Berachos 2a

ברכות ב׳ ע״א

Berakhot 2a

Learn Berachos 2a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 2a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The time for the nighttime קריאת שמע, why the משנה opens with the evening, and what its wording teaches about eating תרומה

Overview

The opening משנה of מסכת ברכות asks from when we may say the nighttime קריאת שמע. It answers: from when the כהנים go in to eat their תרומה. There are three opinions about the end time. רבי אליעזר says the end of the first watch, the חכמים say חצות, and רבן גמליאל says עמוד השחר. רבן גמליאל explains that the חכמים' חצות is only a fence to keep people from sin, and that the מצוה itself lasts until dawn. The גמרא then asks why the משנה asks 'from when' without first teaching the מצוה, and why it starts with the evening. It answers that the תנא builds on the פסוק 'בשכבך ובקומך', or on the creation story, where evening comes first. Next, the גמרא asks why the משנה did not simply say 'when the stars come out.' It answers that the wording also teaches that a כהן may eat תרומה at nightfall even before bringing his כפרה, as a ברייתא learns from 'ובא השמש וטהר'. The amud ends by asking how we know this פסוק means the sunset and the day clearing; the answer comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. StatementThe opening question and the start time for the night שמע
2. Statementרבי אליעזר: the time ends at the end of the first watch
3. StatementThe חכמים: the time ends at midnight
4. Statementרבן גמליאל: the time lasts until dawn
5. ProofThe story of רבן גמליאל's sons coming home late
6. StatementA general rule: 'until midnight' really means until dawn
7. ProofTwo more examples where the מצוה lasts until dawn
8. ConclusionWhy the Sages set midnight as the deadline
9. QuestionHow can the משנה ask 'from when' without first teaching the מצוה?
10. ChallengeWhy does the משנה start with the evening and not the morning?
11. ResolutionThe תנא is building on the פסוק 'when you lie down and when you rise'
12. ResolutionA second answer: evening comes first in the creation story
13. ChallengeChallenge: a later משנה puts morning first
14. ResolutionAnswer: once on the morning topic, he finished it
15. ChallengeWhy not just say 'when the stars come out'?
16. ResolutionThe wording teaches when כהנים eat תרומה
17. ResolutionA second lesson: the atonement offering does not hold him back
18. ProofA ברייתא proves it from the verse 'And the sun sets and he is pure'
19. QuestionHow do we know the verse means sunset and a clear sky?