Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Berachot 5b

View inside here.
Parallel Rif here.

{Brachot 5b} 
We learnt in a brayta: Abba Binyamin says: all my days I troubled myself about 2 things: that my tefillah should be close to my bed...
To explain, that he would not perform work when getting up from his bed [J: in the morning] until he prayed.

And Rashi explained that also for the sake of learning, he should not interrupt.

And this is astonishing, for from where does he [Rashi] get this? And it is possible that it is dealing with a person who prayed in his Bet Midrash and is not accustomed to go to the shul, that there is to worry that perhaps he will get overly engaged in his learning, and so the time of Shemoneh Esrei and kriat Shema will pass.

[Abba Shaul continued:]
and that my bed should be placed from North to South.

Rav Chamma bar Chanina said, and some say Rav Yitzchak said: Anyone who places his bed from north to south will have male children, as it states in Tehillim 17:14:

יד  מִמְתִים יָדְךָ ה,    מִמְתִים מֵחֶלֶד--
חֶלְקָם בַּחַיִּים,    וצפינך (וּצְפוּנְךָ) תְּמַלֵּא בִטְנָם:
יִשְׂבְּעוּ בָנִים
--    וְהִנִּיחוּ יִתְרָם, לְעוֹלְלֵיהֶם.
14 From men, by Thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world,{N}
whose portion is in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy treasure; {N}
who have children in plenty, and leave their abundance to their babes.
{with וּצְפוּנְךָ being taken to mean North rather than treasure, and בָנִים taken to mean boys rather than children generally.}

They learnt in a brayta: Abba Binyamin says: Two who entered a shul to pray and one of them finished his prayer before his friend, and does not wait for his friend, but leaves, his prayer is torn up before his face, for it says (Iyyov 18:4)
ד  טֹרֵף נַפְשׁוֹ, בְּאַפּוֹ:    הַלְמַעַנְךָ, תֵּעָזַב אָרֶץ; וְיֶעְתַּק-צוּר, מִמְּקֹמוֹ.4 Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?

{Perhaps the prompting for this is two 
psukim earlier, that Bildad says that his friend should consider - in prayer - and afterwards they will speak:
ב  עַד-אָנָה, תְּשִׂימוּן קִנְצֵי לְמִלִּין;    תָּבִינוּ, וְאַחַר נְדַבֵּר.2 How long will ye lay snares for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak.

}

And if he waits, what is his reward?
Rabbi Chanina said: he merits these blessings that it says in Yeshaya 48:18ff:
יח לוּא הִקְשַׁבְתָּ, לְמִצְו‍ֹתָי; וַיְהִי כַנָּהָר שְׁלוֹמֶךָ, וְצִדְקָתְךָ כְּגַלֵּי הַיָּם.18 Oh that thou wouldest hearken to My commandments! then would thy peace be as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;

{etc., read there.}

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