This sugya opens the sixth chapter of tractate Berakhot, which turns from prayer and the Shema to blessings over food. The Mishnah begins with a taxonomy: fruit of a tree receives the blessing borei peri ha-etz (בורא פרי העץ); produce of the ground receives borei peri ha-adama (בורא פרי האדמה); wine and bread receive their own distinctive formulas (בורא פרי הגפן [Borei Pri HaGafen] and המוציא לחם מן הארץ, respectively); and R’ Yehuda proposes an additional category for vegetables, borei minei desha’im (בורא מיני דשאים).
The Talmud initially asks for the basis of the obligation to recite blessings over food, but the discussion quickly develops into a broader account of ownership, consumption, work, Torah study, and agricultural obligation.
The first section treats eating without a blessing as a form of unauthorized use. A baraita derives blessing from the phrase “kodesh hillulim“ in Leviticus 19:24, and R’ Akiva formulates the rule that one may not taste anything before reciting a blessing. Other statements sharpen the idea: benefiting from the world without a blessing is compared to misuse of consecrated property. R’ Levi reconciles two apparently contradictory Psalms by distinguishing between the world before and after a blessing. Before the blessing, “the earth and all it contains is YHWH’s”; afterward, “the earth He has given to mankind.” The blessing thus marks a transition from divine ownership to permitted human use. R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa intensifies the rhetoric further, describing unblessed consumption as robbery of both God and the community of Israel.
From this theology of consumption, the sugya moves naturally into agricultural production. A contradiction between “My grain” in Hosea and “your grain” in Deuteronomy is resolved according to whether Israel fulfills God’s will. This leads into one of the Talmud’s best-known discussions of Torah study and work. R’ Yishmael reads “you shall gather your grain” as an instruction to combine Torah study with ordinary economic activity. R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai objects that continuous attention to plowing, sowing, harvesting, threshing, and winnowing would leave no time for Torah; ideally, Israel’s labor should instead be performed by others.
The subsequent statements largely qualify the more radical position. Abaye observes that many who followed R’ Yishmael succeeded, whereas many who attempted R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai’s model did not. Rava instructs his students to leave the academy during the crucial agricultural periods of Nisan (early spring season) and Tishrei (early autumn season) so that they can secure their livelihood and study during the rest of the year. A final contrast between “earlier” and “later generations” presents Torah and labor as questions of priority: earlier generations made Torah primary and work secondary and succeeded in both, whereas later generations reversed the hierarchy and succeeded in neither.
The same contrast1 is then expressed through agricultural law. “Earlier generations” deliberately brought produce through the entrance that would render it liable for tithes, while “later generations” sought routes that would avoid the obligation.
Across these discussions, growing, possessing, eating, and blessing food are embedded in a system of divine ownership, human labor, Torah study, and religious obligation. The sugya thus uses the laws of food blessings as an entry point into a wider discussion of the proper relationship between material life and service of God.
Outline
Intro
The Passage
Mishnah (Berakhot 6:1)
Blessings over foods: tree fruit = borei peri ha-etz; wine = borei peri ha-gefen; produce = borei peri ha-adama; bread = ha-motzi; vegetables = borei peri ha-adama; R’ Yehuda - Over vegetables, recite “borei minei desha’im”
Talmud
Baraita - “Kodesh hillulim” teaches that fourth-year fruit requires blessings before and after eating - Leviticus 19:24
R’ Akiva - One may not taste anything before reciting a blessing - Leviticus 19:24
Baraita - One may not benefit from this world without a blessing; doing so is comparable to misuse of consecrated property
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel - Benefiting from this world without a blessing is like benefiting from consecrated property - Psalms 24:1
R’ Levi - Before a blessing the earth belongs to God; after a blessing, it is given to humanity - Psalms 24:1; Psalms 115:16
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - Benefiting without a blessing is like robbing God and the community of Israel
Prooftexts - Proverbs 1:8, 28:24; Deuteronomy 32:6
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - Such a person is compared to Jeroboam ben Nevat, who corrupted Israel - Proverbs 28:24
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - When Israel does God’s will, the grain is theirs; when they do not, God reclaims it - Hosea 2:11; Deuteronomy 11:14
R’ Yishmael - Torah study should be combined with ordinary work and agriculture - Joshua 1:8; Deuteronomy 11:14
R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai - Ideally one should devote oneself to Torah
When Israel does God’s will, others perform their labor - Isaiah 61:5
Abaye - Many who followed R’ Yishmael’s model succeeded, while many who followed R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai’s model did not
Rava - Students should work during the key agricultural seasons of Nisan and Tishrei, so they can study without financial distraction during the rest of the year
Rabba bar bar Ḥana citing R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yehuda bar Ilai - Earlier generations made Torah primary and work secondary and succeeded in both; later generations reversed the priorities and succeeded in neither
Rabba bar bar Ḥana citing R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yehuda bar Ilai - Earlier generations deliberately brought produce through the main entrance to incur tithing obligations; later generations sought routes that avoided them
The Passage
Berakhot/35a#1 thru 35b#11
Mishnah (Berakhot 6:1)
Mishnah (Berakhot 6:1)
Blessings over foods: tree fruit = borei peri ha-etz; wine = borei peri ha-gefen; produce = borei peri ha-adama; bread = ha-motzi; vegetables = borei peri ha-adama; R’ Yehuda - Over vegetables, recite “borei minei desha’im”
כיצד מברכין על הפירות?
על פירות האילן הוא אומר:
״בורא פרי העץ״,
חוץ מן היין, שעל היין הוא אומר:
״בורא פרי הגפן״.
ועל פירות הארץ הוא אומר:
״בורא פרי האדמה״,
חוץ מן הפת, שעל הפת הוא אומר:
״המוציא לחם מן הארץ״.
ועל הירקות הוא אומר:
״בורא פרי האדמה״.
רבי יהודה אומר: ״בורא מיני דשאים״.
This Mishnah discusses the blessings recited over various foods.
How does one recite a blessing over fruits?
Over different fruits that grow on a tree one recites:
Who creates fruit of the tree,
with the exception of wine.2 Over wine one recites:
Who creates fruit of the vine.
Over fruits that grow from the earth,
one recites: Who creates fruit of the ground,
with the exception of bread. Bread, too, is significant and its blessing differs from other fruits of the ground, as over bread one recites:
Who brings forth bread from the earth.
Over herbs and leafy vegetables one recites:
Who creates fruit of the ground.
R’ Yehuda says that there is room to distinguish between fruits that grow from the earth, herbs, and leafy vegetables. Although they are all fruit of the ground, since they have different qualities, the blessing on the latter is: Who creates various kinds of herbs.
Talmud
Baraita - “Kodesh hillulim” teaches that fourth-year fruit requires blessings before and after eating - Leviticus 19:24
מנא הני מילי?
Concerning the fundamental basis for blessings, the Talmud asks:
From where are these matters,
the obligation to recite a blessing before eating, derived?
דתנו רבנן:
״קדש הלולים לה׳ ״,
מלמד ש
טעונים ברכה
לפניהם
ולאחריהם.
The Talmud answers:
As A baraita states in the Sifra:
With regard to saplings, it is stated that in their 4th year their fruit will be:
“…sanctified for praises before YHWH” (Leviticus 19:24).
This verse teaches that
they require praise of God in the form of a blessing both
before
and after,
as the verse says “praises” (הלולים) in the plural.
R’ Akiva - One may not taste anything before reciting a blessing - Leviticus 19:24
מכאן אמר רבי עקיבא:
אסור לאדם שיטעום כלום קודם שיברך.
[...]
From here, R’ Akiva said:
A person is forbidden to taste anything before he recites a blessing,
as without reciting praise over food, it has the status of a consecrated item, from which one is forbidden to derive pleasure.
[...]
Baraita - One may not benefit from this world without a blessing; doing so is comparable to misuse of consecrated property
תנו רבנן:
אסור לו לאדם שיהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה.
וכל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה --
מעל.
[...]
A baraita states in a Tosefta:
One is forbidden to derive benefit from this world, which is the property of God, without reciting a blessing beforehand.
And anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing --
it is as if he is guilty of misuse (מעל) of a consecrated object.
[...]
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel - Benefiting from this world without a blessing is like benefiting from consecrated property - Psalms 24:1
אמר רב יהודה, אמר שמואל:
כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה —
כאילו נהנה מקדשי שמים,
שנאמר:
״לה׳ הארץ ומלואה״.
Similarly, Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said:
One who derives benefit from this world without a blessing —
it is as if he enjoyed objects consecrated (קדשי) to the heavens,
as it is stated:
“The earth and all it contains is YHWH’s,
the world and all those who live in it” (Psalms 24:1).
R’ Levi - Before a blessing the earth belongs to God; after a blessing, it is given to humanity - Psalms 24:1; Psalms 115:16
רבי לוי רמי:
כתיב
״לה׳ הארץ ומלואה״,
וכתיב
״השמים שמים לה׳, והארץ נתן לבני אדם״
R’ Levi expressed this concept differently.
R’ Levi raised a contradiction:
It is written:
“The earth and all it contains is YHWH’s,”
and it is written elsewhere:
“The heavens are YHWH’s, and the earth He has given over to mankind” (Psalms 115:16).
There is clearly a contradiction with regard to whom the earth belongs.
לא קשיא
כאן
קודם ברכה,
כאן
לאחר ברכה.
He resolves the contradiction:
This is not difficult:
Here, where the verse that says that the earth is YHWH’s
refers to the situation before a blessing is recited,
and here, where it says that He gave the earth to mankind
refers to after a blessing is recited.
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - Benefiting without a blessing is like robbing God and the community of Israel
אמר רבי חנינא בר פפא:
כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה —
כאילו גוזל להקדוש ברוך הוא וכנסת ישראל,
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa said:
Anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing —
it is as if he stole from God and the community of Israel,
Prooftexts - Proverbs 1:8, 28:24; Deuteronomy 32:6
שנאמר:
״גוזל אביו ואמו
ואומר אין פשע
חבר הוא לאיש משחית״.
as it is stated:
“Whoever robs his father and his mother
and says: It is no transgression,
he is the companion of a destroyer” (Proverbs 28:24).
ואין ״אביו״ אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא,
שנאמר:
״הלא הוא אביך קנך״,
The phrase “his father” refers to none other than God,
as it is stated:
“Is He not your Father Who created you,
Who made you and established you” (Deuteronomy 32:6).
ואין ״אמו״ אלא כנסת ישראל,
שנאמר:
״שמע בני מוסר אביך
ואל תטוש תורת אמך״.
The phrase “his mother” refers to none other than the community of Israel,
as it is stated:
“Hear, my son, the discipline of your father,
and do not forsake the Torah of your mother” (Proverbs 1:8).3
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - Such a person is compared to Jeroboam ben Nevat, who corrupted Israel - Proverbs 28:24
מאי ״חבר הוא לאיש משחית״?
אמר רבי חנינא בר פפא:
חבר הוא לירבעם בן נבט
שהשחית את ישראל לאביהם שבשמים.
What is the meaning of the continuation of the verse: “He is the companion of a destroyer”?
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa said:
He is a companion of Jeroboam ben Nevat,
who corrupted Israel before their Father in heaven by sinning and causing others to sin.
R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa - When Israel does God’s will, the grain is theirs; when they do not, God reclaims it - Hosea 2:11; Deuteronomy 11:14
רבי חנינא בר פפא רמי:
כתיב
״ולקחתי דגני בעתו וגו׳״,
וכתיב
״ואספת דגנך וגו׳״.
On a similar note, the Talmud cites that R’ Ḥanina bar Pappa raised a contradiction:
It is written,
“I will take back My grain at its time and wine in its season” (Hosea 2:11),
and it is written:
“And you should gather your grain, your wine and your oil” (Deuteronomy 11:14).
To whom does the grain belong, to God, or to the people?
לא קשיא:
כאן
בזמן שישראל עושין רצונו של מקום,
כאן
בזמן שאין ישראל עושין רצונו של מקום.
The Talmud responds: This is not difficult:
Here, where God promises Israel that they will gather their grain,
the verse refers to a time when they perform God’s will.
Here, where the verse indicates that the grain belongs to God,
it refers to a time when they do not perform God’s will, as then He will take back the grain, demonstrating that it belongs to Him.
R’ Yishmael - Torah study should be combined with ordinary work and agriculture - Joshua 1:8; Deuteronomy 11:14
תנו רבנן:
״ואספת דגנך״ מה תלמוד לומר?
A baraita states:
What is the meaning of that which the verse states: “And you should gather your grain”?
לפי שנאמר:
״לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך״ —
יכול דברים ככתבן?
Because it is stated:
“This Torah should not depart from your mouths,
and you should contemplate in it day and night” (Joshua 1:8),
I might have thought that these matters are to be understood as they are written;
one is to literally spend his days immersed exclusively in Torah study.
תלמוד לומר:
״ואספת דגנך״ —
הנהג בהן מנהג דרך ארץ,
דברי רבי ישמעאל.
Therefore, the verse states:
“And you should gather your grain, your wine and your oil,”
assume in their regard, the way of the world; set aside time not only for Torah, but also for work.
This is the statement of R’ Yishmael.
R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai - Ideally one should devote oneself to Torah
רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר:
אפשר אדם
חורש בשעת חרישה,
וזורע בשעת זריעה,
וקוצר בשעת קצירה,
ודש בשעת דישה,
וזורה בשעת הרוח,
תורה מה תהא עליה?
R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai says:
Is it possible that a person
plows in the plowing season4
and sows in the sowing season
and harvests in the harvest season
and threshes in the threshing season
and winnows (זורה) in the windy season, as grain is separated from the chaff by means of the wind,
and is thus constantly busy; what will become of Torah?
when Israel does God’s will, others perform their labor, - Isaiah 61:5
אלא
בזמן שישראל עושין רצונו של מקום —
מלאכתן נעשית על ידי אחרים,
Rather, one must dedicate himself exclusively to Torah at the expense of other endeavors;
as when Israel performs God’s will —
their work is performed by others,5
שנאמר:
״ועמדו זרים ורעו צאנכם וגו׳״,
as it is stated:
“And strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will be your plowmen and your vinedressers” (Isaiah 61:5).
... while failure to do so brings servitude - Deuteronomy 11:14; Deuteronomy 28:48
ובזמן שאין ישראל עושין רצונו של מקום —
מלאכתן נעשית על ידי עצמן,
שנאמר:
״ואספת דגנך״.
When Israel does not perform God’s will --
their work is performed by them themselves,
as it is stated:
“And you should gather your grain.”
ולא עוד אלא שמלאכת אחרים נעשית על ידן,
שנאמר:
״ועבדת את אויבך וגו׳״.
Moreover, if Israel fails to perform God’s will, others’ work will be performed by them,
as it is stated:
“You should serve your enemy
whom God should send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness and in want of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:48).
Abaye - Many who followed R’ Yishmael’s model succeeded, while many who followed R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai’s model did not
אמר אביי:
הרבה עשו כרבי ישמעאל,
ועלתה בידן.
כרבי שמעון בן יוחי,
ולא עלתה בידן.
Summing up this dispute,
Abaye said:
Although there is room for both opinions,
many have acted in accordance with the opinion of R’ Yishmael, and combined working for a living and learning Torah,
and although they engaged in activities other than the study of Torah, were successful in their Torah study.
Many have acted in accordance with the opinion of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai
and were not successful in their Torah study. They were ultimately forced to abandon their Torah study altogether.
Rava - Students should work during the key agricultural seasons of Nisan and Tishrei, so they can study without financial distraction during the rest of the year
אמר להו רבא לרבנן:
במטותא מינייכו!
ביומי ניסן וביומי תשרי --
לא תתחזו קמאי,
כי היכי דלא תטרדו במזונייכו כולא שתא.
Similarly, Rava said to the rabbis who would attend his study hall:
I implore you!
during the months of Nisan and Tishrei, the crucial agricultural periods6 --
do not appear before me.
Engage in your agricultural work then so that you will not be preoccupied with your sustenance all year.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana citing R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yehuda bar Ilai - Earlier generations made Torah primary and work secondary and succeeded in both; later generations reversed the priorities and succeeded in neither
אמר רבה בר בר חנה
אמר רבי יוחנן
משום רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי:
בא וראה שלא כדורות הראשונים דורות האחרונים.
Summarizing these statements,
Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that
R’ Yoḥanan said
in the name of the tanna R’ Yehuda, son of R’ El’ai:
Come and see that the latter generations are not like the earlier generations;
rather they are their inferiors.7
דורות הראשונים
עשו תורתן קבע, ומלאכתן עראי,
זו וזו נתקיימה בידן.
דורות האחרונים
שעשו מלאכתן קבע, ותורתן עראי,
זו וזו לא נתקיימה בידן.
The earlier generations
made their Torah permanent, and their work occasional,
and this, Torah study, and that, their work, were successful for them.
In contrast, the latter generations
who made their work permanent, and their Torah occasional,
neither this nor that was successful for them.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana citing R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Yehuda bar Ilai - Earlier generations deliberately brought produce through the main entrance to incur tithing obligations; later generations sought routes that avoided them
ואמר רבה בר בר חנה
אמר רבי יוחנן
משום רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי:
בא וראה שלא כדורות הראשונים דורות האחרונים:
דורות הראשונים --
היו מכניסין פירותיהן דרך טרקסמון
כדי לחייבן במעשר,
דורות האחרונים --
מכניסין פירותיהן
דרך גגות,
דרך חצרות,
דרך קרפיפות,
כדי לפטרן מן המעשר.
Along these lines,
Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that
R’ Yoḥanan said
in the name of R’ Yehuda, son of R’ El’ai:
Come and see that the latter generations are not like the earlier generations:
In the earlier generations --
people would bring their fruits into their courtyards through the main gate8
in order to obligate them in tithes.
In contrast, the latter generations --
bring their fruits
through roofs,
through courtyards
and through enclosed courtyards,
avoiding the main gate in order to exempt them from the mitzva of tithing.
See my discussion elsewhere of “declinism” in the Talmud.
Steinsaltz:
Although wine is produced from fruit of the tree, due to its significance, its blessing differs from other fruits of the tree.
Steinsaltz:
The mention of the Torah as “emanating from the mouth of the mother”, apparently means that your mother is the community of Israel.
.שעת חרישה
Literally: “the time (שעת) of plowing”, and same for the rest of the list.
Elsewhere in the Talmud, Isaiah 61:5 (the prooftext cited immediately afterward) is explicitly understood as referring specifically to non-Jews (as opposed to Jewish non-scholars/commoners).
Roughly spring and autumn, respectively.
On Talmudic declinism (ירידת הדורות), see my discussion in a previous piece.
.טרקסמון
From Greek.
On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “טְרוֹקְסִימָא”:
masculine
(τρώξιμον, τὰ τρώξιμα [trōximon, ta trōxima])
1) whatever can be eaten raw, applied to kitchen vegetables, especially endive etc.
Vayikra Rabbah 3:5 אגודה אחת של טרוקסימא (some editions … מון) - “a bunch of vegetables”
Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 4:9:9, and following
Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 7:2:23 טריקס׳ edition Krot. (correct accordingly)
Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 2:5:2 - (explaining עולשין);
Jerusalem Talmud Kilayim 1:2:4 - (some editions מין …, plural)
Tosefta Terumot 4:5 טרקסמן ed. Zuckermandel (Variant טְרָכְסְמִין, plural)
Tosefta Makhshirin 3:10 טרכ׳, contrasted to יֶרֶק.
2) (substitute for: κῆπος [kēpos]) kitchen-garden.
Berakhot 35b היו … דרך ט׳ וכ׳ (Manuscript Munich טרסק׳; Manuscript Florence: טריבסמון, correct accordingly) - “used to bring their fruits home (from the field to the barn) by the way of the kitchen-garden (in sight of the house) in order to make them subject to tithes”
The Greek τρώξιμον (trōximon) derives from the verb τρώγω (trōgō), meaning “to gnaw, nibble, munch, or eat”, especially raw vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
The morphological development is:
τρώγω (trōgō): “to gnaw, munch, eat”.
τρωξ- (trōx-): The verbal stem found in the future τρώξομαι (trōxomai), “I will eat”.
-ιμος (-imos): An adjectival suffix expressing suitability or capacity.
τρώξιμος (trōximos): “Edible”, particularly “suitable for eating raw”.
τρώξιμον (trōximon): Neuter singular, substantivized as “something edible”.
τὰ τρώξιμα (ta trōxima): Neuter plural with the definite article, literally “the edible things”, referring collectively to raw vegetables.
Thus, Jastrow’s טְרוֹקְסִימָא is a borrowing of the Greek word for edible produce.
The second meaning, “kitchen-garden”, is a semantic extension from the vegetables to the place where they grow.
Jastrow’s parenthetical κῆπος (kēpos) means “garden”. His “substitute for κῆπος” indicates that the Greek word for edible produce came to be used in place of the ordinary Greek word for a garden.
Note that τρώγω survives in Modern Greek as τρώω (tróo), the ordinary verb “to eat”.