Summary of Shiur on Berakhot 6b-7a

I. The Influence of a Yerei Shamayim

Rabbi Chelbo states in the name of Rav Huna: Kol adam sheyesh bo yirat shamayim, devarav nishma'im – any person who possesses fear of Heaven, his words are heeded. The source is the final pasuk in Kohelet (12:13): Sof davar hakol nishma, et ha'Elokim yera.

The peshuto shel mikra indicates that after Kohelet examined all possible ways of living – consulting philosophers and others – his conclusion was that the most important thing is to be a yerei shamayim. However, the Gemara reads the pasuk homiletically: Hakol nishma – everything you say will be heard – if you are ha'Elokim yera, one who fears God.

The connection between yirat shamayim and being heeded requires explanation. When consulting someone, a person listens to advice only when convinced that the advisor has no personal interest in the outcome. A yerei shamayim by definition is not seeking personal benefit but serves a higher cause. Therefore, people trust that such a person thinks genuinely about their welfare and what is right, not about personal gain.

II. Ki Zeh Kol Ha'Adam – The Purpose of Human Existence

The continuation of the pasuk states: Ki zeh kol ha'adam – this is the entirety of man. Three interpretations are offered:

Rav Elazar says: The Holy One, blessed be He, declares that the entire world was created only for such a person (the yerei shamayim).

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana says: Such a person is equivalent (shakul) to the entire world – equal in value to all other people combined.

Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai (or ben Zoma) says: The entire world was created to accompany (letzavot) such a person.

The Netziv in his commentary cites the ninth perek of Berakhot where Shimon ben Zoma, standing on the steps of the Temple Mount observing the crowds, would say: "All these people were created to serve me." This reflects the recognition that what Adam HaRishon had to accomplish through immense effort – the thirteen melakhot of Shabbat for bread – is now facilitated by the labor of countless others.

This passage raises difficult questions. The Rambam in his introduction to Perush HaMishnah echoes this idea, writing that the world exists for one or two exceptional people per generation. In the twelfth century, the Rambam may well have considered himself such a person – though it should be noted that humility does not require denying one's abilities, but rather using one's talents for a greater cause.

However, the Rambam wrote this in his twenties, and this perspective does not appear in his later writings. Perhaps with age he came to appreciate greater value in diverse ways of living. The Litvish world I was raised in has many admirable qualities, but judging people solely by their learning capacity has problematic aspects. While such an approach encourages dedication to Torah study – creating aspirations and heroes centered on scholarship – it raises the question: Does Hakadosh Baruch Hu truly value only those who can learn intensively? Does He not love the simple Jew? Does He not want Am Yisrael as a diverse nation of twelve shevatim, each with different tasks and capabilities?

III. The Obligation to Initiate Greeting (6b)

The sixth and final statement of Rabbi Chelbo in Rav Huna's name: Kol sheyodea b'chavero shehu ragil liten lo shalom, yakdim lo shalom – whoever knows that his friend customarily greets him should preempt him with a greeting. The source is Bakesh shalom v'rodfeihu (Tehillim 34:15) – seek peace and pursue it.

This does not mean greeting every person on the street, but specifically someone who expects acknowledgment or with whom one has a relationship. Relationships can exist through acquaintance or simply through being in someone's presence. Does one greet the security guard at the mall entrance, or pass by as if he were invisible? Does one acknowledge the street cleaner? Saying shalom means noticing people, being friendly, recognizing their presence.

In our increasingly technological world, many tasks humans performed even months ago are now delegated to AI. This reduces human interaction. What AI forces us to do – like the Industrial Revolution before it – is find new expressions of our humanity. No machine, however sophisticated, can replicate one person genuinely looking at another. There is no relationship, no love in artificial interaction.

My father zatzal was a great talmid chacham who delivered profound shiurim. Yet nearly eleven years after his passing, what people most remember is when he cared about them – visiting a student whose daughter was ill on Rosh Hashanah night, calling to ask about a sick parent. That is saying shalom; that is caring for one another.

The Gemara continues: Im natan lo shalom v'lo hechzir lo, nikra gazlan – if someone greets another and receives no response, the non-responder is called a robber. The source is Yeshayahu (3:14): V'atem bi'artem hakerem, gezelat he'ani b'vateichem. Rashi asks: What can one steal from a poor person who has nothing? The answer: his expectation of being noticed. To be acknowledged is profoundly important; ignoring someone robs them of this basic human need.

Summarizing Rabbi Chelbo's statements: the final two address interpersonal relationships – being heeded due to integrity, and greeting others. The earlier four addressed one's relationship with God: being careful with Mincha, being kovea makom l'tefillah, not rushing away from shul. These dimensions are interconnected, as we discussed regarding the Churban: noticing other people imitates the ways of God, who notices each of His creations.

IV. Does Hakadosh Baruch Hu Pray? (7a)

We now turn the page to Daf 7a and encounter a challenging Gemara. Rabbi Yochanan says in the name of Rabbi Yosi: Minayin sheHakadosh Baruch Hu mitpallel? – From where do we know that God prays? The source is the pasuk (Yeshayahu 56:7): Vahavi'otim el har kodshi v'simachtim b'veit tefillati – I will bring them to My holy mountain and gladden them in My house of prayer.

The Gemara reads carefully: The pasuk says tefillati (My prayer), not tefillatam (their prayer). Why is it called God's house of prayer? Because Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself prays there.

Mai mitzallei? – What does He pray? If prayer is requesting something from God, what can God request from Himself? Rav Zutra bar Tuvya said in Rav's name: Yehi ratzon milfanai – May it be My will – sheyikhbeshu rachamai et ka'asi – that My mercy overcome My anger, v'yigolu rachamai al midotai – that My mercy prevail over My attributes of judgment, v'etnehag im banai b'midat harachamim – that I conduct Myself with My children through the attribute of mercy, v'eikanes lahem lifnim mishurat hadin – and act toward them beyond the strict letter of the law.

Note: Rachamim in Aramaic and biblical Hebrew means not merely mercy in the sense of leniency, but love. Midat harachamim indicates that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a loving relationship with us; we are His children, and He views us accordingly.

V. Tenth-Century Polemics and Rav Saadia Gaon's Interpretation

This Gemara generated significant polemic in the tenth century. The book most attacked by various circles – Jewish and non-Jewish – was not the Tanakh but the Talmud, particularly its aggadic portions. The Karaites, who knew the beginning of Berakhot (as opening chapters are more widely known), challenged such passages.

In the Otzar HaGeonim – a collection of Geonic writings from the 8th-11th centuries – we find Rav Saadia Gaon's response to a min (heretic), apparently the Karaite Salmon ben Yerucham. Rav Saadia (882-942) was a revolutionary figure who wrote in Halakha, philosophy, liturgy, and poetry. He was the guardian of tradition against three circles of polemics: with Eretz Yisrael regarding the calendar, internal disputes with the Rosh Galuta, and against the Karaites defending Torah Shebe'al Peh.

Rav Saadia writes: Hada amur 'minayin sheHakadosh Baruch Hu mitpallel' hu guzma u'mashal – This statement is exaggeration and parable. Aggadot do not describe reality literally; they transfer messages through hyperbole.

An illustration: In the 1970s, driving home from Haifa to Jerusalem after visiting relatives, we had to pass through all of Haifa with its many traffic lights. My sister Esti exclaimed: "Until Jerusalem there are a thousand more traffic lights!" At the next red light, my father responded without smiling: "Esti, another nine hundred ninety-nine." Did Esti count the lights? There were perhaps five. But saying "five traffic lights" would not convey her impatience. When expressing feelings, exaggeration communicates what literal description cannot.

Rav Saadia's interpretation: Mareh sheHakadosh Baruch Hu melamed tefillah l'Yisrael – Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not actually praying; He is teaching us how to pray. The best way to teach prayer is to pray oneself, just as the best way to teach swimming is to get in the water. Based on his linguistic expertise in his Sefer Ha'Egron, Rav Saadia argues that mitpallel can mean "causes us to pray" – a causative rather than reflexive form.

He cites the pasuk Vaya'avor Hashem al panav (Shemot 34:6), which Chazal interpret as Hakadosh Baruch Hu acting like a shaliach tzibbur (over lifnei hateiva), teaching Moshe how to pray the Yud-Gimmel Middot.

VI. The Rashba and Rav Chaim Volozhiner: God Truly Prays

The Rashba quotes this interpretation in the name of Rav Hai Gaon (d. 1038) and comments: V'derech HaGaon z"l yashar – the Gaon's approach is fine – im haya lashon – if the language supported it. However, the actual words state that Hakadosh Baruch Hu prays and asks Himself sheyikhbeshu rachamai et ka'asi. The Rashba therefore maintains that God actually prays.

The Rashba raises a profound philosophical question: She'af al pi she'ein b'kochenu la'amod al takhlit hakavvanah b'vri'at ha'olam b'khlalo – We cannot fully comprehend the ultimate purpose of creation. If God existed before the world and can exist without us, why did He need to create us?

Various kabbalistic answers exist: mipnei tuvo – to bestow goodness; or as we say in Adon Olam, God was King before creation (Melech asher b'terem kol yetzir nivra), but kingship is fully realized only with subjects (Ulei'et na'asah b'cheftzo kol, azai Melech shemo nikra). The Rambam cannot accept that God changes, but Kabbalah describes this deepening.

The Rashba explains that Hakadosh Baruch Hu divided creation into three domains: the heavens with stars and angels; earthly creatures; and humans, who uniquely combine both – biological creatures with soul and spirit, possessing free will unlike angels who have no choice. A beautiful piyyut for Yom Kippur contrasts malachim and Am Yisrael: Asher eimatcha al erlei uman – Your fear is upon the angels – v'hi tehilatcha – yet Your praise comes from humans. V'ratzita shevach – You desired praise from us.

This implies that to some extent, God relinquished control. Consider creation: After six days, God stopped creating humans directly; procreation requires pru urvu. He needs us. He is our partner, but depends on our actions. The drasha I gave at my daughter's chuppah explored what it means that kasheh zivugam shel Yisrael k'kri'at Yam Suf. Did splitting the sea require God's effort? Rather, at Kri'at Yam Suf, God told Moshe: Mah titz'ak elai? Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'yisa'u! He could not act until they stepped forward.

The mekubalim describe creation as tzimtzum – God contracting His infinite presence to make room for others. Free will itself is tzimtzum: if God punished sin immediately, there would be no free will. His restraint transfers control to us.

Thus God's prayer addresses what He does not control: our choices. He prays that His relationship with us survives whatever we do – that He need not punish us for our sins. Prayer, the Rashba adds, is milshon tosefet v'ribbuy – to bless and sustain existence.

VII. Nefesh HaChaim: Human Impact on Divine Governance

This idea is developed most fully by Rav Chaim Volozhiner in Nefesh HaChaim. His central thesis: creation is continuous. Unlike the Rambam's view that God created, established natural law, and the world now operates independently, the mekubalim teach that we must constantly justify the world's existence against the Infinite's natural tendency to "expand back." Like a door held open against a spring, we provide reason for God to maintain tzimtzum.

The Mishnah in Avot states: Da mah l'ma'alah – Know what is above. Simply: know God watches. But Rav Chaim interprets: Da mah l'ma'alah mimcha – Know that what happens above depends on you. Humans genuinely affect how God governs the world.

In Sha'ar Beit of Nefesh HaChaim, Rav Chaim addresses how humans can bless God – surely He should bless us? He explains: Milat baruch eino leshon tehillah v'shevach – "blessed" does not mean praise. Rather, it means tosefet v'ribbuy – increase and addition. We cannot bless God's essence (ki hu meromam al kol bracha). What we bless is His relationship with us – we sustain the divine connection, much as children cannot bless parents themselves but can take responsibility for maintaining the relationship.

VIII. The Baraita of Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha (7a)

We conclude with a famous Baraita (set to music by Avraham Fried): Tanya, amar Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha: Pa'am achat nikhnasti l'haktir ketoret lifnai v'lifnim – Once I entered to offer incense in the Holy of Holies [on Yom Kippur], v'ra'iti Akhtariel Kah Hashem Tzeva'ot sheyoshev al kisei ram v'nisa – and I saw Akhtariel Kah Hashem Tzeva'ot seated on a high and exalted throne.

(This passage also generated polemic: Did he literally see God on a throne? The approaches discussed earlier – vision, angel, metaphor – apply here as well.)

Amar li: Yishmael beni, barkheini – He said to me: "Yishmael My son, bless Me." Rabbi Yishmael responded with the identical tefillah: Yehi ratzon milfanecha sheyikhbeshu rachamecha et ka'ascha… – transforming milfanai (before Me) to milfanecha (before You). V'nana li b'rosho – God nodded in acceptance.

According to Rav Saadia Gaon, Rabbi Yishmael learned well: he prayed exactly what God taught him. According to the Rashba and Rav Chaim Volozhiner, they share the same siddur – God says milfanai, we say milfanecha, both praying for the same thing.

Ukamashma lan – What does this teach? Shelo tehei birkat hedyot kalah b'einecha – Do not consider the blessing of a common person insignificant. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu asks humans to bless Him, how much more should we value each other's blessings.

IX. Concluding Reflection: The Greatness of Man

This concept – the significance of human blessing – is central to Rav Chaim Volozhiner's philosophy: the greatness of man. The Mussar movement developed in two directions: Kelm and Novardok emphasized human lowliness, while Slabodka celebrated human majesty (gadlut ha'adam), viewing man as tzelem Elokim. The Rav's writings, though not of the Mussar movement, extensively explore human creativity and man's capacity to be like God.

Are we briyot shefelot – lowly creatures? Yes, we are biological beings with limited lifespans. But we possess a soul given by God, and God wants us – our relationship, our recognition, our praise, our birkat hoda'ah.