Daf Highlights

Daf Highlights

By Eran NetkinReligion & SpiritualityJudaism
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Daf Highlights episodes

  • Brachos 25-Erva,Urine, Excrement, Potties, Flatulence and Bathrooms; How to maintain a safe distance
    1. Reciting Krias Shema near a foul smelling substance
    There is a machlokes regarding how far one must be from a foul odor that emanates from a
    :Shema Krias recite to) ריח רע שיש לו עיקר) substance
    - Rav Huna holds the person must be four amos away from the actual substance
    - Rav Chisdah holds the person must be four amos away from spot where the odor stops
    2. Learning with an odor without substance
    While it is forbidden to say Krias Shema if there is an odor without substance ( לו שאין רע ריח
    עיקר (Rav Sheishes ruled that it is permitted to learn if the smell is coming from another person.
    This is learned from the fact that people learned in a place where people dozed on mats.
    3. Reciting Krias Shema opposite a chamber pot
    It is forbidden to recite Krias Shema opposite a clay chamber pot )רעי של גרף )used for
    excrement or urine, even if there is nothing in it, since it is especially absorbent and makes the
    vessel repulsive.
    Siman – Silver Anniversary
    The surprise silver anniversary party the husband threw for his wife was a disaster when the
    party room he rented was less than four amos away from a barn that was full of foul smelling
    substances, people sleeping on mats, and used chamber pots.
    11 min
  • Brachos 24-What is considered a Woman's Nakedness? Hanging Tefillin, Bodily Sounds during Prayer
    1. Husband and wife reciting Krias Shema in bed
    A husband and wife sleeping in the same bed can recite Krias Shema as long as they are turned away
    from each other and face in opposite directions.
    2. Ervah
    The Gemara identifies those parts/aspects of a woman that are considered ervah (nakedness), which,
    when within view or earshot of a man, halachically prevent him from reciting Shema, saying berachos,
    learning Torah, etc. Included in the list are:
    - A tefach of exposed skin that is normally covered (including one’s wife)
    שוק – Thigh-
    - [Singing] Voice – קול
    שעיר - Hair-
    3. Inappropriate behavior during tefillah
    The Gemara lists various improper behaviors during tefillah, such as davening audibly, belching,
    yawning, sneezing and spitting.
    Siman - Pitcher
    A married couple lie in a bed with an empty pitcher used as a sheitelstand placed between them. The Husband yawns while the wife says Shema.
    12 min
  • Brachos 23- Tefillin in a Privy, Empty Orifices Before Prayer, Using Tefillin Bag, Sleeping Naked
    1. Going to the bathroom before Shemoneh Esrei
    One who feels the need to relieve himself and cannot restrain himself for 72 minutes (the time it takes to
    travel the distance of a parsah), should not begin Shemoneh Esrei. To do otherwise would be to render
    his tefillah a to’eivah (an abomination).
    - The source for the need to prepare oneself for tefillah is the pasuk, אלקיך לקראת הכון
    ישראל – Prepare to meet your G-d, O Israel.
    2. Where to take tefillin off when going to the bathroom
    One must remove his tefillin at least four amos way from an established bathroom before entering. If the
    place had never been used as a bathroom, he can take his tefillin off there and relieve himself, but he
    must move at least four amos away before putting them back on.
    3. Forbidden to store anything in a tefillin bag
    It is forbidden to store anything other than tefillin in a bag set aside to hold tefillin.
    - It’s a machlokes whether the bag becomes forbidden as soon as it is set aside for such usage
    .(הזמנה לאו מילתא היא) used been has it after only or) מילתא היא הזמנה )
    Siman - Keg
    A man running to the bathroom before davening Shemoneh Esrei puts his tefillin in his new tefillin bag
    on a keg that was four amos away from the outhouse.
    10 min
  • Brachos 22-Praying/Learning Torah after emitting Semen,Praying near Excrement,Urinating during Praye
    1. Why a Baal Keri immerses in a mikveh
    A Braisa teaches that the reason a baal keri is the only type of tumah that requires immersion in
    a mikveh before one is able to learn Torah is because the tumah came about as a result of levity.
    This is inconsistent with how the Torah was received at Har Sinai, which was with fear and
    trepidation.
    2. Words of Torah don’t contract tumah
    R’ Yehuda ben Beseira does not require a baal keri to immerse before learning Torah, because
    he holds that words of Torah are like fire, which do not contract tumah. He learns this from the
    pasuk: ‘ה נאם כאש דברי כה הלא ,Behold my words are like fire, says Hashem.
    3. 40 Se’ah or 9 Kabin?
    There is a machlokes whether a baal keri requires immersion in a mikveh of forty se’ah or
    whether having nine kabin of water poured over him suffices.
    Siman - Cab
    A cab driver laughed as his cab was surrounded by fire, which he doused with forty se’ah of water,
    pouring from a nine-kabin pail.
    12 min
  • Brachos 21- Praying the wrong Amida Prayer, Is prayer Biblical? Mindfulness during Prayer, Bal Keri
    1. The two Biblically mandated berachos
    The Gemara identifies the sources for two Biblically mandated berachos.
    Birkas Hamazon – "וברכת ושבעת ואכלת - "and you shall eat, be satisfied and bless
    Birkas HaTorah– "לאלקינו גדל הבו אקרא' ה שם כי - "when I call the name of Hashem,
    ascribe greatness to our G-d
    2. Machlokes is Krias Shema Biblical or Rabbinic
    There is a machlokes whether the obligation to recite Krias Shema is Biblical or Rabbinic.
    According to Rav Yehuda, the Biblical obligation of ובקמך ובשכבך) and when you lie down and
    arise) is to recite any section of the Torah, once in the morning and once in the evening. The fact
    that we fulfill this requirement by reciting the words of Shema is Rabbinic.
    3. Latecomer to shul
    There is a machlokes regarding at what point a latecomer to shul can join the tzibbur
    (congregation) if they are in the middle of davening Shemoneh Esrei.
    One view permits it only if he can finish before the shliach tzibbur (the one leading the davening)
    reaches Kedushah; the other view holds that he only needs to finish before the shliach tzibbur
    reaches Modim.
    Siman - Car
    The latecomer to shul raced out of his car and jumped over one man bentching mid’Oraisa, and another
    man saying Shema mid’Rabbanan, but when he got to the minyan they were in the middle of Kedushah.
    13 min
  • Brachos 20-Women and Time Bound Mitzvos, Is Thinking Equivalent to Reciting, Birchas Hamazon, Ezra
    1. Why miracles occurred for earlier generations
    Earlier generations merited seeing miracles that later generations—despite their superiority in
    breadth and mastery of Torah—did not, because the earlier generations were moser nefesh
    (sacrificed themselves) for kiddush Hashem (to sanctify G-d’s name).
    Example: Rav Adda bar Ahavah tore an inappropriate garment off a woman walking in the street
    because he thought she was Jewish.
    2. A woman’s obligation to recite birkas hamazon
    Is the obligation for women to recite birkas hamazon Biblical or Rabbinic? The practical
    difference would be whether they can recite birkas hamazon on behalf of men, who are
    Biblically obligated.
    3. Ezra’s takanah modeled after Har Sinai
    Ezra’s takanah (decree) requires a baal keri (one who experiences a seminal discharge) to
    immerse in a mikveh in order to speak words of Torah and to daven. The takanah was modeled
    on the events at Har Sinai, where immersion was required for the recitation of words of Torah.
    Thinking Torah thoughts without immersion is permitted.
    Siman – Coffee
    A woman drinking coffee in a café and was about to bentch, when a Rabbi ran in and knocked the
    immodest headpiece off her head which landed in a mikveh that was in front of a model of Har Sinai.
    14 min
  • Brachos 19-When does Kavod Habrios Trump Issurim, Meis Mitzva, Don't speak to Satan, Excommunication
    One who disparages a deceased talmid chacham
    Anyone who disparages a deceased talmid chacham ultimately falls into Gehinnom.
    כל המספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמים נופל בגיהנים
    2. Do not open mouth to the Satan
    One should never open himself up to prosecution by the Satan by saying of himself that he is worthy of
    punishment.
    אל תפתח פה לשטן -
    3. Personal dignity (kavod habrios) does not override a Torah prohibition
    Rav taught that if someone discovers shaatnez in his clothing he must remove the garment even in the
    middle of the marketplace, because where there is a threat of chillul Hashem (meaning violating a Torah
    prohibition) we do not worry about a person’s dignity (kavod habrios).
    "אין חכמה אין תבונה אין עצה לנגד ה'",pasuk the on based is This-
    - There is no value to wisdom, or understanding, or counsel when weighed against the honor of Hashem.
    Respect for a person’s dignity does, however, override a Rabbinic prohibition.
    Siman – Yacht
    A nasty person who disparaged a deceased talmid chacham fell off a yacht and was swallowed by a whale
    with a big open mouth, as the captain who ripped off his shaatnez-containing uniform steered the boat.
    11 min
  • Brachos 18- What do the Dead Know After Death, Honor to the Dead, Lashon Hara about the Dead
    1. Exemption from mitzvos even when not in front of the deceased
    The Mishnah on 17b states that someone who is required to bury his dead relative, who is
    right now in front of him, is exempt from mitzvos.
    According to Rav Ashi, he is exempt from all mitzvos, even when not in the presence of the
    deceased.
    Rav Ashi learns this from Avraham and the burial of Sarah. The pasuk says, And Avraham
    arose from the presence of his dead, followed by the next verse after Avraham had walked
    away, … that I may bury my dead from before me.
    2. Mocking the dead
    One is not permitted to wear tefillin, learn from a sefer or wear his tzitzis out in a cemetery.
    Doing so is considered mocking the dead (לרש לעג ,(because they can’t do mitzvos anymore.
    3. Are the dead aware of worldly events?
    In discussing the question of whether the dead are aware of wordly events, the Gemara
    relates the story of a chasid who successfully planted his crops each year based on forecasts
    he overheard from two spirits talking in a cemetery.
    בן י'ח לחופה – Chuppah – Siman
    Two spirits standing under a chuppah in a cemetery discuss next year’s weather forecast and
    are overheard by a rich farmer with tucked-in tzitzis, who is about to bury his mother.
    10 min
  • Brachos 17-Pearls of Wisdom from the Rabbis, Women's Reward for Torah, O'nen and Aveilus Rituals
    1. Tefillos of Tanna’im and Amora’im after Shemoneh Esrei
    The individual tefillos that various Tanna’im and Amora’im recited after Shemoneh Esrei. Included in this list
    are some that were incorporated into our tefillos:
    The tefillah recited after the Viduy of Yom Kippur –נוצרתי שלא עד אלקי...
    The tefillah recited after Shemoneh Esrei – ...מרע לשוני נצור אלקי
    Mentioned at the bottom of 16b are:
    The tefillah when we bless the new moon – ...ארוכים חיים לנו שתתן
    The tefillah after Hamaavir sheinah meinai – ...פנים מעזי שתצלינו
    2. Reason women merit Olam Haba
    Women merit Olam Haba for bringing their children to school and letting their husbands learn, even
    though they have to wait for them to return.
    3. Concerns about looking haughty
    The concern over doing things that might make a person look haughty, such as a chassan reciting Krias
    Shema on his wedding night.
    Siman – Used Car
    The great Rabbis are all saying extra tefillos next to the holy pink used car that was used by the mother
    to bring her children to school, when a haughty chassan drives by in his fancy limousine.
    12 min
  • Brachos 16-Praying in a Tree, Shortened Prayers, O'nen/Avelus/Ist'inis status, Prayer Addendums
    1. Workers can recite Krias Shema up in a tree
    Workers can say Shema while working up in trees since kavana is only required for the first passuk. They
    must come down for tefilla since it is a request for rachamim (mercy) and requires more kavana.
    2. Condolences for servants
    Rabban Gamliel accepted condolences (תנחומים מקבל (when his servant Tavi passed away because he
    was a talmid chochom, even though one generally does not accept condolences for a servant.
    3. A choson is exempt from Krias Shema
    A choson is exempt from Krias Shema because he is preoccupied with the mitzva (דמצוה טרדא .(
    Siman - Toes
    A distracted choson walks into a tree and stubs his toes which causes the worker to fall off the
    branch and down to the ground just as a funeral for a beloved servant is passing by.
    11 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…