Berachos 32a

ברכות ל״ב ע״א

Berakhot 32a

Learn Berachos 32a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 32a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

משה's bold prayers for Israel after the עגל and the מרגלים, and the rule to praise God before making requests.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a proof that God Himself admits a role in Israel's failings. רבי חמא ברבי חנינא says three פסוקים like this keep Israel standing, and רב פפא adds a more direct one. Next, רבי אלעזר and דבי רבי ינאי teach that משה spoke boldly to God, blaming the abundance of gold ('ודי זהב') for the עגל. A series of משלים and פסוקים back this up: too much good leads to sin, and God Himself later agreed. The גמרא then follows משה's prayers after the עגל: 'לך רד', 'הרף ממני', his refusal to become a new nation, and many readings of the word 'וַיְחַל'. It continues with משה's arguments from God's eternal oath and from what the nations would say after the מרגלים, ending with God's 'סלחתי כדבריך'. Finally, רבי שמלאי learns from משה that one should praise God before asking for one's needs. The amud closes with a memory list for the teachings that come next.

Opening lines

The steps (50)

1. ProofGod Himself admits a role in Israel's sin
2. StatementWithout three verses, Israel could not stand
3. ProofListing the three verses
4. StatementA different, more direct verse
5. Statementמשה spoke harshly toward Heaven
6. ProofWhy אלף and עין can be swapped
7. ProofA different source: "ודי זהב"
8. QuestionWhat does "ודי זהב" mean?
9. Responseמשה blames the gold for the Golden Calf
10. ProofA lion roars over meat, not straw
11. ProofThe cow that kicked after eating good food
12. ProofThe pampered son placed at a bad doorway
13. ProofA popular saying and a פסוק: a full belly leads to sin
14. Proofרב נחמן brings a different פסוק
15. ProofThe רבנן bring a third פסוק
16. ProofOne more source: ישורון grew fat and kicked
17. ProofGod agreed with משה that the gold caused the sin
18. QuestionWhat does 'Go, descend' mean?
19. Responseמשה, step down from your greatness
20. Statement'Let Me be' showed משה it depended on him
21. ProofParable of the king, his son, and his friend
22. Statementמשה 'grabbed' God until He forgave Israel
23. StatementA one-legged chair cannot stand
24. StatementShame before the forefathers
25. Statementמשה prayed until he became sick
26. Statementמשה got God's vow annulled
27. ProofProof from the laws of vows
28. Statementמשה offered his life for Israel
29. Statementמשה made God's mercy take effect
30. Statementמשה told God that destroying Israel is beneath Him
31. Statementמשה prayed until he was struck by אחילו
32. ResponseWhat is אחילו? Fire of the bones
33. ResponseWhat is fire of the bones? A bone fever
34. QuestionWhat does 'You swore to them by Yourself' mean?
35. ResponseAn oath by God's eternal Name lasts forever
36. QuestionWhy does the verse say 'which I have spoken'?
37. Responseרבי אלעזר: the speaker switches from משה to God
38. Responseרבי שמואל בר נחמני: משה says it all, about his own words
39. QuestionWhy does the verse say 'יכלת' instead of 'יכול'?
40. Responseרבי אלעזר: the nations will say God's strength weakened
41. ChallengeGod answers: they already saw the miracles at the sea
42. Resolutionמשה replies: one king is not thirty-one kings
43. StatementGod agreed with משה in the end
44. StatementThe nations really would have said it
45. ConclusionFortunate is the student whose teacher agrees with him
46. StatementYou gave Me life with your words
47. StatementPraise God first, then pray
48. QuestionWhat is the source for praising first?
49. Responseמשה praised God before asking to enter the land
50. StatementA memory list for the coming teachings