Berakhot (tractate)

Berakhot is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and the Talmud. The tractate discusses the laws of Jewish prayer—particularly of the Shema Yisrael and the Amidah—and blessings for various circumstances.
Since a large part of the tractate is concerned with the voluminous berakhot of Judaism, many of which begin either the formal liturgical element "Blessed are you, our God," the tractate is named for the initial word of said liturgical element: .
Berakhot is the only tractate in Seder Zeraim to have Gemara—rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah—in the Babylonian Talmud. There are, however, tractates in the Jerusalem Talmud for all of Seder Zeraim. There is also a Tosefta for this tractate.
The Halakha detailed in this tractate has shaped the liturgies of all the Jewish communities since the era of the Amoraim, and it continues to be observed by traditional Jewish communities with only minor variations, as expounded upon by subsequent halakhic codes.

Subject matter

The Mishnah of this tractate deals with aspects of the daily Jewish prayer services, primarily the laws about formal prayers and blessings, and only infrequently or incidentally with the content, theology, or rationales for said prayers. These aspects are discussed more at length in the Tosefta, Gemara, and passages in the Midrash. Although the Talmud identifies varying degrees of direct Hebrew Biblical basis for the topics discussed in the tractate, the Mishnah organizes the material by topic, with occasional direct references to biblical sources.
In their introduction to the tractate in the 1948 Soncino Press edition of the Talmud, Rabbi Isidore Epstein and Maurice Simon note the three broad liturgical categories addressed in Berakhot:

Recitation of every morning and evening.
The central prayer of each service, recited silently while standing—called the Amidah or .
Blessings recited for enjoying food, drinks, fragrances, and on important occasions.

The initial three chapters cover the Shema, the following two focus on the Amidah, and the last four discuss various related topics blessings.
The biblical basis for the discussions of the Shema is derived from Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41 of the Torah. The blessing of Birkat Hamazon is derived from Deuteronomy 8:10, and Psalm 55:18 and Daniel 6:11 are referenced by Chazal in their halakhic rulings regarding the recitation of prayer generally and the requirement to pray three services daily, respectively.

Shema

The obligation to recite Shema Yisrael is a Tanakhic recorded in Deuteronomy 6:7 and Deuteronomy 11:19 of the Torah. Religious Jews believe that reciting the Shema satisfies their duty to acknowledge the kingship and kingdom of God by proclaiming, "the is One".
In Berakhot 2a:8–9, Chazal explain that the commandments in Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 require Jews to recite the two paragraphs of the Shema twice daily—once in the evening and once in the morning. Additionally, Chazal specify the halakhic times at which the Shema must be recited, delineate conditions for its recitation, and identify categories of individuals and contexts in which the obligation does not apply.
The Mishnah also mandates the addition of a third section to the Shema, relating the commandment of , and the daily obligation to recall the Exodus.

Prayer

The Chazal discuss the Amida, the principal rabbinic prayer recited quietly while standing, in detail. Originally, the weekday Amida had eighteen blessings, each beginning with "Blessed are you, our God". A nineteenth, the, was added during the Talmudic period.
The Mishnah takes the structure and text of the prayer as a given, and tefilla as a general concept refers to the regular prayers instituted by the members of the Great Assembly and the Tannaim who followed them. Three daily prayer services were instituted: Shaḥarit during the morning hours until four hours of the day have passed, and corresponding to the morning daily sacrificial offering at the Temple in Jerusalem, Mincha during the afternoon, corresponding to the afternoon sacrificial offering and Maʿariv in the evening after nightfall. The times for these services are also connected in the tractate to the practices of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
On days when an additional offering was sacrificed in the Temple, namely Shabbat, Three Pilgrimage Festivals, the intermediate days of the Festivals, and at Rosh Chodesh, an additional prayer service, the Mussaf, was recited between the morning and afternoon services.
The Mishnah and subsequent discussion in the Gemara consider the designated times for the three services; occasions when the full or abbreviated Amida should be recited; circumstances in which a person does not have to pray as typically required facing the Temple in Jerusalem; traditions about kavvana when praying and the role of the hazzan who leads the repetition of the prayer when a minyan is present.

Blessings

A "berakhah" is a formal liturgical unit that is usually formulated with the opening words "Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe..." The tractate discusses the blessings for specific occasions, and the Tosefta states that the theological rationale for this is a recognition that a person should not benefit from the world without first acknowledging that God is the source of the abundance.
The tractate formulates and describes the use of a number of categories of blessings, for the following:

Enjoyment, recited in appreciation of physical enjoyment, including various blessings over food, drink, and fragrances; different blessings are assigned for vegetables, fruit, wine, baked goods, bread, and those items which do not directly come from produce of the earth, such as milk, meat, fish, and eggs.
Performing a positive commandment such as the lighting of Sabbath candles, usually before the performance of the mitzvah, except for netilat yadai'im, immersion in a mikveh to attain ritual purity, and the immersion of a convert, when the blessing is recited after the mitzvah is performed.
Seeing awe-inspiring natural phenomena of various types, such as seeing the ocean, great mountains, a rainbow, or lightning; or seeing a place where miracles occurred for the Jewish people or for individuals, as well as for places where tragic or catastrophic events occurred.
Special time-bound events of two primary types — when performing a regular, but infrequent commandment such as the celebration of a Festival, or for an unusual occurrence, such as the redemption of a first born; and when enjoying something for the first time, such as wearing new clothes or eating a type of fruit for the first time in a season, and in general upon experiencing any unusual benefit or joy.

In addition to the blessings to be recited before eating, the tractate discusses the blessing ordained in the Torah, known as Birkat Hamazon, to be recited after eating food; while the Torah obligation applies only to a meal that satisfies a person's hunger, the rabbis of the Mishna required that it be recited after eating a k'zayit measure of bread. When three or more men have eaten together, one of them is required to invite the others to recite the Grace after Meals in what is known as the zimmun.
The tractate formulates the berakha m'ayn shalosh, recited for food or drink made from any of the seven species — wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranates, olive, and date — which are listed in the Hebrew Bible as being special products of the Land of Israel. For all other foods, besides bread or the products of the seven species, a one blessing berakha acharona is recited.
The tractate also discusses the various requirements for Kiddush, the sanctification prayers recited over wine on Shabbat and Festivals, and Havdalah, the blessings for the ceremony recited at the end of the Shabbat and Festivals.

Structure and content

The tractate consists of nine chapters and 57 paragraphs. It has a Gemara—rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah—of 64 double-sided pages in the standard Vilna Edition Shas of the Babylonian Talmud and 68 double-sided pages in the Jerusalem Talmud. There is a Tosefta of six chapters for this tractate.
Tractate Berakhot in the Babylonian Talmud has the highest word-per-folio average due to its large amount of aggadic material. Some of these passages offer insights into the Rabbis' attitudes towards prayer, often defined as a plea for divine mercy, but they also cover many other themes, including biblical interpretations, biographical narratives, dream interpretation, and folklore.
An overview of the content of the chapters is as follows:

Chapter 1 determines the time and the manner of the reading of the Shema in the evening and in the morning, and the number of blessings which precede and follow the reading; the controversy between the Houses of Hillel and Shammai regarding whether to stand, recline or sit during the recital; and the blessings before and after the Shema.
Chapter 2 addresses the appropriate inner intention and attention for the recital of the Shema; whether reading it silently is considered a valid recital; whether incorrect pronunciation or other mistakes invalidate the recital; permission for laborers to say the Shema while working; and exemptions from recital due to inability to recite it with kavanah, such a recently married man; a series of parables regarding Rabban Gamaliel are cited to explain why exemptions may be acceptable.
Chapter 3 continues to discuss total or partial exemption from this duty, such as for mourners, women, slaves, and minors, and the obligation of a person in a state of ritual uncleanness to recite the Shema, Amidah and other blessings.
Chapter 4 discusses the main prayer, the Shemoneh Esrei, and considers the appropriate time-frames in which to recite this prayer in the morning, afternoon and evening; the abbreviated Amidah's wording and when it is recited; reciting the Amidah while riding or driving; and Mussaf recited on Shabbat and festivals.
Chapter 5 considers the necessity of preparing for prayer, praying with kavanah during the Amidah and the prohibition against interrupting one's prayer during the Amidah, guarding against error, especially regarding additions to or deviations in the form of the prayer; insertion of specific supplications such as for rain; and the course of action when the reader makes a mistake while reciting the Amidah for the congregation.
Chapter 6 examines the principle that before and after eating any food, one must recite a blessing. It determines the form of blessing for various kinds of food before and after. It discusses the blessing made on capers, for example, with the leaves of the caper plant, having a different blessing than the fruit, since they are fruit of the ground rather than fruit of a tree.
Chapter 7 discusses the procedures for the concluding blessings known as Birkat Hamazon, following a formal meal, usually defined by eating bread, at which three or more have eaten together, and the zimmun—invitation to join the grace.
Chapter 8 formulates the rules for the washing of hands in connection with a meal, reciting grace over the wine-cup; Kiddush, the sanctification of Shabbat and Jewish holidays and Havdalah, the concluding ceremony of Shabbat; it also notes the disputes between the Houses of Shammai and Hillel regarding blessings recited at meals, especially to the order of their recital.
Chapter 9 discusses various special blessings that can be made for many occasions, such as upon coming across a place where a miracle was performed or places of religious significance, or upon hearing thunder or seeing natural phenomena such as lightning or a rainbow, experiencing life milestones, and deliverance from danger; additionally, various additional instructions are given to ensure respect for the Temple Mount and the name of God in personal greetings and to resist heresy by stressing a belief in the world-to-come.