The first mishnah in masechet Shabbat categorizes different cases of transferring an object between reshut harabim and reshut hayachid [1]. It teaches these cases through the example of a homeowner providing for a poor person at his door. Why does it use this case? The simplest answer (of the rambam and others) is that it…
Labor on Shabbat is divided into 39 Avot, or categories. For example, plowing and planting. However, the Avot are not these actions themselves, but rather the category which these are representative of. Thus “Choresh”, plowing, is any work involving excavation. The names of the Avot are typical examples, but they are distinct from the Categories…
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…
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…
The Rambam in Chapter 2 explained that angels are metaphysical beings, which are bodiless and have knowledge of God. Yet when describing Yaakov’s vision of the ladder with angels climbing up and down, he explains that it is a metaphor for the empires and subjugation to them. Similarly, Chayot are the highest level of angel,…
To illustrate the general scientific and philosophical principles of this chapter, the Rambam gives numerous examples. However, from a purely scientific standpoint there are too many examples. For example, there is no relevant scientific difference between precious gems and other rocks, yet the Rambam gives both in his list of examples. The Rambam is not…
