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Berachos 55a

ברכות נ״ה ע״א

Berakhot 55a

Learn Berachos 55a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 55a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

רב יהודה's three 'lengthenings,' further lists of three, teachings about בצלאל and wisdom, and the nature of dreams.

Overview

The גמרא finishes explaining רב יהודה's three kinds of 'lengthening' that bring long life. A long תפלה is good as long as the person does not expect an answer as his due; he lengthens it by adding pleas for mercy. A long meal is good because a poor person may come and be fed, and today a person's שלחן atones like the מזבח once did. Staying long in the בית הכסא is healthy only without straining, as the story of רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי shows. Next come more lists of three: things that shorten life, things that need prayer (a good king, a good year, a good dream), and things ה׳ announces Himself. The mention of בצלאל as a good leader leads to several teachings. A leader must be approved by the community. בצלאל was named for his wisdom ('בצל אל'), and he knew the letters of creation. ה׳ gives wisdom only to the wise. The amud ends with a series of teachings about dreams from רב חסדא and others: every dream has some nonsense in it, and no dream comes true completely. The proof from יוסף's dream is explained on the next amud.

Opening lines

כׇּל הַמַּאֲרִיךְ בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ

Anyone who prolongs his prayer

וּמְעַיֵּין בָּהּ —

and expects it to be answered —

סוֹף בָּא לִידֵי כְּאֵב לֵב,

will ultimately come to heartache,

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״תּוֹחֶלֶת מְמֻשָּׁכָה מַחֲלָה לֵב״.

as it is said: 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.'

The steps (40)

  1. ChallengeA source says long prayer leads to heartache
  2. ProofA second source: expecting prayer to be answered calls up one's sins
  3. ResolutionThe difference is whether he expects an answer
  4. QuestionHow does he make his prayer long?
  5. ResponseBy adding more pleas for mercy
  6. StatementWhy a long meal is good: a poor person may come
  7. ProofA verse that starts with the altar and ends with the table
  8. ResolutionToday a person's table atones like the altar
  9. ChallengeIs staying long in the bathroom really a good thing?
  10. ProofThe ברייתא of ten things that cause hemorrhoids
  11. ResolutionTwo kinds of lingering: with straining and without
  12. ProofThe matron and the healthy face of רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי
  13. StatementThree things that shorten a person's life
  14. ProofSources for the ספר תורה and the כוס של ברכה
  15. Proofיוסף died first because he acted with authority
  16. StatementThree good things that require prayer
  17. ProofVerses for the three things that need prayer
  18. StatementThree things ה׳ announces Himself
  19. ProofVerses showing ה׳ 'calls' for each
  20. StatementA leader must be approved by the community
  21. Proofה׳ asks משה, and משה asks the people
  22. Statementבצלאל was named for his wisdom
  23. Proofמשה reverses the order and בצלאל objects
  24. Conclusionמשה's reply: were you in God's shadow?
  25. Statementבצלאל knew the letters of creation
  26. ProofProof from matching words of wisdom
  27. Statementה׳ gives wisdom only to the wise
  28. Proofרבי אבהו's different verse
  29. StatementAny dream except during a fast
  30. StatementAn uninterpreted dream is like an unread letter
  31. StatementNo dream comes true completely
  32. StatementA bad dream is better than a good one
  33. StatementThe feeling itself uses up the dream
  34. Proofרב יוסף: even for me, joy cancels a good dream
  35. StatementA bad dream is worse than lashes
  36. QuestionWhat do straw and grain have to do with a dream?
  37. ResponseEvery dream contains some nonsense
  38. StatementPart of a dream may come true, but never all of it
  39. QuestionAsking for the source of רבי ברכיה's rule
  40. ResponseThe source is יוסף's dream of the sun and the moon