention. Will cover the Halacha L'maasa as brought down in Rambam and Shulchan Aruch on the Daf and appended Zichru Notes for…