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Berachos 60b

ברכות ס׳ ע״ב

Berakhot 60b

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

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Topic

Daily-routine ברכות (bathroom, bedtime, morning), and blessing God for the bad as for the good

Overview

The גמרא lists the ברכות and short prayers a person says throughout an ordinary day. It begins with entering the bathroom: a prayer to the מלאכים, which אביי rewrites, and the ברכה of אשר יצר on leaving. רב, שמואל and רב ששת argue over how אשר יצר should end, and רב פפא combines two of their endings. Next come bedtime קריאת שמע with המפיל, and then the morning ברכות: אלהי נשמה, a ברכה for each step of getting up, the מצוה-ברכות for ציצית, תפילין and נטילת ידים, and המעביר שינה. The גמרא then returns to the משנה's rule that one blesses for the bad as for the good. רבא explains that this means accepting bad news with joy, not saying the same ברכה. Four different פסוקים are brought as sources, followed by the habit of saying 'כל דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד'. The amud ends with the story of רבי עקיבא, whose losses one night saved his life, and his closing sentence finishes on the next amud.

Opening lines

הַנִּכְנָס לְבֵית הַכִּסֵּא, אוֹמֵר:

One who enters a bathroom says:

״הִתְכַּבְּדוּ מְכוּבָּדִים קְדוֹשִׁים

Be honored, honorable holy ones,

מְשָׁרְתֵי עֶלְיוֹן,

servants of the One on High,

תְּנוּ כָּבוֹד לֵאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל,

give honor to the God of Israel,

The steps (24)

  1. StatementThe prayer before entering the bathroom
  2. Rejectionאביי rejects that wording and gives a better prayer
  3. StatementThe blessing on leaving the bathroom
  4. QuestionHow does the blessing end?
  5. Responseרב: end with Healer of the sick
  6. Challengeשמואל objects: not everyone is sick
  7. Responseרב ששת: end with Who does wonders
  8. Conclusionרב פפא: say both endings
  9. StatementWhat to say when going to sleep
  10. StatementWhat to say upon waking up
  11. StatementA blessing for each waking action
  12. Statementמצוה blessings for ציצית, תפילין and נטילת ידים
  13. StatementWashing the face: removing sleep, plus a prayer for a good day
  14. QuestionWhat does 'bless for the bad as for the good' mean?
  15. ChallengeIt can't mean saying the same blessing
  16. Resolutionרבא: accept the bad with joy
  17. ProofA verse: I sing for kindness and for judgment
  18. ProofA second source: praising both of God's names
  19. ProofA third source: calling on God in salvation and in trouble
  20. ProofA fourth source: איוב blesses God after loss
  21. StatementAlways say: everything God does is for the best
  22. Proofרבי עקיבא is turned away from the city
  23. Proofרבי עקיבא loses his candle, rooster, and donkey
  24. ProofAn army captures the city, and רבי עקיבא explains