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Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli and Ein Aya

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Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli and Ein Aya Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli and Ein Aya Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli and Ein Aya by Chaim Katz Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli (KE) is a translation (into English) of Rav Adin Even-Yisrael Steinsaltz’s Hebrew edition of tractate Berakhot. It comprises the text of the Talmud, the in-line commentary, the explanation of foreign words, the mini-studies iyunim( ), the biographies of selected sages, the description of cultural objects (hahayim), descriptions of fauna and flora and more. As far as I’ve noticed, they never mention in the front matter nor in the advertising blurbs that they added informational notes that don’t appear in the original edition, but there are more than 100 new notes in Berakhot KE. In this paper, I’d like to present an overview of the new notes, and specifically examine the notes based on Ein Aya [1] – Rav Kook’s commentary to Ein Yaakov. [2] I had a few questions about the notes based on Ein Ayah: 1. In the Hebrew edition, Rav Adin created a bibliography of all the sources he used to compile his explanations. The list contains about 100 entries that stretch from Baal Halakhot Gedolot and Sheiltot (8th century) to Rabbi Akiba Eger (died 1837), the Hatam Sofer (died 1839), and commentaries printed in the Vilna Shas and the Vilna Ein Yaakov, e.g., Maharatz Chajes (died 1855), Rav Samuel Strashun (died 1872), Rav Hanokh Zundel the author of Etz Yosef (died 1867). Rav Adin did not incorporate any 20th century authors in his commentary. KE made an exception and included Rav Kook. What is the reason? 2. Ein Aya is not really an explanation of Ein Yaakov. Rav Kook points out in its introduction that his work uses Ein Yaakov as a starting point. However, his goal was to expand the literature of Aggadah and produce a new type of reading material based upon ethical ideas in Jewish philosophy, kabbalah, musar and hassidut. Does KE realize that Ein Aya is not a commentary like the others? 3. Ein Aya is very long. A haggadic statement that Maharsha devotes 15 lines of explanation to, is discussed by Rav Kook in about 60 lines (30 lines of double column text). How will KE summarize all that material? [3] First, I’ll briefly review some of the new notes in KE and then examine a few passages quoted from Ein Aya. The following are new: 1 KE Daf 16b (page 112) has a biography of Rav Safra which is copied from the Hebrew edition Moed Kattan 25a 2 KE Daf 57b (page 371) has a biography of Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha copied from Gittin 58a 3 KE Daf 64a (page 409) has a note about the Chaldean astrologers, which is copied from the Hebrew Shabbat 156b. 4 KE Daf 17b (page 115) has a note about Jesus the Nazarene copied from the Hebrew Edition Sotah 47a. 5 KE Daf 9b, (page 59) there is a note about tekhelet, similar but different from the notes in Menahot 38a . 6 KE Daf 12b, (page 82) has a long note about tzizit – ritual fringes 7 KE Daf 13b, (page 91) there’s a definition of kavanah – intent 8 KE Daf 13b, (page 92) has a diagram of the placement of the tefillin on the arm and hand. 9 KE Daf 56b, (page 365) has a note describing a lion. 10 KE Daf 56b, (page 367) has a note describing an elephant. 11 KE Daf 41a, (page 270) has notes for: radish, olive, wheat, barley, and fig. The following page has a definition of a date. 12 KE Daf 59a (page 382) has a note about a rainbow. 13 KE Daf 7a, (page 42) has an unattributed explanation based on the words: “When I wanted you did not want . “. The explanation is from Maharsha. 14 KE Daf 10a, (page 64) has a comment concerning the relationship of the Holy One Blessed is He and the world. This explanation comes from Etz Yosef. 15 KE Daf 11b, (page 74) has an unattributed very long note about The note is taken .אהבת עולם and eternal love אהבה רבה abounding love verbatim from The Long Shorter Way (Chapter 4 – Two Ways of Loving G- d) [4]. 16 KE Daf 51a, (page 323) has a clarification of a statement made by the angel Suriel. This is from the Maharsha. 17 KE Daf 58a, (page 374) has an explanation concerning the statement: “When Samaria was cursed, its neighbors were blessed”. The explanation comes from Anaf Yosef. 18 KE Daf 17a (page 114) There is a short note about the “Divine שכינה Presence” (although it’s not the first time that the word appears in the tractate.) My sense is that the Steinsaltz Hebrew edition only introduces a note when there is a problem (on the page) that the additional note might solve. KE relaxes this constraint. I’ll illustrate this difference using the first example in the above list. We read in our Gemara: After his prayer, Rav Safra would add: “May it be Your will, G-d our G-d, that You make peace among the members of the heavenly court…” Rav Safra is one of many sages quoted. There is no problem that needs to be solved. The KE has a biography of Rav Safra that ends this way: Since Rav Safra was an itinerant merchant, he never established his own yeshiva and did not spend much time in the study hall. Therefore, there were those among the Sages who held that he was unlike other Rabbis, that all are required to mourn their passing. This is a strange piece of information which doesn’t look like it belongs in a biography. However, the Talmud Moed Kattan 25a, records the following discussion: When R. Safra died, the students did not rend their clothes for him, since, they said, we have not learned from him. Abaye argued with them: Does the baraita say: ‘When a teacher dies’? Rather it says ‘when a scholar dies’. Moreover, every day in the study hall we discuss his interpretations of the halakha. KE’s biography was copied from Rav Adin’s biography in Moed Katan. There are many other examples of notes in KE that were copied from one location to another. They usually don’t fit very well in the destination location. In general, the notes regarding the religious objects add value. The notes describing the obvious (e.g., lion and elephant) are probably included for their esthetics. Concerning Ein Aya: First, I’ll present the note, my translation and the Hebrew text of Ein Aya side by side and then I’ll discuss the note briefly. 1 KE Daf 9a (Page 57), Ain Aya Berakhot 1 112 א”ר אבא הכל מודים כשנגאלו ישראל ממצרים R. Aba said: All agree that when לא נגאלו אלא בערב, Israel was redeemed from Egypt, they וכשיצאו לא יצאו אלא were redeemed specifically during ביום . ,the night, and when they left Egypt הגאולה מעבדות לחירות they left specifically during the בכלל, פועלת בכלל עם- .daytime שלם שני עניינים. Redemption from slavery to freedom האחד הוא החופש in general has two effects on an שירגיש בנפשו entire nation: 1) An inner התרוממות שיצא מכלל liberation and exaltedness that it שפלות העבדות ונעשה When the children of Israel were senses when it exchanges the בן חורין ואדון redeemed from Egypt, they were submissiveness of slavery for לעצמו. והשני הוא (redeemed only in the evening. And autonomy and self-determination. 2 הפעולה הנגלית בעולם, when they left, they left only during A freedom to perform actions that בהיותו עם חפשי חי .the day: impact the world ופועל. There are two separate elements to In Israel these two effects are more ובישראל עוד יתר שאת the transition from slavery to pronounced. For the inner freedom is לשני אלה, כי החופש freedom. First, the slave acquires a the beginning of their own הפנימי הוא התחלה personal sense of freedom and becomes perfection – developing holy לשלמות עצמם, בקדושת master of his own fate. Second, he behaviors in Torah, its mitzvot and המדות בתורה ומצותי’ becomes free in the eyes of others, its wisdom. While the outer public וחכמתה. והחופש הגלוי i.e., he is perceived by those freedom allows Israel to be a light החיצוני, הוא עומד surrounding him as a free man and has to the nations. A great part of the בישראל להיות לאור the potential to influence them. With latter mission has already been גויים, כאשר כבר נעשה regard to the children of Israel, the accomplished even in our time and חלק גדול מזה גם לעת first element enabled them to receive will be fully completed when G-d has כזאת, ויגמר בתכליתו the Torah and elevate themselves with compassion on His nation. For from לעת ירחם ד’ את עמו, .the fulfillment of G-d’s Zion will the Torah go forth (Is כי מציון תורה תצא commandments. The second element 2:3), Even the people in the far-way ולתורת ישראל איים provided Israel with the opportunity lands will wait to hear Torah of ייחלון. (to become a “light unto the nations.” Israel (Is. 42:4 ע”כ נחלקו הגאולות Therefore, the redemption was divided Therefore, the redemptions are לשני חלקים, כשנגאלו into two stages. The first stage, in divided into two parts. When Israel ישראל ממצרים הגאולה which they acquired private, personal was redeemed from Egypt – the inner הפנימית, היינו freedom, took placed at night; the redemption – this occurred during מבערב, שע”ז אין second stage, which drew the the nighttime. For the main point is העיקר הידיעה והפרסום ,attention of the world to the miracle not publicity or exposure to others של זולתם, כי אם of the Exodus, took place during the but a strong sense of their inner ההרגשה הטובה בחופשתם day.
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