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Berachos 59a

ברכות נ״ט ע״א

Berakhot 59a

Learn Berachos 59a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 59a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The ברכות over natural wonders in the משנה: earthquakes, thunder, winds, lightning, the rainbow, mountains and a clear sky

Overview

This amud goes through the משנה's list of natural wonders that get a ברכה. It opens by finishing an אגדה about the stars כימה and עיש and the מבול, and רב נחמן says עיש will get its stars back in the future. For זוועות, רב קטינא says they are earthquakes. He publicly calls a necromancer who explained them as הקדוש ברוך הוא's tears a liar, though the גמרא says he did so only so people would not follow the necromancer, and several חכמים give their own explanations. For thunder, many explanations are offered, and the גמרא favors רב אחא בר יעקב's link to lightning. אביי explains the משנה's 'winds' as gale-force winds, and רבא lists lightning and cloud patterns that are warning signs at night. The amud teaches the ברכה over a rainbow: we do not bow, but we say 'זוכר הברית ונאמן בבריתו וקיים במאמרו'. אביי and רבא explain how 'עושה מעשה בראשית' relates to lightning and to mountains. Finally, רבי יהושע בן לוי gives a ברכה for a perfectly clear sky, and רב חסדא says such a sky has not been seen since the חורבן.

Opening lines

כְּטִרְפָּא דִּטְרִיף.

like a leaf/piece that was attached (torn off and attached).

וְהַאי דְּאָזְלָא בָּתְרַהּ,

And the fact that it (עיש) goes after it (כימה),

דְּאָמְרָה לַהּ: הַב לִי בְּנַי.

is because it says to it: Give me my children.

שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

For at the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He,

The steps (57)

  1. StatementWhy עיש follows כימה: the stars of the flood
  2. ChallengeWhy not return the original stars?
  3. ResolutionTwo answers: a pit and a prosecutor
  4. ChallengeWhy not create two new stars?
  5. ResolutionNothing new under the sun
  6. Statementרב נחמן: the stars will be returned in the future
  7. QuestionWhat are זוועות?
  8. Responseרב קטינא: an earthquake
  9. Questionרב קטינא wonders if the אוב knows what an earthquake is
  10. ResponseThe necromancer: earthquakes are הקדוש ברוך הוא's tears
  11. Statementרב קטינא rejects the necromancer
  12. Proofרב קטינא's reason: there should have been two earthquakes
  13. RejectionThere were two quakes; רב קטינא hid it on purpose
  14. Statementרב קטינא’s own explanation of earthquakes
  15. Statementרבי נתן explains earthquakes as a sigh
  16. Statementרבנן describe a kick against the sky
  17. Statementרב אחא בר יעקב describes pressure beneath the throne
  18. QuestionWhat does the משנה mean by thunder?
  19. Responseשמואל links thunder to clouds in the heavens
  20. Responseרבנן link thunder to water between clouds
  21. Responseרב אחא בר יעקב links thunder to lightning
  22. Responseרב אשי compares thunder to wind across a jug
  23. ConclusionThe lightning explanation fits the observed sequence
  24. ResponseThe winds in question are strong winds
  25. StatementA strong wind does not begin at night
  26. ChallengeBut strong winds are seen at night
  27. ResolutionThe nighttime wind began during the day
  28. StatementA strong wind does not last two full hours
  29. ChallengeBut strong winds seem to last longer
  30. ResolutionBrief breaks explain the longer stretch
  31. StatementThe משנה's ברכה over lightning
  32. QuestionWhat counts as lightning?
  33. Responseרבא: a flash of light
  34. Statementרבא's list of warning signs in the sky
  35. QuestionWhy do we need to know this?
  36. ResponseTo pray for mercy
  37. StatementOnly at night, not in the morning
  38. ProofA verse: morning clouds pass away
  39. Challengeרב פפא's challenge from a folk saying
  40. ResolutionThick clouds versus thin clouds
  41. StatementThunder straightens a crooked heart
  42. StatementFalling on one's face at a rainbow
  43. RejectionIn the West they opposed bowing
  44. StatementBut a blessing is certainly said
  45. QuestionWhich blessing?
  46. ResponseWho remembers the covenant
  47. StatementA different wording from a ברייתא
  48. Conclusionרב פפא: say both together
  49. StatementQuoting the משנה on mountains and hills
  50. ChallengeIsn't lightning also part of creation?
  51. Resolutionאביי: combine the two ברכות
  52. Resolutionרבא: lightning fits both, mountains fit only one
  53. StatementA clear sky gets 'Who makes creation'
  54. QuestionWhen is the sky truly clear?
  55. ResponseAfter a night of rain and a morning north wind
  56. StatementThis disagrees with רב חסדא
  57. StatementNo pure sky since the חורבן בית המקדש