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Berakhot 40 for kids: Bread, Salt, and Blessings

ברכות מ׳

🍞 This daf talks about what counts as an interruption after making a blessing on bread. It also shares health tips like eating salt and drinking water, and asks which foods need special blessings.

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Stories from Berakhot 40

Words to know

Rashi and Tosafot on Berakhot 40 in simple English

Rashi on Berakhot 40a, in English Tab translation (27)
  1. טול ברוך — The one breaking bread, before tasting from the slice, broke off a piece from it and handed it to someone sitting near him, saying: Take from the blessed slice. Even though he spoke in between, he need not repeat the blessing. And although speech ordinarily constitutes an interruption — as we say in Menachot (36a) that if one speaks between putting on the hand-tefillin and the head-tefillin he must repeat the blessing, and likewise regarding covering the blood of a slaughtered bird — here this speech is considered to be for the sake of the blessing, and so it does not interrupt.
  2. הביאו מלח — This too does not require a new blessing, since this too is considered to be for the sake of the blessing, so that the blessed slice should be eaten properly, with good flavor.
  3. גביל לתורי — He kneads bran together with water for the oxen.
  4. ובצע לה להדיא — Meaning: immediately, without waiting for salt or relish.
  5. בשש — Means delay, similar to 'why do his chariots delay [to come]' (Judges 5:28); meaning: this is fine bread, which does not need relish.
  6. אין מי רגלים כלים — Urine does not fully leave the body except when sitting, because when the stream is close to finishing, he worries that drops will fall on his feet, and so he cuts it off prematurely.
  7. בעפר תיחוח — Over loose, absorbent soil there is no concern of splashing drops.
  8. אסכרה — A throat illness (diphtheria/croup).
  9. המקפה אכילתו במים — One who drinks a great deal of water after eating, until his food is, as it were, floating in the water; similarly, 'and the iron floated' (II Kings 6:6) is rendered with the same root in the Targum.
  10. מונע אסכרה — Prevents diphtheria, because that illness comes from constipation of the bowels, and lentils have a loosening effect.
  11. קצח — Our Rabbis explain this as 'nielle' [in the vernacular], but I have heard that it is a type of seed that is sown in the land of Ishmael (Arabia).
  12. למזרח גורנו — To the east of the storage area of the black cumin, because the west wind is a moist, gentle wind that draws the smell into the body.
  13. הא בריחו הא בטעמו — This [that it is harmful] refers to its smell, and that [that it is beneficial] refers to its taste; the smell is harsh but the taste is good.
  14. מדבקא ליה — She would stick it onto the bread until it absorbed the taste.
  15. ומקלפא ליה — And she would peel it off because of the smell.
  16. כל יום ויום — On Shabbat, in a manner fitting for Shabbat; on a Festival, in a manner fitting for the Festival.
  17. כלי מלא — A wise person.
  18. אם שמוע — If you listen once, you will eventually come to incline your ear another time as well.
  19. אם תשמע בישן — If you review a second and third time what you learned the previous year.
  20. דעיקר אילן ארעא היא — The essential source of all fruit is the land, and everything grows from it.
  21. יבש המעין ונקצץ האילן — He had an irrigated field with a spring that watered it, from which he brought first fruits, and afterward the spring dried up; and likewise he had an orchard from which he brought first fruits, and afterward the tree was cut down.
  22. מביא ואינו קורא — He brings the first fruits but does not recite the declaration, because he cannot say 'from the land which You have given me,' since once the spring dried up or the tree was cut down, the land is considered as nullified for him.
  23. מביא וקורא — He brings and recites the declaration, because the land itself is the essential thing.
  24. שהוא הביא יללה — That he (Cain) brought wailing into the world.
  25. שאין התינוק יודע לקרא אבא ואמא — That the infant does not yet know how to call out 'father' and 'mother' — and this (the incident involving Adam) is called the Tree of Knowledge.
  26. Gavza — the branch of a tree.
  27. Mafik — [it] produces other fruits.
Tosafot on Berakhot 40a, in English Tab translation (4)
  1. Lemma: 'Bring salt, etc. — he must recite a blessing' — because this constitutes a distraction (hesech hada'at), and so it is stated in Perek 3 of Menachot (36a): one who talks between putting on one tefillin and the other must recite the blessing again. And so is the halakha: if one speaks between the blessing of HaMotzi and eating, or between the blessing of Kiddush and drinking, he must recite the blessing again, unless the matter is connected to the meal, such as saying 'Take it and recite a blessing.' Similarly with shechita (ritual slaughter), one must recite the blessing again unless he spoke of something related to the slaughtering itself, such as saying 'Bring more animals or chickens to slaughter,' or 'Hold it tightly so it doesn't slip and invalidate the slaughter' — that is not considered an interruption. We nowadays are not accustomed to bring either salt or relish to the table, because our bread is considered important enough on its own, as it is stated shortly: 'This one does not need [to wait until] six [items are brought].' Nevertheless, Rabbi Menachem was very careful to bring salt to the table, as is stated in the Midrash: when Israel sits at the table and waits for one another until they wash their hands, and they are without sin, Satan accuses them, but the covenant of salt protects them.
  2. Lemma: 'It is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda, as we learned: If the spring dried up, etc.' — It appears that the halakha follows Rabbi Yehuda, since an unattributed mishnah follows his opinion. And if one recited the blessing 'Who creates the fruit of the earth' over fruits of a tree, he has fulfilled his obligation.
  3. Lemma: 'If the spring dried up, etc.' — Some explain that for this reason one brings [the fruits for the declaration] but does not recite [the declaration], because it would appear not as praising the Holy One, Blessed be He, but rather as complaining that He gave him land unsuitable for producing fruit.
  4. Lemma: 'The stock remains and then [fruit] comes again' — From this it appears that berries, strawberries [perizish], and raspberries [bontonash] and similar fruits require the blessing 'Who creates the fruit of the tree,' since it is the way of the tree/bush to endure for many days, and when the fruit is picked in one year, fruit grows again from that same stock. However, Rabbi Menachem brought a proof from the Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Kilayim, that over all types of thorn-bush fruits one recites 'Who creates the fruit of the earth,' for it states there that hedges and thorn-bushes are a type of tree and are not considered diverse kinds (kilayim) in a vineyard. It raises a difficulty: but it was taught that the following are types of vegetables: the artichoke and the thorn-bush? And it answers: there, [it is a tree] regarding diverse kinds, but here, [it is treated as a vegetable] regarding blessings. This shows that for the purpose of blessings these are considered types of vegetables. Nevertheless, all agree that over strawberries [perizish] one must recite 'Who creates the fruit of the tree,' since they do not grow on thorn-bushes, and their wood endures from year to year.
Rashi on Berakhot 40b, in English Tab translation (21)
  1. "Except for bread and wine" — As we say below (Berakhot 42a), that this causes many [additional] blessings for itself, in Kiddush, Havdalah, and the blessing of bridegrooms (the seven wedding blessings).
  2. "The obligation of the first blessing" — the blessing of "Who nourishes" (Hazan).
  3. "The portion of the sota" — when the priest administers the oath to her.
  4. "The confession of the tithe" — "I have removed the sacred portion from the house" (Deuteronomy 26:13).
  5. "From blessing You" — meaning: I did not refrain from reciting, "Blessed are You who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to separate teruma and tithes."
  6. MISHNA: "The novelot (fallen/overripe fruit)" — explained in the Gemara.
  7. "Gova'ei" — kosher locusts.
  8. "A kind of curse" — vinegar, novelot, and locusts come about through a curse.
  9. GEMARA: "SheHekrim" (formed a film) — like "butir" in the vernacular (i.e., it curdled/formed a skin, as butter does).
  10. "They grow from the ground" — from the moisture of the earth they grow, whether on the trees or on the vessels.
  11. "Bushlei kamra" (sun-scorched) — like fruits scorched by the sun, which the heat cooked and burned so that they dried out; these are dates. "Kamra" means heat, as in the phrase "mekhamer bisra" (Pesachim 58a).
  12. "Tamrei dezika" — dates that the wind shook down.
  13. "The rest" — Rabbi Yehuda disputes regarding vinegar and locusts.
  14. "Fruit of the tree requires the blessing [of fruit of the tree]" — since they have not been changed for the worse.
  15. "The lenient cases of demai" — meaning that the Sages were lenient in their demai status, so that one who buys them from an am ha'aretz (unlearned person) need not tithe them. These are they:
  16. "The shitin, etc." — since they are not significant, and the am ha'aretz does not bother to tithe them.
  17. "Tulshei" — "kolmashi" (in the vernacular).
  18. "Shilhei gufnei" — late-season (autumn) grapes.
  19. "If it is certain" — if it is known that tithes were not separated from them.
  20. "Who made them into a pile" — the poor person, or whoever gathered them, stacked them into a heap.
  21. "Leket, shikhecha, and pe'ah" — even though they are exempt from tithes, if a poor person gathered them and made them into a pile, they become obligated in tithes by rabbinic decree, because whoever sees it will think it is produce from his own field.
Tosafot on Berakhot 40b, in English Tab translation (3)
  1. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: even bread and wine — And this is indeed the halakha, for in disputes between Rav and Rabbi Yoḥanan the halakha follows Rabbi Yoḥanan, and all the more so regarding Rav Huna, who was a student of Rav.
  2. Let us say Rav Huna holds like Rabbi Yosei — And if you ask: how can Rav Huna hold like Rabbi Yosei? After all, Rav Huna agrees that regarding other foods, aside from bread and wine, if one recited 'By whose word all things came to be' he fulfilled his obligation, whereas Rabbi Yosei holds that he did not fulfill his obligation, since anyone who deviates from the formula [does not fulfill his obligation]. Some explain that Rav Huna could say that even Rabbi Yosei said 'he did not fulfill his obligation' only regarding the formula 'Blessed is the Omnipresent,' which is not a blessing at all, but regarding 'By whose word all things came to be,' even Rabbi Yosei agrees [that he fulfilled his obligation].
  3. Abaye said: It stands to reason in accordance with Rav, etc. — Some explain that it is the baraita that stands to reason in accordance with Rav's view. However, Rav Alfasi ruled in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan, and so did Rabbeinu Tam rule, that any blessing which does not contain mention of God's sovereignty is not a blessing. Therefore Rabbeinu Tam would say that if one omitted the mention of sovereignty in the blessing of 'Who brings forth [bread],' he must go back and recite the blessing again — even if he only omitted the word 'the world,' since 'King' alone is not considered sovereignty. The blessings of the Amida do not contain mention of sovereignty, since they do not have an opening and closing formula, and sovereignty is not relevant there. However, the phrase 'God of Abraham' is considered equivalent to sovereignty, since our father Abraham made the Holy One, blessed be He, King over the entire world by publicizing His sovereignty. And the blessing of Me'ein Sheva recited on Shabbat — since it contains the phrase 'the holy God, there is none like Him' — is likewise considered equivalent to sovereignty, similar to the verse 'Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,' which stands in place of sovereignty. According to this explanation — that wherever 'God of Abraham' is written it is considered equivalent to sovereignty — it works out well. And according to Rabbi Yoḥanan there is no difficulty that the baraita [about the tithe confession] does not mention 'Your sovereignty,' for is one expected to list every detail like a peddler reciting his whole list?

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 40.