פירוש על ברכות 3:10
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
See below, p. 70.
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Tosafot on Berakhot
IF SO, THE END [OF THE MISHNA] THAT TEACHES [US OF THE BLESSING OF SHEMA] IN THE MORNING FIRST ETC. The Gemara suggested two reasons that the Mishna spoke of the obligation to recite the evening Shema first:
A) The verse about the reciting Shema states: ובשכבך ובקומך - when you lie down and when you arise, putting the evening obligation first.
B) The Mishna follows the order of creation‘ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר-there was evening and there was morning’, which speaks of night before day.
When the Gemara introduces a question with אי הכי-if so, it indicates that the difficulty is addressed only to the second answer just mentioned, but not to the first answer. The ‘if so’ is saying that according to the first approach A) there is no problem, but according to the second approach just introduced B), there is a problem. Tosfos explains how this works in our Gemara: It is perfectly understandable if you say that the order of the Mishna is based on the verse of “בשכבך-when you lie down”, if that is so, the verse is only particular about reciting Shema but not about the blessings preceding and following recital of Shema.
But if you say that the order of the Mishna is based on the verse of creation of the world, then one should be particular to follow this order for all matters including the blessings of Shema.1See מהרש"א who raises a very fundamental question: How can Tosfos say that if we follow the verse on creation, we must always follow the order of night before day, when the verse discussing the tamid offering clearly places the morning tamid before the evening tamid? מהרש"א suggests that Tosfos holds that as far as the verse per se is concerned it may sometimes choose to follow one order and at other times follow a different order. The point that Tosfos is making is that if the Tanna chose to follow the order of creation, where night precedes day, the Tanna must be consistent and follow that order in all matters. Proof of this explanation is from the previous Tosfos, where Tosfos says that the Gemara’s question: The Tanna should first teach us about the recital of Shema in the morning is based on the verse that puts the morning tamid first. The Gemara answers: The Tanna is following the order of the verse that deals with reciting Shema, where the evening Shema is mentioned first. The Gemara does not seem to have a problem with the fact that there appears to be a contradiction between the two verses. Obviously, the verse sometimes follows one order and at other times a different order. The Gemara is concerned with discovering the order that the Tanna elected to follow.
The Gemara therefore concludes its question: If so, that the Mishna is following the order of creation, the end of the Mishna that teaches etc. [about the blessing of Shema should also begin with the blessings of the morning.]
A) The verse about the reciting Shema states: ובשכבך ובקומך - when you lie down and when you arise, putting the evening obligation first.
B) The Mishna follows the order of creation‘ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר-there was evening and there was morning’, which speaks of night before day.
When the Gemara introduces a question with אי הכי-if so, it indicates that the difficulty is addressed only to the second answer just mentioned, but not to the first answer. The ‘if so’ is saying that according to the first approach A) there is no problem, but according to the second approach just introduced B), there is a problem. Tosfos explains how this works in our Gemara: It is perfectly understandable if you say that the order of the Mishna is based on the verse of “בשכבך-when you lie down”, if that is so, the verse is only particular about reciting Shema but not about the blessings preceding and following recital of Shema.
But if you say that the order of the Mishna is based on the verse of creation of the world, then one should be particular to follow this order for all matters including the blessings of Shema.1See מהרש"א who raises a very fundamental question: How can Tosfos say that if we follow the verse on creation, we must always follow the order of night before day, when the verse discussing the tamid offering clearly places the morning tamid before the evening tamid? מהרש"א suggests that Tosfos holds that as far as the verse per se is concerned it may sometimes choose to follow one order and at other times follow a different order. The point that Tosfos is making is that if the Tanna chose to follow the order of creation, where night precedes day, the Tanna must be consistent and follow that order in all matters. Proof of this explanation is from the previous Tosfos, where Tosfos says that the Gemara’s question: The Tanna should first teach us about the recital of Shema in the morning is based on the verse that puts the morning tamid first. The Gemara answers: The Tanna is following the order of the verse that deals with reciting Shema, where the evening Shema is mentioned first. The Gemara does not seem to have a problem with the fact that there appears to be a contradiction between the two verses. Obviously, the verse sometimes follows one order and at other times a different order. The Gemara is concerned with discovering the order that the Tanna elected to follow.
The Gemara therefore concludes its question: If so, that the Mishna is following the order of creation, the end of the Mishna that teaches etc. [about the blessing of Shema should also begin with the blessings of the morning.]
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Tosafot on Berakhot
[ONE RECITES] TWO BLESSINGS BEFORE [SHEMA] ETC. Tosfos discusses the source for the total of seven berachos recited during the day associated with the Shema.1See צל"ח who explains why Tosfos feels the need to explain this issue here, where the Gemara only quoted this Mishna as an aside. Tosfos explanation seems to belong later on 11a, where the Mishna is stated. (Yerushalmi) The seven blessings recited together with Shema, four in the evening2המעריב ערבים and אהבת עולם before Shema. אמת ואמונה and השכיבנו after Shema. and three in the morning,3יוצר אור and אהבה רבה before Shema. אמת ויציב after Shema. correspond to the verse - I have praised you with seven blessing during the day (Tehilim 119). But we actually recite eight Berachos each day, five during Maariv,4We add יראו עינינו after השכיבנו. two before Shema and three afterwards, and three during Shacharis, two before Shema and one afterwards?
[The Mishna] does not reckon the Beracha יראו עינינו as an eighth Beracha of this series, because that Beracha was instituted by the Rabanan only so that those of the initial minyan should wait in the synagogue for their fellows who arrived late. It was dangerous to leave the late comers alone in the synagogue. The Rabonon instituted that those already in the synagogue recite this last Beracha, while the late arrivals catch up to the minyan, so that they recite the tefilah and leave together.
Is this Beracha for everybody? This Beracha is specifically for their synagogues that were in the field away from the cities, and there is a danger from the evil spirits that harm people who are alone, but in our synagogues that are located within city limits, it is not necessary to wait for their late arriving fellows during the day,5These few words of Tosfos are very perplexing. It seems that Tosfos holds that in the synagogues out in the fields one must recite יראו עינינו even during the day and in our synagogues which are within city limits it need only be recited at night. This explanation is hardly tenable, because it would mean that יראו עינינו was recited during Talmudic times even during Shacharis. See שפת אמת who suggests that Tosfos may be speaking of an early minyan for Maariv as opposed to a later one. Only the later minyan which begins praying at night need recite יראו עינינו. The earlier minyan need not recite it. See שדה צופים by R’ Shmuel Dovid Friedman, Shlit”a who has a lengthy exposition on this Tosfos. Also see תוס' רבינו פרץ who does not have this last sentence in his text of Tosfos. only at night.
[The Mishna] does not reckon the Beracha יראו עינינו as an eighth Beracha of this series, because that Beracha was instituted by the Rabanan only so that those of the initial minyan should wait in the synagogue for their fellows who arrived late. It was dangerous to leave the late comers alone in the synagogue. The Rabonon instituted that those already in the synagogue recite this last Beracha, while the late arrivals catch up to the minyan, so that they recite the tefilah and leave together.
Is this Beracha for everybody? This Beracha is specifically for their synagogues that were in the field away from the cities, and there is a danger from the evil spirits that harm people who are alone, but in our synagogues that are located within city limits, it is not necessary to wait for their late arriving fellows during the day,5These few words of Tosfos are very perplexing. It seems that Tosfos holds that in the synagogues out in the fields one must recite יראו עינינו even during the day and in our synagogues which are within city limits it need only be recited at night. This explanation is hardly tenable, because it would mean that יראו עינינו was recited during Talmudic times even during Shacharis. See שפת אמת who suggests that Tosfos may be speaking of an early minyan for Maariv as opposed to a later one. Only the later minyan which begins praying at night need recite יראו עינינו. The earlier minyan need not recite it. See שדה צופים by R’ Shmuel Dovid Friedman, Shlit”a who has a lengthy exposition on this Tosfos. Also see תוס' רבינו פרץ who does not have this last sentence in his text of Tosfos. only at night.
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