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Berakhot 24 for kids: Sneezes, Tefillin, and Prayer

ברכות כ״ד

🤧 This daf asks where to safely keep tefillin at night, and how to pray respectfully. It tells how Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi acted during prayer when he yawned or sneezed, and about Rabbi Abba, who wanted to move to Eretz Yisrael.

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Stories from Berakhot 24

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Rashi and Tosafot on Berakhot 24 in simple English

Rashi on Berakhot 24a, in English Tab translation (41)
  1. Whatever offers more protection is preferable — to them than to deprecation: since one is commanded to guard the phylacteries from mice and thieves, this is preferable to them over the indignity of placing them under the pillow.
  2. In the 'kova' — this is their pouch (the case for phylacteries).
  3. At the bulge of the pouch — for the phylacteries are recognizable by their bulge protruding at the edge of the pouch, like a protrusion.
  4. He tied them in the bed curtain — in the cloth spread around his bed, he would tie them.
  5. And he projected their bulge outward — the bulge of the knot where the phylacteries protruded from the curtain he would turn to the outer side, not toward the bed.
  6. On a bench — a bench (seat).
  7. It was the day of immersion — the day his wife immersed, meaning it was the night for marital relations; this accords with Shmuel, who said this applies even if his wife is with him.
  8. And to teach us the practical halakha — what he instructed me, to bring the phylacteries to him, he did not do out of actual need, but only to teach me the halakha, to act in practice like Shmuel.
  9. And even if his wife is with him — meaning he should turn his face away; for as long as they face each other directly, it is obviously prohibited, since there is concern of lustful thought through contact of the genitals during intercourse.
  10. His wife is like his own flesh — he is accustomed to her, and there is not as much concern for lustful thought.
  11. Granted, according to Rav Yosef — who holds that it is permitted with his wife but not with another, this resolves the contradiction between the two baraitot: one refers to his wife, the other to another person; and the baraita that mentions 'members of his household' does not include his wife.
  12. He was sleeping in bed with his household — and his wife is included among 'members of his household.'
  13. I too hold — that both regarding his wife and regarding another, it is a matter of dispute among these tanna'im.
  14. Aren't there buttocks? — which touch each other.
  15. And she separates her ḥallah naked — even though it is normally prohibited to recite a blessing while naked, a woman sitting is permitted, because in her sitting posture her lower parts are covered by the ground.
  16. But not a man — because his testicles and member protrude and are visible, even though his buttocks too are exposed; and this supports the ruling.
  17. Such as when her face was completely covered — attached and covered by the ground; 'ṭuchot' implies the language of smoothness, flat, not protruding.
  18. A girl of three and a boy of nine — this is the age from which they are considered capable of a sexual act.
  19. A girl of eleven and a boy of twelve — the age at which pubic hair appears and their breasts have developed, from which point onward they come into the category of being desired.
  20. There Rava said — regarding phylacteries under one's head, where Shmuel said this applies even if his wife is with him — the halakha follows Shmuel.
  21. Here — regarding two people sleeping together, where Shmuel permits it when his wife is with him — what is the law regarding another person?
  22. They were woven together — woven in a single weave.
  23. His hair protruded through his garment — his garment was torn opposite his lower beard, and hair emerged through the tear; what is the law — is this considered nakedness with respect to facing it while reciting Shema, or not?
  24. Hair is hair — that is to say, what of it? (it makes no difference).
  25. To gaze at her — if she is a married woman, to look at her lustfully.
  26. Ornaments that are inside — A kumaz, a mold shaped like the female genital opening, which they would make for their daughters; they would pierce the walls of the genital area the way ears are pierced, and insert it there so that males would not become intimate with them.
  27. With the ornaments that are outside — An armlet and a bracelet. They brought these as atonement for the sinful thoughts they had when they gazed upon the daughters of Midian.
  28. Regarding his wife, for reciting Shema — If a handbreadth of her is exposed, he may not recite Shema facing it.
  29. A leg — This refers to a married woman.
  30. Nakedness — With regard to gazing, and likewise with regard to his wife concerning the recitation of Shema.
  31. 'Reveal your leg' — and afterward it is written, 'your nakedness shall be revealed,' [showing that 'leg' refers to nakedness].
  32. 'Your voice is sweet' — Since the verse praises her for this, it shows that it, too, is a matter of desire.
  33. One who hangs his phylacteries — on a peg, his life will hang [in the balance].
  34. Expounders of hints — the allusions and hidden meanings contained in the Torah. Some have the reading 'expounders of difficult/weighty matters,' which amounts to the same thing.
  35. This is one who hangs his phylacteries — for the Torah is a person's life, and the verse hints to you that his life will be hung [in jeopardy].
  36. By the strap — with the box hanging below, which is degrading to them; rather, he should hang them by the box, so that the box rests upon the peg and the strap hangs below.
  37. He hung them in a pouch — They were inside their case, and he hung the case.
  38. And he belched — 'ritier' in Old French. Sometimes a person emits from his body through his mouth a burp due to his fullness, and its smell resembles the smell of the food he ate.
  39. And he yawned — 'baaillier' in Old French. He opens the jaw of his mouth wide to expel air from his mouth, like a person who wants to sleep or has just awoken from sleep.
  40. And he sneezed — 'esternuder' in Old French. And some interpret 'gihek' (belched) as an acronym: 'the innards rose up,' and 'pihek' (yawned) as 'his mouth opened/rose up.'
  41. And he spat — on the ground.
Tosafot on Berakhot 24a, in English Tab translation (3)
  1. Rabbi Chiyya taught: He places them in a pouch under his head — You might ask: say that this means in a pouch, but not aligned with his head, since the earlier baraita also said 'under his head' and the Gemara did not raise a difficulty from it, because it could be explained as meaning not aligned with the head. The Rav responds that if so, why mention specifically a pouch? Even without a pouch it would be fine too. Rather, this shows that the case here is even when it is aligned with the head. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to explain that the earlier baraita refers to a case where his wife is with him in bed, since that would require a container within a container [for the tefillin]. This requires further study.
  2. Two people who were sleeping in a bed — You might ask: but does he not see his own nakedness? One can answer that he puts his head outside [the blanket]. And you might ask further: but his chest faces his nakedness? One can answer that he holds that it is permitted even when one's chest faces nakedness, or alternatively, that a garment separates in front of his chest.
  3. But isn't it taught: One who is sleeping in bed with his unclothed children and members of his household, etc. — Rashi explains that a wife is included in 'members of his household,' but this is not correct. First, because we do not find a wife referred to as 'members of his household.' Furthermore, according to his explanation the Gemara should have said 'but was this not taught here,' since it would then be the same baraita mentioned above; but the fact that it says 'but was it not taught' implies that this is a different baraita. Rabbi Yosef says that the correct text reads: 'He was sleeping in bed and his wife was sleeping beside him — he may not turn his face and recite [Shema] unless a cloak separates between him and her.'
Rashi on Berakhot 24b, in English Tab translation (25)
  1. וממשמש בבגדו — He feels with his garment, to remove the louse that is biting him.
  2. אבל לא היה מתעטף — If his prayer shawl fell while he was praying, he would not pick it up and wrap himself in it, so as not to interrupt his prayer.
  3. על סנטרו — On his chin ("menton" in Old French), so that the opening of his mouth should not be seen.
  4. הרי זה מקטני אמנה — As if the Holy One, blessed be He, does not hear quiet prayer, and so he raises his voice loudly.
  5. הרי זה מנביאי השקר — As it is written: "and they cried with a loud voice" (I Kings 18:28), [referring to the false prophets of Baal].
  6. המגהק והמפהק — The correct reading is: "one who belches and yawns is among the uncouth; and some say: it is clear that he is repulsive."
  7. אלא עטוש אעטוש קשיא — For sneezing [in the case of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] occurs only involuntarily.
  8. למטה — Below, meaning flatulence with sound.
  9. ותקילא לי כי כולי תלמודאי — It was as weighty and precious to me as all my learning, because he used to sneeze frequently.
  10. כשם שעושים לו נחת רוח — Just as the sneeze gives a person pleasure.
  11. כך עושים לו נחת רוח מלמעלה — So too they give him pleasure from above, from Heaven, by fulfilling his request.
  12. אפשר כדרבי יהודה — It is possible to absorb it in his head covering — the scarf on his head, with its two ends hanging down in front of his face.
  13. פתקיה — He threw it.
  14. מישתמיט מיניה — He would avoid being seen by him, because Rabbi Abba wished to go up to the Land of Israel and Rav Yehuda forbade it to him; therefore he would not enter the study hall.
  15. ואשמע מיניה מילתא — From outside.
  16. מבית וועדא — From the study hall.
  17. ונתעטש — From below.
  18. עד שיכלה הרוח — From his body, that is, until the odor that emanated from that wind dissipates.
  19. וחוזר לתפלה — To the place where he had stopped.
  20. ואומר — In the midst of his prayer, for it is already interrupted and paused on account of the wind; therefore he may also interrupt further to say this in the middle.
  21. חוצץ בטליתו על צוארו — The part of the garment above his shoulders he presses against his neck; and this is speaking of one who sleeps naked.
  22. לדידי לא סבירא לי — I would not require him to stop.
  23. בחבלי השוא — With cords that are not strong but easily snap, they draw sin upon themselves; so too this one, through mere speech alone, is punished.
  24. ובדבר הזה — For this matter, that you were careful about it, you shall lengthen your days.
  25. היתה טליתו חגורה על מתניו — To cover him from his waist downward; even though from his waist upward he is naked, he may recite the Shema.
Tosafot on Berakhot 24b, in English Tab translation (4)
  1. Vemamashmesh beVigdo (He feels with his garment) — Rashi explains: this means to remove the louse that is stinging him, but he would not wrap himself if his prayer shawl fell; these are two separate matters. Rabbeinu Chananel explains that it is really one matter: 'he feels with his garment' means he adjusts it so that it will not fall off his head, but if it fell off his head entirely he would not wrap himself, since that would constitute an interruption - wrapping oneself once the garment has fallen completely off is an interruption, but merely adjusting it slightly so it does not fall is not considered an interruption.
  2. Ve'omer Ribon ha'Olamim (And he says: Master of the universe) — He says this immediately in the middle of his prayer, and afterward he resumes from the place where he stopped.
  3. Amar leih leDidi lo Svira li (He said to him: I do not hold this way) — This is for two reasons: first, that I hold one does not need to return to the beginning, as Rabbi Yochanan said (Rosh Hashanah 34b) that one who heard nine shofar blasts over nine hours has fulfilled his obligation; and furthermore, I hold that one places his hand over his mouth, in which case this would be sufficient - but according to you, who hold that he must stop [his prayer entirely], etc.
  4. BeChavlei haShav (In cords of falsehood) — That is, for nothing they draw sin upon themselves, for it would have been better had they not observed it at all.

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 24.