Siman - Berachos Daf 52 - Zichru Daf Simanim

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Siman - Berachos Daf 52

Kiddush hayom or the berachah on wine

The Gemara resolves a seeming contradiction in Beis Shammai.

In the Mishna on 51b, Beis Shammai holds that the beracha on kedushas hayom (sanctity of the day) precedes the berachah on the wine because it is the sanctity of the day which is cause for the wine to be brought to the meal.

Yet in a Beraisa on 52a, Beis Shammai holds that the berachah on the wine precedes the berachah of Havdalah, which addresses the nature of the day.

The Gemara answers that according to Beis Shammai there is no contradiction.

When it comes to bringing in Shabbos, the more we advance it, the better, therefore the berachah on the day comes first.

When it comes to ending the Shabbos day, the more we more we delay it, the better, therefore the berachah of Havdalah comes after the berachah on the wine.

What a tamei liquid does to a utensil

A tamei liquid that touches the outside of the keli (utensil) renders the outside tamei but the inside, rim, and handle is tahor. But if the tamei liquid touches the inside of the keli (utensil) then the whole keli becomes tamei.

Why Beis Hillel holds it better to put wet napkin on a cushion

There is no requirement of washing the hands for chullin (non-consecrated food) from the Torah since the hands are not considered a separate entity from the body and cannot contract tumah from a rishon. It is only a Rabbinic law that they are treated separately and considered a sheni to require someone to wash and remove the tumah before eating bread.

This explains why Beis Hillel holds that it is of greater concern that the liquid in a wet napkin will lead to food becoming tamei when placed on a table, than the liquid in the wet napkin leading to hands becoming tamei when placed on a cushion.

Siman - Newbie. The newbie to Yiddishkeit had finally gotten down the order of berachos for Kiddush and Havdallah when he was introduced to the metaphysics of tamei liquids touching utensils and wet napkins touching his hands. Key Words – kedushas hayom, tamei liquids, wet napkins

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar has been designing and teaching Jewish literacy courses for over thirty years. His knowledge frameworks for Biblical mastery, Jewish History, Talmudic Law & Jewish Holidays enable students of all backgrounds to better integrate Jewish concepts and learn systematically. After serving as the Educational Director of Aish HaTorah New York, Avraham launched GoldharSchool.com, Home of Big Picture Jewish Education, featuring Jewish literacy content for schools and individuals. He is the developer of the Goldhar Method, a revolutionary learning system that integrates memory into the learning process and has trained over 80,000 students, teachers and professionals. He lectures internationally on the topic of academic mastery and the solutions required to raise the bar in education. Avraham learned in Aish HaTorah, Mir, and Chaim Berlin and received his ordination under the tutelage of Rabbi Yitzchok Berkovits in Jerusalem.