Berakhot 39b — the Talmud in English

Rather, Rava said: He recites the blessing

over the bread while it is still whole,

and afterward,

after completing the blessing,

he breaks it.

It follows that at the time of completing the blessing the bread was still whole.

Nehardeans acted in accordance with Rabbi Hiyya,

so that when the blessing was completed, the slice was separated from the loaf.

And

if

the Rabbis acted in accordance with Rava.

For they broke the bread after completing the blessing.

Ravina said: My mother told me

: My mother:

Your father

acted in accordance with Rabbi Hiyya. For Rabbi Hiyya said: The blessing must be completed together with the bread. And the Rabbis acted in accordance with Rava.

And the halakha is in accordance with Rava, who said: He recites the blessing

and afterward breaks it .

b. The Tashbetz (section 322) offered another reason why on Shabbat one should not cut the loaf before the blessing. He wrote that when one cuts the loaf, a few crumbs fall from it, leaving the loaf deficient, so that he no longer has “leḥem mishne.” This means that it is not merely a concern that he might no longer have “leḥem mishne”; rather, it is a certainty that the cutting will cause those crumbs to be lost from the bread, and consequently the mitzva of “leḥem mishne” will be nullified. See the Eliya Rabba (168, subsection 5) for a practical difference between the explanation of the Tosafot and that of the Tashbetz.

It was stated: If pieces of bread

were brought before them

and

loaves of bread

whole,

Rav Huna said:

In a case where the pieces were equal in size to the whole loaves, if he wishes, he

recites the blessing

ha-motzi

over the pieces and exempts

with his blessing

the whole loaves.

And in a case where the pieces are larger than the whole loaves, he is specifically obligated to recite the blessing over the pieces and thereby exempt the whole loaves .

And Rabbi Yohanan said:

Whether the pieces are equal in size to the whole loaves or whether they are larger than the whole loaves,

a whole loaf

is the preferred mitzva

over which to recite the blessing, and through it to exempt the pieces .

But,

if there were before him

a slice of wheat and

bread

whole from barley—

everyone agrees that he recites the blessing over the slice

of wheat,

which is superior to barley ,

and exempts

through it

the

bread

whole from barley .

б. По мнению Тосафот, считающих преимущество целого хлеба большим, чем преимущество чистого хлеба, «Маген Авраам» (168, סעיף קטן 7) написал, что только преимущество целого хлеба сильнее преимущества чистого; но преимущество большого хлеба не сильнее преимущества чистого, и благословение следует произнести над чистым. Автор «Хафла» возразил ему: ведь из Тосафот следует, что, по мнению рава Гуны, большой и целый хлеб равны по своему преимуществу [это приведено выше, в примечании 2]. А поскольку мы видим, что целый хлеб предпочтительнее чистого, получается, что и большой хлеб, равный целому, должен быть предпочтительнее чистого. И хотя рабби Йоханан не согласен с равом Гуной и считает преимущество целого хлеба большим, чем преимущество большого хлеба, мы не находим, чтобы он расходился с ним также относительно сравнения большого и чистого хлеба. И поскольку мы видим, что по мнению рава Гуны большой хлеб предпочтительнее чистого, по всей видимости, рабби Йоханан также согласен с этим. Смотри его слова.

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said:

This halakha that we stated without dispute, that one should prefer to recite the blessing over the superior slice of wheat rather than over the whole bread of barley—

is [a dispute] among the tannaim,

it was stated as a dispute among tannaim.

For so we learned in tractate Terumot: If one has the choice of contributing a small whole onion or half of a large onion,

one contributes a small whole onion, but not half of a large onion,

even though the half of the large one contains a greater measure.

Rabbi Yehuda says: No, rather,

one should prefer and contribute

half of a large onion

rather than contribute a small whole onion.

Is it not that they disagree about this, that one

[Rabbi Yehuda]

holds—

that which is important is preferable

to whole, and therefore it is preferable to give the koen half of a large onion ,

And the other

[the first tannaitic authority]

holds—

whole is preferable

to important, and therefore it is preferable to give the koen a whole onion.

The Gemara rejects this:

Where there is a koen

to whom the teruma can be given immediately,

everyone agrees that that which is important is preferable.

Consequently, concerning the blessing too, everyone agrees that a slice of wheat is preferable to a whole loaf of barley because of its importance.

They disagree

the first tannaitic authority and Rabbi Yehuda in a place

where there is no

before us

koen

to whom to give the teruma immediately, and there is concern that by the time a koen is found, the teruma will spoil. Only in this does the first tannaitic authority hold that “important” has no preference, but one should prefer a whole onion, which is preserved longer than half an onion.

For we learned: Wherever there is a koen—

one contributes from the superior, and wherever there is no koen—

one contributes from that which endures,

so that he will be able to give it to the koen when one becomes available.

Rabbi Yehuda says: One contributes only from the superior

even in a place where no koen is before him .

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: And one who fears Heaven fulfills the obligation of both,

[Rav Huna and Rabbi Yohanan, who disputed the matter of pieces and whole loaves ] and recites the blessing over the whole and the slice together.

And who is

a person who fears Heaven?

Bar bar Ravina.

For Mar, son of Ravina,

was

placing a slice inside

[beneath]

the whole loaf,

and reciting the blessing over them,

and breaking

from both of them or from the whole .

A tannaitic teacher taught before Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak: He places the slice inside

[beneath]

the whole loaf, and breaks and recites the blessing .

He said to him,

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak:

What is your name?

He said to him: Shalman.

He said to him,

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak:

You are whole, and your teaching is whole, for you have made peace between the students .

Rav Pappa said: Everyone agrees concerning the

night of

Passover, that one places

matza

inside

[beneath] matza

whole,

and breaks

the whole one.

What is the reason?—

“Bread of affliction” is written

[Deuteronomy 16:3], and it is the way of a poor person to eat a slice; therefore it must appear as though he broke also from the slice .

Rabbi Abba said: And on Shabbat a person is obligated to break bread over two loaves,

What is the reason? -

Exodus 16:22

“a double portion of bread” is written .

Rav Ashi said: I saw Rav Kahana take

two

loaves of bread when he recited the blessing “Who brings forth bread,”

and break

only

one .

Rabbi Zeira would break

on Shabbat, from the complete loaf, a large slice -

for the entire meal,

so that it would suffice for his eating throughout the entire meal.

Ravina said to Rav Ashi: But

by cutting at the outset such a large slice he

appears as a glutton!

like a hungry person who takes for himself, immediately at the beginning of the meal, a large slice in order to eat it at once, and this is not proper conduct .

He said to him: Since every day he does not do this,

to cut large slices,

and

only

today

on Shabbat

he does

this -

he does not appear as a glutton.

When Rav Ami and Rav Asi happened upon a loaf

of the eruv,

when bread happened to be before them in which they had made a courtyard eruv the previous day,] they

would recite over it: “Who brings forth bread from the earth.” They said,

for they would say:

Since one mitzva was performed with it -

the mitzva of eruv -

let us perform with it

also

another mitzva -

the blessing “Who brings forth.”