Chidushim on Daf Yomi

ברכות כט,ב

It says in Pirkei Avos (2,8) רבי שצעון אומר על תעש תפלתך קבע don’t daven by rote as it says Isaiah (29,13) ותהי יראתם אתי מצות אנשים מלמדה there fear of Me is like rote learning of human commands. It says in SA O’CH 98,3 we should daven like a poor person waiting by the door for a handout. Not as in sief 5 there, expecting to be listened to because of our good deeds and seeing the whole davening as something unnecessary because then our actions will be scrutinized whether we are realy worthy of it.

ברכות ל,א

The Aron Hakadash is placed towards the east to daven towards Eretz Yisroel. The question is in Yechaveh Daas (3,19) from Rav Ovadya Yosef ztz’l how can we turn our backs to the Aron Hakadash at shabbos enty? The answer is that as long as the sefer torah is in a separate reshus, reshus hayochid we are alowed to do that as the rabonon at a darasha can turn themselves towards the public with their back to the Aron Hakadash. For this reason, if the Aron Hakdash is open or the sefer hatorah is on the bima, from ikar halacha, don’t have to stand up.

ברכות ל,ב

It says SA O’CH 422, if someone forgets yaleh vayovo at both nights of Rosh Chodash and he stepped out from shmonei esrei, he does not repeat it. In says also SA O’CH 126,3 that the baal tefila by shachris , as he will say an equivalent of yaleh vayovo by musaf because of tircha detzibura through the extra time that it puts on tzibur, does not repeat either. This increases according to the number of people listening.

ברכות לא,א

אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחאי: אסור לאדם שימלא שחוק פיו בעולם הזה Rebbi Yochanan in the name of Rebbi Shimon Bar Jachai says a person should not fill himself up with laughter in this world, before the redemption. It says Tehilim (90,15) שַׂ֭מְּחֵנוּ כִּימ֣וֹת עִנִּיתָ֑נוּ שְׁ֝נ֗וֹת רָאִ֥ינוּ רָעָֽה we are asking Hashem, please give us days of joy against all the days we suffered.
אז ימלא שחוק פינו then all our mouths will be filled with laughter. I heard a joke.
The grandfather of my rebbi Rav Shmuel ztz’l was the Chasan Sofer who was niftar at 48 and his grandson my rebbi, was niftar at 89.
When they come alive at techiyas hamesim, they will come alive as they passed on. They will say that the young 48 year old is the grandfather
of the 89 year old, so we are going to start laughing.
it says Tehilim (126,2-3) אָ֭ז יֹאמְר֣וּ בַגּוֹיִ֑ם הִגְדִּ֥יל ה’ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עִם־אֵֽלֶּה
ג) הִגְדִּ֣יל ה’ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עִמָּ֗נוּ הָיִ֥ינוּ שְׂמֵחִֽים They will say among the goyim that if Hashem would make us great as He made them great, we would be happy. Explains the Ksav Sofer that maybe our redemption will be relative to our affliction but for the goyim that is not a redemption. So they say that it will be absolute and they will also consider it a redemption which would make them rejoice.

Should be above, I have a different reason to break a glass.

ברכות לא,ב

As I mentioned earlier asks the Teshuva Meahava 13, why would Eli think that Chanah was drunk when that was the normal way of davenen? In SA O’CH 101,2 says that just as krias shma, we should say the words such that the prayer should hear it but not any other. So, Chanah was not heard even by someone being next to her as the Zohar, They davened like the Shulchan Aruch.
She said to Hashem that if you don’t listened to me, I can make myself like a sotah but I don’t want to do that. When Rochel had Yosef, she said this covers my shame. Rashi says that she had simeone to blame when braking a plate. The child is only there to have someone to blame bad things one? I think there is another idea hidden here. Rochel’s behavior was questionable when she said to Yaakov, provide me with children otherwise I am dead but once she had Yosef she can answer I did it because of him. Similarly, Chanah was able to say I behaved this way because of my child.

ברכות לב,א

לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים Do not have any strange gods, says the Baal Akedah this includes the great idol found today among us by creating a strong existence for the cure of all considerations. It is the collection of money and wealth, which is their strong god on whom they are relying on, supporting its credibility, and with its sanctity they deny G-d above and leave behind His Torah as a shamed woman unable to remarry left in the corner. This is the ultimate idol.

It says Shmos (13,21) וַה’ הֹלֵךְ֩ לִפְנֵיהֶ֨ם יוֹמָ֜ם בְּעַמּ֤וּד עָנָן֙ לַנְחֹתָ֣ם הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְלַ֛יְלָה בְּעַמּ֥וּד אֵ֖שׁ לְהָאִ֣יר לָהֶ֑ם לָלֶ֖כֶת יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה Hashem went before them by day with a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way and by night with the pillar of fire, so they could travel day and night. Says the Ksav Sofer, when it is going good or bad a person should realize that it comes from Hashem.
It is up to Him to provide good or c’v bad.
When Hashem provides good, think of the dark cloud (it can turn bad) to live your life, and when it is bad, think of light of fire (it can turn good), so you will live well both when it is going good or bad.
The Chasan Sofer says on the Hagadah that we should always keep matzoh and maror in front of us.

ברכות לב,ב

Tefila iis greater than good deeds. A tzadik does not consider his good deeds worthy, If they ask for it, will be deducted from the rewards of their benefits. The Klei Yokor says that he could have asked for the mitzvos he could have done. These would have been for benefit of the Bnei Yisroel. If Moshe Rabbenu would have entered Eretz Yisroel, there would not have been a charben, so his good deeds would not have been deducted. Hashem desires tefila of tzadikim to daven to get close to Him and therefore they daven for a handout. The mothers were barren in order they should daven for children.

A taanis is greater than tzadaka. The benefit of a taanis is twofold. One חלבי ודמי הנמעט בצומי is like a korban sacrificing his fat and blood diminished through the tanis. Two, when one of the senses is weakened, the other is strenghtened. When c’v one is blind, he hears better. When we weaken the physical body, we strenghten the spiritual senses.

The derech eretz that needs strengthening is job opportunities and not proper behavior which can also use some strengthening before Torah.

ברכות לג,א

The Tur O’CH 114, gives a mnemonic for Techiyas Hamesim מפתח – מטר, פרנסה, תחי-ה, חי-ה. Rain, support, resurrection and birth. Rain – When the seeds are planted in the ground, they first become destroyed and then resurrected through rain. Maybe that is also why it is called גבורת גשמים, besides creating a flood. Support – עני חשוב כמת, the one being supported by Hashem is being resurrected. It says השלך על ה’ יהבך והוא יכלכלך throw your worries on Hashem who will support you.
The Dubner Magid has a mashel. A man was carrying a package by foot.
A guy with a horse and wagon comes and picks him up. After a while he looks back and sees that man is resting his package on his lap. He tells him, why don’t you place your package in the wagon? So the man says, I don’t want to burden your horses with my package. The guy tells him, I don’t understand you, If you rest your package on your lap, don’t the horses carry it? We worry about our support but ultimately Hashem provides our livelihood. Birth is obvious, bringing a new being into the world.

ברכות לג,ב

The Chinuch 545 explains that Hashem’s mercy is not an emotion that happens naturaly but an understanding where mercy is required. so one who compares Him to a human being is being quieted down.

It says סיג לחכמה שתיקה a smart person knows when not to speak. Sometimes כל המוסיף גורע whoever adds diminishes. When it comes to Hashem as we say in Akdomus, if all trees would be pens, all waters ink, all heavens parchment and all inhabitants scribes we could not describe the greatness of the Ribonei Shel Olam. Only people who lack wealth show off. If someone is realy wealthy does not need to show off. Therefore, we are only allowed to praise Hashem with the words of Tehilim and what chazal designated otherwise we do more harm than good. By the chazal, the less tiltles they have the greater they were e.g. Hilel. Shamai, Rebbi, Rav and Shmuel.

ברכות לד,א

The Rambam explains the statement הרהורי עבירה קשין מעבירה thinking of a sin is worse than the sin itself, because the mind is the main driver of the body. If you destroy the driver, the whole body is destroyed. They say the fish stinks from the head down. The Chovas Halvovas sees not being mechaven to a general who delegates to the rest of the army and then goes on vacation. So they held kavono very important such that they would physically force one to be mechaven. They considered the body doing things without the head as mutiny.
Currently, the RMA in SA O’CH 101,1 says we don’t repeat any davenen because the chances are that the second time he would not be mechaven either, as we are distracted by our worldly problems. There is a joke where someone finished his shmonei esrei and the rebbe came over and gave him a shalom aleichem because his mind was somewhere else and he just came back,

As mentioned before, the RMA in SA O’CH 98,1 says that when we daven we should keep in mind the greatness of Hashem and our lowness, a human with flesh and blood. This even applies more to the shliach tzibur being a representative of the tzibur. דע לפני מי אתה עומד realize in front of whom you are standing, recognizing the greatness of Hashem and by rearranging the wotds we get, דע לפני עומד מי אתה similarly, before you stand in front of Hashem, realize who you are. Your lowliness. This will explain the gemora to refuse before going to daven in front of the amud. Also if one refuses more than three times, he might give the impression that ne is too worthy to become a baal tefila perhaps because of his great voice. It is descibed in SA O’CH 53,11 tnat if shliach tzibur lengthens his davening, if he does it to show thankfulness to Hashem with is beatiful voice, he is deserved to be blessed but if he wants to show his voice, it is ugly. In any case, he should not over do it because of tircha on the tzibur.

The shmonei esrei can be looked at as a letter to Hashem being read. Every letter has three parts, an introduction, the body and the conclusion. The Baal Haikrim summarizes the thirteen beliefs of the Rambam into three. Belief in G-d, reward and punishment, and Torah given from Heaven. These are the first three brochos. The third brocho reflects kabolas Hatorah where they came to realize there is one G-d. There are three beliefs, belief in G-d, Hashem is in mashgiach (in control) and He is One. These are first three brochos. We bow down in the beginning and end. The body are our requests. The conclusion, as the davenen is against the korbonos, we are asking for the opportunity to be able to do it. We thank Hashem that we are alive and able to praise Him. We bow down again in the beginning and at the end. We finish with the important peace where Rashi says in beginning of Parashas Bechukosai ונתתי שלום בארץ if no peace, there is nothing.

It says in Pirkei Avos 6 ברוך שבחר בהם ובמשנתם blessed is one who picks them and there learning. Explains the Yakut Hagershuni, sometimes people are willing to listen to their learning but when it comes to business, they think the talmidei chachomim are not well versed and therefore would not marry them.

There is an argument between the Rambam and the Ravad Hilchas Teshuva (8,2) what olam habo is. The Rambam says after life and the Ravad says Techyas Hamesim.

ברכות לה.ב

Yom Kippur by Nileh we are asking for forgivenes for one paricular specified sin למען נחדל מעושק ידינו we should get away from stolen goods in our hands. Hashem provides us with goods to serve him. If we are not using them properly, we are stealing it away from Him. See Toras Moshe from Rav Nossan Adler Shmos (22,6) . Therefore the chazal instituted brochos to appreciate the food we are provided and He gave us tastebuds to enjoy it. Rabbi Shlomo Kluger in his teshuvas paskens if someone does not make a hamotzi on matzos, he is not yotzei the mitzva of matzos considering it stolen matzos becoming a mitzva habo baaveiro.

When one makes Torah of secondary importance, his work will slowly take more time away from learning Torah and eventually might eliminate it altogether. Next, the work becomes exhaustive,
physically and mentally, making him sick and do less and less work which will cause that eventually he will stop working altogether, This can be the logic why nether succeeds. When Torah has primary importance, he will learn and do work on the side and both can coexist.

The GRA in Shnos Eliyahu explains that we make בורא פרי האדמה and not בורא פרי הארץ because aretz has multiple meanings like Eretz Yisroe and other lands whereas adama refers only to the ground.

We say it with a segol as it is in Artscroll Sidurim. The Chasam Sofer questions it should have said במאמרו? He answers that it refers to our abilities we can also accomplish with our mouths. To explain what he means, the targum on ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים, Hashem blew in him soul of life, says the ability to speak. Now if someone blews, he blews from himself. If Hashem has the abilities to create things with His mouth, then we should also be able to do that, but we have besmudged our mouths.

According to the SA O’CH 208 ,3 fried fish or meat where there is an inside coating as a paste for eggs, the ouside coating will derermine the brocho.

ברכות לו,ב

There is an interesting Medrash Tanchuma on Arleh ונטעתם וערלתם הכתוב מדבר בתינוק you will plant and avoid its use, says the medrash this is a boy child. who cannot converse or speak, in the fourth year all its fruits (deeds) will be sanctified, the father sanctifies him for Torah, for praise of Hashem. This is the basis for not cutting a boys hair until age three as the Shaarei Teshuva 531,7 says that we are allowed to postpone an obshering (hair cutting) until Chol Hamoad because it is a time of rejoicing, especially in Eretz Yisroel in Meron on Lag Beomer at the kever of Reb Shimon Bar Yachai.