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Berachos 54a

ברכות נ״ד ע״א

Berakhot 54a

Learn Berachos 54a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 54a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

משנה of הרואה (ברכות נד.): ברכות on sights, events, and news, along with related prayers and תקנות; the גמרא on blessing over public and private miracles

Overview

This amud opens the ninth פרק of ברכות with one long משנה about ברכות said in response to things we see, hear, or experience. These include places of נסים, places where עבודה זרה was removed, powerful forces of nature, great features of creation, rain and good news, bad news, and new houses or כלים. The משנה teaches that one must bless ה׳ for bad things just as for good things, and it learns this from ״ואהבת את ה׳ אלהיך״. It also rules that praying to change something that already happened is a תפלת שוא, and it gives the prayers for entering and leaving a כרך. It then lists rules of respect for הר הבית, the תקנה to close blessings with ״מן העולם ועד העולם״, and the תקנה to greet others using ה׳'s name. The גמרא then asks for the source of the ברכה over a נס, and רבי יוחנן brings it from יתרו. Stories about individuals who blessed over their personal miracles lead to the rule that a public miracle obligates everyone, while a private miracle obligates only the person it happened to. A ברייתא then lists famous places of miracles, and the גמרא begins to find a source for the miracle at the streams of ארנון. That story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳ הָרוֹאֶה

MISHNA: One who sees

מָקוֹם שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ בּוֹ נִסִּים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל,

a place where miracles were done for Israel,

אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ … שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים

recites: 'Blessed… Who performed miracles'

לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה״.

for our forefathers in this place.'

The steps (34)

  1. StatementBlessing at a place where miracles happened
  2. StatementBlessing at a place where idolatry was uprooted
  3. StatementBlessing over powerful forces of nature
  4. StatementBlessing over great features of creation
  5. Statementרבי יהודה's special blessing for the Great Sea
  6. StatementBlessing for rain and good news
  7. StatementBlessing for bad news
  8. StatementBlessing for a new house or new vessels
  9. StatementGeneral rule: bless for bad as for good
  10. StatementPraying about the past is a useless prayer
  11. StatementExample: praying for a boy when the wife is already pregnant
  12. StatementExample: praying the scream is not from my house
  13. StatementTwo prayers when entering a big city
  14. Statementבן עזאי says four prayers
  15. StatementBless for bad just as for good, with a verse as the source
  16. StatementExplaining heart, soul, and might
  17. StatementAnother reading: thank Him for every measure
  18. StatementNo light-headed behavior facing the eastern gate
  19. StatementRespect on the Temple Mount: no stick, shoes, shortcuts, or spitting
  20. StatementTemple blessings originally ended with "until the world"
  21. StatementWording changed to "from the world to the world"
  22. StatementThe חכמים instituted greeting with ה׳'s name
  23. ProofMore verses supporting greeting with ה׳'s name
  24. Statementרבי נתן reads the verse in reverse order
  25. QuestionThe גמרא asks for the source of the miracle blessing
  26. Responseרבי יוחנן: יתרו blessed ה׳ for the rescue
  27. ChallengeChallenge: an individual saved from a lion was told to bless
  28. ChallengeSecond story: מר בריה דרבינא finds water in the desert
  29. ChallengeMar son of רבינא and the wild camel
  30. ResolutionMiracle of the many versus miracle of one person
  31. StatementA ברייתא lists famous places of miracles
  32. QuestionThe sea and the Jordan are clear, but where is ארנון?
  33. ResponseThe verse about the Book of the Wars of ה׳
  34. StatementTwo מצורעים at the back of the camp