The Lived Mishnah·A Zeman Nakat Project
Tisha B'Av Series
Mishnah 16 of 41
אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָיִם
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ZeraimSederסדרזְרָעִים
BerachosMasechtaמסכתברכות
9Perekפרקט׳
5Mishnahמשנהה׳
נושא · Topicבְּרָכָה עַל הָרָעָה כְּעַל הַטּוֹבָהBlessing G-d for the bad as for the good
Mishnah ברכות ט׳:ה׳ · Berachos 9:5
חַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל הָרָעָה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהוּא מְבָרֵךְ עַל הַטּוֹבָה,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו) וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ.
בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ, בִּשְׁנֵי יְצָרֶיךָ, בְּיֵצֶר טוֹב וּבְיֵצֶר רָע.
וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ, אֲפִלּוּ הוּא נוֹטֵל אֶת נַפְשֶׁךָ.
וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מָמוֹנֶךָ.
דָּבָר אַחֵר בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד.
לֹא יָקֵל אָדָם אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ כְּנֶגֶד שַׁעַר הַמִּזְרָח, שֶׁהוּא מְכֻוָּן כְּנֶגֶד בֵּית קָדְשֵׁי הַקָּדָשִׁים.
לֹא יִכָּנֵס לְהַר הַבַּיִת
בְּמַקְלוֹ,
וּבְמִנְעָלוֹ,
וּבְפֻנְדָּתוֹ,
וּבְאָבָק שֶׁעַל רַגְלָיו,
וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂנּוּ קַפַּנְדַּרְיָא,
וּרְקִיקָה מִקַּל וָחֹמֶר.
כָּל חוֹתְמֵי בְרָכוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים מִן הָעוֹלָם.
מִשֶּׁקִּלְקְלוּ הַמִּינִין, וְאָמְרוּ, אֵין עוֹלָם אֶלָּא אֶחָד,
הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִים, מִן הָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם.
וְהִתְקִינוּ, שֶׁיְּהֵא אָדָם שׁוֹאֵל אֶת שְׁלוֹם חֲבֵרוֹ בַּשֵּׁם,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (רות ב) וְהִנֵּה בֹעַז בָּא מִבֵּית לֶחֶם, וַיֹּאמֶר לַקּוֹצְרִים ה’ עִמָּכֶם, וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ, יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’.
וְאוֹמֵר (שופטים ו) ה’ עִמְּךָ גִּבּוֹר הֶחָיִל.
וְאוֹמֵר (משלי כג) אַל תָּבוּז כִּי זָקְנָה אִמֶּךָ.
וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים קיט) עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַה’ הֵפֵרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ.
רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר, הֵפֵרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַה’.
A person is obligated to bless over the bad just as he blesses over the good,
as it says (Devarim 6): “And you shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
“With all your heart” — with both your inclinations, the good and the evil.
“With all your soul” — even if He takes your soul.
“With all your might” — with all your wealth.
Another interpretation: “with all your might” — with every measure He metes out to you, give thanks to Him exceedingly.
One may not act irreverently opposite the eastern gate, since it is aligned with the Holy of Holies.
One may not enter Har HaBayis
with his staff,
his shoe,
his money-belt,
or the dust on his feet,
nor may one make it a shortcut;
and spitting — by a kal vachomer.
All the seals of the blessings in the Mikdash would conclude “from the world (min ha’olam).”
When the heretics corrupted matters and said there is but one world,
they enacted to say, “from the world and to the world (min ha’olam v’ad ha’olam).”
And they enacted that a person greet his fellow with the Name,
as it says (Rus 2): “Boaz came from Beis Lechem and said to the reapers, ‘Hashem be with you,’ and they said to him, ‘May Hashem bless you.’”
And it says (Shoftim 6): “Hashem is with you, mighty warrior.”
And it says (Mishlei 23): “Do not despise your mother when she is old.”
And it says (Tehillim 119): “It is a time to act for Hashem — they have voided Your Torah.”
Rabbi Nasan says: “They have voided Your Torah — it is a time to act for Hashem.”
case/objectrestrictive rulingpermissive rulingTannareasonpasuk/proof textgeneral rule
Transcript
Summary Chart
Blessing G-d for the bad as for the good▾
CaseRulingReason
Must one bless G-d for the bad?Yes — just as one blesses for the goodDevarim 6:5
How must one act opposite the eastern gate?One must not act irreverently thereIt is aligned with the Holy of Holies
How must one enter Har HaBayis?Not with staff, shoe, money-belt, or dust on the feet; nor as a shortcut; nor by spittingSpitting — by a kal vachomer (all the more so)
What change was made to the blessing-seals?Changed from “min ha’olam” to “min ha’olam v’ad ha’olam”The heretics denied a world to come
How may one greet his fellow?Using the Divine NameRus 2:4
All Meforshim
Mishnah Insights
Blessing the bad, and the reverence that outlives the walls▾
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב
R' Nosson · Dor 4 · Usha — רַבִּי נָתָן

R’ Nosson was born to the Reish Galusa, the exilarch of Bavel, and gave up that inherited standing to come to Eretz Yisrael, where he became Av Beis Din of the Sanhedrin at Usha. When a breakaway court in Bavel challenged the authority of the Sanhedrin, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel sent him to mend the rift, and he succeeded. His name still sits atop Avos d’Rabbi Nosson. There is a nice fit between the man and his line in our mishnah — eis la’asos laHashem, knowing the moment to act for Hashem’s sake.

Bless the bad as you bless the good

A person must bless over bad news the way he blesses over good news — and the mishnah means it fully: with real joy, not through gritted teeth. The Rambam explains why that is even reasonable. We never see how a story ends. A great deal that looks at first like disaster turns out to be its opposite, so a thinking person does not come apart when trouble arrives, because he does not yet know what it will become. The mishnah’s second reading of b’chol me’odecha says the same thing plainly: whatever measure Hashem metes out to you, thank Him for it.

The reverence is not for the building

The mishnah’s rules for conduct near the Mikdash — no walking stick, no shoes, no using the Har HaBayis as a shortcut — could sound like reverence for a building. Tosafos Yom Tov, citing the Gemara in Yevamos (6b), insists it is not: the Torah tells you to fear the Mikdash, yet ‘you do not fear the Mikdash itself — you fear the One who commanded about the Mikdash.’ The awe was never for the stones. That is precisely why it can outlast them: reverence aimed at HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not fall when the building falls.

One world, or two

The mishnah records a small change with a large reason. In the Mikdash, every bracha used to end simply min ha’olam — ‘from the world.’ Then heretics began teaching that there is only one world, this one, and no World to Come. To answer them, the Chachamim reworded the ending to min ha’olam v’ad ha’olam — ‘from this world to the next’ — so that the closing words of every bracha would state out loud that another world exists. A quiet fix to the wording of a blessing, made to protect a belief the moment was trying to erase.

Series Insights
Series context▾
← Previous
Pesachim 10:3
The Seder night, reshaped as remembrance
Mishnah 16 of 41
Berachos 9:5
Blessing over the bad, and reverence for the Mikdash
Next →
Yoma 7:1
The Kohein Gadol's Torah reading on Yom Kippur

Where this sits

The masechta of berachos ends by turning toward the Mikdash — how one carries oneself before it, and how its own blessings were sealed differently from ours. That is why it enters this series: it opens the run of mishnayos on the distinctive shape of berachos and conduct in the Beis HaMikdash. And it leaves us a consolation the Churban cannot touch — that the reverence was always for the One behind the place, not the place itself.

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