Berachos 60a

ברכות ס׳ ע״א

Berakhot 60a

Learn Berachos 60a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 60a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

שהחיינו on new purchases, blessings on good and bad news, vain prayers and trust in ה׳, and prayers for times of danger

Overview

This amud opens by finishing the debate between רב הונא and רבי יוחנן about when a person says שהחיינו on a new purchase. It gives two versions of their argument. A ברייתא with רבי מאיר and רבי יהודה seems to leave רבי יוחנן without a תנא in the second version, and the גמרא defends him using the rule כח דהתירא עדיף. The גמרא then explains the משנה's lines about blessing on bad and good news: a ברכה follows what is happening now, not how things may turn out. Next it discusses why praying for a baby's gender is a תפילת שוא, answering a challenge from לאה and דינה in two ways. Stories about הלל and other sages teach that a person should trust in ה׳ rather than fear bad news. The proper fear is fear about תורה. The amud ends with prayers for entering and leaving a city, a bathhouse, and bloodletting, along with אביי's objections to some of the wording.

Opening lines

The steps (49)

1. ConclusionWhat everyone agrees on in the first version
2. StatementSecond version of the dispute between רב הונא and רבי יוחנן
3. ConclusionWhat everyone agrees on in the second version
4. ChallengeA ברייתא: רבי מאיר and רבי יהודה on owning a similar item
5. ChallengeIn the second version, רבי יוחנן matches no תנא
6. Resolutionרבי יוחנן actually follows רבי יהודה
7. ChallengeWhy not show how far רבי יהודה goes instead
8. ResolutionShowing a lenient view is preferred
9. StatementQuoting the משנה: blessing on bad news
10. QuestionWhat case is the משנה talking about
11. ResponseA flooded field: good later, bad now
12. StatementThe משנה's next line: a ברכה on good things
13. QuestionAsking for a real example
14. ResponseExample: finding a lost object
15. StatementPraying for a baby's gender is a vain prayer
16. ChallengeDoes prayer really not help? רב יוסף cites the birth of דינה
17. Proofרב's reading: לאה's judgment changed the baby to a girl
18. RejectionMiracles are no proof
19. ResolutionSecond answer: לאה's prayer was within the first forty days
20. ProofA ברייתא on what to pray for at each stage of pregnancy
21. ChallengeChallenge: gender is decided at the moment of conception
22. ResolutionAnswer: when both emit seed at the same moment
23. StatementNext line of the משנה: a man walking on the road
24. Statementהלל heard a scream and trusted it was not from his house
25. Statementרבא: the verse can be read in either direction
26. StatementA frightened student is challenged
27. ChallengeThe student cites a verse praising fear
28. ResolutionThe praised fear concerns Torah
29. StatementA sigh prompts another warning about fear
30. ChallengeThe verse praising fear is raised again
31. ResolutionThe same distinction resolves the second story
32. QuestionThe discussion turns to entering a city
33. ResponsePray for a peaceful entrance
34. StatementGive thanks after entering
35. StatementPray before leaving the city
36. StatementGive thanks after leaving and pray for the road
37. StatementA city where people receive a trial
38. StatementAnother version includes a city with trials
39. StatementA prayer before entering the bathhouse
40. RejectionDo not say the prayer that way
41. ProofSupport for avoiding talk of misfortune
42. ProofA verse supports the warning about speech
43. QuestionWhat does a person say on leaving the bathhouse?
44. ResponseThank God after leaving the bathhouse
45. ProofA bathhouse collapse shows why thanks matters
46. StatementA prayer before bloodletting
47. ChallengeDoctors have permission to heal
48. QuestionWhat does one say afterward?
49. ResponseA blessing after bloodletting