Berakhot 51b (נא:) — the Talmud in English

We shall act stringently,

and not assist the right hand with the left hand.

“And raises it one handbreadth from the ground”:

Rav Aḥa bar Ḥanina said: What is the verse? –

Psalms 116:13

“I shall raise the cup of salvations, and I shall invoke the Name of the Lord,”

and its meaning is that one raises the cup before invoking the Name of the Lord.

“And fixes his eyes upon it” –

so that he will not divert his attention from it.

“And sends it to the members of his household as a gift” –

so that his household will be blessed.

Ulla happened to come to the house of Rav Naḥman, ate bread, and recited Birkat HaMazon

over the cup.

He gave the cup of blessing to Rav Naḥman. Rav Naḥman said to him: Let the Master send the cup of blessing

also

to

his wife

Yalta.”

He said to him:

Since you drank from the cup, your wife does not need a blessing, nor does she need to drink from it, for

this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “A woman’s fruit of the womb is blessed only through the fruit of the womb of a man,” as it is stated

Deuteronomy 7:13

“And He will bless the fruit of your womb” –

it does not say “the fruit of her womb,” but rather “the fruit of your womb,”

and since the children are called the husband’s “fruit of the womb,” it necessarily follows that a woman is blessed with children only by virtue of her husband. Therefore, since her husband drank, she does not need a blessing of her own.

It was taught likewise: Rabbi Natan says: From where is it derived that a woman’s fruit of the womb is blessed only through the fruit of the womb of a man? –

As it is stated: “And He will bless the fruit of your womb” –

“the fruit of her womb” is not stated, but rather “the fruit of your womb.”

Meanwhile

in the meantime

Yalta heard

that he did not want

to send her the cup of blessing, and she rose up in anger

in anger,

entered the wine cellar

a building where wine was stored

and broke four hundred wine barrels. Rav Naḥman said

to

Ulla,

“Let the Master send her

another cup,”

in order to appease her.

He sent her: “All this wine in the barrel is a cup of blessing”

all the wine found in the barrel is considered a cup of blessing, and you may drink from it,

She sent him: “From peddlers come words, and from rags come lice,”

peddlers are fond of talking, just as rags are full of lice; meaning that he was talking excessively, like a peddler.

Rav Asi said: One may not converse over the cup of blessing

the participants may not speak from the moment the one leading the zimmun takes the cup in his hand until he finishes reciting the blessing over it.

And Rav Asi said: One may not recite a blessing over a cup of calamity.

And the Gemara explains:

What is meant by “a cup of calamity”? –

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said:

He should not take

a second cup

for the cup of blessing,

that is, he should not conclude the meal with an even-numbered cup—that is, the second or fourth cup. For in their time, with regard to anything done in pairs, there was concern of harm caused by demons.

It was taught likewise: One who drinks pairs

pairs of cups

should not recite

Birkat HaMazon over the even-numbered cup,

because it is stated

Amos 4:12

“Prepare to meet your God, Israel,” and this one is not prepared,

for he is reciting a blessing over a cup of calamity, which is not fitting.

Rabbi Abbahu said, and some say that it was taught in a baraita: One who eats while walking recites

Birkat HaMazon

while standing,

that is, he must stop walking in order to recite the blessing with concentration in one place.

And when he eats while standing, he recites it while seated,

because he concentrates more while seated than while standing

. And when he reclines and eats, he sits and recites the blessing,

so that he will recite it with awe, and not while reclining in a manner of arrogance.

And the halakha is: In all of them

in every manner in which he eats—while walking, standing, or reclining—

he sits and recites the blessing, and

they were more stringent with Birkat HaMazon than with other blessings, because its obligation is from the Torah.

We shall return to you, chapter “Three who ate.”

Mishna:

These are the matters concerning which Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel

disagreed

in

the laws of

the meal:

a. Kiddush.

Beit Shammai say: One recites the blessing

first

over

the sanctity of

the day, and afterward one recites the blessing over the wine,

“Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

And Beit Hillel say: One recites the blessing

first

over the wine, and afterward one recites the blessing over the day.

b. Drinking wine before the meal.

Beit Shammai say:

First,

one washes one's hands

for the meal,

and afterward one pours the cup,

and drinks it immediately, before the blessing over the bread.

And Beit Hillel say:

First,

one pours the cup,

and drinks it immediately, before washing one's hands,

and afterward one washes one's hands.

c. The manner of placing the towel after drying the hands from the water used for washing.

Beit Shammai say:

After washing one's hands,

one dries his hands with a cloth

[a towel]

and places it on the table

in order to use it during the meal.

And Beit Hillel say:

One should not place the towel on the table, but only

on the cushion

on which he reclines during the meal.

d. The order for concluding the meal.

Beit Shammai say: One clears

[sweeps]

the house

of food remnants that fell during the meal [if they were sitting on the ground. And if they were sitting beside the table, one cleans the table],

and

only

afterward does one wash

with the after-meal water

one's hands.

And Beit Hillel say: One washes one's hands

first,

and afterward one clears the house.

e. A person who has a small amount of wine on Saturday night, sufficient for only one cup, and has not yet recited Havdala, and wishes to recite Birkat HaMazon over it and also recite Havdala over it—what should he do?

Beit Shammai say:

He should first recite the blessing over the

lamp,

and

afterward he should recite the blessing of

food,

and after it a blessing over the

spices,

and

at the end

Havdala,

And Beit Hillel say:

This is the order of the blessings:

lamp and spices, food, and Havdala.

f. The wording of the blessing over the lamp.

Beit Shammai say: “Who created the light of the fire.”

And Beit Hillel say: “Who creates the lights of the fire.”

And since the Mishna presented their dispute concerning the wording of the blessing over the Havdala lamp, the Mishna presents [in parentheses] two additional laws concerning the Havdala lamp, in which there is no dispute:

One does not recite a blessing

on Saturday night over the light of a lamp,

neither

over the lamp nor over the spices of gentiles, nor over a lamp

that was kindled in honor of the deceased,

nor over spices

that were used to remove the odor

of the dead, nor over a lamp nor over the spices of idolatry,

because objects used for idolatry are forbidden for benefit.

And one does not recite a blessing over the lamp until one can benefit

[enjoy]

from its light.

g. One who did not recite the blessing where he ate: where should he recite it?

One who ate and forgot to recite

Birkat HaMazon, and left the place of his meal,

Beit Shammai say: He must return to his place and recite the blessing.

And Beit Hillel say:

Since he has already left, after the fact, if he wishes,

he may recite the blessing at the place where he remembered.

And until when may one recite the blessing

after eating? —

Until the food in his intestines has been digested.

h. One who has only a small amount of wine: must he reserve it for the cup of Birkat HaMazon?

If additional wine came to them

after they had finished eating

the food,

even

if there is only that one cup, Beit Shammai say:

If he wishes,

he recites the blessing over the wine

and drinks it,

and afterward recites the blessing over the food

without a cup.

And Beit Hillel say: He recites the blessing over the food, and afterward

he recites the blessing over the wine.

For he must reserve the cup in order to recite Birkat HaMazon over it.

And one answers Amen after an Israelite who recites a blessing

even if he heard only the end of the blessing,

but one does not answer Amen after a Samaritan who recites a blessing until he hears

him recite

the entire blessing,

because some Samaritans would recite blessings to the image of a dove that they worshipped.

Gemara:

The Sages taught in a beraita: The matters concerning which Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel differ in

the laws of

the meal,

are these:

Beit Shammai say: One recites the blessing over the day and afterward recites the blessing over the wine.

For the blessing of Kiddush over the day precedes the blessing over the wine because

the day causes the wine to come.

The obligation of Kiddush over wine takes effect only because the day is sacred; it follows that its essence is the blessing over the day, and therefore the blessing over the day should precede.

And

another reason is that at the time of the appearance of the stars

the day has already been sanctified, while wine has not yet come

to the table for Kiddush, since it is brought only when one comes to eat.

And Beit Hillel say: One recites the blessing over the wine and afterward

recites the blessing over the day,

because

the wine causes the sanctification to be recited,

since one cannot recite Kiddush unless he has a cup of wine.

Alternatively

— [an additional reason] why the blessing over the wine precedes is that

the blessing over the wine is frequent,

as it is recited every day ,

whereas the blessing over the day is not frequent

like the blessing over wine, since it is recited only on Shabbatot and Festivals; and the principle is:

That which is frequent and that which is not frequent—the frequent precedes.

And the halakha is in accordance with the words of Beit Hillel,

so that one who recites Kiddush first recites the blessing over the wine, and afterward sanctifies the day.

The Gemara explains the words of Beit Hillel:

What is the meaning of “Alternatively”? —

Why was an additional reason necessary?

Their intention is to say:

And should you say: There,

in the case of the blessing over the day, there are

two

reasons for giving it precedence: first, that the day causes the wine to come, and second, that the day has already been sanctified while the wine has not yet come;

but

if

here,

in the case of the blessing over wine, there is only

one

reason for giving it precedence [that the wine causes the sanctification of the day]—this is not an argument, because

here too there are two,

we have an additional reason to give precedence to the blessing over wine, since

the blessing over wine is frequent, whereas the blessing over the day is not frequent,

and the principle is:

That which is frequent and that which is not frequent—the frequent precedes.

The Gemara wonders: Why did the beraita need to conclude

“And the halakha is in accordance with the words of Beit Hillel,”

for is it not

obvious

that the halakha follows them in their dispute with Beit Shammai,

for a heavenly voice emerged,

and a heavenly voice proclaimed that the halakha follows them [as brought in Eruvin 13b]?

The Gemara answers:

If you wish, say

that the beraita was taught

before

the

heavenly voice emerged, and therefore it needed to inform us whose opinion the halakha follows.

And if you wish, say

that it is possible that the beraita was taught

after

the

heavenly voice emerged,

heavenly voice,