Berachos 7a

ברכות ז׳ ע״א

Berakhot 7a

Learn Berachos 7a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Berachos 7a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Teachings of רבי יוחנן in the name of רבי יוסי: God's prayer and anger, בלעם, משה's three requests, and God's good promises

Overview

The amud starts with רבי יוחנן in the name of רבי יוסי, who proves from a פסוק that הקדוש ברוך הוא prays. His prayer is that His mercy should overcome His anger. A ברייתא tells how רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע blessed God with those same words, which teaches us never to take an ordinary person's ברכה lightly. The גמרא then teaches that you should not calm a person while he is angry, and it discusses God's daily moment of anger. That moment is so short that only בלעם could time it, and God held back His anger in בלעם's days to protect ישראל. The גמרא gives signs for that moment and tells how רבי יהושע בן לוי learned that it is wrong to curse people. Next come teachings about inner regret and about the three requests משה made. One of those requests leads to the famous question of why צדיקים suffer and רשעים prosper. The amud ends with משה seeing the knot of God's תפילין, and with proof that God never takes back a good promise, since משה's descendants grew to more than 600,000.

Opening lines

The steps (52)

1. StatementGod prays, learned from the words "My prayer"
2. QuestionWhat does God pray?
3. ResponseGod's prayer: may My mercy overcome My anger
4. Proofרבי ישמעאל blesses God in the קדש הקדשים
5. ConclusionNever take an ordinary person's blessing lightly
6. StatementDo not try to calm a person while he is angry
7. ChallengeCan we really say God gets angry?
8. ResolutionYes, a ברייתא proves God has anger
9. StatementGod's anger lasts only one tiny moment
10. StatementOnly בלעם could know the exact moment of God's anger
11. ChallengeHow could בלעם know God's mind if he did not understand his donkey?
12. Resolutionבלעם only knew how to pinpoint the moment of God's anger
13. ProofSupport from the נביא: 'Remember what בלק advised'
14. QuestionWhat does 'to know the righteous acts of ה׳' mean?
15. Responseרבי אלעזר: God's kindness was that He did not get angry in בלעם's days
16. Proofבלעם admits that God was not angry
17. StatementGod's anger lasts only a moment
18. QuestionHow long is a moment?
19. ResponseA moment is as long as saying the word
20. QuestionWhere do we learn that God's anger is only a moment?
21. ProofFirst proof from תהלים
22. ProofSecond proof from ישעיהו
23. QuestionWhen is God angry?
24. Responseאביי: In the first three hours, shown by the rooster
25. ChallengeThe rooster stands on one leg all the time
26. ResolutionThe red streaks disappear at the moment of anger
27. Statementרבי יהושע בן לוי waits for the moment to curse a מין
28. ConclusionCursing people is not proper conduct
29. ProofA second פסוק: punishing is not good
30. StatementWhy God becomes angry at sunrise
31. StatementOne pang of regret beats many lashes
32. ProofProof from the woman who returns to her first husband
33. Statementריש לקיש: better than a hundred lashes
34. Statementמשה asked for three things and received them
35. ProofFirst request: the שכינה should rest on ישראל
36. ProofSecond request: the שכינה should not rest on the nations
37. Proofמשה asked to know God's ways
38. QuestionWhy do good people suffer and bad people prosper?
39. ResponseGod's answer: it depends on the parents
40. ChallengeAre children really punished for their fathers?
41. ChallengeThe known resolution makes the challenge sharper
42. ResolutionRereading God's answer: complete or not complete
43. Statementרבי מאיר: Only two of משה's three requests were granted
44. StatementYou did not want to look then, so I do not want to show you now
45. Statementרבי יונתן: Three acts earned משה three rewards
46. StatementThe three rewards, each matching what משה did
47. StatementGod showed משה the knot of the תפילין
48. StatementGod never takes back a good promise
49. QuestionAsking for the source
50. ResponseThe promise to make משה a mighty nation
51. ProofA פסוק showing משה's descendants grew very many
52. Statement'Very many' means more than 600,000