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Why does the Torah (תורה) emphasize that fruits and vegetables have seeds when permitting Adam to eat them? Seeds represent the ability to replace what we consume. This shiur develops the principle that berachos create a dual obligation: asking permission from Hashem (ה׳) and replacing what we take from the world, ensuring resources for future generations.
Rabbi Zweig explores the profound connection between Parshas Mishpatim and the fundamental nature of berachos, addressing several seemingly unrelated textual difficulties. He begins by noting that Rashi (רש"י) understands Parshas Yisro and Parshas Mishpatim as describing the same days at Har Sinai, yet they present starkly different moods—one of fear and awe, the other of celebration (vayechazu es ha'Elokim, vayochlu vayishtu). This suggests two different perspectives on Kabbalas HaTorah. The shiur then addresses a puzzling sequence in Parshas Mishpatim where Hashem (ה׳) discusses sending a malach to bring the Jews into Eretz Yisrael, destroying their enemies, eliminating idolatry, and then suddenly states "va'avadtem es Hashem Elokeichem u'varech es lachmecha" (you shall serve Hashem and He will bless your bread). The Gemara (גמרא) in Berachos 48b derives from "u'varech es lachmecha" an obligation to make a bracha before eating bread, but the Maharsha questions how the Gemara changes the plain meaning from "He will bless" to "you shall bless." Additionally, another Gemara in Berachos 35a states that the obligation to make berachos is based on logic (svara)—so why would we need a pasuk?
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Parshas Mishpatim, Bereishis (creation narrative), Berachos 35a-b, 48b
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