The Rambam lists five Mitzvot of Shabbat. (א) לשבות בשביעי; (ב) שלא לעשות בו מלאכה; (ג) שלא לענוש בשבת; (ד) שלא לצאת חוץ לגבול בשבת; (ה) לקדש היום בזכירה a. To rest on the seventh b. Not to work on it c. Not to punish on Shabbat d. Not to go beyond the boundary on…
Tomorrow we will read the story of the Tower of Babel. We will read about how they tired to produce unity. And how God changed their languages, thus causing their division into distinct nations which dispersed in all directions. Why did God divide mankind into distinct nations and languages? Isn’t unity good? God created a…
In the first Bracha of Kriat Shema in the morning the phrase “ מחדש בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית ” appears at both the beginning and the end. Structurally, it seems that the essential part of the Bracha is the idea of the creation of light and dark. Praising God as the ongoing source of…
המל את הגרים–מברך ברוך אתה ה’ אלוהינו מלך העולם, אשר קידשנו במצוותיו וציוונו למול את הגרים ולהטיף מהן דם ברית, שאלמלא דם ברית, לא נתקיימו שמיים וארץ: שנאמר “אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה–חוקות שמיים וארץ, לא שמתי” The Bracha on Milah for converts and slaves include the Pasuk from Yirmiyah 33:25 “If not for my…
The Mishnah begins its discussion of the Brachot on food with the Blessings before eating. Similarly, it starts by talking about different types of produce, with bread as a subtype of things which grow from the ground. The mishnah asks about blessings on produce, without even mentioning the category of “Birkot Hanaah”, blessings on pleasure/benefit….
ולעולם ייזהר אדם מברכה שאינה צריכה, וירבה בברכות הצריכות; וכן דויד אומר “בכל יום, אברכך; ואהללה שמך, לעולם ועד” תהילים קמה,ב The Rambam concludes the laws of Brachot with a tension underlying the entire area. On the one hand, we want to maximize saying Brachot. As a way of thinking about God every opportunity is…
Just like we say a Bracha before eating we also say one before enjoying pleasant smells (not only at havdala). Even though it is only an enjoyment, and not satisfying a biological need, it still calls upon us to praise God as the creator of the world that we are enjoying. Just like the blessing…
The Mitzva of saying a Bracha forces us to think about and categorize what we are eating. By doing so we not only enjoy it more by paying attention, but also reframe our eating as an act of divine service. By understanding eating as a part of the natural order (albeit with a uniquely human…
Halacha is not only formal laws, but also a way of life more generally. The Mitzvah of Bracha frames our meals, and thereby also guides us in proper social dynamics of eating. This includes good character traits, but as a social institution also the manifestation and appearance of those traits. Thus, for example, one shouldn’t…
1. אף על פי שאין מצות ציצית נוהגת בלילה, קוראין אותה בלילה, מפני שיש בה זכרון יציאת מצריים; ומצוה להזכיר יציאת מצריים ביום ובלילה, שנאמר “למען תזכור את יום צאתך מארץ מצריים, כול ימי חייך” (דברים טז,ג). Why isn’t remembering Yetziat Mitzraim every day a mitzva? The fifth rule of counting Mitzvot is that one…
