Berachot 11

[Berachot 11a]
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Gemara: The Sages learnt: Bet Hillel says: You may stand and read; sit and read; lay down and read; being involved in their work and read;

and these words {of Bet Hillel about doing work} are as regards the second perek {of Shema}, but in terms of the first perek he may not read and involve himself in his work, like we will say again later (in the second perek, siman 3).

Rav Yechezkel taught: One who does like Bet Shammai has done {well}, and one who does like Bet Hillel has done.

Rav Yosef said: One who does like Bet Shammai has not accomplished anything.

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: One who does like Bet Shammai is liable the death penalty, as we learn in the Mishna:

R. TARFON SAID: I WAS ONCE WALKING BY THE WAY AND I RECLINED TO RECITE THE SHEMA' IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY BETH SHAMMAI, AND I INCURRED DANGER FROM ROBBERS. THEY SAID TO HIM: YOU DESERVED TO COME TO HARM, BECAUSE YOU ACTED AGAINST THE OPINION OF BETH HILLEL.

Mishna:

IN THE MORNING TWO BLESSINGS ARE TO BE SAID BEFORE IT AND ONE AFTER IT. IN THE EVENING TWO ARE SAID BEFORE IT AND TWO AFTER IT, ONE LONG AND ONE SHORT.

WHERE THEY [THE SAGES] LAID DOWN THAT A LONG ONE SHOULD BE SAID, IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO SAY A SHORT ONE.
WHERE THEY ORDAINED A SHORT ONE A LONG ONE IS NOT PERMITTED.
[A PRAYER] WHICH THEY ORDERED TO BE CONCLUDED [WITH A BENEDICTION]
MUST NOT BE LEFT WITHOUT SUCH A CONCLUSION;
ONE WHICH THEY ORDERED TO BE LEFT WITHOUT SUCH A CONCLUSION MUST NOT BE SO CONCLUDED.

[Berachot 11b]

What does he bless?
Rav Yaakov bar Iddi cited Rabbi Oshaya: Yeshaya 45:7: ...יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ

{

ז יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ, עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע; אֲנִי יְהוָה, עֹשֶׂה כָל-אֵלֶּה.

7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.

}

And let him say: יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא נוגה - who forms the light and creates brightness.Rabba bar Ulla said: in order to mention the feature of the night during the day, and in order to mention the feature of the day during the night.

The feature of the night during the day - יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ
The feature of the day during the night - גולל אור מפני חשך וחשך משני אור - "who rolls away light from before darkness, and darkness from before light."

The second blessing, what?Rav Yehuda cited Shmuel: Ahava Rabba {=with great love} Ahavtanu.
And the Sages say: Ahavat Olam {=with eternal love}

A brayta also says so: We do not say ahava rabba but rather ahavat olam.
and so too it says in Yirmiyahu 31:2:

ב מֵרָחוֹק, ה נִרְאָה לִי; וְאַהֲבַת עוֹלָם אֲהַבְתִּיךְ, עַל-כֵּן מְשַׁכְתִּיךְ חָסֶד.

2 'From afar the LORD appeared unto me.' 'Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with affection have I drawn thee.

and we establish (halacha) like the Sages.

And this that we say later on:

Rav Yehuda cited Shmuel: One who arises early to learn before reading kriyat Shema needs to bless {the blessings said before learning Torah}. After he reads kriyat Shema needs not bless. What is the reason? Because he has already been freed of his obligation with {saying} Ahava Rabba {and it does not say 'with Ahavat Olam'}

is a statement of Shmuel which is in accordance with the earlier statement, and the Sages argue on him, and Shmuel's opinion has already been rejected, for we learn in a brayta like the Sages, and all that we see afterwards using the terminology Ahava Rabba is going after Shmuel.

And the Geonim wrote that one should fulfill the words of both of them.

And further [other nuschaot: and so too] in Ashkenaz and Tzarfat, we have the practice to say in Shacharit Ahava Rabba and to say during Maariv Ahavat Olam. And so is the setama of the gemara later on in our topic, 'he mentioned Ahava Rabba in that of Shacharit'.

[13] Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: If one rose early to study [the Torah] before he had recited the Shema', he must say a benediction [over the study]. But if he had already recited the Shema', he need not say a benediction, because he has already become quit by saying Ahava Rabba.

In Yerushalmi, we place upon it: Rabbi Abba said: And this is where he is learning on the spot.

And it appears that this is specifically with the blessing of Ahava Rabba, which does not appear to be for the sake of birkat haTorah unless one learns on the same spot. And if he learned immediately, then it appears as a beracha for the sake of the engagement of Torah, just as it is for the sake of kriat Shema. And then, he does not need to bless all that day, even if he interrupts learning and then returns to learn. And so too one who blesses on the Torah and learns, he does not need to bless again if he interrupted in the middle. Therefore it is necessary to state 'and this is where he learns on the spot' regarding someone who exempts himself [of the blessing] via Ahava Rabba, and not regarding one who blesses the birchat haTorah.

For if you do not say this, then it should have informed us in general that an interruption in the middle with an engagement [of other activity] is an interruption, and he needs to bless again, and all the more so, one who exempts himself via Ahava Rabba.

And even if you say that there is no distinction between one who exempts himself with birchat haTorah to one who exempts himself via Ahava Rabba, still it is logical that people who are always accustomed to engage in Torah stude, even when they go off to engage in their own activities, they hurry to perform their needs in order to return and continue to learn, to and their mind is always on their learning, this is not considered an interruption in terms of the bracha. 

And so too, if he learned in the nighttime, the night follows after the day, and one needs not bless again so long as he did not sleep. And therefore, one who is accustomed to sleep in the day a permanent sleep upon his bed, this is an interruption, and he needs to bless again. 

Similar to this the Ri asked Rabbenu Tam if one needs to bless on sleeping in the Succah, for sleeping is more stringent than eating. For it is permitted to eat an impermanent eating outside the Succah, while impermanent sleeping is forbidden outside the Succah. 

And the Ri wished to say that this that we do not bless on sleep is because perhaps he will be unable to sleep, so when he is about to go to sleep, he is unable to bless. But Rabbenu Tam answered him that all the mitzvos of Succah that one is obligated (another sefer: that one fulfills) from one meal to the next, such as sleeping, hanging around, and learning, the beracha of leishev basuccah that he made upon the meal exempts him from blessing upon them.

And according to his [=Rabbenu Tam's] words, even if he diverted his mind from sleeping, such as that he went out to do his work and his engagements, it is not an interruption.

And one who get up early to learn before he goes to shul and blesses on the Torah [at that early time], when he reads the parsha of korbanot in shul he does not need to repeat the bracha. And even though that person who reads in the Torah [in an aliyah] does bless again Asher Bachar Banu, even though he said all the brachot before the parshat hakorbanot, it is not comparable. For that bracha [of the aliyah] was established on reading with the tzibbur, just as they established a bracha after it, and just as they established Asher Bachar Binviim Tovim for the maftir [haftara].

Rav Huna said: For Mikra, one needs to bless. For Midrash, one does not need to bless.

Rabbi Eleazar says: Even for Midrash, he needs to bless. For Mishna, he does not need to bless.

Rabbi Yochanan says: Even for Mishna, he needs to bless. For gemara, he does not need to bless.

And Rava said: Even for gemara, he needs to bless, 

for Rav Chiyya bar Ashi said: many times I stood before Rav to learn the perek in Sifra of the school of Rav, and he first washed his hands and blessed and taught us the perek.

And Rav Hai Gaon z"l wrote that the halacha is in accordance with Rav, and the practice is like
him.

What does he bless?
Rav Yehuda bar Ashi said: Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu Melech HaOlam Asher Kideshanu BeMitzvotav Vetzivanu al Divrei Torah. {...Who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us upon words of Torah.}

And there are places [in the globe] that one says Laasok Bidivrei Torah.

And Rabbi Yochanan said: Haarev Na Hashem Elokeinu Et Divrei Toratecha BeFinu UveFifiyot Amcha Bet Yisrael VeNihyeh Anachnu VeTzetzaeinu VeTzetzaei Amcha Bet Yisrael Kulanu Yodei Shemecha VeLomdei Toratecha . Baruch Ata Hashem Noten HaTorah. {Please sweeted, Oh Hashem our God, the words of your Torah, in our mouths and in the mouths of your nation the house of Israel, and may we and our offspring and and offspring of your nation the house of Israel - all of us - know your Name and study Torah. Blessed are you Hashem, Giver of the Torah. {See Rif for different girsa.}

And there are some places that they end 'Hamelamed Torah leAmo Yisrael' { who teaches Torah to his nation Israel}.

And according to that that Rabbenu Tam was accustomed to explain that wherever the brachot are short, even the bracha which is juxtaposed to its fellow [bracha] begins with Baruch, such as in the brachot of Havdalah and the brachot of Chuppah, if so, he needs for the last bracha to begin with Baruch, for that which was before it was short. Therefore, Rabbenu Tam says that this is only the completion of the first bracha. And it is not two brachot; and he says vahaarev na. {See commentators; there was some fixing of the girsa towards the end of this.}

Rav Hamnuna said: Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu Melech HaOlam Asher Bachar Banu MiKol HaAmim veNatan Lanu et Torato. Baruch Ata Hashem Noten HaTorah. {Blessed are you Hashem, our God, King of the World, who has chosen us from all the nations and gave us his Torah. Blessed are you Hashem, Giver of the Torah.}

And this [of Rav Hamnuna] is the loftiest of the blessings.

Rav Pappa said: Therefore we say both of of them.
{In our gemara, we have Rav Hamnuna saying this is the loftiest of the blessings, no mention is made of Rav Pappa, but it continues: Therefore we say all of them. See also the girsa change between 'all of them' and 'both of them'.}