Berakhot 11b — the Talmud in English

“Who forms light and creates darkness,”

and below it will be explained what the second blessing is .

The Gemara asks:

“Then let us say: ‘Who forms light and creates radiance.’”

The Gemara answers:

“As it is written,”

in the verse,

“we say,”

in the wording of Scripture [Isaiah 45:7]: “Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates evil.”

The Gemara asks:

“But if that is so,”

does one indeed say what is written in the verse [there]:

“‘Makes peace and creates evil’—do we say it as it is written?”

For we say: “Makes peace and creates everything.”

“Rather,”

it is proven that in the verse it is possible that

“evil” is written, and

nevertheless in the blessing

we read “everything,”

because the Sages instituted the blessings in

the more elegant wording, and “evil” is not elegant wording. If so, the question returns to its place:

“Here too,”

it would be fitting

to say

“radiance,” which is

the more elegant wording,

and not “darkness,” which is not elegant wording.

The Gemara answers:

“Rather, Rava said:

the reason that we mention specifically ‘creates darkness’ is that the Sages instituted that both by day and by night one mention the darkness and the light together,

in order to mention

the

attribute of day,

namely light,

at night. And

the

attribute of night,

namely darkness,

by day [in order to make known that one Creator created darkness and light, and to refute the view of the heretics who say that the one who created light did not create darkness].

to make known that one Creator created both darkness and light, and to reject the view of the heretics who say that the one who created light did not create darkness.

The Gemara wonders:

“Granted, ‘the attribute of night by day’

we mention

as we say, ‘Who forms light and creates darkness’; but ‘the attribute of day at night’”—

how do you find it

in the wording of the blessing? The Gemara answers:

Abaye said:

They say in the evening prayer

“He rolls light away before darkness, and darkness away before light,”

and “light” is the mention of the attribute of day at night.

The Gemara further clarifies:

“And the other one,”

the second blessing that is recited in the morning before Keriat Shema—

what is it?

The Gemara explains:

Rabbi Judah said in the name of Samuel: “Ahava Rabba.”

And thus Uri,

he instructed,

Rabbi Eleazar instructed Rabbi Pedat, his son—

“Ahava Rabba.”

It was also taught so: “One does not say

in the morning

‘Ahavat Olam,’ but rather ‘Ahava Rabba.’”

And the Rabbis say

[the other amoraim, disputing Samuel and Rabbi Eleazar, and they held that the wording at the opening of the blessing is

“Ahavat Olam”

[and the dispute is only concerning the first words of the blessing, but according to everyone the continuation of the wording of the blessing is the same] .

And thus it is,

the verse

says [Jeremiah 31:2]:

[Jeremiah 31:2]:

“And I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with kindness.”

Rabbi Judah said in the name of Samuel: “If one rose early

in the morning

to study,

to learn before the prayer, then

before he recited Keriat Shema

with its blessings—

he must recite

the blessing over Torah before he studies. And if he wishes to study

after he has recited Keriat Shema, he need not recite

the blessing over Torah, because

he has already been exempted

from his obligation through the recitation of

the

blessing

“Ahava Rabba”

before Keriat Shema. This is because this blessing contains something resembling the wording of the blessings over Torah: “And place in our hearts to learn and to teach, to safeguard and to perform and to fulfill all the words of the study of Your Torah,” resembling “Make it pleasant, please,” whereas “And teach them the statutes of life” resembles “Who chose us and gave us eternal life within us.”

Rav Huna said: “Before

studying

Scripture—

he must recite

the blessing over Torah;

but

if

[he studies] Midrash—

he does not

need to recite [a blessing].

For according to Rav Huna, the blessing over Torah was instituted only for the Written Torah.”

And Rabbi Eleazar said: “For Scripture and for Midrash one must recite a blessing,”

but specifically for Midrash, because it is close to Scripture, such as the Mekhilta, Sifra, and Sifrei, which are midrashim of the verses. But

for Mishna,

which is the essence of the Oral Torah—

one need not recite a blessing

before it, because “words of Torah” are only the body of the verses that were spoken from the mouth of the Lord.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: “Even for Mishna one must recite a blessing”

because the content of the words in it was spoken from the mouth of the Lord.

But for Talmud,

which is the explanation of the reasoning and reasons of the Mishna, and the resolutions of Mishnayot that contradict one another—

one need not recite a blessing.

And Rava said: “Even for Talmud one must recite a blessing”

because it is the essence of the Torah, from which practical ruling emerges.

And proof of this is

that Rav Chiyya bar Ashi said: At times

many,

many times,

I would stand before Rav,

in order

to review our chapter in the Sifra at the school of Rav. He would rise early, wash his hands

and wash his hands,

and recite

the blessing over Torah,

and

only afterward

he would teach us our chapter.

The Gemara discusses:

What does he bless?

What is the wording of the blessing over Torah?

The Gemara explains:

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel:

Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe,

Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to engage in words of Torah.

And Rabbi Yohanan concludes it with this:

“May it be pleasing, Hashem,”

our God, that the words of Your Torah be pleasing in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people, the House of Israel, so that we may engage in them out of love,

and that we and our descendants, and the descendants of Your people, the House of Israel, may all know Your Name,

and engage in Your Torah. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel.

And Rav Hamnuna said:

This is the wording of the blessing over Torah: Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe,

Who chose us from among all the nations and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gives the Torah.

And the Gemara concludes:

But

that of Rav Hamnuna—

it is the superior of the blessings

over Torah, because it contains acknowledgment of the Omnipresent and praise of the Torah and of Israel ,

therefore let us say all of them.

We learned there

in tractate Tamid (5:1): At dawn, after the priests arranged the limbs of the morning daily offering upon the ramp and salted them, they descended and came to the Chamber of Hewn Stone to recite the Shema. And there

the appointed official said to them,

who was the deputy of the High Priest, to the priests:

“Bless one blessing,”

of the blessings before the recitation of the Shema. Later it will be explained which blessing.

And they blessed and recited the Ten Commandments,

and the passages of

“Hear,” “And it shall be, if you surely heed,” and “And He said.”

But they did not pray the Eighteen because they had no time. Therefore they recited the Shema even though its proper time had not yet arrived initially, because they were concerned that they might become occupied with the service and would have no time.

And they blessed the people

that is, together with the people

with three blessings,

and these are they:

“True and certain,” and “Service,”

and the Priestly Blessing—

with which they blessed the people.

And on Shabbat,

they would also

add one blessing for the outgoing watch,

so that it would bless the incoming watch, because the watches changed on the day of Shabbat.

The Gemara discusses:

What is “one blessing”

that the appointed official told them to bless? [That is, which of the two blessings before the recitation of the Shema would the priests bless?]

There is room to discuss this,

for it was like this: Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Yose bar Abba happened upon a certain place, and they asked them: What is

that

one blessing

that the priests would bless in the morning in the Temple?

And they did not have

an answer.

They came and asked Rav Mattana,

and he too

did not have

an answer.

They came and asked Rav Yehuda. He said to them: Thus said Shmuel:

the blessing of

“With great love.”

Rabbi Zerika said in the name of Rabbi Ami in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish:

The blessing of

“Creator of light”

was said by the priests in the Temple.

When Rav Yitzhak bar Yosef came

from the Land of Israel to Babylonia,

he said: That which Rabbi Zerika said was not stated explicitly,

for he did not hear explicitly from Resh Lakish that the one blessing they said in the Temple was “Creator of light,”

but from an inference,

from the words of Resh Lakish—

it was stated;

he understood this.

For Rabbi Zerika said in the name of Rabbi Ami in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: This teaches,

from what he told them, “Bless one blessing,” it follows that

the blessings

of the recitation of the Shema

do not prevent one another!

For if he blessed one blessing and did not bless the second, he has fulfilled his obligation with that one blessing that he blessed, and we do not say that this one is ineffective without that one.

From this Rabbi Zerika proved that Resh Lakish held that the one blessing they blessed in the Temple was “Creator of light.” And Rabbi Zerika reasoned as follows:

If you say that

they said the blessing of

“Creator of light”

and not “With great love,” then it is clear that they said it when its time arrived in the morning, and if so

this is what

Resh Lakish was saying: “The blessings

do not prevent one another,” for

they blessed only one blessing, and afterward certainly

they did not say

the priests

“With great love,”

because they had no time.