BSD

Brochos 9b (2)

Iyar 25, 5786.  05/12/2026

Some topics discussed.

1 – We began by asking ‘where is this particular shiur member?’ and he walks in…

Someone said ‘We should have talked about Moshiach, however, we always talk about Moshiach and he’s not arrived yet’.

Story of the physicist who always looked up when his chalk broke and fell to the floor. When asked as to why, he responded: ‘The Boltzmann Statistic says there will always be a particle that will jump the wrong way defying logic. It’s very rare but it happens. So this particular piece of chalk may fly upwards….  I therefore always look up because I don’t want to miss this rare occurrence.

ביאת המשיח is indeed a ‘rare occurrence’. But it will happen. Let’s not miss that moment….

2 – The interesting מצוה to see or greet a king. Even a non-Jewish one.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks A”H, and King Charles

דַּאֲמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לְעוֹלָם יִשְׁתַּדַּל אָדָם לָרוּץ לִקְרַאת מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְלֹא לִקְרַאת מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּלְבָד, אֶלָּא אֲפִילּוּ לִקְרַאת מַלְכֵי אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁאִם יִזְכֶּה, יַבְחִין בֵּין מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַלְכֵי אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One should always strive to run to greet the kings of Israel to witness them in their glory. And not only must one run to greet the kings of Israel, but even to greet the kings of the nations of the world, so that if he will be privileged to witness the redemption of Israel, he will distinguish between the kings of Israel and the kings of the nations of the world, to see how much greater the Jewish king will be and how his rule will be manifest.

We discussed if one needs to stop learning to be מקיים this מצוה. OC רכד, ט.

Mentioned the שערים המצויינים בהלכה from Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Braun  (grandfather of Rabbi Braun of CH) that discusses if this applies to a queen as well, as there is an issue to look at woman’s face…..

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Braun

סימן ס, הערה ז.

3 – The topic of סמיכות גאולה לתפילה and ותיקין.

ותיקין at the כותל

4 – The amount of Kapitlach in תהילים. There is much discussion about this. We just scratched the surface and will continue next week.

To start: Our גמרא discusses if the first two chapters in תהילים are truly 2 separate chapters or really just one.

5 – An interesting note from the Rebbe about the מנהג of the בעל שם טוב to say the Kapital of one’s age plus one. לקו”ש י, 75.

The Rebbe writes that a source for this מנהג is in the תהילים itself. How?

At the conclusion of chapter 72 is the פסוק

כׇּלּ֥וּ תְפִלּ֑וֹת דָּ֝וִ֗ד בֶּן־יִשָֽׁי

Thus concludes the prayer of Dovid ben Yishai.

Now if the first two קפיטלך of תהילים are counted as one then this is really chapter 71.

דוד המלך  lived to the age of 70, so he was saying and concluded his writing/saying תהלים with the קפיטל for his age!

 

6 – Speaking of numbers there is an old Jewish quip about a fellow who made a fortune winning the lottery by choosing the right number, as he explained, using his שכל and מזל.

How?

שכל  – seichel;

18 is חי, which I remember from חדר is a lucky number.

Double חי is even luckier. So 2 x 18 = 37!

So I chose number 37.

Now for  מזל –

I had the מזל to have flunked math.