## Berakhot Daf 20a

###### Berakhot 20a:1
[Berakhot 20a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:1)

אֲבָל מִטַּמֵּא הוּא לְמֵת מִצְוָה. אַמַּאי, לֵימָא: ״אֵין חׇכְמָה וְאֵין תְּבוּנָה וְאֵין עֵצָה לְנֶגֶד ה׳״!

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**but he does become impure for a *met mitzva*.** Here too, the question is asked: **Let us say** that the obligation to bury a *met mitzva*, which is predicated on the preservation of human dignity, should not override mitzvot explicitly written in the Torah, as it is stated: **“There is neither wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord.”**


###### Berakhot 20a:2
[Berakhot 20a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:2)

שָׁאנֵי הָתָם, דִּכְתִיב ״וְלַאֲחוֹתוֹ״.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara answers: **There it is different, as it is** explicitly **written: “And his sister,”** from which we derive that although he may not become ritually impure to bury his sister, he must do so for a *met mitzva*.


###### Berakhot 20a:3
[Berakhot 20a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:3)

וְלִיגְמַר מִינַּהּ! שֵׁב וְאַל תַּעֲשֶׂה שָׁאנֵי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara suggests: **Let us derive** a general principle that human dignity takes precedence over all mitzvot in the Torah **from this** case. This possibility is rejected: This is a special case, because a case of **“sit and refrain from action”** [***shev ve’al ta’aseh*] is different.** Engaging in the burial of a *met mitzva* is not actually in contravention of a mitzva. Rather, by doing so he becomes ritually impure and is then rendered incapable of fulfilling that mitzva. We cannot derive a general principle from here that human dignity would also override a Torah prohibition in a case where that prohibition is directly contravened.


###### Berakhot 20a:4
[Berakhot 20a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:4)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב פָּפָּא לְאַבָּיֵי: מַאי שְׁנָא רִאשׁוֹנִים דְּאִתְרְחִישׁ לְהוּ נִיסָּא, וּמַאי שְׁנָא אֲנַן דְּלָא מִתְרְחִישׁ לַן נִיסָּא? אִי מִשּׁוּם תַּנּוֹיֵי, בִּשְׁנֵי דְרַב יְהוּדָה כּוּלֵּי תַּנּוֹיֵי בִּנְזִיקִין הֲוָה, וַאֲנַן קָא מַתְנִינַן שִׁיתָּא סִדְרֵי. וְכִי הֲוָה מָטֵי רַב יְהוּדָה בְּעוּקְצִין, הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁכּוֹבֶשֶׁת יָרָק בַּקְּדֵרָה, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ זֵיתִים שֶׁכְּבָשָׁן בְּטַרְפֵיהֶן טְהוֹרִים, אָמַר: הֲוָיוֹת דְּרַב וּשְׁמוּאֵל קָא חָזֵינָא הָכָא. וַאֲנַן קָא מַתְנִינַן בְּעוּקְצִין תְּלֵיסַר מְתִיבָתָא, וְאִילּוּ רַב יְהוּדָה כִּי הֲוָה שָׁלֵיף חַד מְסָאנֵיהּ, אָתֵי מִטְרָא, וַאֲנַן קָא מְצַעֲרִינַן נַפְשִׁין וּמִצְוָח קָא צָוְחִינַן, וְלֵית דְּמַשְׁגַּח בַּן.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara responds: In the context of the discussion whether or not human dignity overrides honoring God in the sense of fulfilling his mitzvot, **Rav Pappa said to Abaye: What is different about the earlier** generations, **for whom miracles occurred and what is different about us, for whom miracles do not occur? If it is because of** Torah **study; in the years of Rav Yehuda all of their learning was** confined to **the** order of ***Nezikin*, while we learn** all **six orders!** Moreover, **when Rav Yehuda would reach in** tractate ***Okatzin*,** which discusses the extent to which the stems of various fruits and vegetables are considered an integral part of the produce in terms of becoming ritually impure, the *halakha* that **a woman who pickles a vegetable in a pot, and some say** when he would reach the *halakha* that **olives pickled with their leaves are pure,** because after pickling, it is no longer possible to lift the fruit by its leaves, they are no longer considered part of the fruit; he would find it difficult to understand. He **would say:** Those are **the disputes between Rav and Shmuel that we see here. And we,** in contrast, **learn thirteen versions of *Okatzin*. While,** with regard to miracles, after declaring a fast to pray for a drought to end, **when Rav Yehuda would remove one of his shoes the rain would** immediately **fall, whereas we torment ourselves and cry out and no one notices us.**


###### Berakhot 20a:5
[Berakhot 20a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:5)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: קַמָּאֵי הֲווֹ קָא מָסְרִי נַפְשַׁיְיהוּ אַקְּדוּשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם, אֲנַן לָא מָסְרִינַן נָפְשִׁין אַקְּדוּשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם. כִּי הָא דְּרַב אַדָּא בַּר אַהֲבָה חַזְיַיהּ לְהַהִיא כּוּתִית דַּהֲוָת לְבִישָׁא כַּרְבַּלְתָּא בְּשׁוּקָא. סְבַר דְּבַת יִשְׂרָאֵל הִיא, קָם קַרְעֵיהּ מִינַּהּ. אִגַּלַּאי מִילְּתָא דְּכוּתִית הִיא. שַׁיְּימוּהָ בְּאַרְבַּע מְאָה זוּזֵי. אֲמַר לַהּ: מָה שְׁמִךְ? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: מָתוּן. אֲמַר לַהּ, מָתוּן — מָתוּן אַרְבַּע מְאָה זוּזֵי שַׁוְיָא.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
Abaye **said to** Rav Pappa: **The previous** generations were wholly **dedicated** to **the sanctification of God’s name,** while **we are not** as **dedicated to the sanctification of God’s name.** Typical of the earlier generations’ commitment, the Gemara relates: **Like this** incident involving **Rav Adda bar Ahava** who **saw a non-Jewish woman who was wearing a garment made of a forbidden mixture of wool and linen [*karbalta*] in the marketplace.** Since he **thought** that **she was Jewish, he stood and ripped it from her. It was** then **divulged that she was a non-Jew** and he was taken to court due to the shame that he caused her, and **they assessed** the payment for the shame that he caused **her** at **four hundred *zuz*.** Ultimately, Rav Adda **said to her: What is your name? She replied: Matun.** In a play on words, **he said to her: Matun,** her name, plus ***matun*,** the Aramaic word for two hundred, **is worth four hundred *zuz*.**


###### Berakhot 20a:6
[Berakhot 20a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:6)

רַב גִּידֵּל הֲוָה רְגִיל דַּהֲוָה קָא אָזֵיל וְיָתֵיב אַשַּׁעֲרֵי דִטְבִילָה. אֲמַר לְהוּ: הָכִי טְבִילוּ וְהָכִי טְבִילוּ. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ רַבָּנַן לָא קָא מִסְתְּפֵי מָר מִיֵּצֶר הָרָע? אֲמַר לְהוּ: דָּמְיָין בְּאַפַּאי כִּי קָאקֵי חִיוָּרֵי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
It was also related about the earlier generations, that they would degrade themselves in the desire to glorify God. **Rav Giddel was accustomed to go and sit** at **the gates of the** women’s **immersion** sites. **He said to them: Immerse yourselves in this way, and immerse yourselves in that way. The Sages said to him: Master,** do you **not fear the evil inclination? He said to them: In my eyes,** they **are comparable to white geese.**


###### Berakhot 20a:7
[Berakhot 20a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:7)

רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן הֲוָה רְגִיל דַּהֲוָה קָא אָזֵיל וְיָתֵיב אַשַּׁעֲרֵי דִטְבִילָה. אֲמַר: כִּי סָלְקָן בְּנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָתְיָין מִטְּבִילָה, מִסְתַּכְּלָן בִּי, וְנֶהֱוֵי לְהוּ זַרְעָא דְּשַׁפִּירֵי כְּווֹתִי. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ רַבָּנַן: לָא קָא מִסְתְּפֵי מָר מֵעֵינָא בִּישָׁא? אֲמַר לְהוּ: אֲנָא מִזַּרְעָא דְּיוֹסֵף קָא אָתֵינָא, דְּלָא שָׁלְטָא בֵּיהּ עֵינָא בִּישָׁא, דִּכְתִיב ״בֵּן פּוֹרָת יוֹסֵף בֵּן פּוֹרָת עֲלֵי עָיִן״, וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״עֲלֵי עָיִן״, אֶלָּא ״עוֹלֵי עָיִן״.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
Similarly, the Gemara relates that **Rabbi Yoḥanan was accustomed to go and sit** at **the gates of the** women’s **immersion** sites. Rabbi Yoḥanan, who was known for his extraordinary good looks, explained this and **said: When the daughters of Israel emerge from their immersion, they will look at me, and will have children as beautiful as I. The Sages asked him: Master,** do you **not fear the evil eye? He said to them: I descend from the seed of Joseph over whom the evil eye has no dominion, as it is written: “Joseph is a bountiful vine, a bountiful vine on a spring [*alei ayin*]”** (Genesis 49:22). “*Ayin*” can mean both “spring” and “eye.” **And Rabbi Abbahu said** a homiletic interpretation: **Do not read** it ***alei ayin*, rather *olei ayin*,** above the eye; they transcend the influence of the evil eye.


###### Berakhot 20a:8
[Berakhot 20a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:8)

רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא אֲמַר מֵהָכָא: ״וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ״, מָה דָּגִים שֶׁבַּיָּם מַיִם מְכַסִּין עֲלֵיהֶם וְאֵין עַיִן הָרָע שׁוֹלֶטֶת בָּהֶם, אַף זַרְעוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף אֵין עַיִן הָרָע שׁוֹלֶטֶת בָּהֶם.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina,** cited a different proof, from Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe: “The angel who redeems me from all evil shall bless the young and in them may my name be recalled, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, **and may they multiply** [***veyidgu*] in the midst of the earth”** (Genesis 48:16). *Veyidgu* is related etymologically to the word fish [*dag*]. **Just as the fish in the sea, water covers them and the evil eye has no dominion over them,** so **too the seed of Joseph, the evil eye has no dominion over them.**


###### Berakhot 20a:9
[Berakhot 20a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:9)

וְאִי בָּעֵית אֵימָא: עַיִן שֶׁלֹּא רָצְתָה לִזּוֹן מִמַּה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ שֶׁלּוֹ — אֵין עַיִן הָרָע שׁוֹלֶטֶת בּוֹ.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**And if you wish, say** instead: Joseph’s **eye, which did not seek to feast on that which was not his,** Potiphar’s wife, **the evil eye has no dominion over him.**


###### Berakhot 20a:10
[Berakhot 20a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/20a:10)

**מַתְנִי׳** נָשִׁים וַעֲבָדִים וּקְטַנִּים פְּטוּרִין מִקְּרִיאַת שְׁמַע

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
MISHNA **Women, slaves, and minors,** who have parallel obligations in various mitzvot, **are exempt from the recitation of *Shema***