No community start suggestion yet.
Are brachos fundamentally based on achilah (eating) or hana'ah (benefit)? Rashi (רש"י) requires actual consumption, while the Rambam (רמב"ם) focuses on pleasure derived. The machlokes emerges from cases like olive oil mixed with unripe grapes and affects practical applications throughout hilchos brachos.
This shiur presents a comprehensive analysis of a fundamental machlokes between Rashi (רש"י) and the Rambam (רמב"ם) regarding the nature of brachos. The Gemara (גמרא) discusses the case of shemen zayis (olive oil) mixed with anigrin (unripe grapes), where the oil alone would be harmful (mazik) but becomes edible when mixed. Rabbi Zweig explains that Rashi views brachos as fundamentally based on achilah (eating) - requiring an actual act of consumption. According to Rashi, when there is more oil in the mixture (harbeh shemen), it transforms into a new entity that constitutes achilah, warranting a borei pri ha'etz blessing. The Rambam, however, maintains that brachos are based on hana'ah (benefit or pleasure derived). According to the Rambam, even with more oil, one cannot make borei pri ha'etz because the hana'ah doesn't come from the oil itself (which is mazik) but from the anigrin that neutralizes the harmful effects. The shiur explores the Gemara's discussion of choshesh b'grona (sore throat), where oil provides therapeutic benefit. According to Rashi, this wouldn't require a bracha since it's not achilah. However, the Rambam sees this as establishing a new halacha (הלכה) - that hana'ah from coating the throat (not achilah) requires a bracha rishona but not achrona, since no actual eating occurred. Rabbi Zweig demonstrates how this fundamental dispute affects practical halacha in hilchos brachos versus hilchos teruma, with the Ra'avad supporting the distinction that hilchos brachos depends on hana'ah while hilchos teruma depends on achilah. The shiur reveals how this machlokes impacts our understanding of when and why brachos are required.
Dedicate a Shiur in Gemara
L'ilui nishmas a loved one. In honor of a simcha or yahrzeit. As a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Your dedication helps carry Rabbi Zweig's Torah to learners around the world.
Up Next in this Series
Why does saying Ashrei three times daily guarantee a share in the World to Come? The verse 'umasbia l'chol chai ratzon' reveals that God provides not just sustenance but pleasure to all creation out of pure love. This recognition teaches us that even basic needs are expressions of divine chesed, creating the foundation for love-motivated service through both major and minor mitzvos.
Why does halacha forbid entering dangerous places if everything happens by Divine decree? The shiur examines the debate between Rashi and Tosfos on traveling at night, developing a fundamental distinction: Rashi holds one must avoid even deserved punishments that Hashem delays through mercy, while Tosfos holds the prohibition addresses self-inflicted harm through free will. This framework reveals how people rationalize self-destructive behavior as "hashgacha."
Why does the Gemara praise hospitality to scholars as a unique mitzvah rather than ordinary hachnasas orchim? The shiur distinguishes two mitzvahs: hachnasas orchim (providing for those in need) and connecting to talmidei chachamim (cleaving to God through scholars). Yisro's meal for the Jewish leaders wasn't charity—it was his way of bonding with those transformed by Torah, teaching that learning must fundamentally change who we are.
Brachos 35b-36a
Looking for the full transcript?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Should one learn Torah full-time trusting in Divine providence, or combine learning with work? The shiur distinguishes between Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai's approach of complete separation from worldly concerns versus Rabbi Shmuel's view that proper work itself becomes part of Torah. The key insight: true emunah means learning without demanding sustenance from either Hashem or community, unlike having a 'contract' expecting payment for learning.