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When wheat is ground into flour or olives pressed into oil, do these transformed foods retain their original berachos or require new ones? The shiur develops the principle that transformation can simultaneously represent degradation of the original item while creating something superior for its intended purpose. This dual nature explains why olive oil gets borei pri ha'etz despite being removed from its original form.
This shiur examines a complex Gemara (גמרא) in Berachos dealing with the proper berachos for foods that have been transformed from their original state. The central focus is on kemach dechita (wheat flour) and shemen zayis (olive oil), analyzing when these transformed foods retain their original berachos versus when they require new ones. The Gemara presents a fundamental question: if wheat is normally borei pri ha'adama, what bracha should one make on flour made from that wheat? Rashi (רש"י) explains that flour is considered "shishtanu legra yusa" - changed for the worse - because it's not the normal way to eat wheat. However, the Gemara later brings Rav Nachman's position that flour warrants a "shehakol nehiyeh bidvaro" because it has left its original bracha category.
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Berachos 36a
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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.
