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Berakhot 10 for kids: Never Stop Praying

ברכות י׳

🙏 This daf is full of wise stories about prayer and kindness. Berurya teaches her husband how to pray the right way, and King Hezekiah prays even when a prophet tells him sad news.

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Stories from Berakhot 10

Words to know

Rashi and Tosafot on Berakhot 10 in simple English

Rashi on Berakhot 10a, in English Tab translation (19)
  1. פתח באשרי וסיים באשרי — He opened with 'happy is' and concluded with 'happy is' — so evidently it is a single chapter, since 'Happy are all who take refuge in Him' is the conclusion of 'Why do the nations rage.'
  2. בריוני — Hooligans, lawless men.
  3. חטאים כתיב — It is written 'sins' (chata'im) — read it as 'sins,' meaning that the evil inclination should cease [not the sinners themselves].
  4. שפיל — Lower yourself to the end of the verse — anything found at the end is called the 'lowering point' of the matter.
  5. סמוכים לעד לעולם — This is written regarding words of Torah: after 'faithful are all His precepts' it says 'adjoined' — meaning the juxtaposition of all His precepts is done in truth and uprightness, for a purpose, and not for naught.
  6. כלום יש עבד שמורד ברבו — Is there a slave who rebels against his master? — [the heretic] would come to discredit the words of the prophet.
  7. אמור לו כלום יש בן כו' — Say to him: is there a son [who rebels against his father]? — yet we see here that there was [such a case].
  8. הכא נמי הוה — Here too it will be — it is destined to occur.
  9. ואמר שירה — And he said a song — corresponding to each of them he said a song, [each uttered] when the Divine Spirit rested upon him.
  10. וכל קרבי — 'And all that is within me' — referring to his mother's innards, in which he dwelled.
  11. מאי משמע — What is the indication — that this was said concerning the day of death.
  12. בא וראה וכו' — 'Come and see,' etc. — he had thought the question was: what is special about 'innards' that it is mentioned.
  13. חמשה ברכי נפשי — Five times [David said] 'Bless, my soul' — above [in the passage] they are enumerated.
  14. מאי דכתיב מי כהחכם ומי יודע פשר דבר — What is the meaning of 'Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation of a matter?' — he cites this because it deals at its end with the juxtaposition of redemption to prayer.
  15. דאשכחן דאזל אליהו לגבי אחאב — For we find that Elijah went to Ahab — as it is written, 'And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.'
  16. יהורם אזל לגבי אלישע — Jehoram went to Elisha — when he and Jehoshaphat went [to wage war] against Moab (II Kings 3); since they did not go to one another [otherwise], Elisha did not rebuke him for not having married a wife.
  17. כבשי דרחמנא — The hidden matters of the Merciful One — [a term] similar to 'the head placed in the vessel' (Chullin 93b), referring to the covering of the ashes.
  18. נגזרה גזרה — A decree was issued — that she would die.
  19. מקובלני מבית אבי אבא — I have a tradition from the house of my father's father — namely David, who saw the angel with sword drawn in his hand at the end of the Book of Samuel (II Samuel 24), and did not withhold himself from [praying for] mercy.
Tosafot on Berakhot 10a, in English Tab translation (1)
  1. Every chapter that was dear to David, etc. — The Tosafot ask: What is meant by 'every chapter'? We don't find any other chapter that begins with 'Happy is' and ends with 'Happy is' except this one (Psalms 1–2). The answer is: it does not mean specifically that it opens with 'Happy is' and closes with 'Happy is'; rather, the point is that the conclusion resembles the opening in a more general sense — similar to the psalm beginning with 'Tehillah' (praise) that ends with 'Tehillah,' as in 'my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord' (Psalms 145), and likewise many chapters that begin with 'Halleluya' and end with 'Halleluya.'
Rashi on Berakhot 10b, in English Tab translation (23)
  1. My father's father who overlaid [the Sanctuary] — this refers to Solomon.
  2. That he suppressed the Book of Remedies — so that people would seek mercy from God.
  3. He dragged his father's bones — because he [Ahaz] had been wicked in his lifetime, he did not accord him honor in his burial, to carry him out properly on beds of gold and silver.
  4. He stopped up the waters of the Gihon — the waters of the Shiloah [Siloam], as stated in II Chronicles 32. And why did he do this? So that the kings of Assyria would not come and find water to drink. And this is not the great river Gihon [mentioned elsewhere], for that one is not in the Land of Israel; rather, it is a small spring near Jerusalem, as it is stated: 'And bring him down to Gihon' (I Kings 1:33), which the Targum renders: 'and bring him down to the Shiloah.'
  5. He intercalated Nisan in Nisan — the Gemara initially assumes that after the month had been sanctified as Nisan, he reconsidered and intercalated the year, turning it into [a second] Adar, as it is stated in II Chronicles 30: 'And the king [Hezekiah] took counsel... to observe the Passover in the second month.'
  6. On the thirtieth day of Adar — even though the month had not yet been sanctified, since the witnesses had not yet come [to testify].
  7. One who bases his prayer upon his own merit — who says in his prayer, 'Act for me by my own merit,' such as Hezekiah, who said: 'Please remember that I walked before You...' etc.
  8. Exposed — uncovered, meaning its roof had been removed.
  9. One who wishes to benefit — from others' property.
  10. May benefit — and there is no prohibition in the matter.
  11. Like Elisha — as we find regarding Elisha, who benefited [from others].
  12. And one who wishes not to benefit — from others' property.
  13. Should not benefit — and there is nothing wrong in this, neither on account of haughtiness nor on account of hatred.
  14. Like Samuel of Ramah — as we find regarding Samuel of Ramah, who did not wish to benefit [from others].
  15. 'For there was his home' — above this verse it is written: 'And it was, from year to year, that he went about to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel,' and juxtaposed to it: 'and his return was to Ramah, for there was his home.' Now, do I not know that his home was there? Rather, this refers to all the places mentioned in the earlier verse — that to every place he went, he carried all his household utensils and his tent for lodging with him, so as not to benefit from others.
  16. 'In the splendor of her beauty' — her breasts.
  17. A prayer of the afflicted — in the manner of poverty/affliction.
  18. He should align his feet — one next to the other.
  19. 'And their feet were a straight foot' — they appeared as a single foot.
  20. MISHNAH: He should incline — onto his side.
  21. He should stand — as it is written: 'and when you arise' (Deuteronomy 6:7).
  22. 'When you lie down' — in the manner of lying down.
  23. In his usual manner — whether standing, lying down, sitting, or walking.
Tosafot on Berakhot 10b, in English Tab translation (1)
  1. Lemma — Greater is one who recites the Shema at its proper time than one who is engaged in Torah study: This is difficult, for shouldn't the same be said even regarding prayer? After all, we say in the first chapter of Shabbat (11a) that scholars such as ourselves interrupt our Torah study both for the recitation of Shema and for prayer. One can answer that the statement means: greater than one who engages in Torah study at some other time, not during the time for reciting Shema. But it is not discussing one who is engaged in Torah study specifically at the time for Shema — and even with regard to prayer, such a person does interrupt his study [to pray].

Sources

Kid summary and story cards written by Tab from the William Davidson Edition English (Sefaria, CC BY-NC 4.0).

Tab translation (machine-assisted) of Rashi and Tosafot, from the Vilna Edition Hebrew (public domain) on Sefaria. May contain mistakes.

In the app, the Gemara text comes from Sefaria (William Davidson Edition, CC BY-NC 4.0; Hebrew/Aramaic Vilna Edition). Rashi and Tosafot Hebrew: Vilna Edition (public domain) via Sefaria.

Also spelled: Berachot, Brachos, Berachos, Brachot 10.