Berachos 24a

ברכות כ״ד ע״א

Berakhot 24a

Learn Berachos 24a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 24a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Where to keep תפילין in bed, saying קריאת שמע near others or uncovered body parts, what counts as ערוה, and hanging תפילין.

Overview

This amud opens with where a man keeps his תפילין at night when he sleeps in bed with his wife. Keeping them safe comes first, so רבי ירמיה says to put them between the pillow and the mattress, off to the side of his head, and רבא shows this in practice. The גמרא then asks whether two people sleeping in one bed may each turn away and say קריאת שמע. שמואל allows it even with one's wife, and רב יוסף objects. Two ברייתות are brought, and in the end they are explained as a dispute between תנאים. The גמרא clarifies details: bare buttocks are not ערוה (supporting רב הונא), and children count as small until physical maturity. Next comes a list of what counts as ערוה in a woman for saying holy words: an uncovered טפח, the leg, the voice and the hair. The amud returns to תפילין and asks whether one may hang them, giving two answers. It closes as רבי חנינא begins a new report about רבי's habits while praying, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (43)

1. ResolutionKeeping the תפילין safe comes first
2. QuestionAsking where exactly he puts them
3. Responseרבי ירמיה: between pillow and mattress, off to the side
4. Challengeרבי חייא's ברייתא says directly under the head
5. ResolutionThe bulge of the pouch sticks out
6. Statementבר קפרא tied them in his bed curtain
7. Statementרב שישא put them on a bench under a cloth
8. Proofרב המנונא found רבא's תפילין where רבי ירמיה said
9. Conclusionרבא did it on purpose to teach the practical הלכה
10. QuestionTwo people in one bed: may each one say שמע?
11. Responseשמואל allows it, even with his wife
12. Challengeרב יוסף: a wife should be the easier case
13. ChallengeTwo ברייתות that seem to disagree
14. ChallengeThe ברייתות fit רב יוסף but challenge שמואל
15. Resolutionשמואל shows that רב יוסף has the same problem
16. ResolutionBoth views rest on a dispute between תנאים
17. ChallengeTurning away still leaves bare buttocks exposed
18. ProofThis supports רב הונא: buttocks are not nakedness
19. ProofSuggested proof from a woman separating חלה
20. Rejectionרב נחמן בר יצחק: she sits pressed to the ground
21. QuestionUntil what age are children considered small?
22. Responseרב חסדא: a girl of three, a boy of nine
23. ResponseAnother version: a girl of eleven, a boy of twelve
24. ConclusionThe real marker is physical maturity
25. QuestionDoes the exception made for שמואל apply here too?
26. ResponseEach ruling applies only where it was stated
27. QuestionHair sticking out of a garment
28. Responseרב פפא brushes off the question
29. StatementAn uncovered handbreadth of a woman is nakedness
30. QuestionWhich הלכה is this rule about?
31. ChallengeIt cannot be about looking at a woman
32. ResolutionThe rule is about one's own wife and קריאת שמע
33. StatementA woman's leg counts as nakedness
34. StatementA woman's voice counts as nakedness
35. StatementA woman's hair counts as nakedness
36. Statementרבי חנינא saw רבי hang his תפילין
37. ChallengeA teaching says hanging תפילין puts your life in danger
38. ProofA פסוק is read as warning against hanging תפילין
39. ResolutionHanging by the strap versus by the box
40. ResolutionA second answer: רבי hung his תפילין inside a pouch
41. QuestionWhy bother telling this story?
42. Responseתפילין do not need to be laid down like a ספר תורה
43. Statementרבי חנינא reports more things he saw רבי do