Teachings of Rabbi Naftali Citron

Lag Ba'Omer Seder and Kumzits 2022 We are celebrating Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and the Zohar. Select sections of Zohar set to music and song. The Zohar contains parables of beauty and profundit...

New teachings on Idra Zutta. Important to study before or on Lag Baomer.
11 short teachings on this fascinating text.

Introduction to Idra Zuta: Mysterious Section of Zohar The Idra Zuta describes the last day of Rabbi Shimon’s life, when he revealed the great mysteries of the Divine. Even within the framework of the Zohar, it i...

Top three of Ten Teachings on the Daf
By Rabbi Naftali Citron
Transcribed and edited by Melissa Bart

Brachot Daf 44.
If you would like to be on the top 10 email list please send email to [email protected]

1. Jalapeno herring. If you’re eating fish that is extremely salty or spicy, like jalapeno herring, and you eat some bread or toast with it to offset the saltiness or spiciness, do you need to make a hamotzi on the bread? The mishna says no, you make a bracha only on the fish, because the bread is secondary. In fact, this is a rule: when you have a primary food (ikar) and a secondary food (tafel), only the food that is ikar requires a bracha. The Yerushalmi points out that this ruling about fish is actually not the custom. It was the custom in the time of the mishna, when salty fish was often eaten as an appetizer before a meal was served, but these days (ie. in the time of the Yerushalmi) fish is generally part of the meal, so nobody eats fish with bread and makes a bracha only on the fish. The Shulchan Aruch rules that we follow the mishna, but only when the bread is actually necessary because without it the fish would hurt or be unhealthy. Therefore the rule may not apply to jalapeno herring, because while jalapeno herring does go down easier with toast, some can eat it without toast. It may also depend on the custom of the place – do people regularly make salty fish into an important part of a meal?
2. The fruits of Ganeisar. The Bavli says that the mishna can’t mean what it sounds like, because bread could never be tafel to salty fish. Perhaps it was not the norm in Bavel to have something very salty as the main part of a meal. Rather, the mishna must be discussing people who are eating the fruits of Ganeisar. These fruits are so delicious that one can never be satisfied; he will always want more. People would go mad from eating these amazing fruits. They’re so good that they’re more valuable than bread and would be the center of a meal. You can’t just eat these fruits by themselves - you need some salty fish to mitigate the incredible sweetness. And once you’re having that salty fish, you’ll need some bread or toast to go with it. In this situation, says the mishna, you don’t need a bracha on the bread because it is tafel to the fish, which is itself tafel to the fruit. But, asks Tosfot, if the fish is also tafel, why do you need a bracha on the fish? Tosfot answers that you might not have planned to eat fish. You only meant to eat the fruits of Ganeisar, but now you’re done with the fruits and realize you need fish. So you go and get yourself some fish, and some bread to go with it, and since that wasn’t part of the plan now you need to make a new bracha. But you don’t need a hamotzi because the bread is still part of the whole fruit-eating experience and therefore is tafel, so you only need to make a bracha on the fish. The Ritva explains that this is the meaning of the verse, “and to Naftali sated with favor and full of G-d’s blessing” (Deuteronomy 33:23), to which Targum adds “the blessing of Ganeisar.” Similarly, Targum Onkelus on Genesis 49:21 says, “Naftali will be in a good land…and will produce fruit that we will be grateful and make blessings on,” explaining that this fruit is so special that it requires a blessing even more than bread.
3. Bircat hamazon after fruit. Rabban Gamliel says if you eat grapes, figs, or pomegranates, you must say the full bircat hamazon. The sages say only the short version is needed. Rabbi Akiva says even if you eat cooked vegetables, and certainly if you eat any of the seven species that Israel is known for, you must say bircat hamazon. The gemara explains: The verse in the Torah that describes the seven species that Israel is known for is closely followed by a verse that says “you shall eat bread in the Land,” which is followed by the verse, “ve’achalta vesavata uveirachta,” from which we derive the requirement for bircat hamazon. According to Rabban Gamliel, all of these verses go together. The Land is known for seven species, and if you eat any of them or if you eat bread, you must say bircat hamazon. But the sages say that the word eretz, which appears multiple times in these verses, comes as an interruption between the different ideas. Therefore, the verse about eating bread in the Land is connected to the verse about bircat hamazon but the verse about the seven species is not, and so bircat hamazon is required for bread and not for fruit.

The Four Who Entered Pardes An introduction to the story of death, madness, heresy, and peace on a mystical journal made by Ben Azai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Avuya, and Rabbi Akiva