Rif Brachot 44b

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44b

{Brachot 60b continued}
When he dresses he should say: Blessed is He who clothes the naked.

When he wraps himself with the {fringed} garment he should say: Blessed is He who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to enwrap ourselves in the fringed garment.

When he places his hands on his eyes he should say: Blessed is He who opens the eyes of the blind.

When he stretches himself and sits up he should say: Blessed is He who loosens the bound.

When he steps on to the ground he should say: Blessed is He who spread the earth on the waters.

When he draws himself up he should say: Blessed is He who raises the bowed.

When he washes his hands he should say: Blessed is He who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the washing of hands.

When he washes his face he should say {different girsa}: Blessed is He who has removed the bands of sleep from mine eyes and slumber from mine eyes. May it be Your will O Lord, to grant me my portion in your Torah and force my inclination to subservience to You. And give me over to grace, lovingkindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see me. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who bestowest lovingkindness.

When he fastens his girdle, he should say: Blessed is He who girds Israel with might.

When he ties his shoes he should say: Blessed is He who has supplied for me {sheAsita li} all my needs.

When he commences to walk he should say: Blessed is He who makes firm the steps of man.

We learn in perek haTecheilet {Menachot, 4th perek, daf 43b}: Rabbi Meir says: one is required to bless 100 blessings a day. For it is stated {Devarim 10:12}

יב וְעַתָּה, יִשְׂרָאֵל--מָה ה אֱלֹקֶיךָ, שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ: כִּי אִם-לְיִרְאָה אֶת-ה אֱלֹקֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו, וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ, וְלַעֲבֹד אֶת-ה אֱלֹקֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul;

Read not מָה (what) but rather מאה a(100).

Rabbi Chiyya bar Avya said: On Shabbat and Yom Tov, which do not have many blessings {since Shemoneh Esrei is shorter}, he should complete it {the sum of 100 blessings} with aparmekei and megadei{Rashi: types of fruit}.

They learnt {in a brayta}: Rabbi Yehuda would say: One is required to bless three blessings every day - that You have not made me a gentile, or an ignoramus, or a woman.

Rav Acha bar Yaakov heard his son bless "Who has not made me an ignoramus." He said to him: even so far, also?! {do you bless, to encompass even this. Or perhaps - do you consider yourself so great that you think you are not an ignoramus}
But how shall I bless?
"That you have not made me a slave."
But a slave is the same as a woman {either in terms of the commandments they are obligated in, or perhaps in stature}
A slave is more degraded.

{Brachot 54a}
MISHNA:
IT IS INCUMBENT ON A MAN TO BLESS [GOD] FOR THE EVIL IN THE SAME WAY AS FOR THE GOOD, AS IT SAYS, AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART ETC.
'WITH ALL THY HEART, MEANS WITH THY TWO IMPULSES, THE EVIL IMPULSE AS WELL AS THE GOOD IMPULSE;
'WITH ALL THY SOUL' MEANS, EVEN THOUGH HE TAKES THY SOUL [LIFE];
'WITH ALL THY MIGHT' MEANS, WITH ALL THY MONEY.

ANOTHER EXPLANATION OF 'WITH ALL THY MIGHT [ME'ODEKA]' IS, WHATEVER MEASURE HE MEASURES {moded} OUT TO THEE, IN ALL THANK HIM {modeh}

{Brachot 60b}
Gemara:
One is required to bless on that bad 'Blessed be the true Judge,' and to accept it upon himself with joy, just as he accepts the good, as is written {Tehillim 101:1}

א לְדָוִד, מִזְמוֹר: חֶסֶד-וּמִשְׁפָּט אָשִׁירָה; לְךָ יְהוָה אֲזַמֵּרָה.

1 A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and justice; unto Thee, O LORD, will I sing praises.

If mercy, I will sing; if justice, I will sing.

And it is written {Tehillim 56:11}:

יא בֵּאלֹקִים, אֲהַלֵּל דָּבָר; בַּה, אֲהַלֵּל דָּבָר.

11 In God--I will praise His word--in the LORD--I will praise His word--

{where אלֹקִים and ה are respectively middat haDin and haRachamim}

And it is written{Tehillim 116:}

יג כּוֹס-יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא; וּבְשֵׁם ה אֶקְרָא.

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

ג אֲפָפוּנִי, חֶבְלֵי-מָוֶת--וּמְצָרֵי שְׁאוֹל מְצָאוּנִי; צָרָה וְיָגוֹן אֶמְצָא.	3 The cords of death compassed me, and the straits of the nether-world got hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow.
ד וּבְשֵׁם-ה אֶקְרָא: אָנָּה ה, מַלְּטָה נַפְשִׁי.	4 But I called upon the name of the LORD: 'I beseech thee, O LORD, deliver my soul.'

{so whether lifting the cup of salvation, or in dire straights, he calls upon Hashem.}

And it is written {Iyyov 1:21}:

כא וַיֹּאמֶר עָרֹם יָצָתִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי, וְעָרֹם אָשׁוּב שָׁמָּה--ה נָתַן, וַה לָקָח; יְהִי שֵׁם ה, מְבֹרָךְ.

21 And he said; naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

A man should always accustom himself to say, 'Whatever the All-Merciful does is for good.'

{Brachot 61b}
A man's words should always be few in addressing the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is stated (Kohelet 5:1)

א אַל-תְּבַהֵל עַל-פִּיךָ וְלִבְּךָ אַל-יְמַהֵר, לְהוֹצִיא דָבָר--לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים: כִּי הָאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם וְאַתָּה עַל-הָאָרֶץ, עַל-כֵּן יִהְיוּ דְבָרֶיךָ מְעַטִּים.

1 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

They learnt {in a brayta}: A man should not walk behind a woman on the road, and even if his wife happens to be in front of him on a bridge he should let her pass on one side, and whoever crosses a river behind a woman will be acquitted from the judgement of Gehinnom.

Rav Nachman said, and some say it is a brayta: {our gemara: Rabbi Yochanan. We have Rav Nachman on an earlier statement about Manoach} Better go behind a lion than behind a woman; better go behind a woman than behind an idol; better go behind an idol than behind the synagogue when the congregation are praying.
They only said that in the case that there is no other entrance, and he is not carrying a load, and he is not riding on a donkey, but if there is one of these factors present, we have no objection to it.

The Sages learnt {in a brayta}:If a man counts out money from his hand into the hand of a woman so as to have the opportunity of gazing at her, even if he can vie in Torah and good deeds with Moses our teacher, he shall not escape the punishment of Gehinnom, for it states in Mishlei 11:21:

כא יָד לְיָד, לֹא-יִנָּקֶה רָּע; וְזֶרַע צַדִּיקִים נִמְלָט.

21 My hand upon it! the evil man shall not be unpunished; but the seed of the righteous shall escape.

{lit. Hand to hand, the evil one shall not be unpunished.}

MISHNA:
ONE SHOULD AVOID SHOWING DISRESPECT TO THE EASTERN GATE {of the Temple Mount} BECAUSE IT IS IN A DIRECT LINE WITH THE HOLY OF HOLIES.

A MAN SHOULD NOT ENTER THE TEMPLE MOUNT WITH HIS STAFF OR WITH HIS SHOES ON OR WITH HIS WALLET OR WITH HIS FEET DUST-STAINED; NOR SHOULD HE MAKE IT A SHORT CUT [KAPPANDARIA], AND SPITTING [ON IT IS FORBIDDEN] A FORTIORI {=from a kal vaChomer}

Gemara:
Rav Yehuda cited Rav: These rules apply only to this side of Mount Scopus and to one who can see the Temple.

And Rabbi Yochanan said: and when there is no fence intervening, and at the time when the Divine Presence rests on it.

The Sages learnt {in a brayta}: One who consults nature in Judea should not do so east and west but rather north and south; and in Galilee, north and south are forbidden. Rabbi Yossi permits, for Rabbi Yossi says: the only forbid it