Berakhot 54a — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

One who sees

a place where miracles were performed for Israel says: “Blessed

are You, Lord our God, King of the universe,

Who performed miracles for our fathers

in this place.”

One who sees

a place from which the worship of

stars has been uprooted says: “Blessed is He Who uprooted the worship of stars from our land.”

Over shooting stars [comets]

[comets],

and over earthquakes [earthquakes]

[earthquakes],

and over thunder and over winds [storms]

[storms],

and over lightning,

he says: “Blessed is He Whose power

and might fill the world,”

because in these phenomena the alteration of nature is discernible over extensive areas .

Over mountains and over hills

that are unusual in their height and appearance, and in which the might of the Creator is discernible,

and over seas and over rivers

that are famous, such as the four rivers mentioned in the Torah ,

and over deserts,

he says: “Blessed is He Who makes [

a work ]

the work of Creation.”

Rabbi Judah says: One who sees the Great Sea,

says: “Blessed is He Who made the sea

the great” “

because on account of its size and importance they instituted a separate blessing for it.

And the obligation of the blessings over seeing the work of Creation is only

when he sees it intermittently,

meaning when at least thirty days have passed between one sighting and the next.

Over rains and over good tidings he says: “Blessed is He Who is good and does good.”

Over evil tidings

he says: “Blessed is the Judge of truth.”

If he built a new house, or acquired new vessels,

he says: “Blessed is He Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.”

He blesses “

Blessed is the Judge of truth”

over

tidings

that are evil

that are

akin to

tidings

of good,

meaning tidings that are presently evil, although at their end there is also good.

And over

tidings

that are good

that are

akin to

tidings

of evil,

he blesses: “He Who is good and does good,” meaning tidings that are presently good, although at their end there is also evil. And these blessings are established according to the reality that is now before us, and one does not rely on future events that may not occur. [And in the Gemara the circumstances in which one blesses these blessings will be explained].

And one who cries out [

prays over ]

the past—this is a prayer in vain.

What is this? For example, if

his wife was pregnant and he says: “May it be Your will that my wife give birth to a male; this is a prayer in vain,”

because the sex of the fetus has already been determined. And likewise if

he was on the way

to his house

and heard a cry of distress in the city, and says: “May it be Your will that it not be within

my house”—this is a prayer in vain.

One who

walks on the road and

enters a city

in which wicked rulers are found who seek pretexts

prays two

prayers,

one upon his entering

the city, that he should enter in peace,

and one upon his leaving

the city, in which he gives thanks that he left in peace.

Ben Azzai says:

he prays

four

prayers,

two upon his entering and two upon his leaving,

and in every place in the first prayer he

gives thanks for what has passed:

upon entering, for having traveled the road in peace, and upon leaving, for not having been harmed in the city;

and in his second prayer he

in his second prayer he

cries out over the future:

upon entering, that no evil should befall him in the city, and upon leaving, that no evil should befall him on the road.

A person is obligated to bless

the blessing “Blessed is the Judge of truth”

over evil

with joy,

just as he blesses

the blessing “He Who is good and does good”

over good, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 11]

[Deuteronomy 11]:

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and so forth.”

For this is how they expounded this verse:

“With all your heart”—with your two inclinations, with the good inclination and with the evil inclination

. “And with all your soul”—

you must serve Him with love

even

if

He takes your soul

. “And with all your might”—

Your obligation is to love God and serve Him

with all your wealth

that is, not to transgress a negative commandment, even if for this purpose he loses all his wealth.

Alternatively: “With all your might”—

with every measure that He measures out to you,

whether a measure of goodness or a measure of calamity—

give thanks to Him.

It follows that he is obligated to bless over evil as over good.

A person should not act frivolously

opposite the gate

of the east

of the wall of the Temple Mount, even when he is standing outside the Temple Mount, because all the gates on the east of the Temple Mount are aligned one opposite the other, and it follows

that he is aligned opposite the Holy of Holies.

And

since we were commanded concerning “reverence for the Temple”

he should not enter the Temple Mount with his staff

or with his shoe-covering or with his money-belt

a belt in which he places his money

or with the dust on his feet

because that is an ordinary manner; he should enter it only for the need of prayer or service

, and he should not make it a kafandarya

a shortcut

and

he should not spit in it

spitting,

which is a manner of contempt

, by a kal va-chomer

from the fact that it is forbidden to enter it wearing shoes, which are merely an ordinary manner

. At first,

all those who concluded blessings in the Temple

in the First Temple

would say

at the conclusion of the blessings in prayer: “Blessed are You, Hashem, God of Israel

until “

from

the world,”

when the Sadducees became corrupt

and denied the resurrection of the dead

, and said, ‘There is only one world,’ Ezra and his court instituted

that they

should say, ‘from the world and until the world,’

in order to remove [this belief] from the hearts of the Sadducees, and to teach that there is another world.

And

further,

they instituted

in order to strengthen faith in the heart of the people

that a person should ask after the welfare of his fellow in the Name of

Hashem , and they based it on what

is stated

[Ruth 2:4]

“And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, ‘Hashem be with you,’ and they said to him, ‘May Hashem bless you,’ and

the verse

further says

[Judges 6:12] that the angel said to Gideon

: “Hashem is with you, mighty man of valor,” and

the source that it is proper to rely upon what we saw with Boaz and Gideon is what the verse

says

[Proverbs 23:22]:

“Do not despise, for your mother has grown old,”

rather, do as the elders of the nation conduct themselves.

And

you cannot claim that one who blesses with the Name disparages the honor of the Omnipresent, for the verse

says

[Psalms 119:126]

“It is a time to act for Hashem; they have violated Your Torah,”

and

Rabbi Natan says

that this verse should properly be expounded as follows: sometimes

“they have violated Your Torah”

[for example, in asking after another’s welfare with the Name, when their institution appears to be something forbidden

“because it is a time to act for Hashem”

[for the need to ask after the welfare of one’s fellow is the will of Hashem, as it is stated: “Seek peace and pursue it”] .

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: One who sees a place where miracles were performed for Israel says, “Blessed is He who performed miracles for our ancestors in this place.” The Gemara discusses:

From where are these words

that one blesses for a miracle

said Rabbi Yoḥanan: For the verse says

[Exodus 18:10]

“And Jethro said, ‘Blessed is Hashem, who rescued

you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh, who rescued the people from beneath the hand of Egypt

.’”

The Gemara infers from the wording of the Mishna, “where miracles were performed for Israel,” that specifically

for a miracle of the many we bless,

but

for a miracle of an individual we do not bless,

and it raises an objection to this:

But there was that man who was traveling in Ever Yamina

[the name of a country]

and a lion fell upon him; a miracle was performed for him and he was saved from it,

he came before Rava, and he said to him: Whenever you reach there, bless, “Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me

in this place,”

and if one does not bless for the miracle of an individual, why did he tell him to bless for his miracle

? And

likewise we find that

Mar, the son of Ravina, was traveling in the valley

[a valley]

of Aravot

[a place-name]

and was thirsty

[thirst

for water; a miracle was performed for him: a spring of water was created for him and he drank. And again

an incident occurred with him:

once he was traveling in the market

[market]

of Meḥoza, and a mad camel fell upon him

[a crazed camel]

and a wall was broken open for him

[the wall of the house adjacent to him fell]

and he entered inside it

[he entered it and was saved], and from then on

when he reached Aravot, he blessed, “Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in Aravot

[at the spring of water]

and with the camel,”

and likewise

when he reached the market of Meḥoza, he blessed, “Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me with the camel and in Aravot,”

and if one does not bless for the miracle of an individual, why did he bless for his miracles? The Gemara answers:

They said: For a miracle of the many, everyone is obligated to bless,

but

for a miracle of an individual

only

he

[the beneficiary of the miracle]

is obligated to bless.

The Sages taught: One who sees

the

crossings of the sea

the place where Israel passed during the splitting of the Reed Sea

and

the place of the

crossings of the Jordan,

or the

crossings of the streams of Arnon,

or

the hailstones

that Hashem cast upon the Amorites when they fought with Joshua

at the descent of Beth-horon, and the stone that Og, king of Bashan, sought to throw at Israel, and the stone upon which Moses sat

and sought mercy for Israel

when Joshua waged war against Amalek, and

the pillar of salt of

Lot’s wife, and the wall of Jericho that was swallowed up in its place—for all of them he must offer acknowledgment and praise before the Omnipresent.

The Gemara discusses:

Granted, “the crossings of the sea”

we find that a miracle was performed there

for it is written

[Exodus 14:22]

“And the Children of Israel came into the midst of the sea on dry land,”

and also concerning

“the crossings of the Jordan”

we find that a miracle was performed

for it is written

[Joshua 3]

“And the priests who carried the Ark of the covenant of Hashem stood on dry land in the midst of the Jordan, firmly established, and all Israel crossed on dry land, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan. But ‘the crossings of the streams of Arnon’—from where do we know

that a miracle was performed there

for it is written

[Numbers 21:14]

“Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of Hashem: ‘Waheb in Suphah

and the streams of Arnon”; and concerning this

the tannai taught: “‘Waheb in Suphah’—

two

lepers were,

and their names were “At” and “Hav

who were walking

“in Suphah,” that is,

at the end of the camp of Israel

because lepers are sent outside the camp,